Latest / What is Business Development? / Episode 72: BD-BOK...Chapter 12 Top Sales Closing Tactics

Transcript

Episode 72: BD-BOK...Chapter 12 Top Sales Closing Tactics · What is Business Development?

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Coffee is for closers. It's a it's a great movie line, right,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: But for those of us actually, you know, doing business
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: development day in, day out, the real question is how
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: you get that close. Is it like bold and direct
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: demand the signature now or is it more of a
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: slow burn, you know, nurturing the prospect until they basically
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: close themselves.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: That's really the heart of it, isn't it that philosophical split,
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: And that's what we're exploring today. We're doing a really
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: comprehensive deep dive into the fundamental closing methods you need
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: in your toolkit. Yeah, our mission here is pretty straightforward conversion.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: We want to understand not just what the techniques are,
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: but like the psychology, why do they work. What's the
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: difference between prospects who are ready and those you need
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: to well guide across the finish line.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, we've got a serious stack of source material here.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: We're looking at what fifteen distinct closing methods. We've kind
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: of split them into two main camps.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: That's right, soft selling, that's about building trust, finding alignment
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: early on, and then there's hard closing, the the final
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: push maybe more high pressure tactics.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: So the plan is to break these down quickly but thoroughly.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: We want you walking away with stuff you can actually
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: use like tomorrow.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Okay, so let's lay down the first big rule, the
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: main distinction soft selling methods. I think things like the
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: upfront close, the trial close. These are your everyday tools.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: You use them early, you use them often all through
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: the sales cycle. It's about nurturing, finding those little.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Roadblocks, the hard closing stuff.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: That's the heavy artillery. You say that to the very
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: end when you really need to push for a quick decision.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Got it. Okay, So let's unpack those soft selling methods first,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: because the sources really stress this. Getting the foundation right
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: saves everyone a ton of time and honestly it seems
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: to boost your odds later on definitely.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: And the absolute cornerstone of soft selling is the upfront close.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: When you use that right at the start first meeting,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: the goal is just mutual efficiency, saving time for both sides.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Okay, So you're setting clear expectations from minute. You tell
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: them like, here's the kind of proposal you'll get, here's
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: when we'll review it exactly.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: And crucially, you encourage them to ask questions anytime, interrupt
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: if something's not clear or not adding value.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: But the really interesting part, the sources say, is this
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: mutual stop rule.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: Ah. Yes, this is key. You actively encourage the prospect
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: to stop the process. Wait really yeah, if they become
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: genuinely confident they're not going to buy, you tell them
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: it's okay to say so. You're basically giving them permission
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: to walk away.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Hmmm, that feels counterintuitive. Aren't you just inviting them to bail?
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: How do the sources justify that it seems risky.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Well, it's about efficiency and commitment. Actually, by offering the
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: stop rule, you gain a lot of credibility. It shows
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: respect for their time, okay, and in return you ask
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: for something back. You ask them not to give you
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: the vague I need time to think about it response,
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: or worse, just ghost you after you send the proposal.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Ah. I see, So it's a two way street exactly.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: You're asking for mutual respect. It filters out the non
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: buyers early, lets you focus your energy where it counts
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: on genuinely interested prospects.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Okay, that makes sense. It shifts the dynamic, doesn't it,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: from like seller versus buyer to more of a collaboration. Okay,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: what's the other foundational soft technique.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: That would be the trial close, sometimes called the soft clothes,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: And this one's really versatile. When do you use this
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: one anytime?
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Really throughout the whole cycle. Its purpose is diagnostic. You're
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: testing the waters, seeing how interested they are, like a
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: temperature check exactly, and crucially uncovering objections early. You want
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: to find those sticking points before they become major deal
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: breakers right at the end.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: So you'd ask like open ended questions, gauge their readiness.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Precisely, things like how does that sound so far? Or
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: based on what we've discussed, do you see this potentially
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: fitting your needs? If you get hesitation, you know you
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: need to dig.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Deeper, right, maybe they need another demo or a case study,
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: or you need to talk pricing again. It's like discovery,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: but frame does a mini close?
