How To Close Sales: Top Insights To Win More Deals

The 11 Best Closing Techniques in Sales

1. Assumptive

An assumptive close is where you’re assuming that your customer wants to purchase your product, so you usher them along. Sometimes, your customers are giving off encouraging signs but haven’t quite pulled the trigger…

Signals To Look For

1. Body Language: If your prospect is showing positive body language, looks engaged, and is more relaxed whilst maintaining eye contact the whole time, the prospect might be open to an assumptive close.
2. Agreeing With You: When your prospect starts agreeing with your points regularly, it may be an indication that they’re ready to move to the next step. Phrases like “I understand,” “That makes sense,” and “I like the sound of that,” should be clear signs that your client wants to progress.

Signals to Avoid

1. Uncertainty: If your prospect is giving off confused signals or doesn’t seem swayed by your sales pitch, trying to assumptively close could be nailing your own coffin.
2. Challenges: If your client is raising concerns or challenging certain points of your pitch then they might not be ready to close because their concerns still need to be addressed. Assuming here will only drive a wedge between you.

2. Now or Never

The now or never close is a classic. Just dangle the bait in front of your customer and try to tempt them to bite. You need to stoke FOMO in the customer and incentivize them to buy now or fear losing out. 

Signals To Look For

1. Genuine Interest: If your customer is engaged in the conversation, asking you questions, and genuinely showing real interest, it’s probably a good time to use the now or never close.
2. Positive Feedback: Your customers might express positive feedback meaning they are more receptive to the now or never proposal.

Signals To Avoid

1. Customer Resistance: If you’re getting resistance or any disinterest, a now-or-never proposal could go pear-shaped.
2. Limited Budget: If you’re already aware of the customer’s budget constraints, pushing for something that’s not feasible could frustrate the customer.

3. Summary Close

A traditional method, summary closes involve summarizing every feature and positive influence your product will have for your customer. You want to nail down what they’re looking for – identify their pain points – and market your product as the solution to their problems. 

Signals to Look For

1. Actively Participating: If your prospect is engaged, asking questions and participating in the conversation with enthusiasm, they might be receptive to a summary close.
2. Solution in Mind: If prospects start to view your product or service as a potential solution to their problem, then the summary close reaffirms their beliefs and nudges them to close sales faster.

Signals To Avoid

1. Pushbacks: If you feel like your prospect is resistant and pushing back to your points, you might need to fully convince them first. Looking to summarize before they’re sold on the product is probably not the best idea. Instead, develop more trust by using testimonials, reviews, and demonstrations.
2. Indecisive Phrases: If the prospect says things like, “I’m not too sure,” or “Let me think about it,” it indicates they aren’t completely sold on the idea and are not convinced enough to commit.

4. Takeaway Close

Closing sales using the takeaway method will get you a yes or no answer pretty quickly. You create a sense of urgency by giving your prospect a deadline to decide. Your offer only stands until that deadline; afterwards, you’ll take additional value away. 

Signals to Look For

1. Indications of Exclusivity: If your prospect requests exclusivity or wants to be one of the first to benefit from the offer you’ve made, it’s a great time to close off the deal by leveraging the takeaway technique. 
2. Want to Compare: If your prospect suggests they’re going to compare prices and get back to you, you can use the takeaway close to force their hand into action.

Signals to Avoid

1. Resistance: If your prospect is resistant to some of your approaches, possibly even pushing back when you use more pressuring tactics, it’s definitely a sign not to use the takeaway close.
2. Indifference: When your prospect doesn’t jump at the chance of an exclusive offer, they may be indifferent to your proposal, so a takeaway close might not be effective. 

5. Soft Close

A soft close is one of the most important sales processes. Utilizing a soft close will ensure you conserve the relationship you’ve built with your customer. You gently guide them to give the go-ahead, without being too pushy or selling aggressively. 

Signals to Look For

1. Engagement and Positive Interest: When your prospect is fully engaged in the conversation and showing a genuine interest in your product then why not try and close softly? There’s no need to turn to more aggressive tactics.
2. Inquisitive Prospects: If your prospect asks lots of questions about the features, the price, and how it has helped others, they are likely to be interested and more receptive to a soft close.

Signals to Avoid

1. Distractions: When your prospect is distracted during the conversation or not really engaged, a soft close might not be effective. Go back to the beginning, and take important steps to re-engage with them before attempting to seal the deal.
2. Indecision: If your prospect appears to be unsure about what they want and what their goals are, a soft close likely won’t help lead to a clean-cut decision. Nurture and guide your prospects, provide added info, and help them be confident when making a choice.

6. Hard Close

A hard close is about being firm and direct, providing your customers with a choice, and requiring an on-the-spot decision. It’s regularly used when your customers are all but there to give the go-ahead, but still squabbling over tiny details. 

