In today’s newsletter, I’ll share 3 concrete steps you can follow to close a deal today. Salespeople (especially Enterprise salespeople) love to explain how their sales processes are different, how it’s impossible to close a deal without involving all the stakeholders, etc, etc.
No matter what you sell, if you follow the 3 steps I’m about to share with you, you’ll close deals a lot faster. In fact, I closed one myself (I’ll admit, it was a small deal) in one day. Here’s the WhatsApp conversation I had:
Let’s dive in:
This question is the simplest to ask, yet most salespeople are afraid to ask it. Whenever you’re working on a deal (at any stage of the sales process), ask your prospects this exact question:
“When can you make a decision?”
This will uncover so many hidden blockers of a deal, and it’s the ultimate question to ask to understand if you’re speaking to someone with enough authority to put their signature on the contract.
If they can’t make a decision, you’re not talking to someone who can help you close a deal today. When that happens, you need to find out who’s the real boss, otherwise your deal is at risk of not closing.
If the prospect can make a decision, ask them what it would take to close the deal today. Don’t ask to close it tomorrow, next week, or in two weeks. Ask what it would take to close it TODAY.
This is another good test to understand if you’re speaking to a real decision-maker. If they are serious about working with you, they won’t let a good deal go away and they’ll close it today. If they aren’t serious, they’ll take their time.
When you ask someone with authority what it takes to close a deal today, you’re the closest you can be to reading their minds.
If you followed steps 1 and 2, you’ll get a list of conditions to get the deal closed today. If the deal is good for you, you can accept it right away and lock in the signature (or the bank transfer). If the deal isn’t good, then you need to enter in negotiation mode.
Come back with a counter offer and see if the prospect is willing to play (it becomes a game at that point). Repeat until you find an agreement with the prospect.
One key point in this whole process is to never forget that it’s better to get $1.000 today than a potential $1.200 tomorrow. So many things can go wrong in 24 hours, which is why the saying “Time kills all deals” is a reality you need to keep in your mind when working in sales.
And these are 3 steps you can follow to close a deal today. Remember to always ask when they can make a decision, ask what it would take to close a deal today, and assess and negotiate until you come to an agreement.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Thibaut Souyris
P.S. When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:
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