An Excellent Closing Line (It’s A Hammer)

Seth Godin had a good post the other day talking about  stupid question we ask in the course of business - and how they lead to lies. For instance: "How can I help you" [Just looking] or "When do you think you will be ready to invest in this solution?" or "So, tell me, what problems does your company face?" Then he went on to propose improvements. Such as: "Do you want to see what's on sale?" or "Now that you've read our business plan, if you could change one thing about it, what would it be?" This really struck me. Have you ever been in a selling situation where you're trying to close, but the buyer puts on the breaks? She begins to stall and him and haw and talk about how she has to talk to someone else. The classic blow off. Then when you try and get a firm commitment on when they'll make a decision, you just get more jaw jerking. Instead, what if you asked: "Now that you've seen my entire proposal, what one thing would you change about it?" Leapin' Lizards! That changes everything. Now you can get right to the real objection. And if the answer is nothing, when stall time comes around you can remind her that there was nothing to change - so what are we waiting for? This question is very proactive. It's not asking, "Would you change anything?" Noooo. That would lead to a closed answer - yes or no. Instead, "What would you change," must lead to a discussion. I like it. A lot. If you sell and close and need to get better, try this one on for size at your next meeting.

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