The Soft Close

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a high-pressure sales situation, with an aggressive salesman shoving a contract and pen in your hands and preaching a hard deadline? Well if you have, I’m sure you would agree that there is nothing you want to do more than run to the hills screaming. It is human nature to try and avoid high-pressure decision-making situations, and to be an effective salesperson you must be able to reduce the stress your prospects feel during your sales pitch. If I could show you a way to break the tension in your sales pitch, open your prospect’s mind, and provide a technique that will allow you to become a better salesperson – does that sound like something you may be interested in?

The soft close is a sales technique that opens your prospect’s mind to buying a product or service, without the psychological pressure felt during a hard close. By using the soft close, you are finding passive ways to show the prospect the benefits of your solutions and asking him or her just to consider your product as a solution to their problems. You’re not necessarily asking them to change, merely asking if they would consider your services as a solution to their problem. So the first thing you must do is uncover what the individual prospect’s unique business requirements (pain-points) are, and decide whether your service or product will apply to their particular business.

Once you understand what the prospect’s needs are, and they are aligned with your services – then it is time for a soft close. It is crucial to focus on the benefits of your services, not the services themselves – because the prospect primarily cares about how this is going to benefit him or her directly. So step 1 is to spell out the benefits of your solutions, and step 2 is to ask a low-impact question that opens their mind to utilizing your services.

– Step 1: Spell out the benefits:
o “So if I could show you a way to reduce pain point #1, eliminate pain point #2, and increase revenue…”
o “If our services allow you to X, Y, Z…”
o “If my product allows you to increase X while reducing Y…”

– Step 2: Ask a low-impact question:
o Does that sound like something you would consider?
o Would that be in line with your company’s goals?
o Would that be of interest to you?

This approach allows the prospect to lower their guard and truly focus on the benefits of your product. By adding a few soft closes throughout your sales pitch you will be able to sharpen your sales techniques, increase your commission checks, and become a better salesperson – does that sound like something you would be interested in…?