How to close a sales call on the phone? [5 simple steps]

About 60% of prospects say ‘no’ at least four times before saying yes.  

Poor sales call preparation is one of the solid reasons for getting such no response. 

However, closing a sale doesn’t have to be a high-pressure scenario. You can win this by following smart practices!   

As 57% of prospects said, they prefer to purchase from a sales rep who doesn’t push or force when following up. 

42% of customers are likely to buy if the sales rep calls back at the decided time. 

So, following proper phone sales techniques that close, you can close more sales and drive more money to the business. Plus, 5 effective sales closing phrases.

Let’s see the pre-call preparation to close the sale over the phone. 

Pre-call preparations to close a sales deal on the phone 

All your marketing, prospecting, and other activities will fail if you don’t prepare for the climax of making a sales deal. 

You can win a sale over the phone with a clear understanding of the prospect’s need and your value proposition and by preparing well to overcome objections.

Revisit the past conversation from the start 

Investing time in nurturing a lead is important. But it’s also essential to evaluate the previous conversations you’ve had.  

It will give you deeper learning of your customer’s expectations, stress points and goals.

Analyze your previous conversation and make a checklist covering the entire buyer’s journey that your prospects advance through.  

The below list might be helpful to have an idea of what to include: 

Once you have suitable answers to these questions, the chances of successfully closing potential customers will increase. 

Know why your product is the best fit for them 

How can your product/services be a hero to them?

Answering this simple question will give you multiple strong points influencing the closing decision.  

It would be best to discover how to present your product as a solution to their problems. 

So, how will you do it?  

By actively listening to your prospect’s concerns and challenges, you can properly discover where to place your product/service as a reliable solution. 

Also, just keep in mind that missing out on the stress points of the prospect is not an option.  

You have to ensure that you’re fully aware of the challenges.  

Listen to the previous call recording; study call notes to ensure you get all the key details. 

Set your agenda for the call 

Pinning down your agenda for closing the sales call is necessary to simplify the process.

However, everything won’t go as you had planned, but you can prepare for the unexpected. 

For example, when a prospect is in the decision stage, the aim during the sales call should be to close the deal with effective negotiation over pitching new features. 

If the prospects said yes to deal closure	If the prospect said no to deal closure
Clear their last-minute queries and concerns. Explain the closing process in detail. Start the onboarding process once the deal is signed.	Ask for more time to resolve their concerns. Give a highly customer-centric value proposition for your product/services.  Get approval for the next sales call. Provide them with a valuable case study related to the same industry.

Possible negotiations 

Price negotiation is a key topic before your close sales, as your prospect will seek all the opportunities for extra discounts or benefits.  

If you have set up your reservation price already, that will help define your negotiation limits.  

Bonus advice is to let your prospect begin first when starting a negotiation.

And only provide a discount if your prospect has asked for it.  

Try to ensure that the negotiation that’s being done is justifiable and profitable for you and your customers. 

If you want to learn what best sales negotiators do differently to close deals? Click here. 

Perform a mock call with a teammate   

Mock calls help you discover where you can get stuck while closing a sale over the phone. 

Satisfying prospects on a call and closing a deal can be daunting, so mock calls can help you prepare to perform better. 

It would be best to learn from those reps who have attained the highest closing target.  

And call recordings of high-performing sales reps can be an excellent resource for other reps falling short. 

Be prepared for negative outcomes 

You dialed your prospects with the intent to close the deal, but sometimes you might get a response from the prospect saying;  

• “I would like to reconsider.”  
• “I’ll get back to you.” (The scary one!) 
• “I need to wait until next month.”  

When you get such a response, it might be possible that the prospect is uninterested or has unresolved issues. 

For example, if your prospect says, “I’d like to rethink about it“, you can come up with a comeback like “I’d love to understand what doubts you still have about the product/service that I can help resolve.”   

And if they react positively, it’s your turn to discover and overcome the roadblock.

There are common topics of objection; features and functionality, fit, and finance while closing.  

