- The Conscious Closer
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- Closing confidently:
Today, I'll share how I use a trial close during the latter stages of the 2nd call to gauge the prospect's engagement and likelihood of buying before going for the close.
This technique creates feedback and dialogue with potential clients. It enables you to eliminate uncertainty-based objections before presenting the price or smoothly transition into discussing the onboarding process and investment, feeling confident about working together.
Unfortunately, many sales professionals don’t use a trial close at this point, leading to the dreaded “I need to think about it” objection.
This occurs because many see closing as one big event at the end. In reality, it's a series of small trial closes throughout the sales process, naturally leading to doing business with each other.
Fear not, however. In the next couple of minutes, I'll show you how to deliver this final trial close to increase the prospect’s certainty and set the stage for a low-pressure close, with the maximum chance of success.
Context: Where this happens in my 2nd call sales process.
Let’s dive in…
Step 1: Check their temperature
Start by asking the potential client how they feel. This question is crucial as it sets the tone for the rest of the conversation.
For instance:
"So that’s it for the case studies. Before I move on to the onboarding process and the investment, in terms of the audit, process, and case studies - how do you feel?"
There are three possible outcomes here, and we'll discuss how to adapt your response accordingly next.
Step 2: Respond appropriately
Scenario 1: They are super positive and sound certain that they want your help, and they want it now.
Scenario 1 is the ideal scenario. In this instance, all I say is:
"You sure? No questions or concerns?"
Assuming they say “nope,” I move on to the final parts of my sales process - the agreement length, onboarding process, and price.
Scenario 2:
They seem slightly uncertain. In this instance, you need to get clarity on what their concerns are.
Here’s the sort of thing I say:
"I hear you, and just to be totally clear, it’s super important to us that we only onboard clients who are a good fit.
When we work together, we don’t just throw up a bunch of campaigns and let things run on autopilot.
We commit a lot of resources upfront to give you the best chance of success, and miracles don't always happen overnight.
So it’s super important we take only clients who feel good about our process and results and are committed to forming a successful (long-term) partnership.
Do you see where I’m coming from?"
At this point, they'll probably agree with you by saying something like "yeah".
Then you can say:
"Cool. I know it’s corny, but on a scale of 1-10, 1 being I can’t wait to get off this call and never speak to this guy again and 10 being - this is exactly what I need to get to where I want to go, where do you feel like you sit?"
I like to throw in the “I know it’s corny” because this sounds super salesy, and I try to avoid salesy sales tactics when I can. But, unfortunately, we are in sales, so sometimes we need to use them. And when I do, I acknowledge them, so it feels more natural.
One of two things will happen here - they’ll be a certain 8.5/9 out of 10. In this case, you can confirm they are sure before moving on to the next step.
The second thing that could happen here is that they seem pretty uncertain, which is what we’ll discuss in scenario 3.
Scenario 3:
They are notably uncertain. By this, I mean a 7 or below.
You should not progress to the next phase at this stage if you want to close the deal, as you have more work to do.
Dive deeper into their concerns, seek clarity, handle objections, and answer questions before reassessing their certainty and readiness to move on.
Here’s what that looks like:
"Cool. I appreciate the transparency here.
It’s interesting though, as X is quite a low number.
Out of interest, what do you think is keeping you from being an 8, 9, or 10?"
From here, you can get a myriad of answers. So, it's hard to go into every detail.
My best advice is to clarify why they're saying what they're saying before giving your answer to avoid misinterpretations and potentially blowing up the deal unnecessarily.
Once I’ve handled their objections/answered their questions, I say something like:
"OK, so how do you feel about the process now out of 10?”
If they feel good, say:
“Are you sure?
OK. So you feel good, and you don’t have any questions at this point? Are you ready to talk about the onboarding process and commercials?"
If they’re still unsure, keep probing to see if you can help them with their certainty levels, or just accept that this one isn't meant to be and move on/arrange a follow-up meeting.
Summary
Mastering this trial close is a great way to elevate your sales game.
It helps you build trust, address concerns, and create partnerships that work for everyone.
When you drop the price to someone who's not sure, and they say “I need to think about it,” dealing with their concerns becomes tough.
It gets stressful because the call is essentially over, and they just want to end the conversation and go think.
Scrambling around trying to handle objections and close the deal at this point feels pushy and has the opposite vibe of what I’m going for.
Using this trial close a few slides before the close sets the stage for a confident, stress-free environment to say the price, significantly increasing your chances of a successful close.
I hope you find this helpful. Try it out and let me know how you get on by replying to this email.