Want More Sales? Practice Your Closing Techniques
If you want to become a great salesperson, you need to practice everything from your presentations to the way you ask for referrals. And of course, your sales closing techniques should be rehearsed over and over until you have them down pat.
Here are a few ways to practice:
Practice in front of a mirror
The quickest and easiest way to practice your sales closing techniques is to do it in front of a mirror. Put a few closes on yellow sticky notes and deliver a couple of them every day after you brush your teeth or shower. This will get your juices flowing and sharpen your mind.
Most of feel will feel a bit awkward when doing this at first, but if you can stand to look at yourself in the mirror while delivering lines in the air, you should have no problem when dealing with a live prospect.
Record yourself on video
You might have felt a little loony doing this back in the day if you are an old pro, but setting up a video camera on a tripod and recording yourself delivering your favorite sales closing approach or handling objections is still a great way to assess your sales skills and give yourself pointers.
Nowadays it’s really easy thanks to our smart phones. I recommend not holding your phone in your hand, but setting it up on a table to record. Make sure you can see from the top of your head all the way down to your hands, because you want to catch any weird mannerisms you might do with them.
Record, playback, and be ready to cringe a little as you spot your flubs. It’s okay, we all make them. The point is that you are doing something to smooth them out, which is what the top sales pros all do.
Record your audio
This will deliver a completely different experience than video, and serves to help with more than just selling over the phone. By taking away the visual, you can focus more on your inflection, your pace, whether you sound uninterested or desperate, and the impact of your word choice.
Again, use a smart phone or a dedicated recorder for the job. It’s too easy not to do.
As a bonus, you can record yourself delivering typical objections as a customer and leave 20-30 seconds pause in between. Play this back while commuting and imagine your response to each (or say them out loud if alone in your car).
Role play with another
Finally, the best way to practice sales closing techniques is with another person. This typically happens at sales training workshops or as part of weekly sales meetings, but you can do this any time with a willing partner.
The beauty of this is that you can rehearse the entire sales cycle from start to finish.
If you need some role play scripts for sales closing techniques, please contact me and I will gladly provide you a few.
