Tuesday, March 18, 2008

What is the Best Closing Technique?

Hmmmm--tough question. Perhaps the best closing technique is to always ask for the sale.

I remember one time many moons ago when I had a customer come on the lot and look at a pick up truck. I did a great meet and greet, asked a lot of questions about his wants and needs, built some great rapport in the process, went on a wonderful test drive where the customer absolutely seemed to love the truck and got back to the dealership. You know what he said to me?

"Thanks--you did a great job. I appreciate it." He then proceeded to walk away from me leaving me with my jaw hanging all the way to the ground. I was about to let him leave when I yelled something towards him.

"Jim--hold up." I walked towards him and said, "Jim--we just drove your perfect truck--why don't you buy it?"

Believe it or not, he stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes rolled up for a few seconds while he went over a few things in his head. Finally, he said, "You're right. I'll take it."

Wow--I almost let a buyer walk away from the lot. You know what else? I have never let that happen since.

I sold real estate for a year and if you think the car business is tough, try selling real estate. Here are some comparisons.

Customer doesn't like product.

Real Estate: You have to schedule another showing which means calling up the real estate office that has the listing, finding out when you can show it and setting up a new showing with your customer.

Cars: You just walk them to a different car.

Customer Agrees to Buy Product:

Real Estate: You have to get them a mortgage, get inspections, set up a closing and wait (30-60 days)

Cars: You run their credit, submit them over the internet, have an answer in 30 seconds, get the car cleaned, do the paperwork (30-60 minutes)

You get what I'm talking about? Well, when I sold real estate for my one year, I sold 1 property--a pizza parlor owned by a friend of mine. You know who bought it? A fellow real estate salesperson's brother. I listed one property that sold. After getting into the car business, I started reading books on how to sell and I tried to learn from the above average salespeople on the lot and you know what I learned?

I never asked for the sale! And when I say never, I mean NEVER! Wow--how many listings and sales did I miss?

I would go into a house and a family and I could tell that they loved it. I would then say something like, "Wow--nice house, isn't it?" and they would say yes. Then I would just stand there with my hands in my pocket and create an objection for them. I would say something like, "Why don't you go home and think about it and let me know?" and then I would never see them again.

Try this during your next sales process. Say something like, "It sounds like we found the perfect car for you. Are you going to title it in just one name or both names?" Only one of two things can then happen. They can tell you how many names they are going to title it in or they are going to give you an objection. Either way, you are closer to making a sale than you would have been by not asking for the sale.

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