Closing the Deal

Your prospect fits your target market like a glove. He absolutely needs your product. He has the money and says he wants to buy but, somehow, you can't get him to sign on the dotted line.

There could be many reasons. Perhaps he isn't comfortable with you or your company yet. Perhaps he has plans to buy elsewhere and is just gathering information. Perhaps he just needs time and will become a good customer eventually. In any case, you need to know which it is. Either it will be worth your while to spend some more time with this prospect or it's time to cut your losses and spend your time more profitably.

One time-honoured way to turn up the heat is to make the customer aware of factors which are favourable now but may not be later. For most small businesses offering a quality product this can't take the form of the well-known "we've got a special deal for you if you sign up right now but tomorrow the price will be higher..." spiel but there are often factors like exchange rates, financing, over-supply or new product launches which influence price and the customer should certainly be made aware of these.

The next step is to nail down the reasons why the customer isn't buying and to address these. Addressing them doesn't mean that you're going to overcome every objection but it does mean listening carefully and trying to find a solution. If the product is too expensive, perhaps you can lower the price if the customer doesn't take one of the expensive options. If your delivery is too long, perhaps you can air-freight. On the other hand, if the customer has a potential supplier which can deliver the same quality more quickly at a lower price, move on. Some sales are just not going to go to you.

A much more detailed analysis of customer objections to buying and how to deal with them is offered by edgeonline. In the end, you're going to win some and lose some; the key is to find out which is which and to win those you are going to win quickly and not to waste time on those you are going to lose.

For a more in-depth discussion of this subject try the "Growing Your Own Small Business" course at Suite University.

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