We have all heard the term “Always be closing!”
You probably heard a sales manager barked at the team, “You should always be closing!” The sales manager probably even played that clip from Glengarry Glenn-Ross where Alec Baldwin yells at the group of scrub salesmen.
But what does that phrase even mean?
When I first heard this phrase at a sales meeting, I took it to mean: everything you do in the sales process should be pointed to the closing stage, and make the close easier by streamlining the sales process so that your client experience has no roadblocks that can prevent the close.
We all know that the close is where the money is, but what about the word “always”? I think that this is the key part of this sales catchphrase.
The word “always” is defined as: at all times; on every occasion. That means every-single-time. This then gets us to thinking, “Am I taking the necessary steps to closing prospects? Am I doing what works to make closing easier?
How often do you take the necessary actions in your sales process?
Most of the time?
9 out of 10 times?
99 out of 100 times?
99.9% of the time?
In coaching & training sales people, I commonly hear them say that they will do what they know to do most of the time, or even go as far as to tell me they do this 99.9% of the time. 99.9% is only missing 1 of 1000. But how accurate is that?
At a 99.9% accuracy every year in America:
1,800 patients will have their cancer misdiagnosed
3,853 babies will be given to the wrong parents
10,980 cars will hit the roads without being safety tested
253,000 tax returns will be incorrectly filed
142.6 million letters will be misdelivered
6 Million cell phone calls will be misconnected – PER DAY!
You can find fantastic examples of always taking the steps, and refining your form, by watching hall of fame athletes. One of the best showcases of always is one of my favorite athletes, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk was one of the league’s best shooters in history, and was an anomaly being a 7-footer who shot around 88% for his career at the free throw line. The phenomenal thing about Dirk was that his form was incredibly consistent. He literally used the same motion for his free throws every-single-time. Dirk once set an NBA record hitting 21 straight free throws in a 2011 playoff game. They also won the championship that year.
Your sales process needs to be scripted to the point of being mechanical.
By having a mechanized process, you eliminate the variables, and can pinpoint exactly where a breakdown happened. If you were having car trouble, the mechanic would work through a checklist to try & find the problem in the mechanical sequence. Your sales process should be the same. I use the same questionnaire, in the same sequence, to qualify prospects, and I do it every-single-time. This keeps me on track throughout the sales, and keeps my client service level high.
Eliminating variables in your sales calls will eliminate potential roadblocks, and make the sale easier to close.
Remember to keep it simple. #thisaintrocketsurgey
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