Closing the sale

How many times should you ask a closing question? Before I answer that, let's clarify what a closing question is. It is when you ask the customer to buy what you are selling. Oh, and before I forget this most important thing. Never ask a question, closing or otherwise, that can be answered with a Yes or a No. Instead, ask questions that require a response, e.g., Are you going to take this with you today, or are we shipping it to you? In this example, if they reply with one of the two choices, the sale is done. Stop talking, and write it up. Most of the time, however, they will reply with something along the lines of "Well, I haven't made my mind up yet." This is an objection, and it is a buying sign. So you smoothly overcome the objection, and then you ask another closing question, etc. etc.

We've now come full circle to 'How many times should you ask a closing question?' The answer is: you keep asking until they say a definitive, final 'No' or walk out the door, never to be seen again.

But how many times is that, I hear you say. If you're not asking a closing question at least 5 times, you are failing as a salesperson. But what does that mean? It means you don't get to eat. Well, probably not that extreme, but I hope you get the point.

Many years ago, in the early 90's, I put on a clinic for the salespeople I had on duty. They were doing a lousy job. They were handling the "I want to think it over" objection pretty well, but they weren't 'closing' often enough. I told them that I would 'pick up' the next person who came into the Gallery, and, if they fixed on a piece of art, I would keep closing until they either bought or left.

As it happened, the very next customer was a youngish woman with her boyfriend. She saw a serigraph of a Spanish tiled floor, and fell in love with it. It was around $2500. I asked, and kept asking, closing questions, and I was still asking them more than an hour later. No pressure, no hard sell, just a friendly conversation. The last objection came when she said, "Mike, if I bought this, I wouldn't have enough money to buy groceries for the next month."

Where would you go from there? That seems like a really valid reason not to buy something, doesn't it? Most salespeople would give up at that point. But here's the kicker, and this is really important, she wanted to buy it. Otherwise, why would she still be there talking to me?

I turned to her boyfriend and said, "Joe, would you mind buying Jackie's groceries for the next month?" Yeah, I put him on the spot. He probably groaned inwardly, but he said "Yes," as I knew he would. I had somebody write it up, somebody else pack it to go, and took them next door for a cup of coffee.

How many times did I ask a closing question? What do you think? Less than 10, more than 10? The answer is I asked her 27 times to buy it. Yes, 27 times.

By the way, she came into the Gallery about a year later, specifically to tell me how much she loved that piece, and that it had really been a stretch to buy it, but was worth every penny. "Did Joe buy the groceries?" I asked. She laughed. "No, he didn't really have to, but you knew that, right?" I did.

I'm going to finish this short article with something incredibly important that you must keep at the front of your mind. I made a $250 commission on that sale, and I spent it really quickly, as one does. Jackie, on the other hand, got a lifetime of pleasure from that piece. Who was the big winner out of the two of us? If I hadn't persevered, I would have done her a massive disservice.

#sales #artsales #sellingart