You’re finally ready to sit down with your prospect and present her with your proposal. You might be tempted to offer your prospect a multitude of options. Even better, you might try to toss in a discount or two if she opts to sign for an add-​on. Stop! Before you go any further, consider the ‘psychology of choice,’ a topic discussed recently by Aaron Agius on business​.com.

Of course you want your prospect to sign with you. So your natural inclination may be to show her everything you’ve got. That way, she’ll buy something. Right? Not necessarily, says Agius. Presenting too many options leads to ‘choice paralysis.’ In an often-​cited study, Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper proved that when consumers are faced with too many choices, they often won’t purchase anything at all – even if they have an option to get a discount.

As you plan your approach to the close, think about your specific prospect. And then, tailor your proposal to what you’ve heard from her. She might love your high-​end product line but you know her budget will limit her to a lower-​end product. Think twice before you include a high-​end item in your proposal in these cases. You could end up frustrating the prospect because you’re not proposing a solution that will meet her needs and her budget.

You also want to make the closing process as seamless as possible to avoid generating any objections. Keep in mind that you know your products and services better than any prospect will. After all, you spend all day talking about them. You’ve seen them in action. Your prospect doesn’t. Your offerings are just a few among the many others she’s been considering. So, don’t confuse her. Don’t bring up details of related products.

Just focus on one or two options that will best meet her needs. You might even go as far as suggesting a best option based on what she’s told you. That’s not being pushy. Take a consultative attitude and lead her through a series of questions and answer that will have her agreeing that the suggested solution is best for her.

Prospects naturally like to think they have more than one option when they’re ready to purchase. To optimize your outcome give them a few alternatives to consider but make sure to limit their choices.