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COVID-19 accelerated the changes to the association sales process that were already taking place prior to the pandemic’s arrival. As our business development teams work to improve our associations’ bottom lines, closing sales in this new environment is increasingly important and challenging.\u00a0<\/i>Ryan Dohrn is a global sales and marketing advisor with a focus on events and media sales. The following article, 10 Ways to Close More Sales Deals Faster, originally appeared on Ryan’s <\/i>website<\/a>\u00a0and we are sharing Ryan’s ideas with our PAR community.<\/i><\/p>\r\n Read below for 10 of Ryan’s time-tested ideas on closing sales.<\/em><\/p>\r\n I\u2019ve said this before in the past, but I want to reinforce this simple fact: the conversion rate is 70% higher when you recommend a product. A full sixty percent of people make decisions based on FOMO, that fear of missing out.<\/p>\r\n So why it is that so many sales people go on a discovery meeting and then leave that meeting to create a customized solution and proposal?<\/p>\r\n In some instances, I get it\u2014this specialization that you\u2019re trying to bring in front of your customers. But it\u2019s hard enough to get meetings as it is, much less have to schedule a meeting, go to discovery, leave the meeting to create a proposal, come back and track the person down to present the proposal. Then after all that they\u2019ve got to think about it. And then you\u2019ve got to track them down again.<\/p>\r\n You might say, \u201cMy process is a lot more streamlined.\u201d But I doubt it. I\u2019m here to be real with you.<\/p>\r\n So when I\u2019m on a sales call, I\u2019m ready to present options in that very first meeting. And I am ready to make recommendations and proposals on the spot.<\/p>\r\n If you want to move from the transactional selling that has been necessary during COVID to relational selling, you\u2019ve got to use research to connect more deeply with customers.<\/p>\r\n As I share in my sales training, I use tools to do this. LinkedIn is one obvious example. And some of us have LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and it\u2019s a really great tool. I\u2019m also using a Chrome extension with a website called Crystal Knows (www.crystalknows.com). And the shortcut is that Crystal does virtual personality profiling. The extension syncs with LinkedIn when you\u2019re in Chrome to pull up personality profiles and traits of the people that you\u2019re looking at. This tool is not free, but it\u2019s not expensive, either. And I use it all the time.<\/p>\r\n So, I\u2019m using research to connect more deeply with sales clients. It\u2019s called \u201cbuilding quick trust.\u201d And \u201cquick trust\u201d must be built within 5-10 seconds. You\u2019re going to do that most effectively by having more information on the customer, their company, etc. So dig in on LinkedIn and make sure you\u2019re prepared for all your calls.<\/p>\r\n I realize this is kind of 101, but are you actually doing it?<\/p>\r\n Your questions simply have to be better. One of your main questions that makes me nuts and that I hear when I\u2019m doing sales training is this: \u201cTell me more about your business.\u201d C\u2019mon, you\u2019re better than that.\u00a0Or \u201cWhat keeps you up at night?\u201d Okay, c\u2019mon, you\u2019re better than that one, too. And then, \u201cWhat\u2019s your budget?\u201d You can do better than that.<\/p>\r\n Those are three questions we do need to ask, but maybe ask them in a more vibrant kind of way so that we don\u2019t sound like every other salesperson that\u2019s calling on that customer.<\/p>\r\n Here are four that I really like to ask:<\/p>\r\n 1. “When you agreed to meet with me, what business challenge or problem were you hoping that I could help you solve?\u201d That is one of my absolute favorites.<\/p>\r\n 2. \u201cIf I could give you a magic wand that you wave, what would you want to see happen as far as our relationship goes\u2014what\u2019s your buy-in from me?\u201d Or \u201cIf I could wave a magic wand for you, what business challenge could I help you resolve?\u201d<\/p>\r\n 3. \u201cWhen you think about competing here in our community and against others in your industry, do you want to be seen as having some sort of a presence out there? Do you want to be competitive? Or do you want to be dominant?\u201d<\/p>\r\n And the reason this works for me is because, sure, I can ask them their budget for buying whatever product I\u2019m selling. But they\u2019re going to give me a number based on\u00a0their<\/em>\u00a0reality.<\/p>\r\n Let me stress it again, when I ask this question and give them those three options, that\u2019s going to lead me towards a budget number that\u2019s based more in\u00a0actual<\/em>\u00a0reality\u2013rather than simply\u00a0their\u00a0<\/em>reality.