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: You got it? Okay, So that's the soft stuff. Now
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: we shift gears pretty dramatically. Actually, we're moving into the
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: hard closing.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Techniques, the final maneuvers, the.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Final often higher pressure maneuvers.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Yes, and we need to put that warning label on
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: right away based on the source material. You absolutely cannot
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: just throw these hard closes at everyone.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Right absolutely critical point if you're dealing with what the
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: sources call high intent threshold buyers. Maybe it's a very
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: complex product, a big investment, or if they're in a
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: formal competitive buying process like with procurement involved. Yeah, these
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: techniques can come across as way too aggressive, bushy and
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: can seriously backfire kill the deal dead.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Okay, so use with caution strategic deployment only.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Exactly so specific tool for specific situations. So let's look
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: at the first category, which is maybe the most interesting intellectually,
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: techniques that leverage psychology and how people perceive value.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Okay, read the way first up.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: A real classic, the Ben Franklin.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Close Ah, the old pros and cons.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Lists, That's the one. You use this when a prospect
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: seems stuck. Maybe they're struggling to see the overall value,
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: often because they're on up on the cost.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: How does listing pros and cons actually close them? Though?
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: It forces a mental shift. Instead of just feeling anxious
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: about the cost, their brain has to engage logically. You
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: literally draw a line down a piece of paper, advantages
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: on one side, disadvantages on the other. Right, listing out
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: all those benefits the advantages helps them visualize the total value.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Often it becomes clear that the pros massively outweigh the cons,
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: making the costs seem less significant. It makes the intangible
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: benefits feel more concrete.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Makes sense. Visualizing it helps, Okay, Sticking with psychology, what's next?
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: The puppy Dog close Yeah, which is essentially a really
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: well managed free trial.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Like let them take the product home.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: Pretty much. It taps into that human tendency. Yeah, we
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: get attached to things we possess, even to temporarily.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Ah the endowment effect precisely.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: So you give them limited time but full feature access.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: The key here, though, isn't just giving it to them.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: The salesperson needs to monitor their usage, proactively, answer questions,
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: make sure they're really getting the benefit.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Do they really experience the value?
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Yes? The hope the strategy is that they fall in
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: love with it, they integrate it into their workflow, and
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: then the thought of losing it, of having to give
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: the pubby back, that becomes the compelling reason to buy.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: That makes perfect sense, and that feeling of not wanting
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: to lose something that leads us right into the next one.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Doesn't it the takeaway.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Close it does? This one is fascinating because it directly
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: harnesses a very powerful cognitive bias, loss of version.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Can you just quickly remind us why loss of version
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: is such a big deal here? Why is losing something
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: more powerful than gaining something?
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Sure, it's based on decades of research and behavioral economics. Basically,
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: the psychological pain of losing something we feel we already
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: have or are entitled to is roughly twice as strong
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: as the pleasure we get from gaining something equivalent and.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: New, twice as strong.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Wow. Yeah, it's a powerful motivator. So with the takeaway clothes,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: imagine a prospect objects to the price. They say it's
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: too high, okay. Instead of just arguing, the salesperson says, okay, understand,
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: budget is a concern. To meet your price point, we
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: could potentially remove feature X and feature y ah.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: So you offer to take things away.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: Exactly, and suddenly the prospect isn't thinking about the money
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: they might save. Their entire focus snaps to the features
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: the value they stand to lose. It reframes the negotiation
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: entirely around avoiding loss.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: That's clever. Are there times you'd take the whole deal away?
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: The sources mention that.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: It's rare, but yes, the salesperson might withdraw the entire proposal,
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: but only under very specific conditions, like if they genuinely
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: can't remove features without crippling the solution, okay, or if
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: removing those features would basically guarantee the customer wouldn't be successful,
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: which reflects badly on everyone, or simply if the reduced
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: deal just isn't profitable for the company anymore.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: So it's a real power move, establishes boundaries.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Definitely says we value our solution and we need a
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: mutually beneficial arrangement. Okay, Let's move to our second category.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: These are more situational, sometimes unconventional tactics, the kind of
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: moves you might pull out when the standard playbook isn't
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: quite cutting.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: It, all right, the interesting ones.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Let's start with the Columbo clothes named after Yes, that
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: TV detective.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: Huh okay, how does this work? Do you ord a
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: trench coat?
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Maybe optional? You use this when you've pretty much given
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: up hope, You genuinely feel the prospect is not going
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: to convert. You've presented everything, handled objections, and it's just
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: not landing.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: So you're packing up.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're literally gathering your papers, maybe heading for the door.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Their defenses are down because they think the meeting's over.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: Then you pivot back just one more thing exactly, You say,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: just one more thing, and you present the single most
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: appealing part of your offer, maybe something slightly tailored. You
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: held back and ask a clarifying question about it. It's
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: a calculated long shot, leveraging that moment of lowered resistance.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: Sneaky. I like it. What if the intent just seems
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: really low or their objections are just weirdly unreasonable, That's.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: Where you might try the backward clothes. This one feels
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: really counterintuitive at first, how So instead of pushing the
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: sale harder, you seemingly back off the sale itself and
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: ask for referral.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Ask for referrals when they haven't even bought anything.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: Yep, you say something like, Okay, it seems this might
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: not be the right fit for you right now, but
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: who else do you know in the industry who might
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: benefit from this solution?
