Leads are important to small business, but a lead that does not have a sale attached is a wasted opportunity.  One cannot make a small business from leads alone, because no matter what you have to offer the consumer, be it a service or a product, you must be able to close the sale in order to benefit from it. If you know the right techniques you can get every customer that comes in contact with you to close a sale. Some of this can be attributed to your ability to detect what it is that brought the client into your reach in the first place and being able to tailor your sale to meet that perceived need. 

Some of it can be equated to your quiet enthusiasm for the product or service being offered. Knowing when to broach closing a sale or figuring out what it is that is keeping someone from wanting the product or service you offer can be vital to making a close.  A lead is only a lead. A happy customer  often becomes repeat business who tells others about your service or product.

What exactly is a close?  It is one of the most important steps in a sale. A lead becomes an initial contact, and from there you can qualify the need of the consumer and the value of the product or service.  Once you know this you can present the information about what you have in a way that appeals to the need of the client. If you are successful in this pitch then asking for the order and getting a PO follows naturally.

While this can happen in one meeting, be prepared for it to take place over several of them. Depending on what is being sold and who it is being sold to, you may need to include several people who make joint decisions. When you successfully close a sale you secure new business for yourself and your company. A contact or lead is just a number, but a close is a relationship that can grow over time.

While some people believe the client should ideally make the close, there are times when it just is not practical to expect them to broach the subject of buying what you are selling.  The fact is, you have the product, so you must state clearly that if the other party wants to buy it they need to give you the answer that they want it. Why would you go through all the other steps and then leave closing to chance? You can do a soft close or a hard close, but either way, it is up to you to secure that sale and close it.

Make sure you have asked questions and listened to the answers so that you are offering a close at the correct time to secure the sale. Remember, you are not just after the first sale, but building a relationship with the customer on the hopes that they refer others to you and come back for additional services or products later.

Please visit The Personal Development Company for more information on 24 techniques for closing the sale and other Brian Tracy Audiobooks