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 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 <NAME OF YOUR PRODUCT HERE> 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.
About the Author:
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.
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