<\/p>\r\n The other question I like to ask on a regular basis is,<\/p>\r\n 4. \u201cIf everything went perfectly, if our relationship was perfect, you buy the product I\u2019m selling, and then \u2026 what do you want the end result to be? What would the perfect end result be for you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n Or, more simply, you could say, \u201cIf I\u2019m going to keep you for a lifetime as a customer, what do I need to do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n I think those are just better questions than, \u201cWhat keeps you up at night?\u201d<\/p>\r\n In-person events are returning, but COVID is still part of the conversation. Be prepared to talk about it.<\/p>\r\n Jot down the most common objections you\u2019re going to get on one side of a piece of paper. And on the other side jot down what your answers are going to be. And be prepared for delays.<\/p>\r\n You\u2019ve got to think about revamping your sales proposal based upon the research that I hit on before. Let me give you two tidbits that might help motivate you to do this.<\/p>\r\n From our Sales Training World research, we\u2019ve found that when we looked at 1,200 pages of 100 different proposals that 79% of our test users simply scanned the proposal, and only 16% actually read it. So I think we sales pros need to remove about 50% of the text from our proposals.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n Another telling find in our research is that nearly all of the most successful businesses we looked at had proposals that presented three pricing options.<\/p>\r\n And then, the last finding was that these successful businesses used proposals that were full of pictures and a wealth of examples.<\/p>\r\n So, be thinking of the research out there and revamping your slide decks, your capabilities decks, and these kinds of sales tools. And again, remember that only about 16% of people actually read what it is you\u2019re putting in front of them.<\/p>\r\n Why do I love three pricing options? I love three pricing options and I stress them in my sales training because if you give somebody one choice, it\u2019s sort of a yes or a no. If you give them two choices, now you\u2019re starting to get them thinking. But if you give them three choices, they will typically buy the middle option.<\/p>\r\n So you create your pricing and your proposals around the middle option.<\/p>\r\n To reiterate, present three pricing options. I want to see a good, better, best in almost every situation. Or a presence, competitive, dominant\u2014or a gold, silver, bronze. \u00a0However you word it, present three pricing options if you want to sell more.<\/p>\r\n So you\u2019re on the meeting (remember, I suggest you go there with a proposal), and you\u2019ve gone there ready to sell them something\u2014ask great questions, share testimonials, and\u00a0show them<\/em>\u00a0what you\u2019ve got.<\/p>\r\n Then when the client says, \u201cI need to think about it,\u201d you\u2019ll be ready for that too, and you\u2019ll be ready to implement three steps, which are No. 1, tell them \u201cLet me back up and in 48 hours check in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Then No. 2, if they need more time and 48 hours isn\u2019t enough, ask them, \u201cIf you need more time, what are we going to do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n And finally, No. 3, ask \u201cWhat if we miss each other?\u201d which is how I psychologically try to program my customers. \u201cIf you stand me up for this date, then what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n It\u2019s also worth noting that we need to be prepared for when their answer is \u201cno.\u201d I\u2019m not going to beat them up about it. But I might say, \u201cI\u2019d rather get a \u2018yes,\u2019 but if it\u2019s going to be no just tell me \u2018no.\u2019\u201d Or, \u201cIf the timing isn\u2019t right, tell me \u2018no\u2019 so I can quit bothering you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n A very specific follow up plan that I stress in my sales training is: after I get finished with my sales call, I check back in 48 hours. So, consider these follow-up statements: \u201cIf you need more time, let\u2019s text about it.\u201d \u201cIf we miss each other, then what?\u201d \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d And then, \u201cIf the answer is no, tell me \u2018no,\u2019 I\u2019m not going to beat you up about it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n A lot of times salespeople feel like they don\u2019t want to talk about their clients. But you have to.<\/p>\r\n In the land of COVID, stranger danger is real. People are more likely to buy from you if you\u2019ve helped other people be successful. That\u2019s why I\u2019m always open to share and talk freely about my other clients.<\/p>\r\n Yet, in nearly every slide deck I see, in just about every proposal that I see, there\u2019s no mention of anybody else that we work with\u2014our clients. Why is that?<\/p>\r\n \u201cWell, you know, we really can\u2019t talk about other people,\u201d many say. But stop. We\u2019re not talking about being unethical. I\u2019m talking about singing from the mountaintops.