As a new account executive, few things are more important than learning the art of a closing call. These calls are your last chance to convince a prospect to choose your brand, and if you drop the ball, the client moves on to your competitors.
While the stakes are high, learning some practical strategies and preparing for your closing calls will allow you to get into a rhythm. With enough practice, closing deals on your sales calls will become second nature. Poised wants to help you understand closing calls on a deeper level and help you prepare for success.
What Is a Closing Call?
Closing calls are exactly what it sounds like: A sales team’s final push to connect with potential customers and make good on their investment by closing a sales deal. Think of the sales process as a marathon and the closing call as the last sprint to the finish line.
Closing calls allow you to tie any loose ends and answer remaining questions the potential customer might have. If the lead has reached this stage of the sales process, they’re clearly interested in purchasing your goods or services. You can use the last sales call to cement the value of your products or services, resolving the prospect of any hesitation.
The idea may sound simple enough, but even the most experienced salespeople become intimidated before a closing call — there’s a lot of pressure to close the deal, particularly if your reps have prepared perfectly leading up to the call.
As such, it’s crucial to actively listen to the lead and address any concerns they may have about the genuine value of what you’re selling. You must make them feel heard and like they got a deal.
How Do You Prepare for a Closing Call?
If you’re coming up on a closing call, it means you’ve already invested a lot of time in your lead. You're under pressure as a salesperson to meet your quota. If you miss the shot at the buzzer, it can indicate to your superiors that you cannot maintain control of the sales process.
The truth is there’s no way to control whether a potential customer purchases from your company or not. Luckily, thoroughly preparing for your closing call will increase your chances of success.
While you can’t ultimately control the lead’s decision, you can stay composed and confident in yourself. It’s crucial to know your sales team’s strategy inside and out beforehand so you can quickly answer questions and concerns and help the prospect feel at ease.
Keep in mind that, in most cases, the potential customer has never closed a deal or made a purchase with your business before. Take the reins by guiding them through the process. Diligently prepare before each closing call, even when you’re quite confident in your odds of winning.
Here are a few prep tips to remember:
Work With a Communication Coach
It goes without saying communication skills are vital to closing calls. The whole point is to clearly describe the value of your product or service in relation to the potential customer’s needs. You must convince the prospect that your company is better than the competition.
You can’t do that without effective communication. Consider finding a communication coach to help you develop the necessary skills, or use an AI-powered coach like Poised for real-time feedback. You can maximize results with a personalized plan.
Review the Deal With Your Team
To effectively communicate any sales deal to a prospect, you must believe in what you’re selling. If you know the deal won’t pan out well for your lead, your conscience will eventually get the best of you — which is a good thing from a human perspective but not so good for your quota!
Go over the deal with your team before each closing call to tie up any loose ends and ensure you’re comfortable persuading the potential customer.
Know the Specifics of the Deal
As a salesperson, you probably deal with multiple prospects at once, and it can be easy to confuse your accounts. Keep all your accounts organized, and invest extra effort into getting to know your leads as much as possible. Regularly refresh yourself on the specifics of every deal, including in the minutes leading up to the sales call.
Be Prepared for Any Objections to the Deal
Everyone’s not going to tell you yes. It’s not uncommon for closing calls to turn into last-minute objections. If the decision-maker isn’t comfortable making a final call at this stage, know how to navigate objections.
Ask your lead to elaborate on their hesitation and walk you through their budget and ideal price point. Try to learn what specifically they don’t like about the deal so you can start negotiating.
Be Ready for Price Negotiations
Don’t be surprised if a committed prospect approaches you to negotiate a lower cost. It’s critical to determine a maximum possible discount as you prepare for closing costs. Always allow the lead to set the starting value, and don’t mention discounts unless the lead asks about them first.
How Can Poised Make Your Closing Calls Better?
Incorporating Poised can take your closing calls to new heights. Here’s how:
Improve Your Confidence
The Poised communication coach monitors your communication performance and provides real-time insights into how you can communicate more effectively on video calls. With that kind of support in your corner, you can go into sales calls confidently.
Make Your Communication More Effective
Effective communication is half the battle (if not more) regarding closing calls. Boosting your confidence as a communicator with Poised not only will boost your confidence — it will improve your chances of success.
Learn To Maintain Eye Contact With Clients
Remember the importance of active listening when speaking with a client or potential customer. Be sure to maintain eye contact with your leads on video calls. Looking them in the eye while they talk shows that you care about what they are saying. Maintaining eye contact while you speak can make your message more persuasive.
Boost Your Listening Skills
It’s essential to talk with your potential customers instead of talking at them. Focusing more on listening during your video calls will help to build trust with your lead, improving your odds of closing the deal.
Get Started With Poised
Closing calls are a challenge, but one that you can conquer. You’ve made it this far; you’re only steps away from gathering those signatures.
Keep the tips above in mind as you develop a strategy for preparing for your next closing call. And remember to incorporate the Poised communication coach to grow as a communicator!
Sources:
Understanding the Consumer Sales Cycle | Entrepreneur
How To Make Prospects Feel Valued and Comfortable | The Business Journals
