Secrets of Closing the Sale

by Zig Ziglar

To paraphrase Socrates—who may have said it best—“If you make a statement to which your prospect will readily agree (cannot refute), then ask a series of questions based on that agreement, and then ask a concluding question based on those agreements . . . , you will force the desired response.” This is precisely the method used by successful trial attorneys to transfer their feelings to juries.

Most salespeople know the importance of asking questions, but too many of them make a couple of serious mistakes in the questioning process. First of all, they take the “police investigator” approach and are a little too aggressive and assertive. The salesman’s attitude is critical. He must remember the service attitude is the one to take. He should never ask the first question without getting permission. You get permission this way: “Mr. Prospect, in order for me to determine how we might be able to help you, I need to ask you a few questions. Do you mind if I ask them now?” This procedure not only gets the positive response, but it also tells the prospect why you are going to ask the questions. This clears the way for asking the questions and subconsciously obligates the prospect to answer them.

The “Tennis Racket” Close I’m confident I am accurate with the statement that every veteran salesman has completed a presentation to a husband-wife team only to be confronted with this dialogue: Husband: “What do you think, honey?” Wife: “Well, that’s entirely up to you.” Husband: “No, you’d be the one to use it.” Wife: “Yeah, but you’d be the one to pay for it,” and he says . . . and she says . . . and he says . . . and back and forth it goes. When this happens, you can rest assured that one of the three situations exists. Number one, both of them want to say yes; number two, neither of them wants to say yes; or number three, one votes yes and one votes no. However, you can be even more certain that neither one of them wants to make the decision. Each one keeps knocking the ball back to the other one’s court by saying, “You make the decision.” Since they are knocking the ball back and forth across the net, we call this one the “Tennis Racket” Close. It’s important you understand that if you just sit on the sidelines and watch the “game” and permit them to knock that ball across the net more than a couple of times, one of them (and most of the time it’s the husband) will smile and say, “I know we’re going to buy your product, but unfortunately, she can’t make up her mind.” Handle It This Way Here’s how you avoid that situation. After the couple has knocked that decision ball back and forth across the net a couple of times, hold up your hand and say, “Scuse me.” (In some se...

“Instead of handling the decision emotionally, let me suggest we borrow a page from the life of one of the wisest men our country ever produced. His name was Benjamin Franklin. When he was confronted with a difficult decision, he would take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center. On the left-hand side he wrote ‘Reasons For,’ and on the right-hand side he wrote ‘Ideas Opposed.’ (This was altered slightly by the late Percy Whiting, author of The Five Great Rules of Selling.) “What I suggest, Mr. Prospect, is that we follow the same procedure, which in its simplest form is to look at the facts for and against the purchase and then let the facts make the decision. By following that procedure, folks, neither one of you can be wrong and, regardless of what you decide, you both will be right. Does that idea appeal to you, Mr. and Mrs. Prospect?” (You can depend on it—it does!) Here’s Why You Should Go Ahead (At this point you take your talking pad and draw a line down the middle and print “Reasons For” on the top left side and “Ideas Opposed” on the top right side.) “There are many reasons you should go ahead.” You say, “Number one, you like it.” However, you don’t number the reasons for or against the purchase until you sum them up. You do not number the “Reasons For” because it provokes a numbers contest between “Reasons For” and “Ideas Opposed.” The prospect might construe this as a challenge to try to come up with more reasons against. Some of the “Ideas Opposed” co...

The “Hat in Hand” Close

You get up to leave and as you head for the door, you turn to the prospect and say, “Mr. Prospect, I’m embarrassed to ask you this, but it would mean a lot to my career if you would help me by answering a question [an amazing number of people are willing to help and will indicate this willingness].” You then say, “Obviously, you have not done any business with us today and that’s all right. I certainly don’t sell everybody. I had hoped you would buy because I thought our product fit your needs. However, you have chosen not to buy and I feel badly about it because I did not explain it thoroughly enough to make the benefits more obvious. It would really be helpful to me, as I call on other people, if you would identify the mistakes I made and where I dropped the ball as a salesman.” You will get an amazing number of answers, but in most cases they will say, “It wasn’t your fault at all. We didn’t buy because . . .” and at this point they will bring up the real reason. When this happens, you clap your hands or snap your fingers and say, “Oh, boy! Did I ever blow it! No wonder you hesitated to act until now! Had I been in your shoes, I would have done exactly the same thing. How could I have made such a mistake?” You quickly open your briefcase, give him the answer to the objection, and close by asking if this makes the difference in his decision. This doesn’t happen often, but from personal experience I can tell you there is the occasional sale which can be gained with this m...

Remember, when a person brings up a logical objection you answer it emotionally, and when he brings up an emotional objection you answer it logically.

The eleven keys in selling are: 1. Positive Projection 2. The Assumptive Attitude 3. Physical Action 4. Enthusiasm 5. The Subordinate Question 6. Listen 7. The Impending Event 8. Persistence 9. Inducement 10. Sincerity 11. The Narrative Event

Your dress is so critically important I urge you to do two things: First of all, buy a book such as John T. Molloy’s Dress for Success or his New Women’s Dress for Success. There are other books available on the subject as well in which you will find many excellent guidelines.

The body doesn’t lie and that’s just one of the reasons you should learn to lean forward with the complete expectancy of making the sale when you ask for the order.

The “Three Question” Close One of the simplest and most effective closes is the “Three Question” Close, which you use after you have convinced your prospect that your product or service will save money, time, work, etc. As an example, if you’ve been demonstrating the money-saving feature, the three questions are: 1. “Can you see where this would save you money?” 2. “Are you interested in saving money?” (Wait for answer.) 3. “If you were ever going to start saving money, when do you think would be the best time to start?”

