How to close larger deals

Read time: 3 mins

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You might have the best;

- Offer

- Content

- Price

But you might still stuck in;

- One-time deals instead of retainers

- Rejection loop

- Discount pits

I was there too.

Not long ago, there was a week where I lost 11 deals.

To be honest, it felt like a nightmare.

My imposter syndrome started to creep back in.

That old, familiar voice was telling me that maybe I’m not cut for this. But instead of giving up, I searched for help.

I sought advice from a friend, who is a master salesman.

After a short conversation, he told me that my problem was my sales process. So we completely revamped it.

Right after the rework I;

• Closed a 6-month deal without a discount

• Increased my rate by 30%

• Closed $265,000 last year.

Today, I’m going to show how you can achieve the same.

The secret formula is this;

* Deep discovery call + mutual action plan call = Closing

A) Discovery Call

Best deals are closed at the opening.

Your discovery call will determine if the deal closes or not. Prepare for (at least) 30 mins for each call.

In the discovery call, aim to find out the following;

1) Business problem: If the prospect doesn’t have any pain, they will not buy.

Start the call by asking “What brought you here today?”

Continue to ask questions to understand the problem at deeper levels.

2) Need behind the need: Look for the real need behind the problems.

Conjure urgency by asking “What’s causing you to prioritize this now?”

3) Root cause: You should understand why they think the problem is happening.

Diagnose the cause by asking directly. Then, offer your solution.

4) Negative impact: Power phrase your words back to the prospect to gain trust.

”You told me you are having trouble with X, and this is leading to Y. And it’s because of Z. You need to change it because of W, did I get that right?”

5) Desired outcome: They want to achieve something with your service, and it’s time to find that.

”If we partnered, what would success look like 90 days from now?” Now you have an anchor point for your offer.

6) Next steps: Never leave the call without determining the next step.

”Would it make sense to have another call on Friday?”

B) Mutual Action Plan 

Stop calling your pitches proposals.

Build a mutual action plan instead. This alone will set you apart from the competition.

In the plan, aim to cover;

- Findings from the discovery

- Solution

- Real ROI

- Timetable

- Investment (not price!)

- Guarantee

After finishing the discovery call by booking a new date, prepare your mutual action plan.

In the mutual action plan call, walk through the points mentioned above.

Let the prospect ask questions at every step.

Make the call more conversational.

C) Closing The Deal

When it’s time to close, look for trouble.

Everything hangs in the balance at this point.

The prospect will think of made-up excuses for themselves when it comes to paying. Your job is to find and destroy them.

Ask “Do you see any risks or hesitations in moving forward?” Follow this framework to handle any objections;

- Understand: “Seems like you have a reason for saying that?”

- Validate: “That makes sense, it seems you are feeling X”.

- Isolate: “If we overcame that, would there be any other roadblocks?” Here comes the interesting part. Often prospects will come up with more problems, which are the real objections that hold the deal.

- Permission: “Can I bounce a few thoughts off you?”

- Reframe: Reframe a negative into a positive.

- Confirm: “What part of your concern remains unaddressed?” Everything should be fine at this point.

Ask again for the close. Make the sale, and move on to the next one. And don’t forget, I’m here to help at every step.

You are just one call away from your next level of business growth.

Cheers,

Luke