10 most essential Requisites of a Sound and Successful Close

Every salesman is naturally interested in not only early close but successful close. Closing or concluding a sale is the most critical stage for the salesman because it is this stage where prospect is converted into customer; in other words his desire gets a concrete shape of demand.

Certain essentials or imperatives are to be developed for a successful close because close is either opening the door of fortune or closing forever. This is the stage where the customer on the fence is made to jump on either side because he makes a decision — to buy or not to buy. These essentials are:

Requisites of a Sound and Successful Close

1. Maintain Positive Attitude:

Optimistic or positive attitude towards a close is a must. A salesman has a positive or optimistic attitude when he has abounding self confidence, perfect knowledge and the sharp ability to size up the prospect. Looking to the facial and bodily gestures the salesman is to close the sale. He should never get excited for the early repose or gain. At the same time, he should not expect early response or victory.

2. Capture Prospect’s attention:

Prospect is tickly to divert his attentions on something else; he may be physically at the full command of the salesman travelling mentally elsewhere salesman should attract and hold the attention of his prospect like a snake charmer to bring unity of thought, purpose and action on his part. Mental presence for perception is of top importance.

3. Allow the Prospect to Question:

The salesman is not supposed to unload the planned sales talk like a monsoon down pour. It should not be dry and mechanical. It should not be one sided where he goes on talking and talking and the prospect remains a personal listener. As he is instrumental in converting the desire into demand, let the prospect have his say. Welcome and encourage the prospect to ask any questions relating to the sales talk so that he clears his doubts and reservations. This chance granted gratifies the prospect. What is needed is two-way meaningful communication so that each understands another in a light throwing fruit bearing way.

4. Impressive Presentation and Effective Demonstration:

Both presentation and demonstration are very effective tools at the command of salesmen through which he connivances the prospect by bringing to his notice the relative features, merits and benefits of a product. Presentation and demonstration provide better opportunity to the prospect to think and rethink before coming to a decision point. He analyses whether product or service is worth buying because every customer wants to get better value for money spent on a product or service. He compares quality and price and wants to get the best at reasonably low price. Hence, he should take full advantage of presentation and demonstration.

5. Never impose a Decision:

Salesman is not to compel the prospect to buy nor he is to decide on his behalf as to the dimension of the purchase. His duty is to present, demonstrate, clear his doubts and objections and reiterating the selling points allowing the prospect to decide as per his cost benefit analysis. He is to recommend his goods and wait for his buying actions or commitment. It is because it is the prospect that pays for the product and never he should be kept away from his decision benefit. He should have it as his prerogative; never he should feel that he is duped by a salesman.

6. Reserve Surprise Selling Points:

As a part of sales talk, he should not finish the entire quota of selling points. Some of the precious and unique selling points are to be held in reserve as trump cards to apply at appropriate and opportune time. Such surprise and premium points are sure to impel the prospect to decide. Of course, it is difficult to say on the spot as to what is the most opportune time. It is the situation that decides as to what is the most opportune time.

7. Read the Buying Signals:

A “buying signal” refers to anything that prospect says yes or does indicate that he is readily willing to buy. Buying signals hint out that the prospect is in conviction stage of buying process. These signals may be: the prospect asks the questions regarding the product, asks another persons opinion, he relaxes and becomes friendly, pulls out a purchase order form carefully examines the product and so on. A prospect sends buying signals both verbally and non-verbally as noted earlier at any time during the sales presentation.

8. Hit at the Time:

Salesman is to effect the sales at the right moment of time. This is not easy. This needs a detailed analysis as to when the minds of prospect and salesman integrate to a perfect accord He is to feel that moment through ‘sixth’ sense. It is the accurate interpretation of buying signals that prompts the salesman to attempt to close. Psychologists say that there is close alliance between the hands and mental frame. When the prospect is tension free and his mind is quite receptive his hands are relaxed, plans duly opened. Some read the facial expressions because face is the index of mind or mirror of inner feelings.

9. Avoid interruptions:

Salesman finds it very difficult when some body intervenes at the climax of close, may be this friend, or colleague or a relative or even he can receive a phone call. Entry of a person will give him an opportunity to ask the third party opinion as regards the advisability of product and its purchase. Such intruders opinions may work against the intent of a salesman who is about to close. It may so happen that the prospect may cancel or withdraw the purchase order. However, things are not entirely in the hands of salesman what one can say is he should select such time where interruptions are least or they are not there.

10. Repeat Trials:

Many salesmen have a very strong and wrong feeling that they should close at the first attempt only like love at first sight, They strongly feel that if they fail to close at first sight or attempt, there will be no sales at all. This is some thing wrong and serious. Hence, the salesman should try to close the sale more than single time even if the prospect goes to the extent of saying ‘no’. Refusal is not the end of the interview, It only means that the prospect has not yet made his mind to buy, He may expect the salesman to approach him with new and additional selling points. It the duty of the salesman to meet his craze for additional information so that he would be able to close and clinch the order.