What makes a good sales “closer?”

There are quite a few things I teach sales people, because most “sales” people are not selling anything. They are collecting leads and spamming people – neither of which will ever lead to a closed sale.

The key factors needed to close a sale:

You have to identify who your prospects are.

And no, if you are selling a B2B product, that doesn’t mean your prospects are “all” business owners. Your prospects are people who need your product or service that are willing to go through your sales process. This means 100 leads could ultimately turn into 6 prospects.

You have to make sure they need what you have.

So many sales people are worried about their competitors, but in truth, your only competition is whatever your prospect is currently spending money on. So, you need to make sure your product is needed, offers more value, and can do more for your prospect.

You have to build a relationship.

Far too many sales people try to get in touch with me just to get me to buy something, but they are not genuinely interested in me as a human being… which is hurting their sales numbers. We buy from people we trust, like, and enjoy being around. If you aren’t willing to build a relationship with your potential client, you may not close a deal.

In truth, sales is a numbers game and a time game. Your greatest client may not close until 3 years from now. But are you patient enough to build a 3-year relationship?

Some may say, “Jason, I can’t wait 3 years to close a sale.”

Well, I never said you couldn’t build relationships with more than one prospect, did I? Besides, you still need customers 3 years from now, right?

Working the numbers will get you far. Having patience will get you farther. Don’t tarnish a potential relationship just to get a sale today when you should, in reality, be building genuine relationships with hundreds of prospects.

This is what sets a sales professional apart from a sales person.