By
Bob Phibbs
It’s probably the most common question retailers ask, “How can I get my salespeople to close a sale?”
There are scads of sales books written, thousands of selling phrases to tie down a customer, and hundreds of approaches out there to force a commitment and close a sale.
If you could match each closing technique with the perfect situation, it probably would reliably work.
The trouble is there is no perfect close because there are no perfect customers and no perfect selling situations.
But there is some information I can share with you…
You probably are having trouble closing the sale because you are approaching selling as a logical process, as if you could just get the customer to analyze the situation, they’d realize you had the perfect solution to their problem.
The more you analyze, the more your customer does too
Here’s a sales tip: the more you stay in an analytical mode of selling, the more you will keep your customer in the analytical mode of buying.
And that’s dangerous…
The best salespeople I know, the ones who are closing the most sales, engage the customer in a way that gets them out of the logical part of their mind - or, as I call it, the critical parent – and into the state of wonder.
The more times you get them to wonder, “What if I had this?” or “What if we?” the more times you’ll close the sale.
Discover: How to Turn a Sale Around
How the brain works…
Fight or flight
At its base is the old brain, the reptilian brain. It’s where the fight or flight mechanism kicks in – like when you're driving in traffic, and an ambulance with lights flashing comes up behind you. Your heart races, you might begin to sweat, and you feel trapped.
Salespeople can bring a customer to that old brain quickly by using words the customer doesn’t understand or making them feel trapped. Ever gone into an Apple store for a problem, and they ask, “Did you back it up lately?” That’s the feeling.
The critical parent
The middle section of the brain is where all the judgments and emotions come from – the critical parent who weighs every decision.
That analysis can work very well to remind you, for example, that while your buddy might feel it is OK to get drunk and streak at the company party, you want to keep your job.
Childlike wonder
The highest part of the brain is where creativity and wonder live. Think of the moment when you first looked up to the sky as a little kid or saw the person or car of your dreams. That awesome feeling can be encouraged.
Watch this very short video blog to learn how.
You sell more by encouraging a sense of wonder
If you have technically proficient employees, that is great ...but you can't feel a fact.
You need to get your experts out of stating feature after feature and share their wisdom.
When you help your customers picture owning the product, they feel smarter. They experience wonder. And say on their own without a bunch of canned closing techniques, "I'll take it" instead of "I'll look around."
Take my free 5-part email course to learn how your retail store can outsell any online retailer. Start with your first lesson by entering your name and email address below ...
