The Top 13 Telesales Closing Techniques

Every salesperson steers all of their focus and energy toward making a sale. In telesales, they do their research, develop and foster their sales funnels and master the art of detecting even the slightest variations in voice tone to determine how warm a potential lead is. In an ideal world, all of this work would lead to a one hundred percent strike rate when it comes to closing sales but in reality, there can be many misses before you make a hit.

There are a number of variables that can affect the success of telesales, but one area of the conversation that could perhaps be considered the most important is the ‘closing.’ This is the critical point in the sales process where salespeople discover if their hard work is going to pay off or if they need to focus their energy on other leads.

It’s great to establish a good relationship with a lead but the real moment of truth is when they agree to sign up for or purchase a product or service, but what is the best way to get to that final point of the sale?

There are a number of things that you can do to improve this part of the process so let’s get into The Top 13 telesales closing techniques below.

Shortcuts:

• Demonstrate Value
• Develop Customised Phone Call Scripts
• Creating a Sense of Urgency on Your Customer
• Sum Up Your Discussion and End the Call Yourself
• Communicate that The Deal is Done
• Always End With a Question
• Ask the Prospect Directly to Make an Order
• Provide a Clear and Structured Timeline
• Begin Positive and End Positive
• Provide a Decision to the Buyer
• Ask if There’s Any Reason Why They Can’t Complete The Deal Today
• Don’t Trash Talk Your Competition
• Always Do Your Client Homework First

Demonstrate Value

Demonstrating value to customers in sales is essential for success in telesales. It is important for salespeople to focus on the benefits that customers will receive from a product or service rather than just the features. By showing the customer how the product or service can improve their life or make their job easier, the customer is more likely to make a purchase.

Customers rely on sales representatives to provide them with information that will help them make informed decisions. Demonstrating value allows customers to understand why they should invest in the product or service. Time and money are two major motivators when it comes to demonstrating value to customers.

The big takeaway here is that it’s beneficial to make sure leads not only know what products and services are, but they also need to know how they will make their lives easier, better or more convenient.

Develop Customised Phone Call Scripts

A phone script doesn’t need to be a piece of Shakespeare; it can be just a basic outline of the best things to say, questions to ask and the order in which they might seem to prime a lead for a sale. Most telesales people have worked with some form of a script at any given moment in their career, but this tool is often underutilized.

Often, sales scripts are just relics of previous employees or specialists who have since moved on. They often remain completely unchanged from the day they were first written and this leaves a lot of untapped potential that could help you close more sales.

Taking the initiative to create a customer-centric script based on your own experience can give you the opportunity to reach potential customers in a more meaningful way. You know which questions work the best and in which order, you know the kinds of people that respond to specific techniques and collating this information together can provide valuable tools that can also be shared throughout teams.

Creating a Sense of Urgency on Your Customer

Creating a sense of urgency is a classic sales technique that has been used by salespeople and brands alike for almost as long as people have been able to find things to sell. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are days of the year when many companies see a large uptick in sales simply because the deals and discounts on offer will last for a very short period of time.

On the phone, creating a sense of urgency can be a useful tactic, but it’s a good idea to stay away from phrases that blatantly put pressure on the customer. Instead, it’s worth dropping notes of urgency into the conversation in a more helpful way. A simple, ‘Just to let you know, this offer is only available till Friday’ adds a sense of urgency but in a way that sounds more helpful than pressure-inducing.

The way you communicate the sense of urgency can mean the difference between you appearing to look out for your prospect, and just seeming way too pushy.

Sum Up Your Discussion and End the Call Yourself

Have you ever been on a sales call and genuinely considered ending the conversation and encouraging the prospect to go back to their day? To many, this would sound absolutely ludicrous, but it might not be that crazy after all.

Demonstrating a compassionate understanding of your customers’ needs and time can deliver favorable results. This shows a lead that you recognize that they have a life outside of your sales call, and it also tends to promote more trust in you. This is particularly useful if you sense that a lead is eager to be finished with the call.

Ending the call yourself, on your own terms with a summary of what has been discussed can really help to keep your foot in the door if a potential lead isn’t ready to convert just yet.

Communicate that The Deal is Done

This technique can seem a little bit cocky (a certain level of confidence is necessary in sales), but it can yield some positive results. The basic idea is that you conduct the end of your sales call as though the sale has already been secured. It’s up to the lead to let you know if they don’t wish to proceed any further.

You can simply let them know that you’ll send them the contract, and they can let you know if they have any questions about it. This can be very useful if a prospect seems close to committing to a purchase, but be wary of using it on a lead that is further from closing; this can make them retreat even further away.

Always End With a Question

Good questions are vital in telesales but ending a call with a question is a great way to show potential leads that you are aware of their needs.

