Twenty Five Powerful

Techniques For
Negotiation
and Closing a
Deal

For Private Circulation Only

Deepak Rajagopalan -MBA/ IIM Kolkatta

Master Trainer and NLP Practitioner
 Preface

Sales are the lifeblood of every business. As a sales professional,

you have one of the most important jobs in society. Nothing
happens for your company or business until you make a sale.
Without any sales, there’s no reason for a business to exist.
Everyone in the company, from the president down to the
accountant, is completely dependent on you for their
employment and income. Thus, your ability to sell is cru-cial in
determining the success of any business. However, selling can
be either an 8-5 job or a rewarding profession, de- pending on
your attitude towards it. It can either be a way of making
a meagre living from paycheck to paycheck, or a profession that
offer you riches beyond your imagination.

Although many salespeople earn only a little over Rs 2L a year, a

few earn over 20L a year. Is this an accident? Have you ever
wondered what it is that makes the difference?

For several years, I was in the sales profession myself, and I met
some incredible individuals who just seemed to be better able
to sell than others. Many of these, who would later become my
mentors, are people who just appear to naturally know how to
influence and persuade others. They are people who just seem
to be constantly full of the energy and motivation to go out
there and sell. What has fascinated me is their Negotiation and
Closing skills. I have put together some practical learnings from
my sales experience and my knowledge of NLP- Neuro
Linguistic Programming to form a basic guide for Beginners
and Experienced Sales Professionals alike.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

1 Importance of Negotiation & Skills

2 Negotiating with Power

3 Closing –The End Goal

4 Challenges to Closing – Obstacles

5 Challenges to Closing – Final Objections

6 Final Lap Closing Techniques

 Introduction
COMMUNICATION
is the KEY
 INTRODUCTION
How Communication Works?.
Lets look at the basic model Six Steps of Communication.It is a simple
understanding as to how communication really works.

• At any given time we are bombarded with 2 million bits of

information per second. This is not just everything we take in
through our 5 senses, but also the awareness of our heart beating,
and what our feet feel like inside our shoes.

• Now we can not consciously process all that information, so we

start filtering a lot of that information out. We bring it down to
about 150 bits, which we then chunk together in 5-9 blocks of
information. As you can see, a lot gets lost.

• Now how do we decide what to filter out? This is based on our past
experiences, culture, personality type, etc.

• We then create an internal representation of that, and this comes

often in images or sounds.

• That in turn starts to affect how we feel, and how our body
responds (our physiology.)

• This then causes us to behave, by which we start to create changes in

our environment. We simply loop back to step 1, and it is an
ongoing process.
Business is driven by
Communication
• Communication is the essence of business and management process. Business
communication refers to learning that is shared between people within and outside
a business organization, performed for the commercial advantage of the company.
It can also be defined as the spreading of information within a business by its
people. Business communication is communication that takes place between two or
more parties relating to business affairs. According to Brennan, “Business
communication is the expression, channeling, receiving and interchanging of ideas
in commerce and industry.” In the opinion of W.H. Meaning, “The exchange of
ideas, news and views in connection with the business among the related parties is
called business communication.” There are a number of aspects that play an
important role in this exchange of views and ideas and negotiation and closing is
one of them.
 Chapter One
NEGOTIATION
Level Playing
Ground
IMPORTANCE OF NEGOTIATION
Negotiation: A Path to Business Success.

Negotiation is a discussion among people which takes into account

everybody’s needs and interests so that no one is at loss. It is very
important in business communication to avoid conflicts and find an
alternative that suits all. Good negotiations are very important as they
contribute much to business success and build better relations and the aim
of any negotiation is to reach to an agreement that results in mutual
benefits. Negotiation is a give and take process which means giving
concessions to the other party which means little to you but means a lot to
them. Good negotiation means leaving each party satisfied and willing to
do business with each other in future. In today’s competitive market, good
negotiation is highly valued. For those who don’t possess skills for
negotiation in business communication, these skills can be developed
through practice and various strategies.

