How
to Close More Online Sales Through the Magic of Questions
by
Brian Tracy
No
one can deny that sales closing techniques are absolutely vital in
face-to-face selling. But often, people ask me if they can apply my
powerful closing techniques to online marketing. My answer is an
unequivocal, "Yes!"
Of course, there are some closing techniques that are more applicable to
the Web than others -- but I'll show you magical closing secrets
that can dramatically increase your web sales, and rapidly increase your
online income. This works best on direct response websites -
i.e., those that focus on getting an immediate response in the form of
an order or lead.
Before we get started, I must emphasize that much of the sale is made in
the presentation. The close is largely determined by how well
you've presented the product to the prospect. Your objective, then, is
to take the prospect smoothly past the point of closing, making
it easy for him or her to come to a buying decision. You can accomplish
this with the strategic use of questions.
The All-Important Opening Question
When you're selling online, you don't have the benefit of interacting
with your prospect the way you would in face-to-face selling. Therefore,
the first thing you say in your web copy has to be something that breaks
preoccupation, grabs attention, and points to the result or benefit
of the your product.
At any given moment, your prospect's mind is preoccupied with dozens of
things. Therefore, a well-crafted question will cause the
prospect's thinking to be directed to what you have to say.
Your opening question must be aimed at something that is relevant
and important, and at something that your prospect needs or
wants. What do sales managers, for instance, sit around and think about
all day long? Increasing sales! Therefore, if your target market
consists of sales managers, here's an example of a question you can use
as a headline or as the first part of your copy: "How would you
like to see a method that would enable you to increase your sales by 20%
to 30% over the next 12 months?"
When you ask such a question, the first thing that pops into the mind of
the prospect should be, "What is it?" - whereupon you've
captured his or her attention, and you can then begin to articulate how
your product or service can solve the need posed by the question.
Plan your opening question carefully. If your opening
question fails to break your prospect's preoccupation and grab his
attention, he will click away before giving you the opportunity to
present your product or service.
Questions That Keep Them Involved
Questions are equally vital during the presentation, i.e., in the
body of your web copy, for clearly explaining how your product or
service solves your prospect's problem in an easy, fast, or
cost-effective way.
Therefore, install questions within your sales copy that capture
attention. Keep your prospect involved, and keep his mind from wandering
off in a different direction by using intriguing questions that grab
his lapels and jerk him toward you. For the length of time that it
takes a prospect to answer a question in his mind, you have his total
attention. The prospect is drawn more and more into the sales process as
your questioning proceeds. If your questions are logical, orderly
and sequential, you can lead the prospect forward toward the inevitable
conclusion to purchase your product or service.
Tip: Never say something if you can ask it instead!
Think of how you can phrase your key selling points as questions.
The person who asks questions has control!
Closing Questions that Presume the Sale
Just as questions are important at the beginning and the body of your
web copy, they are even more vital at the end in gaining a commitment
to action.
The key to asking a closing question is confident expectation.
You must skillfully craft your question to convey that you confidently
expect the prospect to say, "Yes" or to agree to the sale.
For example, you can pose the following question in your web copy:
"When would you like to start using to multiply your profits?" In other words, you don't ask if
they want to buy your product, but when. This way, you're
asking for the sale expectantly, and the more confidently you expect
to sell, the more likely it is that you will sell.
Tip: In crafting your closing question, include the benefit that
your prospect will get from your product.
When you ask a compelling closing question, you diffuse the tension
that normally creeps up on your prospect at the "moment of
truth." A prospect's tension leads to the hesitance that kills so
many sales - both online and offline.
To be truly persuasive in the selling process, learn to use questions
judiciously throughout your web copy. Instead of trying to overwhelm
your prospects with reasons and rationales for doing what you want them
to do, ask strategic questions instead. When you take the time to plan
the wording of your questions, your prospect will become more
interested in your product -- and consequently, you will make more
sales.
Brian Tracy is a million-dollar master of peak sales
performance and personal success strategies. As the world-renowned
creator of 300 video and audio learning programs, and the best-selling
author of 16 books, his ideas and approaches are used by most of the big
money makers and the superstars of selling. In his
RealVideo course, "24 Techniques for Closing the Sale," Brian
shows you powerful
tactics that can double or triple your sales closing rate
-- and teach you how to sell 50% to 100% of all prospects
that you come in contact with -- all in just 63 minutes.