Ah, the “close.” The moment of time in the selling cycle when the transaction is agreed upon, when buyer and seller come together and the commitment is actually made to move forward, together, with the deal. In this context, I am not talking about the mechanics of the close, like a formal real estate closing after the decision to buy/sell has been made earlier. I am talking about the moment of truth when a buyer makes the emotional leap and decides to buy . . . the real essence of the transactional process. In that context, I want to mention a specific communications technique that can work very well at that moment . . . validation and reassurance. Let’s use an automobile transaction as an example.
A prospect has been doing research, looking around, taking test drives and has negotiated a price. Now it is down to the close and, in this case, the buyer says “yes.” Of course most of us who have sold for a living know that “yes” is still never final until the transaction is finished, but one thing we can do at this highly emotional moment is to support the decision, on the spot, in this case by saying something like, “Congratulations Bill . . . you are buying a great car at a fantastic price. You are going to love driving it and it is going to be a great value over time.”
Why the high five at such a moment? Because right after the natural high of making a purchasing decision, there is almost always a bit of fear that follows . . . the cliché is called “buyer’s remorse” . . . and it is nothing to trifle with. We can go a long way as sellers to maintain momentum by reinforcing the buyer’s wisdom at the emotional high point of his decision and to continue that reinforcement right on through formal closing. Most buyers will continue to think about their decision and may talk about it to others who may peck away at it. So if we can link that moment with some intellectual and emotional reinforcement, we can help the buyer maintain confidence and stay focused on the good reasons he came to his decision.
Please note that we are not advocating what is sometimes called “selling over the close,” which is defined as over-selling after we have already convinced a buyer to say yes. What we are talking about here is a confident affirmation of the buyer’s decision . . . short, sweet and in celebration of a true win/win moment.
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