<\/p>\r\n Don\u2019t be afraid. Tell them how much you love your customers and how much they love you, and that they\u2019re going to love working with you, as well.<\/p>\r\n Go ahead and sing that love from the mountaintops.<\/p>\r\n Some people will tell you to step It up in advance. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the appropriate thing to do. For example, \u201cOkay, what\u2019s your timeline here?\u201d \u201cDo you have the authority to make this decision?\u201d That reminds me of how we used to do things in the \u201880s. And most buyers don\u2019t respond to that.<\/p>\r\n But if I get to the end of the sales call, and they\u2019re showing excitement, they\u2019re giving me buying signals, I ask them, \u201cSo what does your path to making this decision look like? \u201cYou seem like you love this idea. Do you love it?\u201d And if they say, \u201cI love it,\u201d then great. I\u2019ll say, \u201cSo what\u2019s your path to getting this approved?\u201d and \u201cWhat do you need from me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n And then I\u2019ll ask, \u201cWhat do you think is going to be the biggest roadblock that you\u2019re going to run across? What can I give you\u2014video, can I reformat this slide deck for you, could I record the sales deck using a tool like Loom or Soapbox and give it to you to show your boss?\u201d<\/p>\r\n A lot of sales trainers out there would say, \u201cNever meet with anyone who\u2019s not the decision maker.\u201d Well, that\u2019s easy to say if you\u2019re not really responsible for selling anything.<\/p>\r\n I think we have to meet with people that are in the chain of command.<\/p>\r\n So remember to ask, \u201cWhat do you need from me?\u201d Get really clear on this with your clients and prospects.<\/p>\r\n If you\u2019re going to close more sales deals, you\u2019re going to need to rock through them. If a customer\u2019s answer is no, I\u2019m not going to beat them up about it.<\/p>\r\n A lot of times people will say, \u201cNever give them the opportunity to say \u2018no.\u2019\u201d Okay, that\u2019s a copyright 1996.<\/p>\r\n You have to recognize that in today\u2019s world we\u2019re having to resell people all the time. So if you really make them angry because you jump back down their throat when you\u2019re in full-press sales mode \u2026 if the answer is \u201cno\u201d or \u201cnot now,\u201d your answer should be something like, \u201cWe\u2019ll get together and we\u2019ll work together at some point in the future.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Some people will say, \u201cWell, you never get a second chance to sell them.\u201d I just don\u2019t agree with that. I feel like we have to resell these people over and over again.<\/p>\r\n If the answer is \u201cno,\u201d that just means \u201cnot right now.\u201d And actually, that\u2019s alright.<\/p>\r\n Rock through those deals.<\/p>\r\n In closing, remember\u2014I say it all the time\u2014if sales was easy, everybody would be doing it. And they\u2019re not. So we\u2019re either crazy or we\u2019ve found careers that will feed our families for a lifetime.<\/p>\r\n Ryan joined PAR for our June 2021 Webcast,\u00a0Return to Action: Develop and Deliver Event Revenue in 2021.\u00a0<\/em>In this idea-filled webcast on event sponsorship, Ryan showed PAR members how to integrate sponsors deeper into events and presented tangible steps for how to grow events and sales in a post-pandemic world. Interested in watching? Check out out webcast archive<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n1. Present Options and Recommendations in the First Sales Meeting<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
2. Use Research to Your Advantage<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
3. Ask Better Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
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4. Prepare Yourself to Talk About COVID\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
5. Revamp Your Proposal<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
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6. Give More Than One Pricing Option<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
7. Set a Very Specific After-Proposal Follow Up Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
8. Talk About the Love You Have for Your Customers<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
9. Get Clear on the Path to Making a Decision<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
10. Deal with It if Somebody\u2019s Answer is \u201cNo\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n
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<\/a> Click Here to Watch Ryan’s PAR Webcast on Selling Events <\/a><\/p>\r\nInterested in Hearing More Great Ideas from Ryan?
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<\/p>\r\nRyan Dohrn,\u00a0<\/strong>Global Sales and Marketing Advisor<\/h3>\r\n