Negotiation strategies are skills employed by negotiators to gain an

advantage. A good negotiator makes efforts to achieve successful outcome
that is beneficial to both the parties. Your potential to negotiate will make
people want to work with you. Learning how to negotiate and improving
on your skills, is an important part of business communication. The
capability to negotiate well is the key to personal and business success.
Using effective business communication and interpersonal skills is the key
strategy that any negotiator uses to get what he wants. Another strategy to
improve Business Communication is to learn how to negotiate with your
response. The manner in which you learn to improve your negotiation skills
in business communication is by practicing it. Grab every opportunity, learn
how to negotiate and become skilled. Negotiation is simply a game and you
have to keep playing and applying strategies until you learn to win every
time.
Negotiation is about Win Win Outcomes
 Negotiation skills in business
Seven Qualities to Negotiate Successfully

Negotiation skills are useful to businesses to resolve any differences that arise
between different people in a business setting.

• Interpersonal Skills – Interpersonal skills involve proficiency in managing

relationships and the ability to interact well with others. A person with
interpersonal skills is effective in leading change, has good communication
skills and can resolve conflicts through cooperation and negotiation.

• Active Listening – Active listening is another negotiation skill in business

communication. An active listener will not react impulsively in a conflicting
situation, but rather will listen actively as to what everybody has to say, try to
identify underlying causes and then come to a conclusion.

• Emotional Control – Emotional control refers to the ability to control,

redirect disruptive moods and emotions and express them appropriately.
Emotional control depends on an individual’s ability to exercise restraint and
control impulses during emotional expression, which is an important factor
in business communication.

• Collaboration and team work – Collaboration and the ability to carry out
effective teamwork is an important negotiation skill in business
communication. The ability to take decisions or carry out a discussion in a
participative manner, taking into account and giving value to views and
opinions of everyone involved is a great asset for effective negotiation.
• Empathy – Empathy or the ability to share someone else’s feelings or
experiences as if they were one’s own, is another negotiation skill. It is
the proficiency of understanding the emotional state of mind of others
and dealing accordingly. People high on empathy are self disciplined,
competitive and initiative. They are resourceful and determined.

• Patience – Patience is another negotiation skill which is very important

in business communication. A person who possesses patience is able to
respond rather than react and is not impulsive in taking decisions.
Communication is effective when both persons or groups communicate
patiently and are able to carry out a peaceful conversation.

• Confidence – Confidence in one’s own beliefs and opinions is

important in negotiation in business communication. While negotiating,
an individual must put forth one’s views with complete confidence and
assertiveness and reach an agreement or conclusion which is beneficial
to all.

The ability to attract deals requires skills, knowledge and awareness.

Negotiating effectively is accepting the situations you are faced with. When
it comes to negotiation, most of us are not very good at estimating our
abilities. If you are a good negotiator, you can increase your business
dealings and make it a successful endeavour.

The most difficult thing in any Negotiation,

almost, is making sure that you strip it of
the Emotion and deal with the facts

Author Howard Baker

 Power to Negotiation
Eight Secrets to Powerful Negotiation.

Let us study another very important skill that you must master in the area
of communication, negotiation. There may have been many times in
your life when you felt you had to fight your corner aggressively to get what
you wanted.

It appeared that the resources you needed were scarce. In fact, negotiation
is a skill that we must practice very often, and not just in business. It is a
problem-solving process, in which you and another person are attempting
to resolve a difficult situation. It is a situation in which something you want
conflicts with what the other person wants. In a sales situation, this may
happen towards the end of the sales process, when your prospect is
trying to squeeze a better deal out of you. Regardless, it is important that
you should always aim for a ‘win-win’ scenario in every negotiation process.
Unless both sides feel positive about the outcome, it may engender
thoughts and feelings of unhappiness, and even revenge, since the losing
party may perceive themselves as having been taken advantage of and
manipulated into doing something. In this segment, we will go through
some very useful tips that you may wish to follow in negotiating
successfully with anyone to get what you want in life:
 Secrets of Power Negotiation
• Never put down or attack your opponent’s proposal -
We all know that people tend to respond to an attack by becoming more
defensive and negative. Therefore, one of the keys to achieving success in
negotiation is to respect your opponent’s point of view. Always treat your
opponent’s proposal as an option and probe for the intention behind it.

