Jean-Pierre Lauzier, consulting expert, sales consultant and author of the book “Le coeur aux ventes”, regularly gives his advice on personal and business development on Isarta Infos. Today, he explains the 7 situations of closing a sale, from the least likely to the most certain.
Excellent salespeople know that in order to increase sales, you have to avoid wasting your time and energy on prospects who are not really interested. By working with the best prospects, they promote a high sales rate.
By first meeting a potential customer, can you predict your likelihood of doing business with that customer? This may be difficult to say, but depending on where this potential customer comes from, you may have a very good idea of your probability of closing the sale. The stronger your reputation and credibility, whether it’s the company or you, the greater your chances of selling.
Here is a classification of your chances of closing the sale, from the most difficult to the easiest
1. You are calling an unknown prospect directly (Cold Call)
This is the most difficult way to develop your business. Even if you are a telephone appointment champion, when you meet these types of customers, your chances of dealing with them remain low because they don’t know you and the trusting relationship is not established.
If you start your business or job, you probably have no choice but to call unknown customers, but you will have to work very hard to achieve your sales goals.
2. The prospect saw your ad, found you on Google, etc.
Generally, this type of customer communicates with several companies like yours to find the best price, the best service, etc. You will also have to work hard to differentiate yourself favorably from your competitors by building credibility and expertise superior to theirs.
3. You met the prospect at a networking event, social event or trade show
If your participation in this type of activity is irregular, this strategy does not do much. For it to be effective, you need to participate regularly in events where there are many potential customers.
In addition, you are interested in finding ways to help prospects through your expertise by bringing them value on the spot, during the networking event, otherwise they will not remember you, unless you meet this person several times at different events.
4. The prospect has heard about you on more than one occasion and in different ways
For example, you met or greeted him/her at a conference, he/she saw an article about you or from you in the newspaper or magazine, a colleague told him/her about you, etc. The more the customer will hear about you positively through different channels, the more his/her trust in you increases.
5. The prospect was recommended by a friend, partner or ally
For referrals, you must provide exceptional service. No one recommends someone who does not act with a high level of integrity, professionalism, reliability, etc., and who does not provide a service beyond expectations. You must demonstrate all these qualities to establish a business relationship with the prospect.
6. The prospect was recommended by a current customer
When a person recommends a company or a person, it is as if he/she endorses the work of the latter 100%, which automatically leads to a high level of trust in the prospect, unless the referring person does not have much credibility in the eyes of the prospect.
As a general rule, you were recommended because you exceeded the expectations of your current customer, and he/she became an ambassador who works for you for free. To get a lot of referrals, you need to bring a lot of value to current prospects and customers with your expertise.
7. Your current customer has new needs
Studies show that it costs on average six times more to sell to a new customer than to an existing customer. So, before reaching out to potential customers, ask yourself if you can further help your existing customers achieve their goals with your products or services.
The trusting relationship is established, their satisfaction rate is high, it is the easiest sales situation… provided you always exceed their expectations.
As you can see, it is much easier to sell to a current customer than to a prospect who does not know you, because you don’t have to invest all your energy to make you known, establish a trusting relationship, show your expertise, etc.
How many customers and people do you currently have who are ambassadors and who work for you? By increasing the number of quality prospects, you will inevitably increase the number of sales. And to increase that number, you must always exceed expectations so that customers and prospects say “WOW”, whether it is about your service, the quality of the products you offer or your emotional commitment to help them achieve their goals.
