How to Increase Close Rates

Every good presentation must be brought to a close, but the close is even more important when it comes to sales. That’s because the close is what goes beyond capturing the audience’s attention and is the final step in converting them into customers who make purchases. The close is a part of the marketing process that takes place inside of a sales cycle. If you aren’t closing the deal, you’re leaving the door wide open for money to escape, and that’s bad business. The following are tips that you can use to increase your close rates and create a tight seal that keeps potential dollars from blowing into the wind.

1.Optimize With a Plan

There’s a saying that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Having a plan helps with many problems that can come up in sales pitches and other places in your pest control business. You can save time and money by optimizing your routing. The same can be done with sales. It can be easy to draw a blank when you’re put on the spot. A script acts as your guide, telling you what to say while helping to make your words clear and concise. Consistency in messaging is important whether you make sales calls over the phone or go door to door. Having a plan automates things to a certain degree. From location to location and across salespeople and other employees (new and seasoned), a script ensures your business’s messaging without misunderstandings.

2.Take Time to Listen

Yes, it’s important to say the right things, but one way to make those right things effective is by making them personal. This happens by listening so you can know what your potential customer needs. Creating an opportunity for your customers to speak helps to guide your side of the conversation. Your close must be relevant to their needs. As a result, they need the opportunity to express those needs. By asking openended questions, you give customers the chance to provide details beyond yes and no. These details actually take things beyond the close and provide information that your technicians can use to meet and exceed customer expectations.

3.Provide Value

Your customers come to you for your expertise. Show it! Let them see what sets you apart by educating them on topics specific to their issues. Explaining the “how” and “why” takes things deeper than just the “what.” You can tell them what you’re going to do, but how much more would it mean if you could explain the reasoning behind it? Why will this be an appropriate prescriptive action for their issue? This knowledge also provides comfort to your customers that you know what you’re doing and talking about and that you care about and respect them. And if you want to expand on that respect, speak to your customers in a way that they can understand without talking down to them. Part of your job in closing the sale is to bridge the gap between the customer and the science.

4.Close With Questions

How many times have you explained something to someone, and it seemed to go right over their head? One way to combat this is to check for understanding with questions. Inquiry helps in a few different places. First, you can get an idea about next steps by directly asking if they’re ready to be serviced today. Ask them how they feel about what was discussed. This will give you an idea of how well they understood the presentation, anything you need to go over again, and provide intel on how they feel about the sales pitch. Closing with questions is mutually beneficial. It allows the customer to clarify any issues on the service and gives you time to gain an increased understanding of your customer’s needs.

Just because it’s the last thing that outwardly takes place in a sales pitch doesn’t mean that your close should be left to chance. On the contrary, it needs to be intentional. Conversations are two-way streets, and that’s even true when it comes to sales. Your goal is to build a relationship with the thought that you can provide value and earn sales well into the future. Use these tips to execute your close correctly to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

The same can be said with the integration of FieldRoutes™ operations and sales and marketing suites. The seamless integration between the two provides a complete end-to-end solution, bringing together your business’s front and back ends. So contact us today to get your relationship-building started.