The final step would be to unravel the reason behind the negative outcome and evaluate what went wrong. 

How to close a sale on the phone: Step by step process

To create sales opportunities over the phone, you should be well versed in your call opening, answering unexpected questions and objections handling, negotiation, and deal closing statements.

Step 1: Begin your closing sales call in the best way possible 

Introduction plays an important role, whether it is a first or final call.   

Always introduce yourself, mentioning your name, title and agenda of the call.  

And don’t forget to greet your prospect, as it is a kind gesture to begin your call.

Moreover, keep the introduction compelling and concise.   

And after a few exchanges of greetings, you can start a light-hearted conversation.  

But ensure it doesn’t go on unnecessarily long. That might deviate you from the main agenda— closing the deal.   

Click here to start a sales conversation that captures your interest. 

Step 2: Open discussions with the questions 

Once the introduction part is done, now is the time to begin the valuable discussion.   

It would be best if you opened the call discussion with a question.

Here are some questions you can use to open the discussion on a closing call. 

• “So, the agenda of our call today is to get you started with our services; where do we stand?”  
• “What else can I do to help you finalize the decision?”  
• “Is there any query that I still need to answer?”  
• “Could you please tell me if there are any further concerns left? So that we can get started with the deal.”  
• “What questions do you have that I still need to answer?” 

The question above will reveal your prospect’s intent and also gives details to help you close the deal on the phone. 

Step 3: Handle objections 

If your potential customer doesn’t sound interested in closing the deal and has some resistive objections, you must be prepared to turn the cards in your favor.  

Here are a few of the most common topics of fear and objections that hindered sales:

• Pricing/money  
• Time  
• Need  
• Feature and functionality  
• Trust   

To handle these resistive points, you must identify and resolve the concern, convincing them to close the deal.

Read more: How to handle sales objections like a pro! 

Step 4: Price negotiation 

Buying is incomplete without price negotiation, as every customer wants to save some bucks. 

There might be times when prospects do harsh price negotiation.

And, they might have the mindset that ‘offer me the deal at this price or lose it.’ 

But as a sales rep, you must find a mid-way that makes the prospects happy and meets the company’s guidelines to get saved from losing the sale.  

A smart seller is prepared for price negotiation and knows how to play the game of value propositions to influence customers.

To learn these winsome price negotiation tricks, check here. 

Step 5: Deal closure 

If you’ve cleared out all the objections, you can go with deal closure.  

Once the negotiation is done and you have a price, two major tasks are left.  

• Explaining the onboarding process  
• Preparation of the contract, gathering signatures and closing the deal.  

Note: If your prospects mandate procurement or legal reviews, you can review the purchasing process again.  

5 best sales closing phrases that works in every situation 

Various factors come into play when trying to close a call; for instance, are you trying to secure another meeting or get them on board?

So, your agenda for the sales calls should be crystal clear, as this will help you navigate your responses in the right direction. 

Let’s learn the 5 best ways to close a sales call. 

1. When in doubt, close with a question  

Whenever you are stuck on a call and don’t know how to close it without seeming awkward, always go for a question.

It will get a response from your prospect, and you’ll be able to finish the conversation subtly.   

You could ask them for the next appointment, or if you’ve already nurtured the prospect, you could question whether they’d be interested in your free demo.

Closing calls with questions helps you determine the true thoughts of your prospects and enables you to make the right decision to pursue them further.  

Below are a few examples of closing a call with a question:

• “That sounds perfect! Shall we set up a date for a free demo so you can understand the product features?”  
• “I hope I have clarified everything about the company. However, is there anything you’d like to know more about?”  
• “Now that you’ve looked at our product’s features, do you think it takes care of your pain points?  
• “I understand your concern; how about we set up a meeting with the company’s product manager so you can resolve your queries?”  

If your prospect still has queries or specific concerns, you need to listen proactively to guide the prospect to the next stage in your sales pipeline.  

Question-based close enables you to qualify the leads based on their level of interest in your product or service.  

