Car audio “sales doctor” Del Ellis of Del Ellis Sales Training International was at it again last week, training the car audio troops in a free webinar that focused on closing the sale.
The average sale “close” is made on the 5th try, although Ellis will tell you about the one that took 20 tries for a $220 sale. But the guy came back the next day and bought an $1,800 system, and then his dad came in paid double for a system.
When do you start trying to close the sale? Answer, as soon as you meet the client.
As Ellis explained, you learn when to close the sale by trying to soon and too often. Eventually, you develop an instinct for it.
About 80 percent of sales are made with someone you like. So to sell, you have to establish a rapport with someone. That starts with using their name and avoiding obvious salesman-like questions.
You don’t want to say, “How much money are you looking to spend?” Sometimes you must ask the qualifying questions indirectly. You begin by asking permission to ask the customer some questions. If he says “yes,” that’s the beginning of a rapport.
So you might say, “Before I show you what you’re looking for, do you mind if I ask a few questions?”
Selling is hard work. So you write down a script on how to qualify and pitch the customer and practice it. Record yourself and ask if you would buy from yourself.
Selling is 75 percent listening, 12.5 percent telling and 12.5 percent asking.
“Did you want to buy that today?” is not a close!
One of Ellis’ favorite closing statements is this: ask for the spelling of the customer’s name and start filling out the sales ticket. If you keep filling it out, you’ve closed the sale.
If he raises an objection to the sale you answer it. You want objections, especially about price, because then you have something to work with. If a customer stands there nodding his head, he is not interested.
You might say, “Bob, just so I have a better understanding, what is it that is not quite clear to you today? Is it our facility? Go down a list. “Is it our technicians that will be doing the installation for you? Is it me? On the 7th question, ask if it’s the price?
99.9 percent of objections to a sale are about money.
You ask for the price difference that he objects to. You don’t want to talk about the full amount of the ticket, just the amount he doesn’t like. And you work on that, with an explanation that there are two kinds of products: ones that are designed to work well and those that are designed to sell cheaply.
Ellis has plenty more tips. He can be reached at [email protected]
Source: CEoutlook
