As a salesperson, it’s your job to close sales. Yet 35% of salespeople say it’s the most difficult part of the process. So what can you do about it? How can you locate the map to closing sales and turbocharge your success rate?
I’ve got two words for you: video recordings.
The First Hurdle: Eliminating the Dead Wood
Before we dive deeper into recording your calls, let’s get to the first big problem that salespeople face. If somebody doesn’t want to purchase your product, you’re not going to change their mind. No matter how good of a salesperson you are, you can’t simply change people’s minds. If someone doesn’t want to buy, they don’t want to buy. Full stop. End of story.
Change cannot be forced on somebody. It’s an internal free will choice. The best salespeople don’t try to change the prospect’s mind about something, rather they meet them at their level and then show them how their product will help with the prospect’s specific problem.
“I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David.”
In many ways, you’re like Michelangelo. The marble (prospects that aren’t interested) in the way of your David (ideal buyer) needs to be whittled down and chipped away until your ideal buyer is all that’s left. When you get good enough at visualizing your ideal buyer, you’ll know very early if the person you’re pitching to has any potential to actually make the purchase.
Once you’ve deduced that they may buy, you need to look out for signs that it’s going well: language, non-verbal cues, involving more people from their team, etc. These are all positive signs that we’ll discuss in a little more depth soon. The goal is to wrap it up as soon as the prospect is willing to commit. So here’s how you spot that they’re on the right path.
How to Spot Your Prospect’s Buying Signals?
To boost your sales, you’re gonna need to be able to spot your prospect’s buying signals during the meeting so you can naturally direct it towards a close. But what are buying signals, exactly?
What Are Buying Signals?
Anything that tells you that your prospect is interested in moving forward with the buying process is, by definition, a buying signal. Whether that’s verbal language, non-verbal tics or positive body language, or any other sign that tells you they are interested.
By spotting them as they happen, you are one step closer to mastering one of the most successful sales techniques. Salespeople who have a good feel for buying signals can close deals much faster and tend to have more confidence going into sales pitches.
The Cultural Caveat
The following list is not tailored to any specific culture. If your prospects are from all over the globe, there’s a good chance they will display similar traits to mean different things. There’s an additional layer of depth to be looked at.
For example, an American might seem super engaged but they’re just friendly and outgoing and aren’t actually that interested, whereas a German prospect might seem less excited initially but they could still be super down to purchase.
Always keep in mind the effects of culture on prospective buyers, and be sure not to mistake their cultural friendliness for a buying signal (but equally not cut the meeting short when you feel they aren’t so interested).
Buying Signals to Look Out For
1. The tl;dv Notification
When you record your meetings with tl;dv, you get a free transcript, AI notes, and an automatically generated summary. The recording is sent to the email addresses of all participants as soon as the meeting is over.
One of the great features to discover interest is when the tl;dv recording is watched, you’ll receive an email notification to let you know. If your prospect rewatches the call to go over the main points again, you’ll know they’re giving your offer some serious consideration. In fact, it’s the perfect time to send a follow-up email and arrange another call to confirm the deal.
2. Active Participation
Active participation shows that the prospect is paying attention. If they’re engaging in your pitch, asking questions, and bringing up their pain points and issues, chances are they’re liking what you’ve offered.
3. Nodding and Facial Expressions
Watch for nodding or positive facial expressions, like smiling or raised eyebrows. These non-verbal cues suggest agreement or interest in what you are saying. It’s very rare that somebody uninterested in what you’re saying will react this way. It shows a genuine interest in what you have to say.
4. Focused Attention
If the prospect is virtually maintaining eye contact (to both the screen and camera), you can be certain they are listening. If they’re looking around or fiddling with something, they’re probably not paying you as much attention as you’ll need to make a sale.
While this alone isn’t a definite buying signal, it’s a sign that you’re onto a winner and, combined with other signs, can be taken positively.
5. Asking Questions
If your prospect asks you questions about the product or service that you’re trying to sell, it shows clearly they are interested. Depending on what type of question they ask, this can indicate where they are on the spectrum of buying.
Are their questions cropping up during the demo or presentation? This is not just a sign of interest, but intense interest. If they’re not even waiting until the end to get their answers, they’re likely taking it seriously.
There are some questions that have “BUY” written all over them, though. Any time a prospect asks one of the following questions, you can be sure you’re getting very close:
- When can we start? – This shows they are eager to begin.
- What method of payment do you accept? – Any questions about payment are indicative of a prospect ready to strike a deal.
- How quickly will I see an improvement? – If the prospect is picturing themselves using the product, then they’re almost ready.
