Charles Says: Don't Close Sales

Charles H. Green, co-author of the excellent book, The Trusted Advisor, has a wonderful post/article titled, Stop Trying to Close the Sale. My previous thoughts on closing are here, here and here.

Key takeaway from his article (also found at Raintoday.com, free membership required):

“Clearly, the idea of ‘closing’ is alive and well in sales. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for you. The higher your average sale price, the more complex the sale is, the more relationship-driven it is, and the longer it takes — the less ‘closing’ is likely to help you.”

Where the stakes are high, I’d suggest you collaborate with prospects to make the right decision, rather than whip out closing technique #134 to nail the deal down. When you do this, the “closing skills” you use are merely helping prospects make the best next decision.