The Close: Three Steps to a Sure Sale by Tom Luby

The Close

Three Steps to a Sure Sale

Tom Luby, Business Consultant and Fence Industry Spokesperson

IF YOU WERE TO EXAMINE THE ABILITIES, SKILLS AND PERSONAL SALES TECHNIQUES OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE IN THE WORLD, WHAT COMMON TRAITS WOULD YOU FIND? THE TECHNIQUE THEY USE IS “PERSONALITYBASED SALES” AND IS EXPRESSED AS BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS.

I have always found this approach to be effective with any potential customer, whether it is a onetime residential customer, a major contractor or other larger commercial account. The most successful fence salespeople have proven this is a natural method for them to continually generate large sales volumes and I am confident that with the right training and support, your sales staff will do the same.

This is not an online networking or social media sales technique. This is a “meet and greet” approach and to be successful, your sales staff must realize the importance of personal contact. This is all about building relationships with each potential customer. Whether it is a residential homeowner or a national home builder, building relationships is key and this three-step process can be best accomplished by following these key components:

COMFORT. Get the customer or contractor comfortable with you and your fence company. Remember that all sales initially begin as an adversarial process. Subliminally, your potential customers may think of you as the enemy, trying to take their money. Therefore, the first job of a successful salesperson is to break down or eliminate that mentality. It’s your job to turn that mindset around. Salesmanship is all about making yourself an ally instead of the enemy.

This can be accomplished in several different ways, as long as it does not include a sales pitch. A simple compliment can usually work, such as “Nice house” or “Who did your landscaping, they did a great job”. Any kind of ice breaker will do if it has nothing to do with business or the sale itself. The idea is that you initially want to get your customer on another playing field for a moment so that you can get to know each other on a personal level.

Know and use their names. Relating to your customer is extremely important and can be the difference between making the sale or not.

CONFIDENCE. To shift the adversarial process, be honest, professional, sincere, and genuinely concerned about your customer and their needs. You are the fence pro, and especially for residential customers, they need your help and advice in choosing the correct product.

You need to be a good listener. Never argue or disagree with them. If their ideas don’t seem to make sense, listen anyway, and offer suggestions or other alternatives. Perhaps they don’t realize why something is done a certain way, you can help educate them in a polite, friendly way.

Perception is everything. How does the customer perceive you to be? Honest and sincere or deceptive and evasive? You must get them to believe in you. Never underestimate your customer. If you can convey to them the fact that even though you’re there to make a sale, you want them to be satisfied with the result, so you’ll only do business in an honest manner. Then, they will begin to relate to you as a friend and that is key.

TRUST. If you can get your customer comfortable and confident with you personally and dealing with you and your company, then you can begin this final process of gaining trust. This is the most difficult step in the sales process and the most important. If you gain the customers’ complete trust, your job is done. You have made the sale! Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

Trust is such a personal thing that is established between buyer and seller. It really is impossible to teach, it is something that must be sincerely felt between both parties. Expressing the honesty and sincerity mentioned earlier is paramount in establishing trust.

If you genuinely believe in yourself and your product the customer can almost feel your confidence. They’ll believe in what you’re selling. After this, the only thing left is to write the order.

For commercial and industrial fence accounts, things are a bit different, but still personality based. The construction industry is different from other industries in several ways. First, there are a limited number of general contractors, architects, and other commercial accounts to call on. It is not like selling a car or a TV, those products have an almost unlimited supply of potential customers, you only have so many.

Also, in the construction industry, many of your customers are longterm, if you are doing your job. Therefore, it is critical that you follow the same three steps to build relationships with as many of your customers as you possibly can. The most critical component that the salesperson must communicate when attempting to gain trust and build relationships is to relate a feeling to the customer of honesty and professionalism.

Never promise something that you are not sure you can deliver. If it’s a possibility, tell them that.

Dealing with a customer is like a pot of water that you bring to a boil. When it’s boiling, close the sale. The longer you let the pot sit after you bring it to a boil, the cooler it gets and the harder your job. There are other companies who are trying to gain the trust of the same customer, so when you gain that trust, write the order. The sooner the better.

Thomas Luby, and Profit Builders International PROFIT BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL 3421 10th Lane West Palmetto, Florida 34221 www.profitbuilder.org tluby@profitbuilder.org 941-981-3677

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