Whatever sales advice you choose to follow (or ignore), I think that the one skill you shouldn’t leave home without is the ability to close the sale.

A ton of advice is available on every conceivable aspect of selling services, and some of it is very good. Some experts offer specific formulas for pursuing sales opportunities. Others suggest that we dump all sales techniques.

Most advice on selling contains more than a grain of truth; none of it is completely right or wrong. It really depends on what works for you and the client. We all have different selling styles, and each client situation presents its own challenges. Sometimes, a sale falls into your lap. Other times, it seems to take forever to get any response from the client.

Whatever sales advice you choose to follow (or ignore), I think that the one skill you shouldn’t leave home without is the ability to close the sale.

A Rose by Any Other Name

Some people object to using the term “closing” when it comes to the professional services sale. They may think it has the whiff of the hard-sell scam about it. But “closing” is convenient shorthand for the agreement you and the client reach for you to undertake the work, and it signals that you have a mutually acceptable financial arrangement.

If you plan your closing as the natural culmination of the sales process, the word shouldn’t put you off.

I’ve met many consultants with an uncanny ability to know exactly when and how to close a sale. More often than not, they win the projects they want. It’s also not uncommon, though, to find consultants who are either reluctant to even try to close a sale, or they dislike it so much that their attempts are half-hearted.

When I ask reluctant closers why it’s so difficult to sew up a deal, some of them express self-doubt about the client’s perception of the value and price of the proposed project. Others wonder how you know if the client is ready to buy. As a result, some consultants settle for letting the client close the sale for them—meaning that they wait for the client to ask explicit questions about signing the engagement letter or the next steps to start the work.

In some cases, clients do initiate the close. I’ve certainly had clients who asked to get started faster than I expected. But waiting for the client to close is an invitation to a drawn-out sales process, especially in a competitive situation. Instead of putting the sales process in the client’s hands, find a collaborative way to get the deal done.

Not So Fast

I’m not suggesting that you try to force a close by asking inane questions like, “Would you like to start next Tuesday or would you prefer Thursday?” Other closing tricks, like offering incentives for a faster close, are equally lame. One of the reasons that clients resist these and other closing techniques is simple: they are not ready to buy. So if you act too soon, you risk the sale and create an avoidable, awkward moment.

Most clients won’t buy anything from you—or really listen to your solution—until they’re thoroughly convinced that you understand what they need. Your sales pitch and proposal might say all the right things, but you still have to convince your client that you get it.

You also have to persuade the client that you have the right solution. Be diligent and confirm your understanding as the sales process unfolds. It’s not enough for you to think you have it all figured out; your client must agree with you.

Objections Are Not Buying Signals

As you go through the process, listen carefully for client concerns and buts. Some sellers interpret client objections as buying signals, and they go for the close. Their logic is that objections indicate favorable client engagement with the offer, so it’s best to seize the opportunity before it gets away. Sometimes, objections are just that, not a green light to launch into your closing spiel.

The client may be worried about your approach to the problem or the schedule for the project. These are usually true obstacles that may scotch the deal. Objections are really telling you that you haven’t yet reached agreement on the sale, so keep working on it until the client is ready to buy.

Once you’ve addressed the client’s concerns, you should be able to sense when you have an opening to take it to the next level. After you’ve confirmed that your client believes you understand the problem and you have consensus on the solution, that’s when you should ask for the business. At that point, the client will expect to hear the question, and you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised at the answer.

Stop Bugging Me

In some cases, your client may agree to move forward, but may still need someone else’s approval to complete the transaction. It’s natural to worry that the project could get “unsold” between the time you reach a tentative agreement and when that final approval arrives.

Resist the urge to do incessant follow up. It makes sense to inquire at agreed-upon times, but show some restraint. If there is a delay in the decision, try to learn why and offer any help that will keep the initiative on track.

Don’t be surprised if it takes longer than you expect. After all, once a deal is set, everyone will be eager to get rolling. But it’s easy to underestimate what it will take to get everything in place for that on the client’s end.

Closing a sale should, of course, be a collaborative process with your client. You are working together to make sure you both understand the problem, and that you have a solution that is practical, relevant, and fairly priced. Accomplish that, and you should have the ability to close any sale you’d like.



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Michael W. McLaughlin is a principal with MindShare Consulting LLC, a firm that creates innovative sales and marketing strategies for professional services companies. He’s the author of Winning the Professional Services Sale, and the coauthor of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. His newsletters, Management Consulting News and The Guerrilla Consultant, reach a global audience. Before founding MindShare Consulting, he was a partner with Deloitte Consulting, where he served clients and mentored consultants for more than two decades.