• Think win win -

Unless the conflicting party is satisfied with the outcome, winning a
negotiation may just lead to temporary joy, but more upset in the future,
when your opponent attempts to seek revenge or get even. Nonetheless,
this doesn’t imply that you should give up your own goals, or feel short-
changed when the other person gets what they want in the negotiation, but
you don’t. In fact, this tends to happen in numerous business negotiations,
when many salespeople attempt to please their customers and give in far
too easily to their demands, often at the expense of their own interests. It is
necessary for you to understand and fight for your own needs,
while brainstorming the best alternative to any negotiated agreement.

• Separate intent from behaviour -

As mentioned in point one, it is always helpful to regard your opponent’s
proposal in a negotiation as an alternative, and to probe for the intention
behind it. In Best practices, we recognize the presence of a positive
intention behind any behaviour a person shows, regardless of how
undesirable the behaviour may appear to you. When you are willing and
committed to studying and recognising the higher intention behind your
opponent’s standpoint, you may realize how easy it is to achieve the much
desired win-win situation for everyone. In almost all cases, it is possible for
you to find a common goal that you and the person you are negotiating
with share, although both of you may appear to have very different goals
on the surface. For instance, in business, if the sales team and the finance
team are at odds, you may ask if the common goal is to make a
larger profit.
 Disarming before Launching of attack
• Always give suggestions and ask questions -
Again, most people dislike being told what to do. But by being polite and
asking questions or offering suggestions, such as ‘May I offer a suggestion ?’,
Would you mind if I ask a question ?’, ‘Perhaps you’d like to consider…’,
this will make the other person feel respected, and it will reassure them that
their opinions are being valued. As such, you will find it relatively easy to
penetrate their defensive barrier later and effectively sell your proposal.
• State your reasons before making a proposal -
Unlike many other negotiation techniques, the Best Practices of negotiation
strategy tends to work very well, because it
puts the emphasis on ‘disarming’ your opponent first, before ‘launching an atta
ck’ on them. One way to accomplish this is to state your reasons before ma
king any proposal. When your opponent has been persuaded of the
benefits of taking up your proposal, you will find it easier to get them to
subsequently embrace it. However, if you start off the negotiation by
selling your proposal aggressively to them, your opponent is more likely to
get defensive and find various reasons to oppose it.
• Your team must always stay united and cohesive in front of the
other team -
Despite the presence of any differences that your team members may
have with one another, this should never be revealed to your opponents.
Never try to negotiate with your team members in front of the other team.
Whenever an option is raised and you need more time or information, ask
for a break, or schedule another session.
• Give your opponent as little chance as possible to spot and take
advantage of your weaknesses -
While some negotiators believe it is essential for them to back up their
proposal with a long list of reasons, this strategy may back- fire, since it also
gives your opponent the opportunity to find its weakness, and make this the
basis for rejection. Thus, it may be wise to strike a balance here; you may wish
to pick only a few, but sturdy, reasons to support the option you are proposing.
• Resist your temptation to easily give in to your customer’s demands
-
Even when you are desperate to close the deal. Very often, your prospect is
likely to make some unfair comparisons between your product and those
being sold by your competitors. You may hear remarks such as, ‘Your
competitor is giving us this additional service free of charge’, or ‘Your
competitor is providing us with more attractive credit terms.’ In such
situations, most salespeople may tend to give in to their customers’ demands
since they are concerned about losing the deal. However, it may sometimes be
wise for you to stick to your guns, since your clients have a tendency to make
unfair comparisons between your products and those of your competitors. It
may be helpful for you to illustrate to your clients how it is inappropriate
for them to compare ‘apples’ with ‘oranges’. At the same time, you should
constantly bring their focus back to the value and benefits that your product
carries. Once again, it is your ability to master and internalize these proven
negotiation tactics that will help you to propel your selling skills to the
next level.

To persevere , is important for everybody.

Don’t give up, Don’t give in. There is always
an answer to everything.

Author Louis Zamperini

Successful Negotiations-Get the Best of each other

The greatest Power we have in

negotiation is the *power* to react

Author William Ury

 Chapter Three
Closing – The End
Goal
Closing Completes the Sale
How to reach the finish point of Selling?
In the selling profession, a closed sale creates a winning score. It’s
the bottom line, the name of the game, the point of it all. You might
already know plenty of techniques for prospecting, meeting new people,
qualifying, pre-senting, overcoming objections, and so on.
But, if you can't close, you're like a football team that can't sustain a drive
long enough to score. It does you no good to play the whole game in your
own territory and never get across the goal line. If you don't love the
closing process now, start falling in love with it be-cause this is where the
money is.

• Effective sales trainers and managers will tell you to follow your
A.B.C.s: Always Be Closing! -
True professionals are closing all of the time. They close for names. They
close for appointments, visits or meetings. They close on earning trust...on
getting down to business. They close on their own credibility and
competence. They are constantly trying test closes, and they can move
smoothly into their final closing sequence any time they notice a buying
sign.

You don’t close, you open a relationship if

want to build a long term, successful
enterprise

Author Patrisia Fripp

 Chapter 4
Obstacles of the
Mind
CHALLENGES FOR SALES CLOSING-1
How to cross the obstacles in the Mind

There are several reasons why many salespeople recognise the close as
the most difficult part of the selling process. First and foremost, in addition
to the need to learn how to handle the fear of rejection, a salesperson must
also ad- dress a few other main issues:

• Fear of failure-
Due to negative buying experiences in the past, over which you could have
had no control, many prospects are conditioned to be suspicious and
sceptical of whatever the salespeople say and of sales approaches. People
are afraid of making mistakes. They are afraid of being criticised by others
when they end up making any wrong buying decision. For instance, they are
wary of paying too much for your product and finding it for sale at a lower
cost somewhere else, or they are afraid that your product is not going to
deliver the benefits that you have promised. Thus, the better you are
at handling and minimising this fear, the higher your chances of closing
the sale with your prospect.
 Isn`t it getting too comfortable..
• Fear of venturing out of comfort zone-
It will frequently take a great effort from you to persuade your prospects
to venture out of their comfort zones and buy your products. Most people
have inertia to change and avoid taking risks in life. Since your product or
service may require them to make excep- tional efforts to adapt to the
change, or to adopt a new way of doing things, they are likely to hesitate in
making the decision. In fact, there will often be times when your prospects
may even feel the need to buy your product, but fall short of taking the
next step, since they are uncertain as to whether things will turn out better.
Most people would rather endure and stay with a known pain (i.e.
dissatisfaction with a current situ- ation) than to deal with an unknown pain
that comes from making a change. This explains why there are many
married couples who still hang on to their failed marriages, although they
feel extremely unhappy about what they are getting out of their
relationships. If they do not see that a divorce is going to guarantee them a
better life, they will choose the lesser of the two evils, and avoid dealing
with any uncertainties that will arise due to a change.
• Lack of credibility and trust -
This is usually an implicit concern of your potential client, and it is ideal to
tackle this problem right from the beginning. As mentioned in the earlier
chapters, facing resistance from a client is often a sign of lack of rapport.
When your prospect still holds any reservations about your
products/services or credibility towards the closing stage of the sales
process, it most probably means that you have not done enough in the area
of rapport-building. Once again, trust is one of the most important keys to
success in selling. A prospect will never buy a product from a salesperson
unless they trust them. In the modern business world, friendship-selling is
the most effective and easiest way to close with your prospect. Unless your
prospect views you as a friend who is genuinely concerned about their well-
being, you will have an uphill task to convert them into a customer. In fact,
one of the easiest and most effective ways for you to increase
your credibility and win the trust of your potential customers is to gather
and compile a list of testimonials for your products and services. Since
today’s customers are more knowledgeable and well-informed than ever
before, it may be harder for you to win them over, unless they can see great
 Prejudge a client before the close
• Negative expectations -
Have there been occasions when you prejudged your prospect early in the
sales process? And what happens the moment you decide whether a
prospect is going to buy your product? Very often, when a salesperson
assumes that a prospect is unlikely to be converted to a customer, they tend
to lose all their enthusiasm and energy in selling. All they want to do is to
complete their sales presentation quickly and leave the prospect. At times,
they may even get easily irritated with the questions that the prospect asks,
or react negatively to any benign comments that the prospect passes. Thus,
instead of dealing with those negative signals that the prospects have given,
and focusing on getting things back on the right track, many sales- people
will do nothing other than drive themselves further away from the deal. It
has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. During a conversation I once had
with a top sales achiever and networker, he revealed that his key to success
in selling probably lay in his adamant belief that everyone he meets is a
potential customer. Rarely will he question his prospect’s ability or
willingness to buy his products, especially early in the sales presentation.
Moreover, he will regard every prospect as a customer, and present to his
prospect in such a way that he expects to clinch the deal.
• People are too caught up with life -
Despite their interest in enjoying the benefits of your product, you may
often encounter potential customers who are overwhelmed with work or
are caught up in other areas of their lives. When they do not perceive the
purchase of your products or services as one of their top priorities in life,
they will not find time to think through your pro- posal. The buying
decision process may seem to take forever.

.
“There is no Magic in Closing. There are no Magic Phrases. Closing is
completely dependent on the situation.”
Author Alice Herman
 Chapter 5
Closing! The
Customer still not
convinced?
CHALLENGES FOR SALES CLOSING-2
How to handle Objections at the Final Leg

In addition to the study of your customer’s motivational strategies, perhaps

an- other essential element of the sales closing process is the handling of
objections. You are unlikely to close any sale without encountering any of
these. The better you are at handling any objections or the questions your
prospect poses to you, the higher your chances are of getting your client’s
buying commitment, which will conclude the sales process. Just as there are
myriad reasons why your prospects may end up buying your products or
services, there are countless reasons why they don’t. Moreover, it may be a
good sign when your prospect raises an objection. An objection
can frequently be turned into a splendid opportunity for a skillful
salesperson to close the sale. Essentially, objections indicate interest. Where
there are no objections, there is likely no interest. If you are speaking to a
prospect who is sitting there listening to your presentation passively,
without raising any questions and remaining silent throughout the process,
trust that you are most probably not going to land the deal. As a sales
professional, you should therefore carefully plan and be prepared to deal
with any foreseeable challenges and possible objections before they
even occur. You must go into every sales situation prepared for the
likelihood that your prospect will have questions unanswered, concerns
resolved, and objec- tions to be overcome. What are some possible
objections that you’re likely going to face? On the basis of our study and
survey conducted with salespeople from various industries, here is a list of
common objections we have discovered that most of them tend to face:
 Finally comes down to the price

• Price concern-
Although this is probably one of the most common objections that
salespeople face, it is usually the least important concern when it comes
to getting the clients to make the buying decision. It is the best excuse that
many prospects have discovered that they can use to decline an offer, since
most amateur salespeople will consider this objection to be a ‘legitimate’
reason for their prospects not to purchase their products/services.

In fact, the question of price can be raised very early in some sales
conversations. Before your prospect even knows or understands what you are
specifically selling, they may press you to give them the price of your
product. And if you fail to handle the situation intelligently, you may get
prematurely embroiled in the discussion of the price issue, spending much
unproductive time justifying the cost of your product relative to those of
your competitors. Nonetheless, a good way to tackle this objection is to re-
establish and/or strengthen the link between the products/services that you
offer and what your prospect values. In many cases, the price or cost of your
products/services is not even the ultimate reason why your prospect does
not proceed with the buying decision. Remember that the willingness to buy
your product and the ability to buy your product are two separate matters.
When your prospects are not willing to invest in your products, it doesn’t
mean that they are not capable of affording them .Rather, most prospects
have figured out this excuse is one of the best ways to hide their real
concerns of not wanting to invest in your product/services.
ur products/services. Thus, many top sales performers that I personally
know are adept at reframing this common objection as a selling opportunity.
Instead of giving up, they continue to probe further and elicit the real
concerns and unmet needs of their prospects before proceeding with the
close again.
 Dealing with many and timing it.
• Presence of other decision maker(s)-
When it comes to pitching a deal, it is important to establish that a lead is
qualified and that you are dealing with the decision-maker. Alternatively, it may be
helpful to clarify with the prospect: ‘As well as yourself, who else might be
involved in the decision-making process?’ In fact, determining the final decision-
maker is widely considered as one of the most difficult tasks for most
salespeople; many subordinates and ‘gatekeepers’ may claim that they are the final
decision-makers, so they tend to confuse the salespeople. In addition, not
knowing who the most important people are makes it very challenging for
salespeople to control the selling process. When they start pitching to the
gatekeepers, key points can often be lost when these individuals try to relay the
message and value proposition to the ultimate decision makers. Having said that,
it doesn’t mean you should neglect the gatekeepers and treat them with disregard.
Never underestimate the ability of these people to influence the buying decision,
as they are often the ones who can furnish you with valuable information about
the buying team and their roles. However, this can occur only when you have
established a strong and friendly relationship with them in the first place.

• Inappropriate timing-
Have you ever tried selling to your prospect and got a response at the end of the
presentation such as, ‘Thank you for your presen- tation. However, we are
satisfied with our current situation and are happy with what we have now. We
shall keep you in mind and contact you when we need your products/services in
the future.’ Once again, this is a very common excuse that your prospects will
provide if they are not fully prepared to go ahead with the purchase of your
products, and if you have ever accepted this excuse, you are likely to regret it, as
you are un- likely to hear from these people again. Prospects who perceive no
need to pur-chase your products/services at present are less likely to return to you
in the fu- ture, unless it is under particular circumstances. For example, this may
happen if their current vendors were to fail them terribly, forcing them to search
for alternatives. When dealing with potential customers who feel no immediate
need to buy from you or change the status,
quo,realise that this could be due to their unwillingness to step out of their co
mfort zones. For example, some prospects may have recognised the benefits of
investing in your product, but the trouble and expense of its installation or
operation hardly seems to make it worth the buy. Therefore, your role as a
 Let me think about it

• Your prospect needs to ‘think about it’.

This is probably one of the most common objections a salesperson will
face when they head for the close. When your prospect says something like,
‘I need to think it over and get back to you again’, you are probably not
going to hear from them again if you allow them to do this to you. On the
surface, it appears that the prospect has been really kind to you, as you do
not even have any objection to tackle here. Afraid to push the prospect
into making a buying decision on the spot, most salespeople try to appear
under- standing and agree to give their prospects more time to ‘think over
the decision’. Unfortunately, while the prospect is considering whether they
should purchase your products, they may tend to forget all of the
advantages you shared with them during the presentation. The longer they
‘think about it’, the greater the likelihood that they will turn their attention
to something else, and forget all about you and your products. As such, it
may be helpful for you to probe and clarify the real concerns of
your prospect before proceeding with the close again. Try to find out what
they specifically need to think about before making the buying
commitment. In most cases, I find it beneficial to redirect my prospect’s
focus to the value they see in owning the product. Unless the value of
making the investment is clear to them, they are likely going to focus on the
fear of making the wrong decision in- stead. In conclusion, regardless of
the objections a salesperson meets, their role is to persuade the prospect to
share the hidden concerns that remain unresolved. After all, there’s nothing
for you to lose when pushing for the close. Only three scenarios are likely
to happen. Firstly, your prospect may realise that there is nothing else to
think about and proceed to purchase your products/services. Alternatively,
they may also raise new objections and questions that the sales- person
must assist in clarifying and answering. Finally, there may also be a
few prospects who will just turn you down and tell you the real reason for
not buying your products.
 I want more questions please…
• Questions are the answers -
In his best seller ‘Unlimited Power’, world-renowned motivational speaker
and Anthony Robbins shared his experience of often meeting prospects who
complained that his course was too expensive. However, rather than common
objections a salesperson will face when they head for the close. When your
prospect says something like, ‘I need to think it over and get back to you again’,
you are probably not going to hear from them again if you allow them to do this
to you. On the surface, it appears that the prospect has been really kind to you, as
you do not even have any objection to tackle here. Afraid to push the prospect
into making a buying decision on the spot, most salespeople try to appear under-
standing and agree to give their prospects more time to ‘think over the deci-
sion’. Unfortunately, while the prospect is considering whether they should
purchase your products, they may tend to forget all of the advantages you shared
with them during the presentation. The longer they ‘think about it’, the greater
the likelihood that they will turn their attention to something else, and forget
all about you and your products. As such, it may be helpful for you to probe and
clarify the real concerns of your prospect before proceeding with the close again.
Try to find out what they specifically need to think about before making the
buying commitment.
In most cases, I find it beneficial to redirect my prospect’s focus to the value
they see in owning the product. Unless the value of making the investment is
clear to them, they are likely going to focus on the fear of making the wrong
decision in- stead. In conclusion, regardless of the objections a salesperson
meets, their role is to persuade the prospect to share the hidden concerns that
remain unresolved. After all, there’s nothing for you to lose when pushing for the
close. Only three scenarios are likely to happen. Firstly, your prospect may realise
that there is nothing else to think about and proceed to purchase your
products/services. Alternatively, they may also raise new objections and
questions that the sales- person must assist in clarifying and answering. Finally,
there may also be a few prospects who will just turn you down and tell you the
real reason for not buying your products.
Objection Handling is the steppingstone to Closing.

Treat Objections as requests for further

information.

Author Brian Tracy

 Chapter 6
Finally
Clinch the sale
FINAL CLOSING TECHNIQUES
How to go in for the Ki…...

• Proven closing techniques –

Finally, it is clear that your prospect is keen to invest in your products or
services, but how should you go about asking for the deal? What closing
techniques could you use to clinch the deal? Since we could possibly
introduce numerous closing techniques here, I am just going to focus on a
few that I have personally tried using and have found helpful.

Similarly, you should experiment with as many different closing techniques

as you can and discover the ‘formula’ that works best for you. Yet again,
you may wish to bear in mind that different techniques are likely to work
better for different prospects.
Why not give it a try as I have nothing to lose

• The ‘give it a try’ close -

Often perceived as the less intrusive, or ‘soft’ ap- proach, you can close your prospect
by inviting them to give your product a try, ‘Since you have already realised the
benefits of using our product, why don’t you give it a try?’ In many cases, your
prospects are likely to give you a positive response or explain why they are not ready
to give your products a try.

• The ‘nothing to lose’ close -

As previously mentioned, since one of the key barriers to closing a sale is the
prospect’s fear of failure, a salesperson may improve their chance of getting the deal
by addressing this concern. For in- stance, if your company is providing a 100%
money-back satisfaction guarantee for the product you are selling, you may assure
your prospect by saying something like, ‘Since there’s nothing for you to lose, why
don’t you give this product a try?’

• The alternate close (also known as double blind)-

Already discussed earlier under the set of hypnotic language patterns used for
presentation known as the Milton Model, the alternate close is an intelligent way of
effectively lead- ing your prospect to the close. Generally, the salesperson will ask a
close- ended question to elicit the response they desire from their potential
buyer, and, although two options will be presented, both of which will still ulti-
mately lead the prospect to the outcome the salesperson wants.
 Simplify and Assume

• The ’CHUNK-UP’ CLOSE -

Also known as an incremental close, this method requires you to start selling from
small. This is a sales process whereby you gain agreement on the ‘small items’ first,
before eventually moving into the entire deal. Instead of asking the customer to go
ahead with the purchase right away, you attempt to get their buying commitment
gradually by getting them to make the smaller decisions first. For instance, you may
pace and lead your prospect to the close by asking, ‘Would you prefer to have
the product delivered to your home? What is your home address? Would you prefer to
pay via cash or credit card?” In each case, if your prospect answers your question
without much hesitation, they have indirectly said ‘yes’ to the entire offering. The
‘chunk- up’ close is highly effective, because most people often find it easier to
make the smaller decisions rather than making a larger commitment.

• The ASSUMPTIVE CLOSE -

Whenever you employ the assumptive close, you are assuming that the prospect is
going to buy your product or service, and you thereby draw your prospect’s attention
towards the ownership and enjoyment of the product. For instance, if you were a car
salesperson, you may say something like, ‘This car runs on one of the best engines in
the world. You are going to love its performance.’ At the same time, you may even
pull out the sales forms or documents and begin filling them out. If the prospect
doesn’t stop you, you can just continue filling out all the necessary information to
complete the sale.
 Using Pressure Judiciously

• The pressure close -

In contrast with the ‘give it a try’ close, this method may come across as a
little more forceful, since the aim is to pressurize your prospect into making
the buying decision. Nevertheless, this approach tends to be more effective
when sufficient ‘pre-framing’ is carried out before- hand.
Pre-framing means putting your prospect into a particular frame of mind
in advance, so that you can later more easily and naturally lead them into
the close. For instance, while selling our courses, we may do a ‘pre-frame’
by saying something like, ‘The NLP Practitioner course is a programme
only for success seekers or people who want to have more out of their
lives’. In that way, you are leading your prospect indirectly towards the
close, since most people will want to associate themselves with being
‘success seekers’. Unlike most people who will advise against the use of
pressure selling somewhat, I believe there are numerous occasions when
this approach can work very well. Very often, people will need a little bit of
a push to make the buying decision. The key to success lies in the
salesperson’s ability to apply the right amount of pressure on the prospect,
at the most appropriate time, to land the deal.
 Something up my sleeve to nail it

• The ‘special offer’ close -

Here, you are enticing your prospect to make a buying decision quickly or
immediately by rewarding them with something in exchange. For example,
you can offer your prospect a free gift if they decide to purchase your
product immediately. Nonetheless, for this technique to work, the prospect
must first already see value in owning your product. The purpose of the
‘special offer’ is not to motivate them to buy your product, but to motivate
them to commit to the buying decision in the shortest possible time. At
times, a highly effective way to sell your product would be to inflate its
perceived value first, before offering a discount. Whenever a prospect
senses or feels that they may be missing out on a great bargain, they are
more likely to take action. In conclusion, we hope that you have gained
much insight from these useful Best Practices techniques that are valuable
to your sales pursuit. The learned knowledge and skill should not be
restricted to only increasing sales and becoming an excellent negotiator, it
can also be applied to many other aspects of your life. These include
character building, communication, public speaking, business, investment,
self-enrichment and learning, teaching, education, early childhood
development, sports, dating, marriage as well as to be happy and live
positively. Best Practices can improve your life. With that, we trust you
will put these tips and tools to great use and benefit tremendously through
your constant application. Once again, it is not what you know, but how
you apply what you know that truly matters!
Rather than following a Rigid process the salesperson has to be
flexible.
 Conclusion

There are different steps in the sales process, but negotiation

and closing is the most critical part without the sales is not
complete. They challenge our communication skills to the
extreme. Negotiation is opportunity to build a strong long-
term relationship with the customer. A good negotiator
provides the right platform for Closing. Some of the Key
takeaways from this ebook are

• In order to succeed in sales one should understand

communication and its dynamics.
• Good negotiations are very important as they contribute
much to business success and build better relations.
• Negotiation skills like Interpersonal skills, Emotional
control and Active Listening are critical to success.
• Unless both sides feel positive about the outcome, it may
engender thoughts and feelings of unhappiness.
• Successful salespersons always close whether its an
appointment, or a mail communication.
• Very often, when a salesperson assumes that a prospect is
unlikely to be converted to a customer, they tend to lose all
their enthusiasm and energy in selling.
• Must be aware of Gatekeepers who say that they have
authority to make the purchase.
• Chunking is an method of Incremental close which starts
from small.

Wishing you the very Best in your Sales Endeavors.

About the Author
Mr. Deepak is a Life transformational Trainer and Motivational speaker who firmly believes
that “Training breeds excellence”.

Deepak has a flair and passion for Life skill training and he strongly believes that training can
be a life changing phenomenon that is important to realize one`s own potential.

With strong self-belief he feels that attitude sets the altitude of an individual.

His training sessions creates a BIG IMPACT on the participants which leads to enhanced overall
performance, be it at work place or personal life.

A perennial Optimist and Positive thinker, Deepak possesses a special ability to influence
people to empower their lives and those around them. With a purpose and dedication in the
Training Arena, Deepak loves interactive communication to motivate participants to come out
of their comfort zones and excel in life.

Deepak has completed a Masters degree in Business Administration for Sales & Marketing and
is additionally certified by IIM Kolkatta for senior management. He has a passion for Sales and
has successfully reached a senior position in the consumer industry in past 20 years. This kind
of corporate exposure and working with diverse teams enables him to understand the pulse of
Indian corporate culture & ethos.

Being a certified Trainer at IATD Chennai, Deepak`s training sessions are filled with impactful
real-life stories with creative activities to initiate transformation in the participants. His sharp
presence of mind coupled with wit & humour makes his sessions a lasting impression on the
participants.

www.infinitelearnings.net
•
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