Sales Closing Techniques to Increase Your Bottom Line
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A company’s net income, also known as the bottom line due to it appearing as the last figure on an income statement is a top priority for sales professionals. Their daily tasks and strategies often support boosting this key metric for businesses.
If you are interested in learning how to elevate your selling game, why not join us in the article below. We dive into 21 of the most popular closing techniques that sales representatives are using to contribute to company profits in 2024.
Let’s get started!
Types of Sales Closes
In the business world, there are a number of closing techniques for sales. Each one is designed so sales professionals have the option to select an approach best suited to their customers:
Let’s take a look at some popular types of sales closing techniques.
1. The Assumptive Close
Just like the name implies, this technique requires the sales representative to assume or believe that the customer wants to close the deal. This frame of mind, will make the sales representative perform all the actions necessary in a real sale to close a deal. For example, you will hear the following kind of questions when you are approached by a sales representative using the Assumptive Close technique:
Sales representatives will find this technique quite useful when they have good rapport with their prospects. It’s also a useful technique to employ when you can pick up that a potential customer wants to purchase a product or service but hasn’t said so yet.
2. The Gauge Technique
This sales technique for closing sales is used to measure at which stage a prospect is in their decision-making process to purchase a product or service. The Gauge technique is helpful since it can tell the sales representative how close the customer is to making a purchase. All the sales representative has to do is ask the customer a series of open-ended questions.
Scaling questions may also be used to figure out how ready the client is to make a purchase. An example of a scaling question that a sales representative might ask to measure a client’s commitment could look like this:
3. The Summary Close
In this technique, a sales representative makes sure to summarize the product and service benefits to their client. They will also remind the client of the features and the amount of value they can add to their life just by purchasing the product or service. Salesforce Sales Cloud can be a good option for accessing this kind of data in a Summary Close situation.
Then, the sales representative can end the pitch by asking the client if they are ready to close the deal. This is a useful technique to use when clients are deciding whether they need the product or service. Giving clients a recap of all the benefits they receive for parting with their cash is a good way to give them faith that they are making the right purchase decision.
4. Puppy Dog Close
This is a cute name for a closing technique in sales and it is based of the idea that if you give a person a puppy for a few days they are unlikely to return it. The sales community has paid attention to this strategy and has introduced it to selling goods and services. So, how it works in this case is a sales representative will give a client a product or service to use for FREE.
If the client does not like the product or service, they can return the goods or cancel the service. The Puppy Dog Close is used when sales representatives are super confident in their products and services. They know that their product has a high value from experience in closing sales, live demonstrations, or happy customers.
This closing technique is a way to show clients that the goods or services they are purchasing matches what they expect to buy.
5. Scale Close
In this technique, the sales representative will ask the client to rate the following elements on a scale from 1 to 10:
These ratings can give the sales representative valuable insights into where the client sits in the buying process. Then, the sales representative can determine how close they are to sealing a deal with a client . If they are far away from that endpoint, they can address the obstacles that are in the way of the client making a purchase.
6. Scarcity Close
This selling technique focuses on creating a sense of urgency due to a product or service having limited availability. For example, a sales representative might say to a client that there is only one mobile device left in the shop and it will take two months to deliver a new one. Alternatively, the sales representative might focus on the price of a service or product.
In this situation, they will say that the discount on the mobile device is only valid for a limited time. These types of tactics trigger responses from clients who have a fear of missing out on a good deal. It’s best to use this selling technique when a service truly has limited availability, or there are low levels of products in your inventory, and your client has not made up their mind whether they need the offering.
7. Takeaway Close
With this sales closing technique, sales representatives will remove a benefit from the offer when pitching to a hesitant client. This tactic aims to show how much value the product or service really has. For example, the sales representative could say to the uncertain client , “We could remove the VIP customer support if the price is not right.“
The hope is that the client will not want to lose the premium service or product in the deal. The Takeaway Close is ideal to use in situations when a client is undecided whether they would like to pay the price listed for a product or service. Additionally, when clients appear to be undervaluing your products and services, this would be a good time to use the Takeaway Close tactic.
8. Now-or-Never Close
This type of sales closing technique is employed when a client is indecisive about a product or service. To nudge them for a response, sales representatives will remember this technique, which teaches them to offer an incentive to the client if they choose to purchase a product or service right now. Special on-the-spot incentives for customers could be:
9. Sharp Angle Close
When a prospect asks for a discount on a product or service, sales representatives can use the Sharp Angle Close technique to seal the deal. The sales representative will agree to the discount, but only if the client commits to making a purchase right now. This tactic is employed as a response to a client who is trying to compromise on the sale, and the business is interested in making deals fast.
10. Question Close
When a sales representative needs to guide a client into making a purchasing decision, they could try the Question Close technique. It requires the sales representative to use direct questions when communicating with the client, such as:
These types of questions can slowly move clients toward deciding if they want to purchase your product or service. It’s best to use this technique when you have answered all of your client’s concerns and need a final tactic to nudge them closer to sealing the deal.
11. Soft Closes
This sales technique needs a gentle approach as the sales representative guides the client towards purchasing a product or service, without pushing or rushing them towards a sale. In this type of interaction with the client, the sales representative measures a prospect’s interest in the products and services. One way to do this is to ask questions and then collect feedback to low-key nudge them to the next stages of the buying process.
