“Coffee is for closers” has become such a common phrase that most people don’t know the movie in which it originated – it’s taken on a life of its own. Closing is romantic. Closers are homerun hitters, big drivers on the golf course, and powerful servers on the tennis court. Closers are the talent, the show, and the stars. And before about 15 years ago, closing was a key skill to success. Back then, you had to sit across from a decision-maker, ask for the order, and then navigate a confrontational, smart, and possibly shameful conversation to win the business.
Obviously, much of sales training ideas of the last 75 years has been about closing sales. During the first six months of my sales career, I devoured everything written by Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, and Hank Trisler, and mastered my company’s seven-step process of overcoming objections and closing the sale. It was all about closing.
Closing is still a necessary skill for greatness, but it’s different. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to present the four ideas to closing sales in the security technology industry today.
Many people suggest that closing is no longer necessary because salespeople rarely (if ever) are in front of a decision-maker during the time of closing. The typical process includes a committee with many people that don’t understand three things about security technology, and this meeting is usually conducted long after the salesperson has presented. If a committee makes decisions behind closed doors weeks after proposals are due, then how does the skill of closing work? Good question, and great lead-in to our first idea:
Idea #1: You’ve got to prepare your point of contact (POC) to close the sale for you.
As stated above, in the business-to-business world of buying, practically all decisions are made by committees several days or weeks after you’ve left. You need as many advocates as possible in that meeting, but you must have one closer. Below are some best practices to preparing your POC to close the sales for you.
- Immediately change your mindset. You are no longer a salesperson. You are a sales manager and all your points of contact report to you. It’s up to you to inspire them to sell for you.
- Make sure your POC has a personal and emotional connection to your solution. Keep asking questions until they understand the significance of your solution to their quality of life. Being able to show a return on investment is helpful but proving to your POC that your solution will keep them from having to drive to the office on weekends will make them emotionally connected to you and will inspire them to sell for you.
- Provide all the resources they need. Everything from data to brochures to case studies. If possible, deliver this information shortly before the decision-making meeting. Don’t position this as “I’m going train you how to present”, but indirectly train them how to present. Something as simple as “One of the objections I hear from finance is that our monthly fee is too high, but they usually don’t understand all of these things that are included.”
- Your closer will likely be your POC but doesn’t have to be. If your POC is a weak orator or not well-respected, then it’s ok to find someone else in the organization to close for you.
Of these best practices, the first bullet is the most important. Until you get in this mindset, it’s hard to fully embrace your POC as your salesperson.
Tune in next week for Idea #2.