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Okay? Why does that work? You're basically asking them for
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: more leads when you couldn't even close them.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: Because it triggers a different kind of thought process. The
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: prospect suddenly realizes you're about to talk to their contacts.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: People in their network. Ah, they feel a sudden need
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: to understand exactly what you're going to say about their
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: situation or what you're recommending. It often makes them re engage,
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: ask more questions, clarify their own position, and that can
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: actually pull them back into the sale with higher intent.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: That is clever, a real psychological pivot. Okay, what else
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: in this unconventional category.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: A high confidence play The presumptive close sometimes called the
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: assumptive close.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: This is where you just assume they're buying pretty much.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: You act as if the decision has already been made.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: You might say something like okay, great, so how many
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: units will you be needing for the initial order? Or
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: which delivery date works best for you?
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: Sounds bold? When can you actually get away with this?
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Only after you are absolutely certain all the futures, benefits
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: and value have been clearly understood and all significant objections
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: have been fully addressed and resolved.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: Right. You can't just jump into this no way.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: If you use the presumptive close too early, or if
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: there's still lingering doubts, that's when you get that backfire
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: fast scenario we talked about. Timing is absolutely everything with
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: this one.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Got It requires reading the room perfectly. Okay, let's move
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: to our final category. What if we got here?
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: This category covers negotiation, urgency, and importantly, assessment tactics. These
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: are often quite practical nuts and bolts techniques.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: Can you mentioned spending a bit more time on assessment.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because they're really advanced discovery tools disguised as closes.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: But first, let's hit negotiation. The sharp angles close.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: Sharp angles, Eh, it's pointy.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: It's about trade offs in negotiation. Let's say the prospect
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: asks for something specific, an extra concession, like, can you
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: give us a five percent discount?
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: Okay, standard negotiation request.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Right with the sharp angles close. The salesperson responds by
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: agreeing to the request, but only if the prospect commits
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: to the deal right then and there.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Ah, the quid pro quo exactly.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Yes, I can probably get that five percent discount approved
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: for you if you're ready to sign the agreement today.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: You tie their request directly to immediate commitment. It tests
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: how serious they are about that request versus just trying
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: to bargain makes.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Sense leverage Okay, what about when they're just stithering, can't
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: make up their mind.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: That's the prime time for the urgency close, also known
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: as the now or never.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: Close, creating scarcity precisely.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: You introduce a time limit on a specific benefit. It
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: could be a special discount that expires tomorrow, a bonus
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: feature included only this week, free onboarding if they signed
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: by friday.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: So it has to be a real deadline ideally.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: Yes, or at least a justifiable one. The point is
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: to remove that benefit. If the decision isn't made within
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: that specific, usually short timeframe, it forces them to weigh
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: the cost of indecision.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: Okay, now let's get into those assessment methods you mentioned.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: You said there were five more.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: That's right, and these are really about understanding why they
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: might be hesitating, peeling back the layers. First, is the scales.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Close like weighing scales sort of.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: You ask the prospect to rate their readiness to buy
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: on a numerical scale, say one to five or five
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: means ready to sign right now and one means destinately.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Why is that better than just asking are you ready?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: Because it gives you a more objective measure. If they
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: say five, great, close the deal. But if they say
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: like a three or.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: A four, and you have a specific reason to probe
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: further exactly.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: You can ask, okay, a three, that's helpful, what needs
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: to happen or what questions do you still have to
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: get you closer to a five? It pinpoints the remaining
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: hesitation without being confrontational.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Smart what's next?
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: Building on that idea is the reverse clouds. This one's
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: a bit more direct in its discovery. How so you
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: ask open ended questions specifically aimed at uncovering the reasons
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: they aren't buying. You flip the usual closing question around.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: Give me an example.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: You might ask something like, just hypothetically, if you were
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: to decide not to move forward with this today, what
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: would be the main reason or two behind that decision?
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: WHOA, that's putting them on the spot a bit.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: It can feel like it, but it's incredibly effective at
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: bringing hidden objections, maybe even emotional ones they haven't voiced out,
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: into the open. Once you know the real reason for
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: his you can actually address it.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: Okay, I see the power in that exposing the hidden stuff.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: What are the last few?
