Here is a sales technique that everyone should be using throughout their sales process (pt. 2)

Last week, I shared how employing trial closes at the end of the initial discovery call can provide valuable insights into a prospect's buying intent before moving to the next phase.

Today, I’ll share how I sprinkle these mini-trial closes throughout the 2nd call, enabling me to tell how engaged the prospect is and how likely they are to buy before approaching the final close.

I can’t emphasise enough the importance of using these trial closes during the 2nd call. You’re speaking a lot in this phase and you need to make sure the prospect hasn’t tuned out.

These trial closes also help reduce maybes and objections, and overall maximise the chances of closing the sale in a low-pressure way.

Remember, selling isn't just about one giant event at the end; it's a series of small commitments scattered across the sales process leading to a natural outcome. The close.

Let's dive in, so I can show you how I do this.

Some useful context:

Alright, before we go into the details, let me give you an overview of how I structure my 2nd calls.

We start with a quick bit of rapport, frame how the call typically goes, recap the last call, go through an audit, pitch the solution, share success stories, talk about the onboarding process, tell them how much it costs, handle objections if any come up, and finally, map out the next steps.

Now, that you’re clear on how I do things, let’s talk about how I use trial closes at the tail end of each section to avoid me just talking at the prospect for 45 minutes.

Section #1: Rapport

First things first - building rapport. I take a minute or two to reconnect, and once we're all comfortable and everyone is on the call, I go for my first micro-commitment by asking:

This is a straightforward question, and you should get a yes 100% of the time. If they say no here, it is a very bad sign.

Section #2: Upfront agreement

Next up, we use an upfront agreement to set the tone for the call, outlining how these calls typically go. If you want more info on these, check out my earlier article here.

Towards the end of the upfront agreement, you can say something like this:

Using a trial close here is super important, as you are essentially getting a yes from the client to the question - are you happy for me to sell to you?

Section #3: Summary & safety net

In this phase, I recap what was discussed in our previous call, refreshing their memory on things like their business challenges, goals, and desire to get help.

Following the summary, I use a trial close to solidify our understanding and give them a chance to update me with anything important to the deal.

Section #4: Audit

In this section, I play Loom videos from the team as they analyse the prospect’s ad account(s), comparing them against best practices. When we’re done I ask:

I find that this is a big moment in the sales process. People are either blown away by the attention to detail, disagree, or are disappointed and were expecting more.

I get a good read on whether someone is keen to go ahead at this point.

Section #5: Solution

Now, we’re getting to the good stuff - pitching our unique approach. Here you’re laying out the roadmap to success in the form of a step-by-step.

This naturally involves more talking and terminology your prospect might not understand, so you must break it up by regularly checking in with the prospect to ensure they're following along and feeling good about the solution.

A mistake people make here is using the same question at each stage. For example, “Does this make sense?”.

You want to mix it up to avoid the prospect going into default answering mode.

Here are some examples:

You get the idea.

At the end of this section, I’ll go for a trial close like this:

If you get negative feedback to any of these questions, you need to probe to find out before moving on, but this is beyond the scope of this article.

Section #6: Case studies

Before going into the case studies, I like to know how much homework they've done, as it’s a good indicator of how interested they are. So, I usually throw out a casual question like:

Once we've gone through the case studies, it's time for a significant trial close. This is about affirming their confidence in our agency and solution before we talk about money. I'll typically ask:

If they're sounding pretty sure, I'll move on. However, if there's uncertainty, I take a softer approach:

Depending on their response, we'll continue if it's a strong 9 or 10, or a very solid 8. But if they're sounding uncertain or rate lower, there's more work to do before we can get to the close. So, I might gently probe:

I used to hesitate with this approach, feeling it might come off as overly salesy. But I've found it to be quite effective. It provides clarity on where we stand, and I find it works even better when I soften it by saying something like

Section #7: Timelines

In this part, I go through the onboarding process, alleviating any concerns about what happens after they commit. It also helps in justifying the setup fee. At the end of this slide, I simply ask:

While it's rare to receive a negative response, if it happens, probe further and understand their reservations.

Part #8: Investment

Now, we approach the end of the sales process—the close. Contrary to popular belief, the close is a natural progression that comes from a well-structured discussion.

After telling them the price, I follow up with a simple question:

And then I shut up and wait for them to respond.

Section #9: Next steps

Assuming the answer is a yes, I ask:

Keep it short and sweet. Talking too much at this point is asking for trouble, as unnecessary information can potentially derail the deal.

If the response is negative, we transition into objection handling and/or schedule a future meeting, but I’ll save what to do there for another day.

To wrap up

And that’s it! These are the mini-trial closes (also referred to as temperature checks or micro-commitments) I sprinkle throughout the sales process.

They’re like checkpoints, ensuring we're all on the same page and ready to move forward.

So, the next time you’re on a sales call, remember, it’s not about the end. It’s about those little micro-commitments that lead to the close.

Hope you found this useful. Feel free to hit me up by replying to this email if you have any questions. ✌️