If salespeople do a superior job of qualifying opportunities, closing sales becomes simple and matter-of-fact. I have been a student of consultative selling for sixteen-plus years, and I have used a grand total of four “closes” during my career. These are the Financial Close, the Chronology Close, the Ben Franklin Close, and the Thermometer Close. Here are brief descriptions of these four closes:
Financial Close: A financial close is the natural choice when you have successfully helped your prospect quantify the impact of a business problem. As stated earlier, if the quantified impact of a business problem exceeds the investment required to solve it, a buying decision is simple to justify. The larger the difference is between the quantified impact and the required investment, the easier it becomes to close the sale.
Chronology Close: The chronology close is effective when an offering will impact a prospect’s project plan, especially if the purchasing decision is a prerequisite to other activities in the project plan. If you start with the desired project completion date, then backtrack through project milestones to the point where your company’s offering should be added, in many cases you and your prospect will discover that an order should have already been placed!
Ben Franklin Close: Some prospects have a hard time making a buying decision, regardless of the potency of the business case that supports the decision. This is simply a reflection of their personality and behavioral traits. For these people, the Ben Franklin Close can be very effective.
The traditional delivery for the Ben Franklin Close begins with the salesperson reciting trite phrases such as, “Ben Franklin was considered by many to be a very wise man. Whenever he needed to make an important decision, he would…” If you wish, you can skip that part and get right to the core of the technique. Draw a vertical line down the middle of a sheet of paper, and a horizontal line that intersects the top of the vertical line. This creates a large “T” on the paper. On the left side of the “T”, write the word “For”. On the right side of the “T”, write the word “Against”.
Now, suggest to the prospect that it might be helpful to make a list of all of the reasons both for and against acquiring your offering. Help them create the longest possible list of entries in the “For” column. Let them populate the “Against” column by themselves. The usual end result is a list of reasons in the “For” column that is much longer than the list of reasons in the “Against” column. Seeing this difference visually can help push a reluctant prospect over the decision-making hump.
Thermometer Close: In this close, the salesperson asks the prospect to rate their level of interest on a zero-to-ten scale. Zero means the prospect has no interest at all, and ten means they have already decided to buy. If the prospect answers “Ten”, you’re done. Stop talking and write up the order. If the prospect’s answer is a five or lower, ask, “Based upon what you’ve told me so far, I don’t understand why you say (score). Can you help me understand that?” Their answer will tell you what you need to do to advance the sales cycle. If the prospect’s answer is a six or more, ask them, “What do you need to see to get to ten?” Again, their answer will tell you what you need to do.
One of the attractions of this close is that it can be used repeatedly. As the prospect’s “temperature” rises, you can continue to ask them, “What do you need to see to get to ten?” This is a nice, non-threatening way to get the prospect to share with you any issues that are separating you from a sale.