Overcoming the Fear of Closing a Sale

Overcoming the Fear of Closing a SaleOvercoming the Fear of Closing a SaleYou put in a lot of work prospecting, qualifying, building rapport, designing a proposal, and delivering presentations, and now its time to close the sale. But maybe your palms begin to sweat. Your heart starts beating faster. Your stomach begins to churn. You become increasingly self-conscious. Youre afraid to do it. Sound familiar? Youre bedrngnis alone. This scenario describes how many sales professionals feel when theyre trying to close a deal. But thankfully, anyone can move through the fear to a confident close with the right approach and mindset. Remember Your Why Take some time to look past your sales quotas and commission goals and remember why you do what you do. Think about what makes you passionate about the product or service that youre selling, and list the ways that it ultimately helps people. This is your why. If you approach every close as a chance to personally ensure that a prospect is ha ving their needs met and their problems solved - a chance to help and serve them - then it can suddenly seem a little less scary. Yes, a sale does result in a profit, but more importantly, it results in a happy customer. Dont Get Discouraged by a No Hearing no from a prospect doesnt necessarily mean that you should give up and move on. If you ask for a sale and receive a no, it doesnt mean there will be no sale. It often means that the prospect needs more information or you need to help them more clearly see the value of the product or service youre selling. Fear of rejection is often a major source of anxiety for salespeople. In most cases, you shouldnt abandon a close after getting the first - or even third - no, although you may be tempted to. Instead, keep building rapport, asking and answering questions, demonstrating value,and showing your prospect that you can provide the solution to their problems. Finding out why the prospect gave you a no will help you better understa nd a prospects needs so you can better explain how you can meet them. Many successful salespeople look at a no as an opportunity to get to a yes. In fact, you can even ask a prospect what it would take to turn that no into a yes. Have a Plan for Handling Objections By the time you get to the close, you should have a comprehensive understanding of your prospects needs and demonstrated how you can meet them. If you asked the right questions, then you should also have a solid understanding of all of the possible objections that could come up during that particular customers close. If you know the possible objections, then you can prepare responses to them. Or better yet, you can try using the preemptive strike method - bringing up and then busing objections before the prospect even has a chance to do it. You can prepare responses to common objections you see across customers, but also make sure youre able to handle any objections that are particular to that company. Prepared salesp eople are confident closers. Brush up on how to close a sale, whether youre a beginner or a veteran. Get to know at least three basic strategies for closing a sale. Only Promise What You Can Deliver Making promises that youre elend certain you can deliver on is bound to cause any salesperson anxiety before the close. But if you enter a closing conversation knowing that you have not over-promised and do not run the risk of under-delivering, then itll be easier for you to view the close as a natural part of the business cycle. While you shouldnt fall prey to the attitude of being owed a sale, you can go into the close with more confidence knowing youre done the best you could do to earn the business. Know When its Time to Move On Even the best sales professionals in the world understand that no one can close every sale. Remembering that can help take an awful lot of pressure off your back. And the more relaxed you are during a sales close, the better off you and your prospect will be. If you asked for the sale a few times and cant get the prospect to become a customer, you may need to regroup, develop a new strategy and take some time away from the prospect. Anxiety is often caused when trying too hard to close a deal or trying too often to close a deal that just cant be closed. If you have approached a closing opportunity with a positive attitude, knowing that you have delivered your best and that your proposal is a sound one that makes business sense and your customer simply says not interested, it may be time to move on. Remember The Close is Not the End Another cause of closing anxiety is the belief that closing is the final step of the sales cycle. Closing a sale is actually a chance to begin a new kind of relationship with a prospect. Once you ask for and earn a sale, they become a customer - hopefully a loyal, repeat customer that can be a positive reference for you in the future.