It’s happening again.
Your prospect is postponing the deal. However, they seemed interested during the demo and were enthusiastic about your product, so why don’t they sign the contract?
Closing deals is one of the more nerve-wracking aspects of being a sales professional. There’s always a chance your deal won’t pan out. Anything can go wrong.
However, staying silent isn’t an option.
You need to ask for the sale. Wrap up your closing process by asking closing questions and statements that make the deal final.
Before Sales Closing Lines and Questions Come Transition Statements
Your closing question or sentence goes beyond words. Your body language, tone, voice, and the quality of your offering also come into play.
Most sales professionals forego these transition statements and their prospects feel like they’re getting beaten over the head with an aggresive close.
But instead of going headfirst into the closing conversation, you should use a sales transition statement that sets the stage for your close. Here are my top eight sales transition statements:
- “Let’s reiterate what you’ve told me so far.” (Recap your prospect’s pain points, budget, and ideal timeframe for purchase. Then position your product as the perfect solution to their problems.)
- “Let’s go over the details. “
- “I don’t want your company to lose (negative consequence) simply because they didn’t have the right solution and place. Do you want to take immediate steps to stop this from happening?”
- “Based on our conversation, it seems like (your product) is a good fit for (prospect’s company). What do you think?
- “Are you ready to move forward? I can send over the contract right away. “
- “And if we implement by (date), I think you can start seeing ROI by (date). This means we need to close sales by (date). Is that enough time for you to make a decision?”
- “So what happens next? “
- “Based on your requirements and preferences, I think these two products would be an excellent fit for (prospect’s company). Would you like to go with (Product X) or (Product Y)?
Notice how none of the statements are aggressive and make the prospect uncomfortable. Use any of the above statements to transition your conversation to a closing conversation without sounding salesy.
These statements set you up in a position of a trusted advisor and must come before any closing scripts.
Now that you know how to set the stage, let’s discuss some of my favorite actionable closing questions and closing statements.
8 Best Sales Closing Questions and Statements to Close More Deals
If you’ve ever wondered what questions to ask when closing a sale, here are a few tried-and-tested ones to ease the tension and maintain the flow of your sales interaction.
1) “Does it make sense to… “
If you’ve been following my Salesman.org podcast or blog, you may already know about my simple two-step closing technique. If you haven’t, here’s what you need to do: ask the prospect “Does it make sense to (next step).”
For instance, “Does it make sense to sign you up into our system and get the implementation started?” Or “Does it make sense to sign the contract right now? ”
Get it? The prospect will want to coach you here and tell you what you need to do next to get the deal done. You can learn more about the technique here.
2) “So, you like the product, what it can do for your company, and you (hopefully) like me—all that’s left is to make it official.”
This can be a perfect closing phrase to use if you share a strong rapport with your prospect. It’s confident and polite with a touch of humor, but more importantly, it reinforces the prospect that your product will make their life easier. What reason is there for them not to buy your solution?
That said, this statement may not work if your prospect has previously objected to any part of your sales pitch. You risk coming off as arrogant if you claim your prospect likes your product just after they express any doubts.
3) “Would you like my help with (prospect’s problem)? “
If the above sounds too much for you, simply ask the prospect if they want your help and if they want you to be the one that solves their problem.
This way, you can state your intention to them and uncover any potential doubts and concerns the prospect may have about you and your company. You also prove to the prospect your end goal is to help them, helping you win their trust and, therefore, close more deals.
4) “If you are ready to sign the contract, we can… “
One of the main reasons this closing statement works is that it tells the prospect exactly how they can benefit by implementing your solution. You can also introduce a conditional clause to further reinforce the actual value of your product, which is the ultimate positive consequence of those benefits (Increase productivity, saving time, lowering overheads).
5) “Is there any reason, if we gave you the product at this price, you wouldn’t do business with our company? “
This right here is the ultimate soft-close sales closing question.
Geoffrey James advises sales reps to use this closing question when trying to close deals as it ensures the sales conversion between you and the prospect keeps going.
If the prospect answers ‘No, ‘you’ve still got them to agree to the contract indirectly. If the answer is ‘Yes, ‘you can address their objections without blowing off the deal.
Clever, right?
6) “Unless you have any more questions or concerns, I think you’re ready to get started.”
This statement leaves the door open for your prospect to get more information while giving them that push to sign on the dotted line.
If you’ve done an excellent job at communicating your product or service’s value, as well as resolving all sales objections and doubts, throughout the sales process, the prospect will give you the final go-ahead.
7) “If I were to send over the contract today, would you be confident signing? “
This is kinda risky since you put yourself in the position to hear the dreaded “Yes, but…”.
‘Buts’ aren’t good. They’re an objection. But they are also questions that you can understand and solve, improving your chances of securing the deal.
This closing question can make the prospect realize they don’t have any further objections or concerns and are ready to buy. Plus, it’ll tell you exactly where you stand with your prospect.
8) “Our product will help you (benefit) by/in (specific number/date). The sooner we get it done, the more you’ll get out of it, so let’s get started. “
Your prospect is only interested in results, so it makes sense your closing statement should reinforce exactly that—results from your offering.
However, you have to identify some value adds for your prospect for this to work. This can be money or time—or anything else—that makes the prospect see the worth of investing. Then, encourage them to take action and improve the outcome of the investment by creating a sense of urgency.
The next time you feel your prospect is putting the deal on hold, remember there’s (almost) always a question or statement to a close.
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