Book Summary — The Secrets of Closing the Sale
You can find all my book summaries — here.
One of my favourite quotes comes from this book:
You can have everything in life you want
if you will just help enough other people to get what they want.
Zig Ziglar describes and gives examples for some of the best way to persuade anyone to buy something from you — the keys are belief in your product, voice inflection and questions.
Learn as much as you can about your prospect and capitalise on that information. Learn how to use voice inflections. Break the price into small segments. Optimitstically sell, and be hard of hearing. Ask questions to identify the problem and lead the prospect to the decision. Find out what he needs to solve his problem, and show him how he can solve his problem with your product.
The below is nowhere near to a comprehensive summary — but just a few core principles which I wanted to capture so I don’t forget them.
Psychology of the Close
Refuse
Some of your best prospects say they are not interested, even though they know they want or need your product, but think they are not in the position to buy right now
Ownership Close
It’s all about framing
“And just look at your fireplace with all those bookshelves around it for your books”
Don’t hear everything
Most salespeople need to be a little hard of hearing when the prospect says he’s not interested.
Affordable Close
You don’t discuss the full price of the item, but rather the little bit extra they have to pay above the price they already agreed to.
Bride Close
I can just buy later, right?
When my wife and I got married we made a financial mistake. Getting married costs money, and any time you spend money you might well be making a mistake. Had we just waited 20 years, we could truly have had a honeymoon to end all honeymoons! When we started our family, it was a mistake. It did — and does — cost money. Had we waited just another ten or fifteen years, we could have given the children so much more….
If you wait until all lights are green before you head into town, you’re going to stay at home for the rest of your life.
Alternate of Choice Close
Would you like to take it with you or should we send it out?
Conviction
The prospect is persuaded more by the depth of your conviction than he is by the height of your logic.
Voice Inflection
Using voice inflection and change of pace helps to hod your prospect’s attention. That’s important, because if he isn’t listening, he won’t get the message and information necessary to make the yes decision.
You Justify or He Defends
“This is ridiculous!”
“This is ridiculous?” ← inflection on the last word
It forces the prospect to defend his statement and explain why it’s ridiculous, rather than you justifying why it’s not ridiculous ← you will get to the bottom of the underlying issue.
Cost Close
“Are you concerned about the Price or the Cost?”
Price is what you pay, cost is what the lifetime of the product will cost you if you buy it. Crappy product, lots of maintenance, malfunction, nerves, etc way bigger cost.
Quality Close
Many years ago our company made a decision. We decided that it would be easier to explain price one time, than it would be to apologise for quality forever.
The Heart of your Sales Career
Believers are Closers!
If you don’t believe the customers are the losers when they don’t buy, you are selling the wrong product.
Empathy vs Sympathy
Sympathy means you feel like another person feels. Empathy means you understand how the other person feels, though you do not feel the same way.
Be empathetic! Understand how the prospect feels, back away from the problem and able to offer a solution.
The Sales Professional
Stood Up Close
If they stood you up before, they could not say ‘No’ to you in person — so you’ve got the sale in your hand now.
Impossible Child Close
If they can’t say ‘No’ to a child, they can’t to a salesperson.
Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.
Stories
Your mind drifts less when you hear a story and it’s far easier to remember.
Questions
When you’re talking with a prospect, please remember that in most cases he’s delighted to give you pertinent information if you’ll just ask for it!
When there are any objections, it is infinitely better to bring them out at the very beginning.
Puppy Dog Close
Let the product speak for itself — trial!
Imagination and World Pictures
Break down cost into small pieces
Whatever the difference is split it across the lifetime of the product and divide by days / # of times you will use it and show the prospect how little it is on a unit basis.
Let them see how much it costs them to NOT have your product or how much they are paying by not having it.
People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.
Many sales are lost because the salesperson simply never asks the question if the prospect wants to buy.
Word pictures should paint:
- beauty
- luxury
- love
- satisfaction
- enjoyment
- success
Fear
Paint pictures! Create a motive.
“It’s not cancer — yet”
“No I don’t think you need a major overhaul — yet”
Oooh and Aaah Close
“This next product we call the Oooh and Aaah product, because that’s what your dinner guests will say when they see it for the rest of your life”
The Nuts and Bolts of Selling
The best way to deal with objections is to deal with them before they occur.
A bit of humour can work wonders: “so ladies and gentlemen if you don’t want to cut your hand I would recommend keeping it out of the machine”
Too expensive? “Agree — as good things aren’t cheap and cheap things aren’t great”
Restate objections and soften them + finish them off with a question to get buy in.
4 Question Close
- Do you like it?
- Do you want it?
- Can you afford it?
- When do you want to enjoy its benefits?
Alternate Choice Close
You seem to be leaning towards the blue or would you prefer the red?
Did you want us to use your credit card or would you prefer to pay in cash?
Question Close
Ask lots of them — to find objections and problems — understand your customer
Don’t ask your prospect what they’re THINKING but how they FEEL about it — use the emotional part of the brain not the logical
Tie Down Close
Do you want it if it comes in green?
The extra power / feature gives a real bonus, doesn’t it?
Lost Sale Close
Before leaving — tell them you feel sad that they didn’t buy, but you really want to know why and how you failed and get the real reason out of them
The Keys in Closing
Positive Projection
Before you go into the Sale, you know you will make it!
Physical Action
Physical cleanliness + letting the customer TRY
Presidential Close
- Are you an honest person?
- If the president came tonight would he get a room?
- You can take my word for it — he won’t come tonight. I’ll take the room.
3 Question Close
- Can you see how this saves you money?
- Do you want to save money?
- When do you think would be the best time to save money?