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Closing Strong: The Super Sales Handbook
by Myers Barnes
Published by MBA Publications
1997
Reviewed by Leigh Kimmel
Closing a sale is one of the most critical phases of selling -- until you have closed the sale, you do not have a customer, but a prospect. However, many people also find it the most difficult part of their profession.
The author faced similar difficulties when he was first starting out in sales, as he shares with us in the first chapter of this book. He had quit a struggling business as a cement contractor to start what he thought was a successful career selling beachfront vacation condos. However, when he had been on the sales force for a while and still had not made his first sale, he was in immediate danger of being dismissed.
His first response was to lean heavily on friends and relatives, and within a week he had made several sales. He thought he was doing great. His boss didn't see it that way.
Following the advice of an article he read in the company lounge, he sought the counsel of the top sales representitive on his company's staff. This woman ascribed her success to listening to various instructional and motivational tapes on the way to work -- but refused to lend hers to Barnes. Instead she insisted that he invest in his own copies, since a person who has spent good money for the information will listen more intently and carefully, and learn better.
Although financially strapped, Barnes ordered two tapes and spent hours each day studying them. Within days he was rewarded with his first sale. Since then he has made a regular study of sales techniques, and his business has expanded greatly. He has come to believe that anyone who is willing to take the necessary time to study sales techniques can become successful in sales. Now he offers his own advice, gleaned from a decade of successful sales experience, to others who want to improve their sales skills.
Since closing is the essential skill of selling, it is absolutely essential that a successful salesperson master the techniques of closing. Barnes starts by explaining how closing is the natural culmination of a great presentation, then explains how to go about the process.
Barnes explains what forces bring about a decision to purchase, including the sales representative's own enthusiasm for the product and the customer's expectations. Then he describes the factors that stand in the way of successfully closing a sale, including buyer's remorse in advance and the salesperson's own fears of rejection.
With the fundamentals established, Barnes then moves into specific techniques for overcoming obstacles to the sale and successfully closing. Nearly half the book is devoted to specific techniques for overcoming particular types of objections. He provides basic scripts to memorize and elaborate upon, until they mesh smoothly with the salesperson's natural style of speaking.
This book is intended primarily for people involved in face-to-face sales. However, many of the fundamental principles behind it, such as qualifying the customer and overcoming objections, can be applied to sales on the Internet as well.
Click here to buy Closing Strong in paperback.
Review posted April 11, 2001
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