how to close the deal: what do you say?

[huggytree]

So I give them my whole sales pitch, write up a contract and hand it to them.....now what?

i used to not say anything, just goodbye......i assumed no one will immediately sign something for thousands of dollars...once in a while they would just sign it on the spot and surprise me

now i always say "are you interested in signing today and moving forward?"

cant say its worked yet......but it gives me insight to what they really are thinking...i gauge their facial expressions.....listen closely to what they say for clues to if they are going to sign someday or not.

im not much for high pressure sales and refuse to do that, but feel you should 'ask' for the sale at the end

what do you say? what should i try differently?

[billbenson]

I agree no high pressure. At the time you give them the quote or perhaps even earlier in the process you probably know whether they are a likely customer. I agree as well with reading their subtle reactions when reading the contract.

At that point you want to say something that will give you more information. - What do you think? Any questions? Anything you would like me to change? - Any subtitle probing question along those lines will give you more information. If he comes back with something like "it seems kind of pricy" You can say well lets go through it and see if there is anywhere we can get the costs down. That's your opportunity to sell him on your quality work and show him why to use the good fixtures etc. It just becomes another opportunity to sell him.

[Steve B]

I say, "would you like me to put you on our schedule?".

[greenoak]

bills points are really good....to get them talking to you... at the end i would probabaly say ...thanks for taking my quote. just call me anytime...heres my card...and be positive....

[huggytree]

I say, "would you like me to put you on our schedule?".

ive done this too

i like Bills points to try to get them talking....i could say 'does this fit into your budget?' as a way to look for cheaper alternatives...im sure many people get price shock and revise their expectations on the next bids...leaving mine behind....im sure this happens often since its very common to be 2x what the homeowner thinks it will be...

[Spider]

"Are you interested in signing today and moving forward?"

I don't like that question - "signing" is commitment. Sure, that's what you want but "signing" is big and scary. I also don't like, "Does this fit into your budget?" - because it focuses on the money and you are all about quality.

Okay. Let's consider this for a moment. You talk of "contract" when I thought you had prepared a bid or estimate. Very often, the bid/estimate is signed by the purchaser and it becomes a contract because you have your terms and conditions on the back and there is a reference on the front to those T&Cs. That's another reason people often hesitate to sign.

How about giving them a single sheet of the estimate form, backside uppermost, for them to read while you are preparing the estimate. You are being particularly open and honest which adds to your credibility. Then, when you hand them your estimate, the terms and conditions are out of the way.

Now, the close --

"Have I included everything?" - that gets their attention away from the price column on to the work column. If you haven't included everything, you can then include it; if all the work is included, and they baulk at the price, their attention is already focused on where the solution is to be found - not in the price column but in the work column, and your conversation can proceed along those lines - adjusting the work to get to the price they want. This gets them totally away from the idea of adjusting the prices.

When the work has been adjusted and the total recalculated, say - "Great! If you will just initial those changes, and I will, too." Pass the estimate to them for initialling (initialling is a lot less scary that signing), then you initial the changes, too, then ask for the confirmation - "If you would confirm all that there (pointing to the signature line) I can get this started for you."

And, if they now say, "I want to think about it," you can try, "Sure. Is here anything specific I can answer for you now, while I am here?" If not, "Then I'll leave that (the estimate) with you and I'll call you in a couple of days, okay?"


Just a note - when handing them the estimate and the pen for intialling the changes, take the estimate back but have a second pen in your hand for you to intial the changes. That leaves your new client with a pen in his hand for when you hand the estimate back for his "confirmation."

[Russ in Vancouver]

Right from the beginning I ask alot of questions about what they want and what they expect, then after I understand their situation I will ask about their budget, now I will know if they are realistic or not. Then I can categorize them as an A buyer, B buyer or a get out of the door as soon as possible dud. I treat the A,B and C's all different after I have pre qualified them.

This is one that I try to use every time I get called in for a face to face, I ask them over the phone if they will be interviewing others in the field. If they say yes I will try to find out how many and when is their last meeting. Once I have a better idea of who and when, I will try my best to be the last meeting. This way they will often divulge some information from their previous meetings and I may have a chance to offer something more attractive to them (or start making my way to the door). Some will even come right out and ask if I will beat the price of the last fellow. Depending upon the expectations of the client, I may or may not. But one thing I may know for sure, is I they have not decided yet and I still have a great chance to close the deal right now without them saying "please wait a few more days because we have 2 more contractors to see"

I'm not sure how it works in your trade, but in mine I will tell my A prospects that I will educate them and be available to take their calls and emails if they have any questions along the way because I want them to make the best well informed decisions and I want them to be happy with my work so that they remember to use me again in the future will feel confident about refering me to their friends and colleauges. I emphasize that I want them to be happy with my work.

Sorry if I went off the path a little but I hope I can help out a little.

[MyITGuy]

I would recommend avoiding the "Is this within your budget" during any closing. This information should be obtained during the discovery phase and accounted for when your drawing up the contract. I find myself asking my clients what their budget is and they seem to have no issues providing me this information (Sometimes I even get to see competing quotes), which means this isn't an issue when I present them with my quote. Additionally I always try to come in 10-15% under budget as I find clients tend to inflate their numbers a bit =P

I utilize a variation of "would you like me to put you on our schedule?" as well.

Something else to consider is your quoting method. I've recently implemented electronic quoting that allows the customer to view and sign their quote electronically if they don't want to sign while I'm on-site. When the client views my quote online I get an e-mail notification which allows me to gauge their interest and follow up as needed.

[billbenson]

I utilize a variation of "would you like me to put you on our schedule?" as well.

That's very similar to "would you like to start today or would tomorrow be better" or "would you like to pay by check or credit card" or similar statements to try to close the customer. It's straight out of sales 101 but IMO its also high pressure. I don't like it at all for selling any professional product. If you are selling cell phones in a mall "would you like the green one or blue one" can fly. I would never use this approach on a professional level!