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Have you ever had a prospect who plays his feelings on your product or service “close to the vest”? Someone who simply won’t share much of their opinion one way or the other? Or should I say how many prospects do you have like that?
These days many prospects hide behind nebulous stalls like, “Let me think about it,” or “I’ll run this by the committee,” etc., and it’s often hard to know where they stand. And then it gets worse when you try to set an appointment to get back with them only to hear, “I’ll get back to you.”
If you’re struggling with prospects like this, then it’s time to learn some advanced closing skills that only the Top 5% are comfortable using: And that’s asking open ended questions and actually giving your prospect a chance to fully answer – negatively or positively. While this may sound easy to do, only the top, top pros know how to fully listen long enough for their prospect to tell them how they really feel. (HINT: they use their MUTE button!)
But to get your prospect to open up, you need some well-crafted scripts that you adapt and make your own so you can deliver them sincerely and not sound salesy. Take some time to review the choices below and do just that – make them your own:
Question One:
“You know ________, we all buy emotionally and go with our gut feelings. Share with me: What is your gut telling you is good about our solution, and what is it telling you isn’t so good?”
[Now hit MUTE and listen – same advice after each rebuttal]
Question Two:
“__________, I’m sure you’re weighing this purchase against some of our competition, so tell me, in what ways are we better than your next option, and in what ways are we weaker?”
Question Three:
“_________, you’ve probably heard of the old Ben Franklin way of making a decision haven’t you? (Wait for a response)
Ben would make a list of all the reasons to make a decision to move forward with something, and all the reasons not to. If the reasons were stronger to move forward, he would.
So tell me, what are the reasons, as you see them, for moving forward with this, and what are the reasons not to?”
Question Four:
“_________, I know there are other people who need to weigh in on the final decision on this, so tell me, if you had to put a wager on it, would you bet that there were more votes on moving forward on this or more votes against it?”
Layer:
“And why is that?”
Question Five:
“Now _________, I know you like what we have, and there are probably some things you don’t like. Tell me, if we could deliver more of what you DO like, what would that be?”
Layer:
“And if we could give you less of what you don’t like, what would that be?”
And then, “And why is that?”
Question Six:
“__________, some people love our solution and some people – believe it or no – hate it. Tell me, what do you LOVE about us, and what do you hate about this that is preventing you from moving forward right now?”
As you can see, these scripts are designed to get someone who is noncommittal to begin opening up and to tell you where they stand – both positively and negatively. Once you know where someone is emotionally and logically with your product or service, you’ll have the leverage to adjust your close and get closer to a sale.