Secrets to Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar

, Secrets to Closing the Sale by Zig ZiglarTo mark the tragic loss of a truly great man here is a repost from 2010 with some tips from a great book its
Zig Ziglar’s – Secrets of Closing the Sale.

Even if you are not directly involved in sales in your day to role, you may be surpised to read we are actually involved in selling  nearly every day. We are constantly selling ourselves, whether that be formally or informally, at work or at home, we are constantly vying for attention, understanding or priority. Even as a buyer we are selling… Consider this – In every single sales meeting a sale takes place. Either they sold you YES, or you sold them NO. So, understanding the sale and what makes people good at selling is a learned behaviour. Knowing some of the secrets to closing a sale might help you in both the work place and in life generally…. Enjoy.

Key Concepts:

  1. By asking questions, there is no way you can get unhappy with me about the answers you give to those questions
  2. There are five basic reasons people will not buy from you.  These are:  no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, and no trust.
  3. People buy what they want when they want it more than they want the money it costs.
  4. You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
  5. You must believe in what you are doing, that you are interested in serving your client and that you do feel you are offering the best product or service at the best price which will do the most for your client and their needs.
  6. The prospect is persuaded more by the depth of your conviction than he is by the height of your logic.
  7. I am glad you are concerned about the price….because that’s one of our most attractive advantages.  Would you agree that, as a practical matter, a product is worth what it can do for you and not what you have to pay for it? Our company has the choice between providing coaching as cheaply as possible and selling it as a get by service, or providing coaching that teaches you how to create long-lasting results, profits and growth.
  8. Selling is essentially a transference of feeling….believers are closers…c stands for conviction.
  9. A calm, confident, positive, reassuring salesperson working from a base of honesty and integrity is the most effective tool to calm the fear of the prospect and get the sale.
  10. Take the reason why he could not buy and use it as the reason why he must buy.
  11. Move to the prospect’s side of the table, identify the problem, get involved in the solution, and your closing percentage will increase.
  12. Your business is never really good or bad out there.  Your business is either good or bad right between your own two ears.
  13. Improve your self-image and you will improve your sales performance.
  14. The high performer is sensitive to the value of the customer’s time and is able to spend more quality time in front of the customer because he spends more quality time planning strategy and preparing for the call.
  15. The high performer is able and willing to explain service drawbacks, builds relationships and provides a valuable service.
  16. Professionals are counsellors who identify the prospect’s needs and then fill those needs through his services.
  17. Since your integrity is the most important factor in building customer loyalty and career stability, the practicality of a totally honest relationship becomes even more obvious.
  18. Have a booster week….a total-effort week during which you give your maximum effort from early in the morning until late at night.
  19. Positive mental preparation in advance will help absorb the impact of dealing with negative experiences.
  20. You build your mental reserve by reading the good books, by listening to motivational and sales training recordings and attending professional training sessions.
  21. Build your reserves, get your thinking right, get your spiritual values in order, get your body in good physical condition, and you will have the key steps toward building an exciting and successful career.
  22. People believe more of what they see than what they hear. – use testimonials
  23. Logic makes people think, but it is emotion that makes then act.
  24. Use emotion and logic in a presentation, chances are excellent you will end up with a sale and a happy customer for the future
  25. High performers – involve others by soliciting opinions, sharing information and establishing trust relationships inside the organization…they are total, well-balanced people with integrity who are knowledgeable and aggressively caring in their creative approach to solving problems….He is so other-people conscious he never lets his ego hinder his efforts…is inspirational and motivational….he believe in his ability to make the sale on a specific call…the professional is the one who has an assured competence in a particular field or occupation.  It is a quality performance….school is never out for him….he studies his prospects…
  26. He know his prospects will make their decision based on what they understand and believe so he undersells, keeps it simple and makes it believable
  27. He is a thinker, but he clearly understands it is better to emulate genius than to create mediocrity, so he evaluates materials and procedures on the basis of results. Tests and measures.
  28. The professional possesses conviction, concern, confidence, and courage.  His confidence is strong that he can persuade the prospect to take action, and his courage enables him to ask the prospect to take action now for his own best interests.
  29. In the final analysis he understands that his career will depend on what he does with what he knows, not just on what he knows.
  30. Drop a note to all prospects and clients at least once a month
  31. The professional is skilled at communicating and reading the prospect’s communications back to him.
  32. When you are talking with a prospect, please remember that in most cases he’s delighted to give you pertinent information if you will just ask for it!
  33. Always think as a seller and a buyer
  34. If there are any objections, it is infinitely better to bring them out early so you can deal with them as part of the presentation rather than at the end of the interview.
  35. Don’t argue, get defensive, or try to justify the price.  Quietly and with an almost casual confidence put the ball back in their court.  I.e.  Is it too much?  What do you think would be a fair difference to give in exchange for increasing your profits?
  36. The best way to get a prospect to make a favourable new decision is to make him happy with an old decision.
  37. Break down costs and frame with similar costs per month or values
  38. You make the sale when the prospect understands that it will cost more to do nothing about the problem than to do something about it.
  39. Do you carry the marble?  Do you carry the baseball? Or do you carry the beach ball?
  40. Words that sell: your clients name, understand, proven, health, easy, guarantee, money, safety, save, new, love, discovery, right, results, truth, comfort, proud, profit, deserve, happy, trust, value, fun, vital, security, your, advantage, positive, and benefits.
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2 Comments

  1. EIDUL AMEEN 1st May 2010 at 04:27

    I am in Sales business and your article is very concise and good. Keep up the good work !

    Reply
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