You want to close more sales. How can you become a master of the art?

1 Know your audience

Before you pitch anything, you need to understand who you're talking to. What are their needs, pain points, goals, and motivations? How do they make decisions, and what are their objections? The more you know about your audience, the more you can tailor your message, value proposition, and solution to their specific situation.

2 Build rapport and trust

People buy from people they like and trust. That's why you need to establish rapport and trust with your prospects from the start. Rapport is the feeling of connection and harmony that you create through your communication style, tone, and body language. Trust is the belief that you're credible, reliable, and honest. To build rapport and trust, you need to show empathy, listen actively, ask open-ended questions, and share relevant stories and testimonials.

3 Provide value and education

Your prospects don't want to hear a sales pitch, they want to learn something new and valuable. Your job is to provide value and education that helps them solve their problems, achieve their goals, and improve their situation. You can do this by sharing useful insights, tips, resources, and case studies that demonstrate your expertise and authority. You can also use storytelling, metaphors, and analogies to make your points more memorable and persuasive.

4 Handle objections and rejections

No matter how good your offer is, you'll always face some objections and rejections from your prospects. These are not signs of failure, but opportunities to overcome their doubts and concerns. You need to anticipate the common objections and rejections that you might encounter, and prepare effective responses and rebuttals. You also need to stay calm, confident, and respectful, and avoid arguing or being defensive. Instead, use the feel-felt-found method to empathize, relate, and redirect their attention to the benefits of your solution.

5 Ask for the sale

One of the most important skills in sales is knowing when and how to ask for the sale. You don't want to be too pushy or too passive, but find the right balance and timing. You need to look for buying signals, such as positive feedback, agreement, or questions, that indicate your prospect is ready to buy. You also need to use effective closing techniques, such as the assumptive close, the alternative close, or the urgency close, that help you seal the deal.

6 Follow up and nurture

The sales process doesn't end when you close the sale. You need to follow up and nurture your customers to ensure their satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. You need to thank them for their purchase, deliver on your promises, provide ongoing support and service, and ask for feedback and referrals. You also need to keep in touch with them regularly, and offer them additional value and opportunities to buy more or upgrade.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?