Good questions to ask at the end of a sales call:

• Can we set a date to have another chat?
• How do you feel about the options we’ve discussed so far?
• What do you think of that?
• Do these options suit you?

Asking a question at the end of the call not only shows that you’re paying attention to the prospect’s needs, but it also allows you to gain valuable insight into their goals, wants and needs. This, in turn, can help you to tailor your sales pitch in a more effective way and make sure your products or services are better suited to customer needs.

Additionally, it also gives you an opportunity to demonstrate that you are willing to listen to their concerns and take them into account as you formulate your sales strategies.

Ask the Prospect Directly to Make an Order

In sales, there are many people who think that we always need to use ingenious tricks to encourage leads to buy something. Often we like to ease a lead into making a sale, but sometimes it can be worth just coming right out and asking if they are going to make a purchase. It’s very direct, but it can sometimes be an impressive simple technique to help you close a sale.

At the end of the day, you are a salesperson, and you’re making a sales call. You know you are selling and so does the prospect so, in some ways (especially if the prospect is used to taking a lot of sales calls) they will very likely appreciate your honesty.

Provide a Clear and Structured Timeline

It is beneficial to establish a definitive timeline with your leads. This not only boosts the likelihood of future transactions but also creates a distinct, easy-to-understand visual for them.

Usually, the rhythm of sales calls is quick and efficient; the main goal is to close the sale as fast as possible before the lead reconsiders. However, there are a significant number of leads who need to know what will happen after a sale is made before they can commit to something.

Take the time to explain to them any relevant information they need, then take them through very clear steps of what happens after they make a sale. What happens after this phone call? When will they pay? Who should they speak to if they have any questions?

This sales method conveys to the customer that you are not going to disappear the moment they sign up or pay but that you are there to provide quality service and uphold your commitments.

Begin Positive and End Positive

Studies have shown that having a positive attitude and an excited tone of voice can actually have a significant impact on the success of telesales. It’s understandable that it might not be possible to be upbeat all the time, especially since usually there’s a lot of information that needs to be covered in the middle of a sale, so it’s a good idea to at least begin and end on a positive note.

Beginning in a positive way helps to set the tone of the entire sale and also ensures that the lead feels their time is appreciated. Ending in a positive way can leave a lead primed for future selling if they are currently undecided, or assist in creating repeat business.

Provide a Decision to the Buyer

Encouraging a lead to make a definite decision can seem a bit risky, but it’s a technique that tends to yield positive results from potential customers who are naturally resistant to sales and salespeople. It can be a great way to get them to lower their barriers.

Dropping a decision into the conversation can be a great way to change their expectations. They might be waiting to hear your sales spiel, but you can disrupt their preconceived idea by simply asking, ‘Do you want to save money on your home and contents insurance?’ for example.

Be aware that this technique does also give them the opportunity to say ‘no’ before you have been able to make a decent pitch, so use it wisely.

Ask if There’s Any Reason Why They Can’t Complete The Deal Today

It might seem a bit direct and a little intrusive, but asking a prospect if there’s a reason we can’t make a deal today can be a very beneficial technique to help you close a sale. The first reason it’s a question worth asking is that it can be a little disarming. Most prospects aren’t used to this level of honesty in a sales call, and they’re not very likely to respond with ’um, I just don’t want to.’ If they give you reasons, it’s an opportunity to adjust your pitch and address any concerns.

The second reason this is a good question to ask is that if the sales work has been solid up until this point, most prospects would respond with, ‘no, there’s no reason; how do we proceed?’

Don’t Trash Talk Your Competition

Try your hardest not to speak negatively about your competitors when you are engaged in a sales call. There are a number of reasons why you should avoid this; the most pressing is that you could run the risk of being accused of slander or libel. However, the most important reason you shouldn’t engage in trash talk is that it actually makes you look bad and possibly even worse than a competitor.

The reason this happens is because of a psychological phenomenon called spontaneous trait transfer. Simply put, if you dish some gossip about your competitor to a lead, they are very likely going to assign the same traits you gossiped about back onto you.

The best response to have if a potential lead asks about a competitor is to remain neutral and diplomatic and shift the focus back to you and what you can offer.

Always Do Your Client Homework First

Always make sure that you are as prepared as possible for every single sales call you make. Take the time to establish the purpose of your call and think about how you will formulate your questions.

Practice your tone when dealing with leads. It can also be beneficial to record yourself (especially at the start) so that you can get better insight into how you actually come across.

It’s also integral to take the time to assess and qualify each lead. Determine how warm they are and how much decision-making power they have right now.

Being prepared is the best way to start the sales process off on the right foot every single time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, telesales is an art in itself and mastering the art of closing a sale is one of the most important aspects of it. Any beneficial tool to add to your sales arsenal will help you get a competitive edge in the industry, so hopefully, at least a few of the above techniques will help you get some extra wins.