Whatever happened to that most potent of sales techniques … the trial close?
In this fast-paced world, does the trial close still have a place? You decide …
There was a time in selling when professional sales people used a technique called the trial close – a simple yet incredibly powerful sales practice.
The concept of the trial close is pretty straight forward – it’s a close that seeks commitment without actual commitment.
Imagine you are selling a service to a client and you have scoped out their expectations.
More often than not today, the next step involves articulating how you work and what the typical fee structure looks like.
This shifts a consultative sales conversation into a pressure-based conversion conversation.
Pressure almost always causes push back.
If we instead ask the prospect “Does this solution seem like it will address your needs – assuming we get the price right” they’re likely to respond in the positive, knowing that they are not yet committing to purchase because the price hasn’t been addressed.
Importantly, you have now locked away half the discussion and only have price to agree.
The trial close … it is simple and it still has a place in today’s selling.
I’d love to know … what is your favourite trial close?