So you have made a great sales presentation or pitch, your audience is quite interested and you are bursting with a lot of active energy while going on and on about your product. But having displayed all that effort but you fail to close your pitch or presentation well, then you risk losing the clients’ attention you worked so hard to gain.
This then goes to say that the ending of a pitch is also as important as the opening part, and even more important because a sale is expected at the end of a sales pitch.
As a sales person, you have to, of necessity, have a couple of resounding methods with which you can close your pitch in order to ensure that you get to make a sale at the end of, maybe not all, but most of your presentations.
Here are a couple of methods you can employ to successfully close a presentation, pitch or interview in order to make a sale.
How to Close a Sales Interview, Call or Presentation Pitch
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Tie up the presentation with inspirational words
Offering inspirational or motivational words is one way to close your presentation with flair. A very apt quote can tie your entire sales pitch together and help your audience see things in another light.
For example, you can say, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started”, when trying to sell a new CRM software.
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Express excitement on the forthcoming partnership or relationship
Telling someone you are making a sales pitch to that you are anticipating a good professional relationship with them, is an especially effective way to close a pitch where you intend to sell non-tangible goods like consulting services. This would make the customer to start seeing the deal as sealed, thus putting the customer in a post-sale frame of mind, which can make wrapping up the details of the sale go smoothly. Lines such as “I foresee that we’ll make a good team,” or “I’m looking forward to getting started on this project,” personalize the sale and make the close easier to secure.
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Invite your prospect to ask questions
Inviting your prospect to ask you more questions about your product or service gives you the chance to solidify your pitch and reemphasize key points and features. It also provides an opportunity to up-sell or mention additional product benefits.
This closing line is perfect for when trying to sell a product. Asking additional questions like, “what else would you want to know about this product”, will help you gauge your prospect’s stance regarding your pitch or product.
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Personalize your pitch
A lot of sales people do make the mistake of closing their pitch with already familiar cliche closing lines. You need to stay away from this and instead tailor your close to how your product or service fulfills a need for the customer. You can equally base your final closing words on what you have learned during your interaction with your prospect about his or her business. This approach shows the prospect that you are listening and devising solutions rather than just trying to make a sale.
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Throw a challenge
In this approach, you get to finish your pitch by challenging your prospect to act on what you said. You can use lines like, “You need to grab this opportunity with both hands”, or “this is your opportunity to change things. Don’t wait.” But you need to exercise caution when using this closing method because it can sometimes backfire if your audience has a domineering personality or someone who doesn’t like to be stampeded into doing anything. So, you need to effectively study your subject as your talk with them.
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Get forthright
You can boldly ask your prospect what day would be best for them to take a delivery, or you could ask which day would be best for them to have a business lunch with you to close the deal. You can also offer a selection of dates for the customer to choose from so you would put them in a spot where they are confirming rather than objecting or hedging your deal.
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Preempt your prospect
By using this mode, you would make your listener start viewing your product in favourable light. Say something like, “It seems this service suits your company, what do you think?” This question automatically makes your prospect think of all the reasons that might make them want to buy the product, and it could easily help you close the sale favourably. To maximize this method, you need to latch onto whatever your prospect says to get them to buy the product or subscribe to the service.
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Throw in a freebie
We all like freebies and very few people can resist this. With a particularly difficult client, you could say, “If we throw in [freebie], would that convince you to sign the contract today?”
You should be wary when using this closing because it is not appropriate for every situation, but for important or very large deals, offering an exclusive or time-sensitive add-on to sweeten the pot might be a smart move. Price discounts could also make sense in competitive markets. But you have to ensure that your company approves of the deal before giving it out.
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Utilize the power of fear
With the alarming rate of small business collapse, and with entrepreneurs being eternally wary of this, you can utilize the fear tactic to sell a product or service.
You could end by saying, “I’d hate to see anything negative befall your company because you didn’t have the right insurance in place. Do you want to take the crucial step to protecting your organization today?”
This closing tactic is most effective in situations where the consequences of not buying will actually harm the business.
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Close with a question
Here, you get to close your pitch by asking a strategic question that allows you to discover whether the prospect is sold on your product or not. You can close by asking your prospect, “Do you think what I’m offering you would solve a problem in your company?”
This method allows the seller to address outstanding objections while gaining a commitment at the same time.
11. Move ahead
Instead of lingering in arguments, you could dramatically move the discussion one step ahead by saying something like, “Let’s discuss pricing.”
This question would automatically transition the conversation from general topics to actual agreement. It may not a very subtle shift, but it works.
12. Open-ended closing line
The open-ended closing line basically allows your client to close the deal themselves. Asking a question like, ‘what would you like to do next?”, would give your prospect a chance to outline what works best for them and when. They now get to evaluate their schedule to fit your proposal in.
13. Get sentimental
Sometimes in a pitch, a seller may have to involve the prospects family in a bid to drive the importance of the deal home. Asking questions like, “Would this deal benefit your family?” would help your prospect to rethink his or her priorities. This and similar closing lines typically come in handy when selling insurance premium. If your prospect answers in the affirmative to that question, then you have pretty much sold the policy.