Closing deals is hard. And stressful.

And while those ‘no’s can be disheartening, you have to use every sales call as an opportunity to learn, to test a new tactic, and see what works best.

Our sales team is consistently testing new strategies to improve our closing rate.

We have months with over 200 calls!

And each call is deconstructed by the team to understand what worked, and what didn’t.

And in today’s email, I want to share with you the three top tactics we use to turn potential customers into long-term partners.

1. How ready are you?

You’ve shown the client what they need, what problems they have, and how you can solve them.

The call is drawing to a close…

And you say, “On a scale of 0-10, how ready are you to sign the contract?”

It seems intense, but this simple question often gets a chuckle and the client opens up about what’s missing.

Their answer will give you lots of great insights that help you understand where the prospect is leaning, and how you should structure your next activities based on that.

If you get an 8 or 9, you know that you are nearly there… a little nudge is all it’ll take to close the deal!

And even if the answer is a dreaded 5 or less…

You can follow up with, “What are we lacking — or what do you need — to change that from a 5 to a 10?”

Even if you don’t end up signing, you’ll get some actionable feedback on your weakest points!

2. The Negative Follow Up

We covered this concept a couple of weeks ago…

… but it’s worth returning to in terms of sales calls!

Do you know what the goal of your first sales call is?

Nope — as much as you’d like it to be — it’s not the sales.

You wish!

In B2B calls it’s never that quick…

It typically takes prospects a little back and forth until they’ve gathered answers to all their questions.

No, your main goal is to schedule the next call.

Where you will have the chance to address any concerns they’ve come up with, and close the deal!

So the next question you need to ask is, “Will you be against having a call next week?”

Notice, you’re not asking them to have a call, you’re asking them if they’d be against having one…

By framing your question like this — check out our Charlie Munger ‘focus on the negative’ tactic in last month’s email — you have a higher chance of receiving a positive answer!

And when you get that negative — in this case, positive — answer and the prospect is not against having a call…

Make sure you confirm a date and time right then and there, during the call and send them a calendar invite immediately so they can’t miss it!

3. Need More Time? I Don’t Think So!

You won’t be surprised to hear that even after all that, most prospects will still not be ready to sign.

What’s the most typical answer?

“Sounds good, we just need a little time to think things over…”

* a cold bucket of water lands on your head

But do they? What’s ‘more time’ going to change?

They’re going to go off, with all the information you just gave them, and find excuses why you’re not a fit.

No.

They’re not missing time. They’re missing information.

And who can give them that information?

You can!

So point this out to them next time, and give them the information they need to make a decision — yes or no — during that call.

What sales tactics do you use to get to yes?

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