Sales Closing Techniques: There are no silver bullets to increasing certainty around closing the year off with a big finish. It’s all about good old fashioned deal execution and deal hygiene. Sometimes, deals just aren’t quite ready to come out of the proverbial oven.

“We all know the “now or never” sales closing technique is not a strategy to close deals with certainty.”

We each have our own deal signals to better qualify deals as ready – compelling event, compelling reason to act now, value drivers, and a motivated economic buyer are a few I recommend. When these signals exist in a deal, it’s time to move into micro-management, sales execution mode. We’re in the zone to make this year great versus really good. What do we have to do to achieve greatness? Here is a list of proven sales-methodology agnostic and sales readiness truths that put focus and energy on closing deals with certainty:

1. Why No? Be maniacal and honest about why deals might not happen. Role-play and brainstorm all possible worse case scenarios and then build action plans and outreach to overcome them.
2. Mutual Close Plans: Co-create mutual success plans with champions and validate criticality with economic buyers. Make sure mutual plans are detailed co-owned action lists, extending beyond finalizing a contract and signing a purchase order.
3. Compelling Reason To Act Now: Keep all stakeholders and influencers on the same page with frequent communications and updates on progress relative to project milestone dates. Ensure the compelling reasons to act now is top of mind to economic buyer, champion, influencers, and stakeholders. Get your “face in the place” if you can.
4. Decision Making Process: Avoid deals going sideways by being super curious about decision-making and procurement processes. Check and recheck every day if any changes happened to the business or organization alignment.
5. Economic Buyer: Know who your economic buyer is versus your just connecting with a champion. Work with your champion to get access to your economic buyer. Build relationships with economic buyers by getting your face in the place and sending hand written and personalized notes.
6. Value: Create a one summary-slide financial justification ROI value slide that is directly mapped to an economic buyer’s top initiatives. Focus the selling aid on the value of not doing anything right now.
7. Uncover Concerns: Close all buyer conversations with the question “what concerns do you have about moving this project forward?” to ensure there are no hidden issues. Use the open-ended question to address outstanding objections, learn more, and move the commitment needle forward.
8. Overcome Competitive Traps: Be ready with a compelling, credible response to your competitor showing with an offer to your customer of a lower price or even free just to postpone a decision. Stay focused on the why and remember there is no such thing as free.
9. Give/Get Strategy: Make sure every deal you close is a win-win. Have a clear, documented “give and get” negotiation strategy to avoid saying yes to everything. Never give up anything without getting something in return.
10. References: Make every reference connection be added value to prospects by briefing all parties pre-call and thanking post-call. Send prospects customer reference briefing summaries with the solution story. Fully brief customer references by being direct about how they can help.

Now, write down the limiting beliefs that are holding you back from having a blowout 2015. What behaviors need to change? What support is needed? Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We encourage you to take these principles and share them with your sales teams. Take them a step further and kick off the week with coaching huddles to help close your deals with certainty. The SalesHood team is here to help you finish 2015 with a bang. If you want to bring any of these best practices to life in your deals and with your teams request a trial and we’ll get you set up with a trial in no time.

Win as a team.