Who's Closing Who?

There’s nothing more sacred in sales than the idea of closing.

It’s the stuff movies are made of.

But it’s an old paradigm that has been fading for years.  

Do salespeople in the 21st century really “close” CIOs and IT Directors?  More likely, these buyers may or may not select your product, after a lengthy period of investigation, trial, and internal discussion among multiple stakeholders.

An articulate statement of the salesperson as “closer” appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 2012 and seems as old school as it gets:

"Dominance is gaining the willing obedience of the customer. The customer listens to your opinions and advice, internalizes your recommendations and agrees with them, and when you close the sales call follows your course of action. Your personality greatly influences the way in which you establish dominance during sales calls…

A salesperson’s goal is to gain dominance over a submissive customer.”

Submissive?  Today, buyers are just as intent on dominating the sale as salespeople.  Asking salespeople to engage in a fight for dominance sets them up to lose.  

It’s true that salespeople need the internal drive to steer a sale to a successful conclusion, and need to take the wheel when the ship seems off course.  When things are not working during a sales cycle, it’s critical to get to the bottom of things and figure out how to get the process moving forward again (or whether it’s time to move on).

Today, buyers see themselves as co-pilots at the very least.  It’s essential that 21st century salespeople learn how to navigate towards happy outcomes while sharing power with their prospects.

This may not be true in all situations.  There may be products and markets where there are few alternatives and buyers must bend to the will of salespeople in order to get what they have to have.  But with most technology products there are multiple vendors, the differentiators are thin, and, thus, the tables are turned.  

Most importantly, buyers of technology are often not just looking for a one-time purchase, they are looking for a relationship with a company they will need to engage with for years, who can improvise, customize, and demonstrate the ability for give and take.  

In this century, the most successful closers will likely be those who are better advisors, catalysts, orchestrators and negotiators than dominators.