Five Things Not To Say When Closing Sales

Author: Ryan Tuckwood

Why would one person buy from you and not from a competitor who sells the exact same product at the exact same price? This often comes down to the psychodynamics of buying behaviours.

There are words you use every day that raise people’s sales defences subconsciously and could be killing your sales! Individually, these words might not seem like a lot. But when you compound these together throughout the course of your presentation it has the ability to change the natural response of your prospect.

So, we often hear (usually from our boss or colleague) ‘say this’ or ‘do that’ in sales, although what are you saying that could be killing your sale?

We’ve collated the ‘famous five’ things that after working with over 5,000 sales companies & staff, we see again and again. 

STOP SAYING THESE 5 & YOUR SUCCESS RATE TO CLOSE SALES WILL INCREASE:

1) “HOW LONG?”

If you are saying “how long”, for example, “how long do you need to think about it”, you have just elongated your sales cycle. Change this to “how soon,” e.g. “how soon would you like to take advantage of this opportunity”.

The word ‘soon’ allows your audience to think in the present, instead of the future. 

2) “LOCK IN”

This is a common mistake, so many salespeople are guilty of saying, “let’s lock-in that appointment for you” or “that time’s locked in.” Nobody likes to be locked into anything, but they do like to feel secure. Therefore, always replace the sentence ‘lock-in’ to secure. For example, “I’ll secure that appointment in the diary for you now” 

3) “CONTRACT”

Unless you are legally obliged to say the word ‘contract’, do not say it. The correct phrase would be ‘agreement’, as an agreement consensually made between two parties. This means that in a sales example, both parties have engaged in dialogue and come to the conclusion that you have both agreed on, resulting in a sale. 

4) “PRICE/FEE/COST”

Have a look at your website & marketing collateral, are you using the terms price, fee or cost? This may seem strange but replace these terms for investment. Using the term investment will allow the audience to think of their ROI, instead of their expenditure. By purchasing a product or service from you, you are reinforcing that they are investing their money for a return. 

 5) $$$

Let’s test something, say $997 out loud…

Did you say Nine Hundred and Ninety-Seven Dollars? If so, you need to change this. When reading dollar figures out to your client, always use the simple term, for example, nine-nine-seven. Never say hundred or thousand as the brain hears this term and responds to it differently.

To take this to the next level, use a minimiser before you deliver the amount, such as just, only, that comes down to etc. For example, “that requires an investment of only $1,997 (one-nine-nine-seven)”

We hope this article has helped you understand the 5 things that could be stopping you closing sales. We hope that you have found this article of value to you and can assist you with how to close a sale. To learn more about how we can assist you with your sales pitch or taking your sales acumen to the next level you can read more about our proven methods of sales training, sales coaching, and sales courses.  No matter if you are located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast or anywhere in the world, we are able to assist in providing the most innovative ethical sales training.

Related Tag: Sales Techniques Closing