CLOSING - How effective are you?

"It doesn't hurt to ask"

Actually, it does hurt. It does hurt to ask for the close… the wrong way. If you haven’t set up the close properly, to ask without preparing your prospect, it hurts your chances—big time. It hurts because you never get another chance to ask right.

Timing is everything. If you see Celine Dion at the local restaurant and say, "Hey Celine, will you sing at my daughter's wedding?" it hurts any chance you have to get on with a positive relationship with this diva. You've just educated her to say “no way—I pass on your offer.” You have also educated her that you are a bore, selfish and you've taught her you're both self-seeking and out of touch with reality. Timing is everything.

Confidence is everything. If a prospect walks into your dealership and you walk up and say, "Please pay me $200,000 right now for this Porsche," you might close the sale. But I doubt it. More likely than not, you've just pushed this prospect away, turned the potential for approval into a wall of resistance and self-protection. I doubt if any of you are doing this ridiculous approach either. But my point. It does hurt to ask the wrong way and at the wrong time. But many sales people do it!

Instead, invest some time and earn the right to ask. Do your job as a sales professional. Build relationships, create chemistry, and qualify their needs and wants. Present your vehicle with enthusiasm and power, create desire and positive emotion. Closing is all about emotions.

Automotivator Sales Action Plan
 Stay in your demo vehicle after the demo presentation.
 Connect with your client by helping them make easy, comfortable steps to their vehicle buying decision.
 Step by step, ask and review how this vehicle meets their wants and needs.
 Ask their opinions. Make it comfortable for your prospect to express their positive feelings about each feature. Build the agreements on each feature.
 Let them state their opinions, don’t sell. Let them sell themselves.
 Yes, let them discover they are not being sold.
Then ask your closing question. You have set it up, you have earned the right to ask and their confidence.
Now, they are ready to consider your proposal. It seems like a natural response to your client.

Predictable Answers to your closing question
Hey, will they say “YES” and buy? Sure, quite often, frankly—it was what they came to do. But, sometimes their answer to your closing question will be “NO”—not until you get the vehicle that is right for them. Sometimes their answer is “MAYBE”—if you can make the payments fit or make the price right or give them enough for their trade. And most often it will be, “I have to think it over, talk to my spouse, sleep on it”.
These are predictable to the professional, and no big deal to handle… if you take my courses on closing like my kick butt sales leaders do. Professionals commit to learning like pros always do. Not just limping along on empty. Learn how to close. (Check out the Sales Stimulus Boot Camp.)

Bottom-line. You will close a lot more if you set it up right. A heck of a lot more than just throwing it out there and hoping for the best. You will lose more than the sale and the commission. You will miss the opportunity for them to want to deal with you now or ….ever! And their friends, buddies, fellow workers, neighbours. Now that hurts.
Now get out there and close some sales!

Great Success,
Dave
PS Email me for personal coaching, it's free.

Dave Kemp, the Automotivator, The Automobile Sales Coach.
Dave@automotivator.com http://www.automotivator.com/ Call - 1-800-668-0362 or 613-253-5300
Dedicated to improving the buying experience in the nation’s showrooms.
Print permission - Copyright 2009 Dave Kemp, author. Dave Kemp Seminars. Permission to print is granted only if you retain this copyright credit to the author and contact information on all materials copied and printed or transmitted by any means electronically.