Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog

7 Top Sales Techniques for Closing Year-End Business

  

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OK, we've got only 4 weeks to close business for the year end. In our telesales training courses we cover a number of sales techniques to remember when we need to close business. The following techniques appeared in my blog articles in the past, and all of them can be put to great use this week. Here they are in synopsis form, along with the blog article that explains each of them in greater detail:

1) Negotiate intelligently and portray price drops --- if you use them --- wisely. There's a reason my post on price negotiation techniques is the best-read on my blog. Too many reps don't use intelligent price negotiation strategies and leave money on the table, or don't get the order at all: www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/bid/7413/5-Most-Common-Price-Negotiation-Mistakes

2) Close on the first call, budget money may get re-allocated this week.  Many prospects have year-end money to spend, but they won't necessarily tell you that unless you ask. When I was a purchasing agent years ago, I always had year-end money that had been re-allocated from another budget source. Be sure to call back folks that didn't buy earlier in the year. They may have additional budget this week: http://www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/bid/9840/One-call-close-on-the-first-call-if-you-don-t-the-prospect-may-not-return-your-second-call

3) Drill down to uncover the financial reasons it makes sense for your prospect to buy now. You can use a quick financial model to prove that delaying the order will cost your prospect in financial terms: www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/bid/10732/How-do-I-get-my-PO-in-faster

4) Ask for additional needs through upselling. Don't shortchange yourself just because you're happy to get a small order. Tell your prospects about "the next best thing and they may increase the size of your order: www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/bid/9101/Upselling-Don-t-forget-to-ask-for-The-Next-Best-Thing

5) Be careful that you're not being "shopped" by savvy buyers, and remember to "call high." OK, I know you don't view your unique high-tech solution as a commodity, but probably your buyer does, and has more than solution in mind. On inbound calls, be wary that a decision may have already been made to go with a competitor. But that doesn't mean you can't unlock it and get the business: www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/bid/5564/RFP-Hazards-Are-you-being-shopped-by-Purchasing-Agents-Here-s-how-to-fix-it 

6) Selling SAAS (software as a service)? Consider throwing in December free for new prospects in return for a calendar year order for 2011, provided you get the PO this year. Essentially, you’re giving the customer 13 months for the price of 12. It’s less than a 10% discount, and it provides great motivation for the prospect to act now, rather than later. 

7) Make every prospect-specific webinar a closing webinar. One of the common challenges that sales managers tell me is that often, webinars don’t result in business. You should always have a specific objective of getting the business when you deliver a webinar, and I’ve got a great whitepaper on how to make it happen. It’s free, and if you haven’t read it, download it today.

There’s always a lot of budget-shifting going on at the end of a calendar year, so it’s a great month to make calls. Here are 7 powerful tools that you can --- and should --- use this month. Add them to your Best Practices Playbook and have a great year-end.