Prospects

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Why is it so important that the prospect buys now? Because when the mood to buy is high, resistance is low and attention is focused on making the purchase. The prospect wants to get this item off of his to-do list. If you let this window of high opportunity pass, then the prospect may get distracted and spend his money elsewhere. The prospect may find another priority that trumps your offering. Just because a prospect expresses the intent to buy from you, does not mean things won’t change or other priorities might arise. Give your prospect the satisfaction and peace of mind that an immediate purchase will bring. Give yourself the immediate revenue you need.

Let’s take a look at what prospects need, because you should understand that purchasing from you now is a good thing, whether the prospect expresses some hesitation or not. What about that person who needs a dress on Saturday? If it’s Monday, she needs to buy the dress now because she will need to make sure she can get the right shoes and the right hose and the right accessories. If she waits until Thursday or Friday to buy that dress, what if it doesn’t fit quite right? Oh, my gosh! She’s in trouble. So she needs to get the dress now so that she can get everything else in place by Saturday. If you let her walk out of the store without a dress, you are doing her a disservice. She will be stressed out the rest of the week worrying about the dress. And when she comes back, if she comes back, to your store on Thursday, maybe you will be sold out of her size or her color. Now you have set her up for a disaster. If you are in the fashion business, it is your job and your mission to prevent your customers and potential customers from experiencing a fashion disaster.

I am not joking around. It is your job to prevent the fashion crisis. If you see every prospect walking into your dress shop as a person you can save from a fashion melt-down, you will be sure to give each customer an excellent fashion solution in plenty of time for whatever event is coming up. Every time you let a prospect walk out without a good fashion solution in her shopping bag, you have thrown someone to the fashion wolves to be mercilessly ravaged. Why would you do that to someone?

If someone is looking to rent a storage unit from your self storage place and it’s your busy season, the prospect needs to rent from you now because you don’t know what you’re going to have available tomorrow. Whatever you’re selling, you need to find a way to build some urgency for that person. Limited availability, limited time, limited opportunity – these are things that help people decide, “I’m going to buy now.” If they think it’s urgent, they will think they need to do something about the situation now. They need a little nudge to say yes to the deal.

How do you, then, close the deal? Well, let’s talk a little bit about the concept of closing. I don’t know if you use the term the same way I would use the term in selling. Closing a call, closing a deal, is not saying, “Thanks for coming by; hope you buy from us.” That’s not closing. Closing is getting the signature on the deal – on the contract. Getting the check, getting the payment: that is closing the deal.

Now some people say that using the word Close sounds kind of harsh. It sounds like someone might get hurt. I’ve heard it said that you should think about making a sale as if you were opening up a new friendship, opening a new account or starting a new business relationship. This is a nice way of looking at it.

I still like the word Close, because it is the point where one relationship ends and another begins. This person is no longer your prospect after The Close. She is now your customer or your client. So you are closing an old chapter in your relationship. You are no longer the potential vendor. You are now the vendor/consultant/expert of choice. You are also closing the conversation. There is no longer any need to discuss the black dress for Saturday night. Everything has been decided. You can now close the conversation and complete the transaction. The customer can close her internal discussion of the purchase. There is no longer any need to fret about Saturday. The outfit has been decided. All is well. It is time to devote thought and energy to something else.

So, how do you close? Well, you have to ask questions that lead you to the “big yes.” The “big yes” is, “Yes, I’ll take this dress,” “Yes, I’ll rent that 10-by-10 storage unit,” “Yes, I’ll buy that puppy.” That’s the “big yes” you’re leading to. Your discovery questions and your agreements help you get to “yes” because every time someone agrees with you on a small topic, on a minor issue, on a simple concern, they’re building to the “big yes.” Each time you and the prospect agree on something, there are fewer things that will get in the way of their pending decision to buy now.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.