Eric Warner

Think for a second, is “no” really a bad thing? If a real and material problem does not exist and we help create one for the sake of a deal; will we have a good long-term profitable client? Probably not. What if we spend a long time ignoring obvious objections and issues only to discover they are material roadblocks to your sale? How many times have we wasted precious time and ample energy chasing something that we could have ended long before we invested our valuable time and energy trying to create an opportunity?

As the year winds down, sales professionals face a critical juncture to wrap up with strong results. Here are 7 tips for maximizing success in the final stretch. These streamlined strategies offer sales professionals a roadmap for a powerful finish and a robust start to the upcoming year. 

Goals and plans without action are just words on a page. But where should we start? What actions will you need to drive personal performance? What’s the most important behavior that will help you hit your goals? When you think about it, goals are created to establish new habits, and habits are ingrained behaviors.

Should you sell on the ROI that your product or service delivers?

The logical and rational answer to this question is of course you should!

But people and organizations are not always logical and rational when it comes to making purchases. Think about something you purchased recently. How much logic and reason went into the decision and when did those calculations happen in the process?

Feature dumping kills deals! Leverage your presentation or demonstration to give them what they asked for but get something in return to help you qualify and quantify this opportunity. Here's how.

Perhaps one of my favorite goals, which some may describe as trivial or self-indulgent, is to play golf in all 50 states. This goal is important to me. It has given me a reason to travel, which is something that I love to do. It’s also given me an opportunity to share the experience with family, friends, colleagues, clients, partners, and really cool total strangers.

Buyer's remorse, the feeling of regretting a purchase, is a common challenge in sales. Securing a "yes" from a buyer is just the beginning. The real selling process starts after that affirmative response. By proactively addressing any lingering doubts or concerns the buyer may have, sellers can help them navigate the emotional journey of post-purchase uncertainty. Here's how.

When a prospect asks you to set up a presentation, do you instantly agree? Lots of sellers do. Sometimes it’s because they’re excited about the possibility of engaging with a person or group, they haven’t been able to connect with.  But if the presentation results in “Let us think about it,” you’ve wasted time, even if it does put you in front of new people.

Interest is a state of wanting to know about someone or something. Motivation is a reason for action. Many salespeople are good at uncovering interests or problems buyers are experiencing. Exceptional salespeople are good at uncovering or enabling motivation to act. Guage the problem’s impact and the motivation to solve it with these questions.

There’s one simple, easy-to-pose question that will, if you use it consistently, simultaneously improve your closing ratio, shorten your sales cycle, and deepen your relationship and impact within the buying organization. And yet salespeople hardly ever ask this question.