Before you take the advice in this or in any other article on the subject, the best advice on closing more sales is to get to know your own personal selling process and personality. What works for the author of this article may not work in your industry, or with your personal style. That said, this is perhaps the easiest-to-adapt of all sale-closing techniques as it can be applied rather broadly.
It’s called the Assumptive Close, and it’s actually one of the easiest closes to use. It works naturally, and the method is to make the assumption that your prospect wants what you came to sell. Make the assumption that he or she will buy, and after you close your presentation, you’ll ask for the sale. But the way you ask for the sale is framed in such a way that you’ve positioned yourself in agreement with the prospect that this deal’s going through.
You: (After sales spiel) “Well, Mr. Jones, how did you want to accept delivery for your new fireproof document safe? Do you want to pick up from the dock, or should we arrange delivery to your office?”
Or: “Mr. Jones, would you like that new copier delivered Tues or Thursday this week?”
If you incorporate this method as part of your personal selling process, you’ll have to make sure you practice delivery so it comes off naturally. This shouldn’t sound like a close, it should rather flow easily from your presentation and wind up at the point where it’s obvious–you’ve made your case, and any sane person would want to buy.
Another key point to remember is that the assumptive close denies a “yes” or “no” as a viable answer to asking for the sale. Asking for the sale is simply, “Would you like ‘X’ or ‘Y’ color/quantity/delivery date?” At this point, your prospect will either answer as you’ve set it up, or bring up objections.
For this whole process to work, however, you need to assume the close first, and then answer objections if they arise. When those objections arise, you’ll answer them, and then re-pose the question, “OK, so was that Tuesday or Thursday for delivery?” Of all the sale-closing techniques available, the assumptive close is the easiest to employ and seems to work the best in the author’s personal selling process.