If your close ratios are not where you want them to be, finding new ways to close sales could help you convert the prospects who are slipping away. There is no one best way to approach a close, meaning that no one closing method will work in all scenarios. Having a range of closing methods at your disposal will help you close more sales and generate more business activity than you thought possible. Learning new ways to close sales and the right approaches to help you close should be a constant process – a process that you can’t afford to ignore.

Close More Sales: Float a Trial Balloon

A trial balloon is essentially a question that tests the weather for your deal: By letting the trial balloon go, you can see how your prospect reacts and from that form an idea of where he or she stands in the sales process. Trial balloons are a great way to close more sales because they can help you avoid reaching for a commitment too early by letting you know when the time is right to ask for a sale. To be successful with this method, keep your question open ended and word it so that your prospect feels in control. Examples include:

• If we were able to deliver X, then would you say the deal was successful?
• Let’s say your business achieved X; how could that improve your department’s standing?
• When your department misses forecast, do you think that indicates a need for a solution?

Close More Sales: Use Your References

When you are looking for new ways to close sales, the possibility of leaning on past sales to gain an advantage isn’t immediately apparent. However, your past sales can help you close more sales starting tomorrow if you are willing to do a small amount of footwork generating references. Almost nothing will strengthen a prospect’s trust in your offering like a reference from one of his or her peers or competitors.

The best way to generate references that you can use time and again without asking too much from your past clients is to create an easy to use referral form that clients can complete after a sale. Ask questions important to your sales approach and provide space for additional comments. Ask the client’s permission to share the information that he or she provides and you will have a valuable reference that you can use again and again to close more sales.

Close More Sales: Don’t Give Up

How many times do you typically ask for the sale before you give up? An astonishing number of sales people only ask once. These dumped prospects usually end up buying from the competition! To close more sales, view a prospect’s reluctance to sign the dotted line not as a direct “no” but as a sign that the prospect just isn’t ready yet. Perhaps he or she needs more information, does not feel the same level of trust in the deal that you do, or lacks the support he or she needs from other decision makers. Continue building on these critical sales areas until you have asked for the sale at least four times before you consider dropping a prospect.

Testing new ways to close sales is about practice and finding what works for you. Depending on your industry or even your personal comfort level, not all closing methods may work for you. However, it is within your control to develop the closing approaches at your fingertips to make sure that you can deploy the right method at the right time to close more sales.