These Leads Are For Closers!
What are the characteristics of a great closer?
Confidence – Closers have incredible confidence in themselves and in their product. They believe there is no company they can’t crack… no deal they can’t make. There’s no doubt they are offering the right solution at the right price. They know how to create an environment where the customer knows it’s time to buy.
Leverage – Closers know how to create value by asking the right questions, uncovering the most pressing needs, and creating urgency to buy now. They have positioned themselves intelligently and leverage everything they’ve learned about the client’s motivation, challenges, and budget. They apply just the right amount of pressure, at just the right time, to make the deal happen.
Opportunity – Closers can see the deal from a mile away. They know how to paint a picture and create a win-win opportunity. They spend their time wisely, with the clients that are most likely to buy.
Strategy – Closers are like chess players. They have the skill and the talent to think three to four moves ahead. Each action builds upon the last... and keenly sets up the next move. They have been executing their strategy right from the start. Everything they say and everything they do has a very specific purpose.
Expertise – Some people have told me this isn’t important. I disagree. The best-of-the-best build their expertise. Closers understand the problem, the solution, and the deal… backwards and forwards. Nothing throws them off. Let me put it in perspective. Put two closers head-to-head with the same exact closing skill… the only difference is that one is more of an expert than the other… who wins?
Relentless – Closers are relentless. They are oblivious to stall tactics and unsubstantiated rejection. They build a huge pipeline, with multiple deals waiting to be made… so there is never a sense of panic or desperation. With high integrity and class, they do whatever it takes to make great things happen!
There are many other characteristics to describe closers. Use the comments section to create your own acrostic for C-L-O-S-E-R, and/or add characteristics that build upon what I’ve already written!
There is truth buried in this post. But very much buried. Waaaaaay to focused on the tactics of sales versus the specific, systematci approach to sales. Sales is more about getting a customer to "confidence", which is buy-in, than closign the sale. Leadership is inspiring confidence in others to a specific course of action. Sales is the same. Closing is really just getting the customer to confidence. This post makes is more salesperson vs. customer thand "salesperson with customer." My opinion only, but learning to focus on the customer versus the close is much more productive and successful. I could go into allot more detail, but probably not appropriate for a response but for a post.
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This is a great acronym, Doyle. You've captured the critical skills and talents of closers in a memorable way.
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Agree with Greg on this one if the context is a high dollar sale. It is very important to know that based on the prospect’s financial position, any sale could be a high value sale – everything is relative.
The best way to close is to advance the sale at each contact by solving problems and building trust. Sales systems are company focused and so is closing. The statistics backing this position can be found in SPIN Selling. High value sales fail to close when pushed. The best sales people focus on the Buyer's Journey, not the sales process and their managers leave them alone because they make their numbers.
Leverage – Urgency kills high value sales. It is seller focused not buyer focused. The message sent to the prospect is “My/our quota is more important than your need”.
Opportunity – Many leads leak from the funnel for different reasons. Great sales people work with marketing to incubate those opportunities and keep them warm.
Strategy – Each move should advance the sale and focus on the buyer’s journey.
Expertise – Put two closers head-to-head on a $9mm sale and they will both fail if they only focus on expertise and closing. Product expertise is not as important as one thinks. Having a support staff that knows how to communicate with each stakeholder (at a prospect business) is more important than expertise. Have you ever met sales representative that could code in Java? My guess is s/he is not the lead sale person, but one of many who work to advance large complex sales. The expertise a sales rep brings is Journey Management – knowing what, when, where, and why at all times.
Relentless – Great sales people build a relationship that allows them to ask the tough questions as to why a sale stalled. They don’t force a sale, they advance it, and when there is an impasse, they have the relationship to get the real answer. Maybe the lead goes back and is incubated; the act of asking the tough, non-closing oriented question wins them more integrity with the prospect.
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That was encouraging! I see I have the makings for a good closer....I'm basically self-made.
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Great acronym for great values to literally 'close' the deal, and build quality relationships with leadership!
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Thanks for your invitation to participate, Doyle.
I like the acrostic and would only make one adjustment. For the "E" I would choose "Ethical" over "Expertise" given your definition of "Strategy" for the "S".
My reasoning is that I would assume a professional salesperson is employing expertise through the use of their skill and talent-laden strategy. Too, I'm a big fan of Chess as well, but, even in the friendliest of games, there is still a win/lose dynamic. A stalemate is the best one can hope to achieve relating ethical Chess to ethical sales and who wins in that scenario?
Let's assume people who are participating in your sales blog are professionals who have an ever-increasing desire to increase their knowledge of their chosen craft. That being said, I believe the employment of that talent, drive, and determination comes with a measure of responsibility to ensure that "power" is being used wisely and conscientiously. Hence my preference for "Ethical" over "Expertise" in your acrostic. The sale obviously relates to chess in a lot of fun ways, but the difference now is that everyone can win.
Now, if you would like to get together for a game of chess on line, let me know and I will track down the info for my old POGO account...
Victor
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I like your ideas here Victor! Being ethical is a very important element to include. I'm glad you brought it to the table.
I do want to share a very important point. I've seen a number of comments relating to the notion of "winning and losing" or "client vs. customer" ...much of these comments are linked to the chess player description... so let's read throught that section again...
"Closers are like chess players. They have the skill and the talent to think three to four moves ahead. Each action builds upon the last... and keenly sets up the next move. They have been executing their strategy right from the start. Everything they say and everything they do has a very specific purpose."
As sales people, we often try to read between the lines... and/or should I say "listen" between the lines. All too often, I think we hear want we want to hear. My point here is that the above statement speaks nothing to the point of winning and losing... it's all about the ability to "think strategically," to "think ahead," and to "act with purpose!" I believe we can do all of those things AND create a win-win scenario for the sales person and client!
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Thanks for the compliment, Doyle, and I should remind you that I'm not the one with the pimp blog, you are.
I absolutely agree with you that there are some salespeople who hear what they want to hear.
My guess is that you are developing this acrostic for use as a training tool or, at the very least, a mechanism to effectively communicate a successful sales methodology or way of thinking about the sale.
That being said, it's hard to think of a chess player without thinking about what their typical and ultimate goal is for playing in the first place: Winning. The nature of the game is that with a winner, there will be a loser. Even in checkers where people are much more apt to play for the fun of it" you still have the same dynamic, right?
That's the reason I suggested the adjustment for "E". It assumes the expertise and demands the proper use of it.
V
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