This is a very low-pressure way to make sales, as there are other goals to achieve in this approach:
12. The Alternative Choice Close
This tactic is similar to the Assumptive Close since the sales representative presumes that the sale is going down. However, in the Alternative Choice Close, the sales representative will give the client an option between two choices, such as:
Sales representatives choose this closing tactic when they want a “yes“ answer from the client to seal the deal. Other questions might lead to no, which is not favorable when trying to close a deal. So, the Alternative Choice Close technique is quite powerful.
13. The Something or Nothing Close
A sales representative will use this sales technique when they want to give a client two options:
- Make a small commitment and get something.
- Walk away from the deal and get nothing.
When the sales representative uses this technique, they have to give the client a manageable choice to consider. This will make the decision to agree to the purchase rather than avoiding the purchase altogether much easier. Sales representatives use the Something or Nothing Close technique when their clients are not fully committed to making a purchase.
14. Unique Offer Close
For this technique to be used, the sales representative must present the potential customer with a special offer. But, the sales representative needs to also add a sense of urgency to the promotion while showing how their products and services are better than all of the competition on the market. The special offers used in this technique are often time-sensitive or tailor-made to fit the needs of the client.
Many sales representatives use this sales closing technique to give prospects a rare and high-quality experience, one that they cannot get from competitors. As you can see, the Unique Offer Close technique focuses on making offers super attractive to customers so that they find it difficult to walk away from the deal.
15. Opportunity Cost Close
In this technique, a sales representative will tell the client what they might stand losing if they do not purchase the product or service. If you know anything about psychological principles, you might see that the Opportunity Cost Close technique uses the loss aversion approach from this field of study.
The principle implies that people will try to avoid losses over achieving gains. When a sales representative understands this, they use the Opportunity Cost Close technique to show clients what they can lose from not committing to closing a deal, such as important benefits or advantages in finance or health.
16. Objection Close
This technique is useful to pull out when you have been talking to a client and resolving all their objections as to why they do not want to make a purchase. In this case, the sales representative will ask the client straight out why they do not want to make a purchase? The answer will give the sales representative a chance to resolve that issue before the client can solidly commit to a purchase.
17. The Video Close
This closing technique requires video footage to be recorded and sent to a client . Videos with people communicating a message are powerful tools because they tell stories in a format people like to consume. People can connect better with others when they see a customer success story or demonstration of how to use software.
These videos used for closing deals can be pre-filmed or they can be customized for a specific client. Either way, the videos should include:
The reason why videos are so persuasive to clients is that they layer body language, speech, and visual aids into one presentation. This makes communicating a sales pitch much easier to customers and allows them to be more engaged with the people, products, and services presented in the video.
18. The Columbo Close
This sales technique is considered to be a classic in this field. The Columbo Close is a reference to Lieutenant Columbo, a fictional detective made popular by a TV show. This character was disorganized when it came to solving crimes and had vital questions, usually at the most surprising times for a suspect.
But, how does that affect closing sales? Well, the Columbo Close technique mirrors this behavior. A sales representative using this approach will ask a prospect a question when they think that the conversation is almost over. It’s used to catch a client off guard and they might respond with new information.
Alternatively, the surprising question might motivate the client to purchase a product or service.
19. The Ownership Close
This technique makes the client feel as if they already own the product or service even though they have not purchased it yet. The Ownership Close is used to help clients imagine what it would be like to have the product or service solving problems in their daily lives. The aim of this sales technique is to give the client a sense of possession so that it is easy to see how they need it in their lives and will be able to make that purchase that much faster.
20. Offering Competitor Close
This sales technique is for the sales representative who knows their competitors. In this sales tactic, the salesperson will often talk openly about the competitors in the market to build trust with clients and show them them how transparent they are.
This kind of talk also allows the sales representative to discuss the features of their products and services versus competitors. In this way, the sales representative tells the client they have options but that their products and services are the best choice.
21. The Ben Franklin Close
The last sales technique on our list is a classic. Named after the famous American statesman, the Ben Franklin Close emphasizes a methodical approach to closing a sales deal. How it works is that the sales representative guides the client through the buying process by offering a list made up of pros and cons.
Sometimes, the sales representative might ask the client to create their own pros and cons list. Then, the sales representative and the client work through the list to see what the benefits and disadvantages of making a purchase are. While this is happening, the sales representative will try to make the pros of the sale outshine the cons.
Wrapping Up Sales Closing Strategies
Thanks for reading our article on the best sales closing techniques. In our article we covered a few that have been working well in 2024. We suggest trying the one that works for your specific sales scenario. Take into consideration your client’s concerns and how quickly they want to purchase a product or service.
There are many other sales closing strategies, and the more you know about them, the more you will know when to use the appropriate one. These strategies are here for a reason, so try them out and let us know which one has influenced the close of your sale.
Titan Has Sales Solutions for Salesforce
Sales professionals need to spend a lot of time focusing on creating strategies that cater to their customers’ needs and preferences. This is not an easy task and requires a lot of attention to successfully present the value that a product and service can deliver. Unfortunately, sales professionals also have a variety of manual, time-consuming tasks to fit into their daily routine, like adding customer data to Salesforce, creating invoices, and building agreements that need all parties to sign on the dotted line.
This is where Titan can help sales professionals boost sales with document generation, automate processes, and build web projects for any use case so they can spend their valuable time on the important stuff, like generating company revenue.
Let’s take a quick look at what sales professionals can achieve with the help of Titan:
Refresh Your Processes with Titan and Salesforce
This is just a small feature list of what your sales team can achieve with Titan and Salesforce. If you need to know about Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing tiers, check out their official website. For more information on our no-code platform, contact us through one of our social media links below.
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