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Closing the Sale, One Step at a Time

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tues, 9/30/2014

So what will you bring in this week? How many times have you heard that question throughout your sales career? If you are newer to the sales game, expect it to come up more often than you would like.

As a salesperson, if you only focus on the end, the signing of the agreement or contract, you will drive yourself crazy! Take the sales process in steps, and feel victory with mini closes. The more victories you have, the more likely you will be in obtaining the ultimate contract victories.

Reaching a prospective client by phone or email is a victory. Setting up a meeting to discover needs is a victory. Having the prospect give you a request for a proposal is a victory. And of course, the prospect liking the proposal and saying yes is a big victory.

Other ways to analyze your success are; the gross dollars you have in your sales pipeline, the percentage of those dollars that turn in to sales, and the growth of dollars in your pipeline. If you are being honest with yourself, the growth you have will net tremendous results.

One way to measure success, which is left out by many sales teams, is the value of each account. Just because you met with a client for the first time and they have given you a million dollar budget to work with, does not mean that they will spend a million dollars. However, a client you have visited seven times and have narrowed it down to a suggestion at $350,000, may be worth more in the end. You know the account better, and both parties feel more comfortable with each other, toward building a mutually beneficial relationship.

My direction here is to always focus on the means, and not on the end. It leads to calmer sailing and long term success.

What are your challenges when it comes to closing the sale? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time...