Unit 15: Closing A Sale

Useful Tips

These are three possible styles for closing a sale:
Hard close: assume that the customer wants to buy the product/service and ask for quantities or delivery dates.
Emotional close: point out to the customer the advantages of having the product or the disadvantages of not having it and appeal to their emotions.
Urgent close: tell the customer that the product is only available for a short time due to scarcity, or that the price will soon rise.

Conversations

Amanda and Steve from CompixInc are talking to four different customers at a computer industry trade fair in Los Angeles about a new gadget from their company, a hand-held product scanner.

1
Amanda: …really does the job, so with our PriceChexproduct scanner, you just scan the price tag of any product in a shop and it does an automatic internet search and tells you if the price in the shop is fair. But that’s not all. It can also tell you where you can buy it cheaper! And it only costs $49.99!
Customer: Wow! That is so cool! But I want to have a look around at the other stands first and then –
Amanda: Sure. I understand. But I should tell you, we only have ten of these items here at the trade fair…
Customer: Ah, um, I see. And how much did you say it cost?


2
Steve: …software performs an automatic Internet search and tells you if the price in the shop is fair. But that’s not all. It can also tell you where you can buy it cheaper! And it only costs $49.99!
Customer: That could be very useful for my team.
Steve: Definitely. So, how many can I put you down for?
Customer: Um, I’m not quite sure. Well, I think I’ll take two for now and try them out with…

3
Amanda: …But that’s not all. It can also tell you where you can buy it cheaper! And it only costs $49.99!
Steve: Really? My brother is always driving me crazy telling me how I paid too much for something.
Amanda: Sound like my mother-in-law. Just think. What will you feel like when you can scan something he’s bought and then tell him he could have got it 50 per cent cheaper somewhere else?
Steve: That would be awesome! Ok, I’ll take two and I’ll give him one for this birthday…

4
Steve: …It can also tell you where you can buy it cheaper! And it only costs $49.99!
Customer: I see. I need to think about it. I’ll come back tomorrow.
Steve: No problem. Only I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed. The PriceChex is only available at this price today! It’s a special promotion for the trade fair opening…
Customer: Oh dear! Well, could I reserve one and come back in a few minutes?


Understanding

Which style of close – hard, emotional, or urgent – is being used by the seller in each conversation?

Conversation 1: ………………………………………….
Conversation 2: ………………………………………….
Conversation 3: ………………………………………….
Conversation 4: ………………………………………….

Saying it accurately

Unscramble these words to make sentences that you could use when closing a deal.

1.it’s/do/installed/you/How/think/look/will/it/when
………………………………………….…………………?
2.put/many/you/can/for/down/How/I
………………………………………….…………………?
3.available/today/at/only/It’s/this/price
………………………………………….…………………?
4.start/Shall/paperwork/we/the
………………………………………….…………………?
5.offer/time/for/have/only/this/short/a/We
………………………………………….…………………?
6.six/stock/only/this/left/in/item/We’ve/got/of
………………………………………….…………………?
7.see/What/people/it/say/will/when/they
………………………………………….…………………?
8.in/you/it’s/What/feel/when/will/like/place
………………………………………….…………………?
9.start/you/When/like/would/to
………………………………………….…………………?


Look at the sentences above and decide in which category they belong. Follow the example.

A hard close:
An emotional close: 1
An urgent close: