Because it is …. a trial close. I’m flat out terrible at traditional order closing statements and I know a bunch of them. You name it … everything from the “Ben Franklin” to the “Japanese Origami Folding Paper Close”. The really good news is that I never need to bend arms to get the order. I am pretty good at doing the other things right before we even get to that point and I am extremely adept at the art of the trial close.
You’ve maybe seen this acronym … “ABC – Always Be Closing”. For me, that’s a little blunt and a little too old-school. I prefer … “ABTC – Always Be Trial Closing”. So, what’s the difference?
A Close requests an action. An example would be … “Please sign this agreement and there are 10 pages so press hard.”
A Trial Close takes someone’s temperature. “Can you see yourself using this product?” More like requesting an opinion. I suppose it could be considered a close cousin to the “minor point close”. Other examples …
- “How does that look/feel/sound?”
- “Did that answer your question/concern?”
- “If you were to go ahead with this, when would you be needing delivery?”
- “How does this compare to other products that you have looked at?”
- “What are your thoughts at this stage?”
- “Does it look like this product or service would fit your needs?”
