Some folks have a poor understanding about what sales really is.

Some people think sales is about looking and sounding good, and then eventually someone will buy.

Others think it’s about sounding capable and convincing, and then eventually someone will take the leap and buy.

There are others who believe that selling isn’t necessary because if you make the better product, or if you have the superior service, people will automatically flock to your side and buy.

Looking and sounding good is important because very few people are going to be objective enough to say, “let me hear what this repulsive person has to say.... maybe their product or service might be able to help me”.

So looking and sounding good is important! At the very least, we have to look and sound appropriate for the situation and the context at hand.

Showing how competent and credible you are is also important, because no one wants a service provider or a product that might be incompetent or useful at the outset.

People who buy from us are either trying to solve a problem, or to achieve a particular vision. If your product or service isn’t going to help them in that pursuit, there’s no logical reason for them to waste money with you.

Having the best product or service in the market also helps because it can be a good driver for “worth of mouth” and referrals.

Unfortunately so far there hasn’t been any product that has “sold itself”. We still need someone at the beginning of the journey to prod things along.

All these things and more are important when it comes to sales and persuasion, but the missing ingredient here is the understanding that sales is about CLOSING.

Closing isn’t the art of collecting money from people!

Closing is the art of securing commitments from people... and the commitments aren’t always about collecting the money.

Sales is about closing!

If we look the part and sound right, but we don’t know how to get them to commit to listening to our presentation, then we aren’t going to be very good at selling.

In this case, securing the commitment is getting them to agree to having a meeting later so that we can go over a specific proposal.

Securing the commitment could also be getting them to agree to listen to your presentation and look at your glossy material that you have prepared.

If we demonstrate how capable we are and how competent we are, but we can’t answer the question “why take action now?”, then we aren’t going to be very good at selling.

In this context, securing the commitment is getting them to see that there’s good reason for taking action now. If you can’t do that, then they’ll say “let me think about it”, and that might be the end of the matter.

Closing is about securing commitments!

Whenever you are face to face with a potential customer, there is always another NEXT STEP that has to be taken before they make the ultimate move of paying your fee.

Sometimes the next step is to submit contact details, agree to a meeting, agree to a proposal, agree to a physical on site inspection, etc... depending on what industry you are involved in.

That is the key distinguishing factor in sales.

We have to get good at figuring out who we’re talking to, what the best next step should be, and figure out any good reasons why they should take the next step with us.

Closing isn’t collecting the big amount of money at the end... it’s about getting them to take the small steps with you in the middle.

The small steps eventually lead to the big finish.