You Can—You Must—Learn to Ask Questions Many times people ask me how they can learn to ask questions. The first thing I’m going to tell you is obvious: Study—don’t just read—this book. Take all of the questions (there are over eight hundred in this book) and rephrase them so they relate directly to your business. Then record those questions with the right voice inflection and listen repeatedly until they are firmly embedded in your subconscious mind.

Additionally, you should learn how to ask questions by talking with the top salespeople and sales trainers with your company or by asking other salespeople who sell similar products. Ask them the specific questions they use to (1) arouse interest, (2) sell benefits, (3) get appointments, (4) secure prospects, (5) close the sale, (6) tie down the order, and (7) convey conviction. Keep your eyes and ears open when you go out to shop or when a salesperson comes calling on you.

Here’s a simple little formula for listening with your eyes: It’s called the “CHEF Method” of listening. C stands for “chin” or “cheek.” When the prospect begins to rub either his chin or cheek or holds either one in his hand, it is a satisfaction/gratification sign. In his mind he’s already using and enjoying the benefits of the goods or services you’re selling. It is a buying signal, telling you that now is the time to close. H is for “hands.” Watch your prospect’s hands. If he is gently massaging palm against palm or palm against the back of the other hand, in his own mind the prospect has already assumed ownership of whatever you are selling. He’s telling you he is ready to buy. E stands for “eyes.” Watch them. It’s a fact that the wider the eyes are open the more intently he is listening, the more he’s understanding, and the more he’s buying. To magnify this one a bit, many of the advertisements you see today on television have been checked by the use of cameras. The commercials are shown to a group of people who are never questioned about their sentiments concerning the commercials. Instead, high-powered cameras focus on the eyes of the individuals who are watching. The degree of dilation of the prospect’s pupils determines whether or not that prospect is really buying the idea in the commercial. Interestingly enough, the prospect might say he loved the commercial, but if the pupils are not dilating, the commercial is rejected. As I say, body language doesn’t lie. Yo...

Frank Bettger, in his magnificent book How I Multiplied My Income and Happiness in Selling,

The “Signature” Close

Feel, Felt, Found

You must practice, drill, and rehearse before you use the “Signature” Close because many times a prospect will say he doesn’t sign anything until he talks to his wife, lawyer, or banker; sleeps on it; thinks about it; etc. You respond with the oldest lead-in of them all: “I know exactly how you feel because for a long time I felt exactly the same way. [Pause.] When I analyzed it I found that everything I have or own which has any value to me I acquired only after I signed my name” (feel, felt, found).

The Internet also provides the sales professional with a variety of sites that allow you to access sales training and sales tips. You can start each selling day with a quick visit to your favorite sales web site, like www.ziglartraining.com, for a sales tip of the day. Another such site is www.sellingpower.com, and there are many others.

Lead Sources Lead sources are another valuable service the Internet can offer. As a sales professional, you can purchase lists of customers by geography, by SIC code, by zip code, by industry, etc. Many sites publish this information or make these lists available, such as www.infousa.com and www.zapdata.com.

Index of Closes Abraham Lincoln Close, 184 Accessory Close, 207 Action Now Close, 225 Add On Close, 78 Affordable Close, 23 Alternate of Choice Close, 35, 299 And Then Some Close, 395 Answer for Everything Close, 70 Assumptive Close, 273, 355 Believer’s Close, 87 Ben Franklin Close, 326 Bride Close, 34 Can’t Afford It Close, 100 Challenge Close, 238 Choice Close, 317 Click Close, 232 Cokes and Smokes Close, 244 Columbus Close, 120 Companion Close, 243 Complimentary Close, 178 Corner Close, 246 Cost Close, 64 Courtship Close, 122 Deserve It Close, 308 Diagram Close, 222 Dinner Out Close, 378 Disclosure Close, 322 Embarrassment Close, 21 Empathy Close, 98 Enthusiasm Close, 366 Extra Close, 76 Fair Enough Close, 47 Fear Close, 258 Fear of Loss Close, 62 Feel Good Close, 188 Four Question Close, 293 Front Line Close, 241 Get ’Em Smiling Close, 94 Gloomy Gus Close, 79 Go Giver Close, 106 Greatest Salesman Close, 377 Hat in Hand Close, 330 Hep ’Em Git It Close, 380 I Can Get ’Em Close, 393 I’ll Treat You Right Close, 394 Imagination Close, 231 Impending Event Close, 384 Impossible Child Close, 163 Integrity Close, 398 Kreepy Krauly Close, 355 Look and Listen Close, 365 Love Close, 157 Marriage Close, 228 Menu Close, 262 Minor Decision Close, 324 Mother Close, 332 Narrative Close, 402 Neiman-Marcus Close, 347 New Decision Close, 48 Next One Close, 40 Nice People Close, 243 1902 Close, 22, 213 No Procedure Close, 226 Now or Never Close, 36 Obligation Close, 302 Oooh and Aaah Close...

He has written twenty-two books, including See You at the Top, Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World, Top Performance, Success for Dummies, Over the Top, and Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar. Nine of his books have been on best-seller lists, and his books and tapes have been translated into more than thirty-eight languages and dialects.

Other books by Zig Ziglar: See You at the Top Dear Family Steps to the Top Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World Top Performance Courtship after Marriage Ziglar on Selling Over the Top Something to Smile About Zig Ziglar’s Little Instruction Book Success for Dummies Confessions of a Happy Christian Confessions of a Grieving Christian Breaking Through to the Next Level What I Learned on the Way to the Top Something to Smile About Something Else to Smile About Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World You Can Reach the Top Life Lifters Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar