How to Close the Sale Every Time or Find Out the Reason Why Not It is a real pleasure to watch a good sales person in action and last week I had that opportunity. On Tuesday afternoon I walked into the Harris Teeter grocery store in Virginia Beach and was immediately greeted by a smiling, confident young man behind a counter that contained several issues of The Virginian Pilot, our local newspaper. He held out a small piece of paper and asked if I would like to enter a drawing to win a prize - a $50 gift certificate. All I had to do was to write my name and telephone number on the form and hand it back to him - which I did. Everything that happened afterward was almost perfect “by the book” selling . Don’t Give up Too Easily According to marketing statistics, 44 percent of sales people give up after one “no.” 22 percent of sales people give up after two “no’s,” and 14 percent give up after three “no’s.” This does not mean you have to be pushy, but what it does mean is that follow up becomes more and more important. Ask the Right Questions Back to the grocery store . . . it seems that this sales person was prospecting store customers and asking them to subscribe to the local newspaper. His question to each person who walked into the store: “Do you subscribe to the Virginian Pilot?” My answer was: “No, I don’t, but I do buy and read the newspaper from time to time.” (I was hoping that answer would discourage him and I could start shopping for the groceries I needed to buy. But he was not discouraged and did not give up.) Find Out What is Important to Prospects His next question: “When you DO read the Pilot, what do you like best about the newspaper?” (Great question to get a positive answer and learn what might motivate me to subscribe to the newspaper.) My answer: “The coupons.” The sales rep (smiling): “Great! Do you know you can save up to $60 a week using the coupons in the newspaper?” (An excellent benefit statement.) Then he handed me a form and said: “We have a terrific promotion going on now. When you fill out this form you can get the newspaper for just $2.00 per week!” He asked: “How does that sound to you?” (A good trial close question - asking for my opinion instead of a decision.) “Great,” I replied. “But I don’t think I’ll do that.” (I hated saying “no” to him - but I didn’t have time to fill out the form.) The Fearless Question Sales rep: “What’s holding you back?” (A PERFECT question and one that many sales reps are afraid to ask.) I gave him my main objection and he had a very good answer. (He almost had a sale but I was in a hurry.) What a pleasure to see someone who was enthusiastic about his product and was not afraid to ask for the sale. AND - not afraid to respond effectively to the objection. The Missing Next Step He had my name and telephone number on the little form I filled out, so he could have followed up and called me the next day. Unfortunately, that did not happen and too bad, because he would have made a sale. Ann Barr is a consultant and sales coach who has written eight books on sales and marketing. You can email Ann at Ann@AnnBarrBlog.com Get a free E-book when you sign up for her free Weekly Sales Tips e-mailed newsletter www.annbarrblog.com.