I have conversations with senior management dozens of times per week. I help security companies improve their sales performance, so the senior level people are typically my points of contact – especially at the beginning of our projects. One of the more common comments I hear is: “I don’t think we have many closers.”
So, are you a closer? Before answering, I have another question for you… Is the term “closer” still valid?
How many times have you been in front of the one and only decision-maker and had the opportunity to “close” him and receive the order? If you’re selling in a complex B2B environment, it almost never happens… unless you have a long time relationship and are the preferred provider.
Do you want to be a strong closer? Differentiate yourself months before the decision. Find problems they don’t know they have and provide a solution. Point out the waste of time their IT staff is spending on managing their access control system, show them vulnerabilities in their perimeter protection, or help them calculate how long a service call takes since they’re not on a maintenance agreement with you. Of course, you should have a solution for these problems ahead of time.
Do the hard work up front, and you won’t have to be a closer!
