How to Close a Sale

Feeling in the prime of sales audacity early one after- noon, I approached a wealthy prospect about the pur- chase of an annuity plan. It entailed the investment of a substantial sum of money. I put everything I had in the presentation of that plan. Every phase, every value, and every advantage of what that annuity meant to him and his family were revealed, visualized, eulogized, and glorified. However, when I had finished my presentation, I discovered that the prospect was attentive but not responsive; he made no move and no comment. He was adamant and did not say whether he was for it or against it. Unable at this juncture to determine his feelings on the matter, I retraced the plan, step by step, making a comprehensive summary of every point. Finally, I asked him to give me a check. Again he said nothing. I then decided to play his own game, so I took a seat right across from where he was sitting. For a full 15 minutes neither he nor I made a sound; I was determined to wait it out. Finally, he said, "To whom shall I draw the check?"

When I first heard of this prospect, I made plans to close the sale. I visualized the kind of person the prospect was. I took into consideration his temperament. I knew that he was adamant. I felt it would take two sticks of TNT to move him to buy, but I also sensed that three sticks might be ex- cessive and kill the sale. Therefore, following this plan of

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attack, I approached the prospect, "touched off" two sticks, and let the silence close the sale. The two sticks produced the sale I had anticipated.

The close of a sale is the climax of all selling activity. It is completing the job that you started out to do. You started out to make a sale, and the sale is not complete until you have received the order.