Strategic Sales Solutions: Seal The Deal

There are many organisations endeavouring to implement strategic sales solutions for increasing their revenue. However, it is often the most basic errors that result in the gravest failures. Here, the term ‘failures’ does not imply that the organisation has failed to make any sales at all, but rather not realised the full potential of the product or service being offered. The difference lies in the approach. The same offering can be sold to hundreds of B2B clients, or tens!

In this context, strategic sales solutions refer to how the deal is closed. There are many salespersons who prepare outstanding sales pitches. They highlight all the key features of the offering, show the client how it can be integrated into the present system, subtly manage to highlight any shortcomings and all in all, present the proposition as the perfect one for the business. However, this is where the shortcoming happens – closures. More than 90% of the salespersons end the presentation, in person or via call, by asking questions like ‘so, do you like it?’ ‘what do you think?’ ‘would you want to place an order for this?’

This is equivalent to giving control of the conversation to the client, which more often than not, results in an unfavourable response. Salespersons who have a higher closure rate than others don’t follow this approach. Instead, they resort to more aggressive tactics by straightaway going for the kill, so to speak, with questions like ‘so, let’s start by filling out the paperwork. I believe you require X units’ or ‘I guess that pretty much seals the deal. So, when should I begin deliveries for you?’. Patience may be a virtue during the initial phases of the sale, but when it comes to closures, one needs to be slightly aggressive to ensure that the dotted line is signed.