Why can’t sales staff close the deal in one meeting?

Dear Aunty,

I have taken your advice a number of times so I hope you can help.

I have expanded my sales team to take advantage of the recovery. We are getting the appointments and sending back briefs but the new staff are not closing the deals.

They are younger and less experienced than some of the old hot shots in the team. But they are hard working and making lots of appointments. I can’t put my finger on what they are doing wrong.

I have gone out with them on a few appointments and the only thing I can see them doing wrong is they don’t walk out the door with the deal done. When I asked them why, they say that’s old style selling but I say it bloody works!

They keep trying to get me to read all this stuff about long-term partnerships. But you can have long-term partnerships and still do a deal in one meeting!

ST,
NSW

Dear ST,

I share your frustration. In my opinion the world is divided into two groups: the soft sellers and the great sellers. Put it this way – a client has a job to do which is to buy the best products or services they need at a price that will give the company what they want and help them sell to their customers.

So the faster your sales person can help them do their job the better!

Your sales person should be well versed in the potential client’s vision and its story before they step in the door. They should also know what problems your client wants to solve. That means when they go to the appointment they can listen carefully and then present solutions. As the meeting is wrapping up, your sales people should ask the question? Do you like it and do you want to buy it?

A lot of sales people balk at asking that question because they are scared the client will say no and no. They would rather leave that question unasked and go back to the office and then just send proposal after proposal that doesn’t hit the mark until the deal gradually dies.

Spend the last few minutes thrashing out the specifics. Get your young staff to think about this: “What will it take for this deal to be done now before I walk out the door?” Get them to then run through the scenario and ask the client: ‘Do you want more of this, less of this? What if it came at this date and out off this budget?’

Of course, no one wants aggressive, emotionally stupid salespeople thrusting deals down their neck. On the other hand a deal done is a done deal.

Take your staff out with you again and get them to concentrate on the last minutes of the meeting. You could also get someone to come and train them to close.

Good luck!
Your Aunty B

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