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Then we have a couple of summary based methods. The
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: summary close is pretty straightforward. It's like a final recap.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: You just summarize everything.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you reiterate the key pain points. You discussed, the
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: benefits of your solution that address those points, any agreements
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: you've reached along the way, and then you directly ask
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: for the purchase decision. It's a formal way of saying,
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: we've agreed this is valuable, now let's move forward.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, solid and logical.
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: Then there's the question close almost deceptively simple.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Is it just asking if they want to buy?
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: Essentially yes, after you've presented everything, you might just ask directly,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: so do you like what you've seen here? And if
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: they say yes, are you ready to move forward with this?
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: It requires confidence, but if the prospect is clearly engaged
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: and positive, sometimes the direct question is all you need.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Keep it simple, right, And the last one.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: The suggested clothes. This one is quite similar and feel
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: to the presumptive clothes we discussed earlier.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: Assuming the sale.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: Again, it's more about leveraging your position. But yes, there's
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: an assumption. You use this primarily when the prospect genuinely
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: sees you as an expert advisor, not just a salesperson.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: Okay, so there's a high degree of trust already established.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: Exactly because they trust your expertise, you can suggest the
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: next steps as if it's the obvious logical course of
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: action for them. Based on your goals, I recommend we
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: start with the premium package and aim for implementation by
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: the start of next quarter. How does that sound. You're
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: guiding their decision based on your advisory role.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Gotcha leveraging that trusted advisor status.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: Wow?
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Okay, that's that's quite an arsenal of techniques we've covered,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: from the very soft nurturing approaches to these quite assertive
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: final pushes.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: It really is a spectrum, and I just.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: Want to circle back to that caution again before we
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: wrap up. It feels critical, especially with those hard closes.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: You absolutely have to know your buyer's situation right, high complexity,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: big price, formal process, tread very.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: Carefully, absolutely know your buyer's intent threshold, know their environment.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: Soft closes are generally safer territory. Hard closes require real
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: strategic judgment.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: So after digging through all this material, what does it
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: really boil down to for you, the business developer listening
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: right now? Let's try in to still our top three
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: takeaways from this deep dive.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: Okay, sounds good? What's number one for you?
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: For me, it has to be the upfront close. It's
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: just foundational, it's non negotiable. You need that structure, that
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: mutual respect for time, and that mutual stop rule. Implement
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: it seriously. It filters, It builds credibility crucial, especially for
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: complex sales.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: Couldn't agree more. My number two would be about mastering
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: the psychological angles. Understand and use techniques like the takeaway close.
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: Leverage that loss of version when price becomes the sticking point,
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: it reframes the whole discussion, and also the Ben Franklin close.
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: Don't underestimate the power of forcing that logical side by
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: side comparison to make value concrete and overcome emotional resistance
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: to cost.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: Good one, okay, And number three I think it has
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: to be about embracing those assessment methods we talked about
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: near the end.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: Ah. Yes, the scales closed, the reverse close exactly.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: They aren't just closes. They're strategic discovery tools. They help
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: you uncover the real reasons for hesitation, the stuff hiding
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: beneath the surface. Hard closes have their place, yes, but
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: you need to diagnose the situation accurately. First. Your buyer's
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: environment dictates the strategy.
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: Well said assessed before you press Okay, So we've talked
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: about all these techniques mainly in the one on one
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: sales context. But here's a final provocative thought for you
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: to chew on.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: All Right, let's hear it.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: If you're selling something like a high value subscription service,
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: maybe through a largely automated digital sales funnel, how could
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: you strategically bake the principles of some of these closes
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: into that automated process?
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Interesting like integrating the puppy dog close.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, could you offer a truly compelling, full featured free
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: trial for minute time making it easy to get hooked?
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: Or what about the takeaway close principle?
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: How would that work automated?
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: Maybe you guide the user to configure the absolute top
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: tier package first, see all the bells and whistles, and
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: then they hit a lower budget point. You force them
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: to actively de select futures, making them feel the loss
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: of what they're giving up.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Ah, that's clever. Applying these human psychology principles to the
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: digital journey makes you think knowledge is only useful when
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: you adapt it, right, that's the challenge. That's a great
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: thought to end on. Well, thank you for joining us
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: for this deep dive into the really essential tools of
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: sales conversion, my pleasure.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: We'll catch you on the next deep dive