If you have participated in any sales training at all, you have probably heard that sales people shrink from asking for the order. Tests have proved it. In one experiment where bogus prospects called one hundred and forty two sales people and told them they would be buying, only 17% (23) actually asked for the order. So what! Does asking for orders really make a difference?

‘Closing’ seldom effects business decisions about serious issues. Get a sizeable sale in mind. It doesn’t matter whether you won or lost. Think about the sales process. First, you discover or perceive the opportunity. Next, you do your homework and answer qualifying questions. Then you do the legwork of planning, persuading, proposing and presenting. Sometimes you hear nothing more and quietly forget about the opportunity. Other times, you are asked to better your prices or even get the nod indicating that you have won and it is just a matter of waiting for the paper.

At what point in the process did your prospect decide what to buy and who to buy from?

I often ask this question of sales people participating in our sales training courses. Most answer, "Somewhere in the middle of the process". Very few argue that customers decide at the end of the sales process.

Even though choices are most often made early in a sales engagement, a contract won’t be signed for some time. The people who have decided still have two significant tasks to complete. Due diligence - making sure that their decision will withstand critical analysis and, constructing a safety net, in case the purchase doesn’t work out. The old old phrase, "you never get fired for buying IBM" may no longer be valid, however, the fear or natural caution it illuminated is just as real today as it ever was.

When you last bought a house, how much time passed between your decision to go ahead and your eventual, irrevocable commitment? How often do house purchases fail to go through? Think about the contribution that reputable estate agents make in helping a deal reach conclusion. Is it in ‘closing’ the respective participants, or rushing round making sure that misunderstandings are avoided and people’s expectations are met?

High value sales to businesses are similar. Several people are involved in the final wrangling about approval and commitment. Despite the decision having been taken long before, a system of checks and balances must be observed. The winning sales person is unlikely to be allowed to know the decision. Who would deliberately compromise their negotiating position? Not knowing doesn’t change anything. From a customer’s perspective, it is wise to keep the ‘stalking horse’ running. It’s good insurance.

Let’s suppose that you are involved in a sale to the boss, the real decision-maker; the person who is at the very top of a substantial business organisation. The person who can say yes, even when everyone else is saying no. Are such people disposed to having decisions made for them? Normally they are very decisive individuals who have clear vision and sound judgement. Otherwise, they would not hold such a position for very long.

I am not suggesting that sales people should shy from asking for the order. It is an essential part of finding out what is left to do. Saying "are you ready to go ahead?" or "can I have your authorisation for the order?" is part of navigating your way towards completing a sale.

Discovering why a prospect has not already placed an order helps you work out how to help them reach a decision. In some circumstances a good opening question would be, "Why haven’t you done something about this before now?" If the package of product, service and delivery is similar to everyone else’s and; if the prospect is going to buy and; if your price is perceived to be about right and; if it doesn’t matter much who the supplier is, asking for the order makes a difference. Don’t confuse this with ‘closing’.

Those who will be held accountable for important buying decisions normally take great care in making a safe choice. Their careers depend on it. Sometimes the perceived risk is almost too great. Delay or even shelving a project can seem attractive alternatives. Sometimes there are really two possible suppliers, right up to the point when signatures are added to contracts.

Some house buyers initiate a purchase while banking on being able to make their real decision later. You may have heard it said, "We don’t have to commit until exchange of contracts, let’s say yes and review it before we sign." From time to time, ‘closing’ does make a difference.

‘Closing’ is when the sales person takes the decision on behalf of the customer. Simply asking for the order is not the same thing. There are three essential ingredients for a ‘close’ to work, timing, trust and confidence. The prospect must have a high level of trust in the sales person who, in turn, must have an unshakeable certainty in the correctness of the decision.

Any hint of uncertainty in the sales person’s manner, even a hesitance to seize the moment, will usually result in failure. For a prospect on the cusp of indecision, the smallest doubt is enough to push them back towards the safety of doing nothing. Interestingly, the stress felt by customers, due to fear of making a mistake, is similar to the stress experienced by sales people when they are close to receiving an order. The closer you are to winning, the closer you are to losing.

Rarely will sales people, selling high value products and services to businesses, find it necessary to take a customer decision on their behalf. When they do, it is like walking across a plank of wood, six inches wide and ten feet long, bridging two buildings three hundred feet above the pavement. No problem, if you don’t look down.

Article by Clive Miller
Questions and comments to clive@salessense.co.uk