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Two of the most important and often least desirable parts of sales are asking for the order and prospecting. We are great at learning about prospects. We excel at assembling world-class proposals. We can dazzle with presentations. Yet closing the business deal can be difficult.

We get lots of sales training, yet transitioning from presenting information to walking away with signed papers can be tough. Here's the good news: You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Let's look at four effective strategies:

1. The financial planning process. This is designed for working with people, yet it can be easily adapted to working with a business.

You meet and gather data. Why? You want to present a solution tailored to their needs.
During the process, you spot some low hanging fruit or immediate business. You resist the temptation because you are interested in the big picture.
At the next meeting, you review the data gathered, now in the form of a financial plan. You use trial closes to keep their attention. You frequently refer to their stated objectives and how parts of your proposal address those objectives.

The close: "Implementation is the next part of the process. Here's what we need to do…" Out come the papers.

Why it works: Linear thinking. If those trial closes have gotten "yes" answers, a string of "yes" answers is rarely followed by "No."

Why it might not work: Your prospect isn't a linear thinker.

2. Gaining approval in advance. It's the same strategy as above. Perhaps the low-hanging fruit is mentioned in the context of "We will review the plan at our next meeting and decide at that meeting to implement or nor implement the entire plan."

You make sure all decision makers will be present at the second meeting.

The close: It started at the first meeting. You set expectations the second meeting is decision making time.

Why it works: The prospect doesn't think this is an endless cycle of meetings and discussions. They come to the second meeting prepared to make a decision.

Why it might not work: There is no second meeting. They book, cancel and reschedule. They were not really prepared to make a decision. You saved yourself a lot of time.

3. Identify a need, present a solution. Years ago, there were no Monte Carlo simulations in the financial planning world. There were no financial plans as we know them either!

In this scenario, you learn about your prospect and prepare a financial plan and proposal, which you present later. You have the advantage of knowing both the client's objectives, like a comfortable retirement and their current assets and how they are invested.
You can ask: "Are you confident you will reach your retirement objectives?" You might get a yes, but you follow up with "How confident?" You want a percentage as an answer.
Your proposal also includes projections. By reviewing them, you can show the perceived likelihood they will achieve their goal both as they are currently invested and as you are proposing, mindful there are no guarantees.

The close: "If it appears you won't reach your goal as you are currently invested, would you be interested in a plan that offers a higher probability of achieving your goal?"

Why it works: You have likely uncovered a problem. The problem won't go away if they choose not to buy from you. They still have a problem.

Why it might not work: Various reasons, a major one being the issue of being drastically underfunded for retirement now.

4. I respect that… People often don't want to follow advice.

You do the best job you can.
You present your best recommendation. You are transparent on costs.
You feel it's the best fit. They say no.

The close: "I respect that. It's important because someone else may tell you about this strategy (product) and you didn't know about it. You might wonder why I didn't tell you."

Why it works: You are expecting there will be a future conversation. They would return. Why? Because you suggested the logical solution. They are shopping around. The other agents or advisors they see tell them the same as you did. They realize "you were right all along." When this happens, people often return to the first person who made the proposal and buy from them.

Why it might not work: They are the exception. They realize you were right, but they buy from the other guy.

All these strategies sound familiar because they've stood the test of time. They are consultative, not confrontational. But sometimes we need a reminder.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book, "Captivating the Wealthy Investor" can be found on Amazon.

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4 ways to close a business deal

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