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Does your current closing rate leave much to be desired? If you want to improve your ability to close sales, read up on these ten proven strategies that can help you make significant strides forward.
March 20, 2022
It’s something every salesperson has in common—regardless of experience or skill.
You’re always growing. You always have room to improve. You have much to learn, and you have the ambition to learn it. So if you want to know how to increase your closing rate, you’re in the right place.
Whether you are new to sales or an experienced closer, we share some tips you’ll take to the bank.
1. What is a Close Rate?
2. What is a Good Closing Rate?
3. Why Are My Deals Not Closing?
4. How Do You Increase Closing Rate (10 Proven Sales Tips)
4.1: Optimize Your Sales Script
4.2: Focus on The “Right” Words
4.3: Listen To Learn
4.4: Know Your Product (and industry) Inside and Out
4.5: Ask Open-Ended Questions
4.6: Focus on Benefits, NOT Features
4.7: Focus on Their Desired Outcome
4.8: Embrace Their Objections
4.9: Be Specific
4.10: Follow Up
5. How To Increase My Closing Rate— The Conclusions
Here at The Sales Connection, we pride ourselves on working with talented sales professionals—if you’d like to work with us, apply to join our growing network here—yet we appreciate even the best sales pros have room to grow.
You can always increase your closing rate.
Indeed, you should always strive for this (whatever it is).
We have a few proven ways. Although before we get to that, let’s first look at what a good close rate is.
Simply put, your sales close rate is the number of leads you convert into sales.
It’s what produces your bottom line. It is the all-important number that increases sales, your commission, and ultimately helps your team grow. Sure, there are other important metrics in the world of sales.
Yet it all boils down to your close rate. Increase this and you’ll achieve greatness!
So… what is a good closing rate? There’s no out-of-the-box answer. Each business looks at this differently. It depends on you, your situation, the product/service you sell, and the industry you’re in.
A 30% close rate is often a good benchmark. But again, this does depend. For some companies, 30% is too low. For others, it places you among the top salespeople.
The first step you need to take is to figure out your current close rate.
You do this by dividing your total number of conversions by your total number of leads.
And then multiplying this number by 100.
For example, if you close 20 sales from a total of 100 leads, your close rate is 20%.
20 ÷ 100 = 0.2 x 100 = 20%
Whereas if you close 12 sales from a total of 320 leads, your close rate is 3.75%.
12 ÷ 320 = 0.0375 x 100 = 3.75%
Once you know this number, you can start to determine how well you’re doing by:
… and by simply observing your work and making an honest assessment of where you are.
Next, we’ll share some proven tips on how to increase your closing rate.
First, it’s important to consider why you aren’t closing more deals.
Again, this differs from salesperson to salesperson, industry to industry, and among different companies. You have to look at your specific circumstance and assess what’s working (and what isn’t).
Based on our experience, it often involves at least a few of the following:
These are just a few of the objections that harm your close rate. Often, there are several that stand in your way. Your job is to identify these. Once you do, you can overcome them with these tips!
Once you have a clear understanding of your current situation (ie: your close rate) and appreciate the common objections that stand between you and the sale, you set yourself up for success.
You can now do something to make significant strides forward.
When we work with our talented team of sales professionals, this is how we help them…
Every salesperson differs when it comes to a script. Some work better with a specific one in front of them. Others prefer a set of notes—in general, you need a lot of experience and confidence to pull this off.
Either way, one of the best ways to improve your close rate is to dissect and then optimize your script.
There’s always room for improvement. It’s something we work on with our sales team a lot. We focus on not only how to optimize your script but how to effectively use it to consistently close deals.
Words matter. This is especially true for a salesperson. There are certain words you should use.
And some others you shouldn’t!
Some you should include are:
There are many other positive power words you can use. It’s something else we work with our sales team to effectively use. Because as important as knowing which ones to use is, appreciating when to use them is more so.
An overlooked art in sales is how to effectively listen. We often get caught up in what to say. Whereas one of the best things you can often do is not talk. Stop. Listen.
Although there are two forms of listening:
If you want to increase your close rate, learn how to listen the “right” way. It not only helps you close more deals but teaches you a lot about your prospects—this helps close even more deals in the future.
As important as it is to listen, it’s only effective if you know how to respond.
A sales script helps. But it never gives you all the answers.
Instead, you need to know your product inside and out.
You need to know your industry, competitors, and everything else in your world.
The better you do, the easier you’ll find it to close deals.
No matter what the sales call is like, you’ll find yourself having to answer questions.
When you do, you can either ask closed questions or open-ended ones.
Closed Question = Do you think you need a CRM system?
Open-Ended Question = What are you looking for in a CRM system?
Your aim isn’t to get an answer, but rather to get your prospect talking. Once they talk, you can listen. From there, you can tailor your pitch and speak to them on a deep, relevant level.
Your prospect wants to know the features of your offer. But these features aren’t what determine a yes or a no. Features only go so far. What really matters is the impact these have on the person you speak to.
At some level, people either want to have something they don’t or get rid of something they do. This is what you need to focus on. Benefits, not features. Each time you talk about your product/service, bring it back to the specific way(s) it benefits your prospect.
The more you do, the more of an emotional attachment you’ll create.
Again, people either want to have something they don’t or get rid of something they do.
What does your prospect want?
What do they want life to look like?
Is there a difference between their perceived problem and the actual one?
These are what you need to speak to. It doesn’t matter how great your offer is. It only matters to your prospect if it helps them achieve what they desire.
For some reason, objections get a bad rap. Too many salespeople fear them; try to avoid them.
This is dumb for a few reasons:
This is something else we train our sales professionals to do. An objection is only bad if you don’t know how to overcome them. We do, as do the people we work with. With this outlook, objections are great!
If there’s one thing that destroys your close rate it’s a vague message.
Whatever you sell, be clear on what you’re selling. Make sure the person on the call understands what they get. Ensure they know what’s at stake if they don’t act. Help them feel their pain and show them the solution. Place them in the right frame of mind… the one that gives them permission to take the next step.
And all the while, tell a specific story. Be clear. Be clearer than clear!
A vague message achieves nothing.
Finally, make sure you follow up.
After your call, send an email and thank them for their time.
Send another email asking if they have any questions.
Call them a few days later.
There are many ways to follow up. Each situation differs—it’s something else we train our sales team on; and a big reason why our clients hire us. The point is, you should ALWAYS follow up. This is something everyone knows they should do. Yet too few salespeople follow through with it.
Don’t be one of these. Your close rate will thank you 😎
There you have it… 10 tips on how to create my closing rate. If you want to increase your closing rate, these tips guide the way. Although it only scratches the surface. This is why we continue to create training resources for ambitious salespeople like yourself.
A few others you may get value from include:
Be sure to bookmark these for later. Study them. Implement what we teach!!
How to increase my closing rate… it’s a question we hear a lot. Rookie and experienced salespeople alike ask it. We’re all in the same boat. None of us are perfect. We’re all a work in progress. There’s much to learn. This is true for everything, but especially sales—sales continue to evolve all the time!
This means even a good close rate today can vanish tomorrow.
Likewise, you can improve your closing rate even if it’s terrible.
Having read this article, you know what to do. The question is… will you DO it?
If you’re ready to take that step, we can help. Visit HERE and explore how to join our ever-expanding team. We have high standards and turn more salespeople away than we employ. But we’re always on the lookout for A-Class performers. If that’s you… explore this page and apply.
Kayvon Kay
Kayvon has over two decades of experience working with high-level closers and perfecting his sales methodologies. He has earned the title of Canada’s #1 pharmaceutical sales representative and continues to share his expertise as a keynote speaker and through his multi-million-dollar coaching program.
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