- When will it be delivered? OR How quickly can it be installed? – Questions about delivery, installation, and timing all point to the prospect wondering about how soon they can benefit from your solution.
- Can I speak to some existing customers? – This reveals the customer’s desire to move forward and hear some testimonials.
- Can I have a quote? – You can’t get a much bigger buy signal than someone asking how much it costs.
- Is it possible to try the service out first? – This type of question shows hesitancy but also a desire to commit if the service is as you stated. They have been told the facts, but they want to experience it for themselves before making the plunge. Totally reasonable. That’s why tl;dv offers a game-changing free plan!
- Can you tell me more about your company? – If a prospect is asking about your company, they’re likely taking the final steps before making a buying decision. They want to ensure your company is trustable and stable.
6. Verbal Affirmations
Look out for verbal cues and agreements such as “Yes,” “I see,” “Interesting,” or “Tell me more.” These indicate engagement and interest in what you’re presenting. They are good signs that the prospect is interested and taking what you say seriously. They’re imagining themselves using your product.
7. Requesting Additional Information
If the prospect asks to see some additional information like specific product demos or case studies, then these are usually strong signals of interest. They want to know more and have more details. Prospects that ask for more information are far more likely to purchase than those who just listen and tell you they’ll get back to you.
Having said that, there’s another caveat here: some people just want to stall. There’s a select group of prospective buyers that just don’t know how to say no, and in doing so, waste your time by dragging out the meeting longer than necessary. You’ll be able to spot whether their requests for additional information are genuine or not based on their other buying signals.
8. Discussing Use Cases, Scenarios or Previous Research
When the prospect starts discussing how they could use your product/service in their specific context, it suggests they are envisioning its application and finding value in it. When they do this, they’re imagining they already bought it. This is where you can start directing them towards making it a reality.
Similarly, if the prospect shows up with reams of research already compiled about your product, you can bet your bottom dollar they’re taking this seriously. This type of research can also come in the form of pre-written questions, especially if sourced from across their various teams. There couldn’t be a much bigger buy signal going into a call.
9. Talking About Compatibility
If the prospect asks about how your product can integrate with their existing systems or mentions compatibility with their needs, it shows they are considering its practicality.
First they imagine the ideal solution, then they work how to actually integrate it, then they decide it’s right for them. If a prospect is here, you’re almost ready to close the sale.
10. Positive Reactions to Success Stories
If you share testimonials or success stories with your prospect and they react positively, you can be confident that they’re getting ready to purchase. They empathize with the previous clients and are starting to really understand and appreciate the value in what you’re offering.
11. Expressing Time Sensitivity
When the prospect mentions they need a solution urgently or within a specific timeframe, it implies they are ready to move forward quickly if the fit is right. It usually means that they are almost decided and just need to iron out the last few kinks: usually practicality related.
Time sensitivity doesn’t have to be expressed verbally either. If your prospect gets back to you super quickly after a meeting, it shows they’re interested. They didn’t need a long time to think things over: the decision is basically made already.
12. Taking Notes
If you see your prospect taking notes, it usually means they are listening to what you’re saying and want to capture the most important parts. This is often a positive buying signal as it shows they want to remember the key details.
However, with tl;dv, making notes doesn’t have to distract you from the conversation. If you record your sales calls, which you should be doing anyway, you can make note-taking automatic. Let your prospect know at the very beginning that the call will be recorded and they’ll receive a copy at the end, then they don’t need to disconnect from the conversation to make notes. You can also timestamp important parts so that you or the prospect can jump straight back to the part that interested them.
tl;dv also has a built-in notetaker. You can type up notes manually as you’re participating, or you can sit back and let the intuitive AI do it for you.
What’s the Best Way to Improve How You Spot Buy Signals?
One of the best ways to get better at spotting buy signals, closing more calls, and boosting your sales is recording your sales pitches. With call recordings, you can analyze them afterwards to pick up on your prospect’s buying signals that you might’ve missed at the time.
When you start to recognize the ones you missed mid-call, you can become more aware of similar behavior next time. Doing this regularly will help you see, hear, and detect buying signals faster until it becomes second nature. Much like with discerning your prospect’s personality type, once you’ve got the swing of it, you can’t not notice it, and it’ll boost your sales no end.
Download tl;dv and Close Deals Faster
The way you market to the prospect is always down to you. Remember, you can’t convince people who don’t want to buy anything to buy your product, but you can position your product as a solution to a very specific problem, and in turn, spot your prospect’s buying signals to keep moving forward until you get the done deal.
With tl;dv, your job is made much easier. Download it for Google Meet or Zoom here and get started in moments.