Signals to Look For

1. Real Interest: If the prospect shows a strong interest in what you’re offering, they might be more receptive to you going straight for the kill.
2. Authority: If you get confirmation that the prospect you’re talking to has the authority to sign off on the purchase, that’s the biggest green flag you can get. If they aren’t the decision maker, the hard close will never work.

Signals to Avoid

1. Lack of Trust: If your company isn’t universally trusted and it appears your prospect doesn’t have complete faith in you, then using a hard close and being aggressive is just the wrong choice. Focus on building rapport and credibility before trying to use a hard close.
2. Negative Verbal Cues: Listen out for negative verbal cues like “I’m not sold,” “I’m not too sure,” and “Let me think about it.” None of these cues indicate receptiveness for a hard close.

7. Trial Close

Trial closes tend to be used after you’ve already built quite a bit of rapport with your prospect. It allows you to better assess the buyer’s readiness to make a purchase by directly asking for their opinion rather than asking to buy.

Signals to Look For

1. Seeking extra information: If your prospect is looking to discuss more about what your product has to offer, proposing a free trial whilst closing is a great way to take advantage of your prospect’s curiosity.
2. Receptive language: If your prospect is using affirmative and receptive language like “I really like that,” “That’s great,” or “I’d like to know more,” then it’s a good sign that a trial close could be best.

Signals to Avoid

1. Lack Of Next Steps: If your prospect isn’t clear about the next steps of the journey, lay it out for them before trying a trial close. It works better when the prospect fully understands the product and brand.

8. Incentive Close

An incentive close is the cherry on top of an already mouth-watering cake. It’s a technique used to sprinkle in a little extra something, usually at a reduced rate, to sweeten the deal to get full commitment. 

Signals To Look For

1. Interest in Value: If your prospect shows interest in the product’s value for money, yet hasn’t quite committed, throwing in an extra incentive could easily tip the scales in your favor.
2. Price Concerns: If your prospect has already expressed concerns about the price and how it’s going to be an issue, then an incentive close may be the best option. If the first three months of a subscription are discounted, that could be all it takes to close the sale.

Signals To Avoid

1. Lack of Interest: If your prospect is showing a lack of interest in your product, then extra offerings probably aren’t going to help you get the deal over the line. However, this could be a beneficial close if the incentive you offer directly appeals to the prospect’s pain points.
2. Reliant on Discounts: If your prospect is constantly discussing the price and is not focused on the value, they may simply be trying to get it as cheap as possible and not care about much else.

9. Question Close

Closing the sale with a well thought out question pushes your customer to commit. It helps you overcome objections by directly questioning the positive benefits so that the prospect acknowledges them. 

Signals to Look For

1. Positive Engagement: If your prospect is actively engaged with the conversation and responding well to all your questions, then they may take a question close attempt in good spirits. 
2. Trivial Objections: If your prospect finds value in your product but has some trivial objections, a question close can address the value and get the prospect to focus on the positive side of the deal. 

Signals To Avoid

1. Limited Responses: If your prospect is providing limited responses to your questions, it might be an indication that they are just not interested in your product.
2. Time-constrained: Trying to execute a question close will be a difficult task to achieve when your prospect is pressed for time or just seemingly preoccupied with other tasks. You may want to use a time-sensitive close in this case.

10. Solution Close

A solution close is a direct and efficient technique used to wrap up a conversation by proposing a clear solution or next step. It involves presenting an option or action that resolves the matter at hand, making your product the answer to your prospect’s problems.

Signals to Look For

1. ID of Problem: If you understand your prospect’s problem, you can offer your product as the solution. A solution close lets you resonate with their worries.
2. Customer Requirements: If your product ticks all the boxes for your prospect, wield that knowledge and present your product as a solution they can resonate with.

Signals to Avoid

1. Skeptical of Product: If your prospect is skeptical of your product and doesn’t understand how its features can benefit them, then instead of pushing for a solution close, attempt to guide them to an informative decision.
2. No Trust: When your prospect doesn’t trust you or your company, offering your product as a solution to their problem will not go down well. It’s important to build trust and rapport from the very start.

11. Objection Close

An objection close tackles any concerns your prospect has by acknowledging them, clarifying any confusion, and offering solutions to address them. The goal is to wrap the deal up as soon as the objections have been handled.

Signals to Look For

1. Clear Communication: If your prospect opens up to you about their problems, then you can propose solutions to their objections to get them to sign up.
2. Almost Ready: If your prospect has made it clear that they like your product, but they have one or two objections that stand in their way, they will almost certainly be open to an objection close. You basically remedy their remaining worries and immediately move in to close the sale.

Signals to Avoid

1. Unclear Pain Points: If your prospect hasn’t been clear about their pain points or objections, then solving them in one swift swoop can be difficult.
2. Negative Verbal Cues: If you hear things like “I’m not sure,”  or “I’m not too convinced,” these are the types of phrases that should make you realize that you need to do more than just handle an objection. Try giving your prospect a better understanding of what your product has to offer.