Implementation and evaluation
UNIT 7 NEGOTIATION PROCESS
7.4 Closing Techniques
A close refers to end the process and in sale it means to end the selling process after the negotiations are completed. The main objective of the closing technique is to successfully close effectively and get an agreement signed between the parties. Most of the times customer might show some resistance to make the decisions fast enough, hence closing technique serve the purpose of helping or assisting the customer to make the decision quickly and close the sale. It is the skill set of the sales representative to know when and what closing techniques are to be used. There are many closing techniques which can be applied depending upon the situation in the presentation process. A sales representative may use a single or multiple closing techniques to effectively close the deal.
We have already learnt about some of the closing techniques in the 3rd unit „Personal Selling”, let‟s now look at some more closing techniques which are given in the website changingminds.org:-
a) 1-2-3 close: In this closing technique the sales representative will try to summarize the benefits of the product in a sentence with three items. For example “This product is hassle-free, faster and efficient in removing viruses from your computer” or “this service is the cheaper, reliable and has a plenty of features than the competitors”. In this closing technique the main aim is to give a great impetus to the customer to feel that the product/service is the best in the market. This type of closing technique is used widely in the sale of low value products where the sales process may take place within a day. For larger sales where the discussions run over weeks, this might not be the only technique used.
b) Adjournment close: This type of closing technique assumes that the customer will not be able to make the decision right away and will require some time. So here you will ask the customer to take his/her own time in making the decision and you will adjourn the meeting to follow up on some other day. This closing technique is ideal when:-
The deal involves a lot of issues and value where the customer has to discuss with his/her higher authorities
When the deal is done during the budgetary period or when the funds are low
You have a feeling that customer will definitely come back and make more purchase. During the time given to customer he/she may do an analysis of other competitor‟s product/services and will return to you
You are the market leader and provide the best service
c) Affordable close: This type of closing technique is used when you know that the price of the product is way too high for the customer pocket and you need to do something to reduce the price or offer some other alternatives. This type of closing technique is used very common in both the door-to-door sale and the institutional or industrial sale. Some of the situations in which you may use this technique are:-
When you feel that the customer doesn‟t have budget to buy the software or hardware, then you may give an option to the customer that the software need not be purchased fully but can be taken as a service, paying rent for every month or quarter while using. This is a wide trend which is used now a days and the concept is known as software-as-a-service.
If you are selling the car or a house to the customer, then you may help the customer in making the payment through some loans or in easy-monthly-installments. Always try to find out the best installments or loan facility which doesn‟t make the customer to go in debt and will not be able to make the timely payments.
If the customer feels that your product cost is very high, you may inform him that the price is justified because the maintenance cost is very low. Try to make the customer feel that the price is affordable for long term usage
d) Alternative close: This type of closing technique is used when you have a feeling that the customer is willing to make the purchase and then you may present some alternatives which the customer can choose according to his preference. For example, if you are selling the laptops then you may ask the customer “would you like the laptop to have a 2 GB Ram or 3GB RAM?” or “Would you like to have the Intel i3 processor or i5
processor?” and so on. This can make the customer to make the decision faster and close the deal.
e) Assumptive close: In this closing technique the sales representative will assume that the customer has already made the decision and the next step is to take the order.
For example, the customer may be asked “Where do you want the product to be delivered to the head office or at your branch office?” or “Will one year license be enough for your product?” and so on. This technique is closely related to the alternative close and often used along with it during the sale.
f) Best time close: In this closing technique the sales representative will explain the customer how this is the best time to make the purchase. Some of the statements used in this technique are:-
We have this stock only in this festival season
This is the first time the product/service is sold at 20 percent concession
This is a limited offer where you get extra one year free onsite service
Having the summer approaching it would be the best time to have an AC
Having got recently married, it is the best time to think about having your own apartment
These are some of the closing techniques which might help you in different situations in the sales process. For more closing techniques you may look at the website address given in the reference section. Many-a-times negotiations and closing techniques go hand in hand to close the deal effectively. If the closing technique is not working then the sales representative might negotiate the price or other features and will try again for closing the sale using an appropriate technique.
SAQ 3
1) Explain any two scenarios where you would use assumptive close
2) If the customer says that they are having tight budgets in this quarter, then which type of closing technique would you apply? Justify your answer.
3) If the customer is not sure which laptop model to select, then which closing technique would you find appropriate to use?
7.5 Summary
In this unit we have understood the various closing techniques which can be applied to know the willingness of the customer to close the deal. We have also understood that most of the sales process wouldn‟t be completed without the negotiation phase. We have defined negotiation and understood the several principles of negotiation. We have identified the entire negotiation process would be completed in three process namely pre-negotiation process, negotiation process and the post-negotiation process. Before any negotiation process it‟s important to be prepared and so we have understood the various activities that need to be done to ensure an effective negotiation process. We have understood the six key steps which are followed in most of the effective negotiation processes. Finally in this unit we have learnt the important issues that need to be taken care of so that the negotiation agreement of the sale may not lead to an implementation failure in future.
7.6 Keywords
1) SLA Service Level Agreement is a document which
states the terms and conditions that define the level of service being provided by the product/service to the customer.
2) ETA Estimated time of arrival is the time at which the product/service will be available for delivery
7.7 References
1. Steven Cohen (2002), “Negotiation skills for managers”, Tata McGraw-Hill, USA.
2. Alan Flower (1996), “Negotiation skills and strategies”, Universities Press Limited, India.
3. http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sales/closing/closing_techniques.htm
7.8 Suggested Readings
1. Lisa J Downs (2008), “Negotiation skills training”, ASTD Press, USA.