How To Close Sales

That is, you will be delighted you did - if.

The "IF" is, if you recognize that no one how to close sales is the magic bullet. Closing is a process. From Greeting the Prospect through Delivery and beyond, automobile sales champions are closing.

In days gone by the ABC's of selling were expressed as Always Be Closing. Somewhere along the sales training evolution, sales people lost perspective, became soft, lost the hunter instinct. Sales professionals are always strategically moving to secure the deal.

Quality automobile sales people are hungry. They want the deal. They want the deal today. Now! They are always building toward that end. Car salespeople understand that if they are not continuously bridging toward the ink on the deal sheet, then their time with the prospect is nothing more than a social visit. Your Time Is Valuable! Believe it. Respect it. Work it.

What do we mean by "How To Close Sales"?

For automobile sales champions, closing is securing a commitment from a prospect to purchase or lease a specific vehicle. That's it. Dressing it up, we could say, "Closing is transitioning a qualified buyer from the showroom floor to the Business Office." Qualified buyer, of course, is one who has agreed to purchase/lease a specific vehicle and is ready to arrange payment.

In all successful sales interactions, specific steps are followed. Those steps, or actions, are referred to as a process. In the automobile sales arena, the process proven to be most successful in securing a commitment could be summarized as:
* Greeting the prospect and gaining permission to move forward
* Consulting to determine what best meets the prospect's expectations and needs
* Guiding the prospect to a vehicle
* Presenting and professionally demonstrating the vehicle
* Securing agreement on the purchase or lease
* Transitioning the prospect to the Business Office

Looking closely at the process, it is evident the sale is arrived at through many mini-closes. In other words, automobile sales professionals are continuously closing, continuously securing agreement to move forward, to progress to the next step.

Does one need to complete all of these steps?

Absolutely not. If you greet a prospect who says "I've been researching the X-Lite for our company guest car. That one is the color we want, it has all the features we need, I don't want to test drive it, and I have the company check with me." No, you wouldn't go through the process. Get out a worksheet and see the Desking Manager.

That scenario, though, is rare. So very very rare. The real answer is "Always follow the process." That is how to close sales. It is what automobile sales champions do each and every time. No shortcuts. No skipping steps.

In the how to close sales arsenal, is there a "best" closing tactic?

I believe there is. I am absolutely convinced there is one close that has sold more vehicles for more automobile salespeople than any other. But I don't believe it is magic. The only thing magical about it is the number of times it brings home the bacon. As you study the list of closing tactics, the one I believe most effective will be listed first. It is my favorite. Practice it daily and your closing ratio will soar; as will your income!

That closing tactic will be followed by my next five favorite closes. Used properly and timely, they are effective. Now this is not to say the remaining list of how to close sales is less effective. In fact, with the exception of the one I deem to be the best, all of the other closing tactics are powerful under the right conditions.

Right conditions? What conditions?

That's the nut, isn't it. As a professional automobile salesperson, you are ever so gently guiding the interaction to the closing tactic you know is going to be most effective for this prospect and their situation. Prospective buyers are people. No two people are ever exactly alike. Hence, no one closing tactic will fit everyone. There is no cookie cutter close (okay maybe except my favorite). But even armed with my favorite, you need to know other closing tactics.

Having an arsenal of how to close sales techniques is much like knowing the many features of an automobile. Most prospects are only interested in a few of them. But you do not know which ones they are. This means you need to know all of the features an automobile has to offer. The same analogy holds true for sales closes. The more you know, the more how to close sales tactics available to you, the better prepared you are to secure a commitment, to close the sale.

By-the-way, as important as it is for you to cultivate many closing techniques, there is one more idea you need to master. Charles Roth in his book Secrets of Closing Sales expressed it best when he penned "The short-sighted salesperson sees the sales process as ending in a close. The career-oriented sales professional sees the close as a natural by-product of effective selling that leads to many more just like it. So, do not “focus” merely on closing. Selling is a process, and a cycle of self-perpetuation."

Read it again - do not focus merely on closing. One deal from one prospect will put food on the table. Turn that prospect into a satisfied customer who sends you referrals and now you have a future.

Here's to your success with how to close sales.


Remember: Nothing happens until someone sells something.

Sales Champions Make It Happen!

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