Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Bare Bones Postal reform works. The rate hike that takes effect May 12 is the lowest in memory: an average of 2.88%. And some mail classes are getting even less than that... See Full April Issue

“These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you, they're gold. And you don't get them. Because to give them to you is just throwing them away. They're for closers.”

The first scene of the film “Glengarry Glen Ross” opens with a speech many sales pros dread. Blake, an executive from “downtown,” berates an underperforming sales team. He exhorts them to execute their ABC's — “A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing.”

While you wouldn't want your team emulating the scabrous salesmen in “Glengarry,” the inference is clear. The ABCs are the foundation of any contact center's success. Whether you're putting the final touches on a deal or gauging a prospect's genuine interest through small commitments, you're always closing.

In the telesales process you're constantly looking to pinpoint a prospect's hot buttons. These are those sources of discomfort that drive prospects to take that leap of faith and commit.

How do you measure a prospect's willingness to act before you close? It requires an array of skills. You must build rapport and establish yourself as an expert and a problem solver. You'll employ consultative questioning to better understand your prospect's personal experience, authority, interest, organizational processes and commitment. Moreover, you'll need to build a case and differentiate your solution. After taking these steps, you're ready to close.

There are two types of closes you can use. The first is a test close — generally closed-ended questions designed to confirm a prospect's understanding of your proposition and test their buy-in. However, this tactic often prompts objections or backtracking by alerting prospects to your intention to close.

More often than not you'll attempt to close once a prospect runs out of questions, offers positive feedback about your solution or asks about things like price, terms of sale, shipping, return policy or specifications. At this point, it's best to use an assumptive close, which is phrased in a way that assumes the sale has been made.

Here's a few more things to make your closes more effective:

• Parting Words
  Test closes

  Toss in an incentive (for example, a related product or an additional feature at no extra cost) that might entice the prospect to make a decision immediately.

• Assumptive closes

  Restate a critical product benefit.

• Consumers expect to be in control. Before closing, consider outlining your prospect's options and the associated benefits, saving the optimal choice for last.

• Prospects often fear the cost and embarrassment of making a mistake, not to mention the inherent confusion that change can bring about. Make the decision easy. Reassure the prospect that the sales process is short and simple. Similarly, consider dropping names of other customers before closing to boost the prospect's confidence.

• Tailor your close to the prospects' unique situations. If he or she previously encountered service problems, use a close like this: “To prevent any costly disruptions in the future, let's start your service now. OK?”

• Create a sense of urgency. This can be done by citing limited availability, savings or a special promotion.

• An often-cited statistic is that listeners hear only a fifth of what is said. You can't assume prospects have retained every point. Therefore, summarize the benefits a prospect will receive from your solution.

• Sound good so far?
• Does that make sense?
• Can you see how that would (insert benefit)?
• How do you feel about…
• Sounds (easy/like a solution), doesn't it?
• That's pretty good value, wouldn't you say?
• What would be your time frame for implementing something like this?
• Do you see anything that would prevent you from (insert action)?
• Before we get started, do you have any questions?
• You have two choices. You can either do (insert current action) and (insert eventual result)…or you can (insert action wanted) and (insert benefit). What are your thoughts?

• Would you like this sent to your home address?
• How would you like to pay for your (insert item)?
• I can have this to you in (insert number of days). Is that soon enough?
• Will (insert number of items) be acceptable?
• Based on what you told me, I would recommend (insert item and associated benefit). Do you agree?
• There's no risk whatsoever.
• Otherwise, just return it in (insert number of days) for a full refund.
• Many customers who order (insert item) also add (insert new item). It (insert feature, benefit and tie-back to original product). Would you like to include that, too?
• Let's go ahead and (insert action), OK?
• Why don't I set this up for you now?
• Do you have any other questions before we proceed?

Jeff Schmitt (jschmittdbq@mchsi.com) is marketing and compliance manager at Advanced Data-Comm, Dubuque, IA, a subsidiary of Working Solutions, Plano, TX.