e important issues during this initial meeting.

There are some new products coming out next week that I wasn’t able to bring with me today.

The idea of setting up the opportunity for a future appointment is the key. That way, you can use what you’ve learned for the first sales call to design a custom program that will seal the deal the second time round. Of course, if everything went perfectly well the first time, then grab the contract and your pen. You should have been able to read the buy

I bring to the table over 30 years of experience in selling. I was a sales consultant for a directory publishing company and retired to run my own business a few years ago. I decided to write some articles detailing the basic six step sales process. This includes the ICR, or interest creating remark, preparation, fact-finding, the presentation, overcoming objections and the close. So, which is the most important? Well, it’s rather like asking which player is most important on a sports team. The quarterback in football is worthless without defenders. The pitcher needs fielders and so forth. It’s a team effort and a good sales person should not neglect any one part.

The close is where one asks for the sale. It follows a terrific presentation and assumes that you had overcome all the main objections. It’s the point where there is nothing left to say except, “Can I get your signature on this contract?” Okay, not exactly like that, but it means that you feel the customer is ready to buy what you have offered. But there are exceptions to every rule. If, after you have covered the other five steps and there are too many objections you can’t control or answer, you have another option. You can back out of the call before the close. There were many times that I felt uncomfortable and decided to abandon the meeting and asked if I could come back at a later date. Sales people hate to have to return and make another appointment, but just exactly what is our job anyway? It’s to make a sale.

I developed instincts that told me what to do. I could tell by the attitude of the client toward the end of the call. If it seemed hopeless, I would rather make an excuse to come back than face a flat out rejection. There are several ways to accomplish this feat without appearing weak. Here are a few statements one could make:

• I can see you still have a few questions but we’ve run out of time. Can we meet again?
• I would love to show you another idea for your business at a second meeting.
• I just realized that I failed to cover some important issues during this initial meeting.
• There are some new products coming out next week that I wasn’t able to bring with me today.

The idea of setting up the opportunity for a future appointment is the key. That way, you can use what you’ve learned for the first sales call to design a custom program that will seal the deal the second time round. Of course, if everything went perfectly well the first time, then grab the contract and your pen. You should have been able to read the buyi

all is worthless without defenders. The pitcher needs fielders and so forth. It’s a team effort and a good sales person should not neglect any one part.

The close is where one asks for the sale. It follows a terrific presentation and assumes that you had overcome all the main objections. It’s the point where there is nothing left to say except, “Can I get your signature on this contract?” Okay, not exactly like that, but it means that you feel the customer is ready to buy what you have offered. But there are exceptions to every rule. If, after you have covered the other five steps and there are too many objections you can’t control or answer, you have another option. You can back out of the call before the close. There were many times that I felt uncomfortable and decided to abandon the meeting and asked if I could come back at a later date. Sales people hate to have to return and make another appointment, but just exactly what is our job anyway? It’s to make a sale.

I developed instincts that told me what to do. I could tell by the attitude of the client toward the end of the call. If it seemed hopeless, I would rather make an excuse to come back than face a flat out rejection. There are several ways to accomplish this feat without appearing weak. Here are a few statements one could make:

• I can see you still have a few questions but we’ve run out of time. Can we meet again?
• I would love to show you another idea for your business at a second meeting.
• I just realized that I failed to cover some important issues during this initial meeting.
• There are some new products coming out next week that I wasn’t able to bring with me today.

The idea of setting up the opportunity for a future appointment is the key. That way, you can use what you’ve learned for the first sales call to design a custom program that will seal the deal the second time round. Of course, if everything went perfectly well the first time, then grab the contract and your pen. You should have been able to read the buy

exceptions to every rule. If, after you have covered the other five steps and there are too many objections you can’t control or answer, you have another option. You can back out of the call before the close. There were many times that I felt uncomfortable and decided to abandon the meeting and asked if I could come back at a later date. Sales people hate to have to return and make another appointment, but just exactly what is our job anyway? It’s to make a sale.

I developed instincts that told me what to do. I could tell by the attitude of the client toward the end of the call. If it seemed hopeless, I would rather make an excuse to come back than face a flat out rejection. There are several ways to accomplish this feat without appearing weak. Here are a few statements one could make:

• I can see you still have a few questions but we’ve run out of time. Can we meet again?
• I would love to show you another idea for your business at a second meeting.
• I just realized that I failed to cover some important issues during this initial meeting.
• There are some new products coming out next week that I wasn’t able to bring with me today.

The idea of setting up the opportunity for a future appointment is the key. That way, you can use what you’ve learned for the first sales call to design a custom program that will seal the deal the second time round. Of course, if everything went perfectly well the first time, then grab the contract and your pen. You should have been able to read the buy

. I could tell by the attitude of the client toward the end of the call. If it seemed hopeless, I would rather make an excuse to come back than face a flat out rejection. There are several ways to accomplish this feat without appearing weak. Here are a few statements one could make:

• I can see you still have a few questions but we’ve run out of time. Can we meet again?
• I would love to show you another idea for your business at a second meeting.
• I just realized that I failed to cover some important issues during this initial meeting.
• There are some new products coming out next week that I wasn’t able to bring with me today.

The idea of setting up the opportunity for a future appointment is the key. That way, you can use what you’ve learned for the first sales call to design a custom program that will seal the deal the second time round. Of course, if everything went perfectly well the first time, then grab the contract and your pen. You should have been able to read the buy

e important issues during this initial meeting.

There are some new products coming out next week that I wasn’t able to bring with me today.

The idea of setting up the opportunity for a future appointment is the key. That way, you can use what you’ve learned for the first sales call to design a custom program that will seal the deal the second time round. Of course, if everything went perfectly well the first time, then grab the contract and your pen. You should have been able to read the buying signals by now. For instance, if the customer asked about delivery options, sizes, colors, dates and timelines, those are buying signals. If they talked about how they could be used in their business, these are more buying signals. In that case, you must close today. If there are any further discussions that don’t involve changing prices or ordering information, ask if you can email, fax or call with the answers. The main point is to get the order signed and move on. That’s called the close. Without it, you just have another meeting.