2. Closing with a sense of urgency

Your prospect might seem interested in your product or service, but are they ready to close a deal over the phone?

Unnecessary delay in the sales pipeline is time-consuming and refrains you from focusing on the right prospects that might be more interested in making the purchase.  

If your prospect is clear on your value proposition, you can enhance the chance of the deal closing with a time-sensitive statement closing phrase.

Here are the best ways to do it:   

• “We have an exclusive offer for our new customers that will be valid until Thursday. So, if you’re interested in grabbing our offer, let’s finalize the deal, and we can move further.”  
• “We only have three spots left for this quarter, and five people have already shown their interest, so kindly let me know your decision at the earliest.  
• “Every customer that signs up with us this weekend will receive priority on upcoming updates. So, kindly let me know your final decision.”  

3. Last-minute sign-up bonus to seal the deal  

It’s human psychology to ask for special discounts whenever we purchase.

Likewise, your prospect might ask for a discount or free extended subscription, so you should be ready with the right answers.

Before you get on a sales call, you must determine what kind of last-minute offer or discount you’d provide your prospect to motivate them to purchase.

This way, you won’t get confused when the prospect makes a demand.  

Examples of closing a sales call by offering special discounts: 

• “Okay, on top of the new sign-up discount I offered to you, I can also add one month of free subscription to your purchase if you sign-up today.”  
• “So, hear me out! I am offering you an extra 15% discount on my previous offer if you sign-up by tomorrow.”  
• “I noticed that your requirements included purchasing a few add-ons, so let me offer you those as a sign-up bonus if you purchase today.”  

Prospects are often undecisive during the early stages, so offering extra benefits helps win a deal over the phone.

However, ensure you don’t give away your offer early on; negotiate first and then persuade the prospect with your enticing offer.  

4. Offer alternative options   

A product or service might not work for different types of prospects.

Sometimes, your prospect might seem uninterested or confused with your value proposition.

In such a scenario, offering alternatives is best to retain the prospect and convert them into long-lasting customers.

For example, your main product might not interest your prospect, but your other product might!  

See how to close a sales call by offering alternative deals: 

• “I understand this product might not be the perfect fit for your company, so I’m proposing a better and more effective alternative – our second-best software that meets your requirements.”  
• “If you aren’t sure about my current offer, we also have various other services that you can look at. So, you can only select the package with basic features, and later, you’ll have the option to upgrade as well.”  

5. Highlight your value proposition  

One of the perfect ways of closing a sales call is by highlighting the key points of your offering.

However, you must remember that you won’t close the deal on every sales call, but you can say something that lets your prospect rethink you.

So, by simply highlighting the value proposition of your product and services, you can impact your prospect’s mind to consider you.

Here’s an example that shows how to highlight the value proposition at the end of your sales call:

• “So, you’re getting a 1-year contract at a discounted price, which includes 24-hour customer support, free downloadable resources from our extensive library and free onboarding.”   

A quick recap is sufficient to remind your prospect how your company can benefit them in various aspects, encouraging them to close the deal early.

Conclusion 

Closing a sales call can be a tense experience if you aren’t prepared. But, if you are, then the process is quite seamless. 

So, just a quick recall on how to close a sales call efficiently:

Ensure you know your value proposition, unique features & benefits. 

Spend time to build rapport, identify your prospect’s pain points, and present a solution.

And, even if you don’t close the deal in the first place, it’s important to stay persistent and build a good relationship with the prospect.

Moreover, it requires multiple follow-ups for sales closing, so having the right tool by your side streamlines your sales communications.

Go for a robust CRM and automation tool that has everything a sales reps need to make their sales process seamless.  

Conduct phone calls directly from CRM with Built-in calling, take call notes and record calls and voicemail drop automatically.

Power Dialer to boost reps’ sales call efficiency by switching from manual to auto dialing.

Set your repetitive sales tasks like follow-ups and outreach on autopilot.

Identify roadblocks to overcome and opportunities to close deals with custom sales reports.

And there is much more to it; take your 15 days FREE trial now!

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