5 Closing Habits to Adopt NOW

BY Jessica Helinski
Featured image for “5 Closing Habits to Adopt NOW”

Effective closing is a skill that every salesperson needs. Closing habits should evolve as buying habits change, and the most successful reps monitor their techniques regularly. The new year is a perfect time to take a look at your own closing practices and adjust as needed.

5 best closing habits for today’s sellers

Leslie Ye, in a recent HubSpot article, shares a list of her best closing habits for today’s sellers that “you can embrace, strategies you can leverage, and mindsets you can adopt to consistently close and see the results you're after.” Here, we highlight a few of her suggestions. 

  1. Knowing the close starts right at the beginning of the sale
  2. Creating genuine urgency 
  3. Getting buy-​in on each step before moving to the next one
  4. Defining the prospect’s purchase process
  5. Knowing their own bottom line

Knowing the close starts right away

Closing isn’t just the end game. The most successful reps understand that from the very first touchpoint with a lead, closing begins. As Ye explains, “It's an ongoing process that underscores the sale as a whole — you're closing a prospect from the first conversation you have with them.” 

By learning about the prospect, their business, their challenges, etc., you are already setting your close in motion. You are learning what it will take to earn the sale, you are establishing rapport to earn trust, and you are narrowing down solutions you can leverage to close. 

Creating genuine urgency

One of the most important closing habits is to create an urgency to buy. But, the key is to inspire genuine urgency rather than use pushy techniques or discounting. One approach is to rethink urgency: Rather than creating urgency, uncover urgency.  “Great closers find a legitimate, pressing issue or opportunity related to their offerings,” Ye writes. Seek to uncover sales triggers that can drive the need to buy and be mindful of the language you use, which can impact a buyer’s sense of urgency. 

Getting buy-​in on each step before moving to the next one

The most successful salespeople don’t make assumptions. Instead, they confirm that they are on the same page as the prospect each step of the way. By doing this, as Ye points out, “their ultimate close — asking for the business — is much more likely to have a positive outcome, as it becomes a natural next step in the process.” This closing habit can also drive trust, as you position yourself as an engaged collaborator who wants to be in step with the buyer.

Defining the prospect’s purchase process

Successful closing habits, again, don’t just involve the end of the sales effort. They should be  present through the entire process, and this one in particular requires early action. By uncovering the prospect’s path to purchase early, sellers are then able to accommodate them along the way. They can also effectively map out their own strategy to align with that process. “Great closers plan around these steps as soon as that planning becomes appropriate,” she explains. “That lets them prepare for a seamless purchase process and keep a deal moving along efficiently.”

Knowing their own bottom line

Ye understands that offering discounts or concessions can be tempting, especially when trying to meet quota or facing other pressures. But an important closing habit is to know when enough is enough. As she explains, “It’s important to remember that, at a certain point, the pain of accommodating the deal will exceed the benefit of bringing it in. You need to know when to walk away.” As you go through the sales process, keep your own value top of mind and be aware of red flags that the prospect doesn’t recognize or appreciate that value. 

Effective closing habits lead to winning results

Adopting effective closing habits, such as Ye’s suggestions, will help sellers boost their close rates and improve their own process from start to finish. “Closing shouldn’t be thought of as a one-​off, dramatic affair,” Ye writes. “It’s a set of repeatable processes and strategies that permeate every sales conversation you have with a prospect.” By adopting this mindset, and implementing good habits, closing today’s buyers will be easily within reach.

Photo by Cytonn Photography


Share: