Chapter Ten

How to Own the ClosingZone

By Dr. Allan Colman

Around noon on Wednesday, Jack pulled into the Wal-Mart Super Center on Cincinnati-Dayton Road in West Chester, OH. It was a nice day. Very sunny and 82 degrees.

In the Wal-Mart was one of Jack's favorite fast food restaurants. A Subway sandwich shop. He walked in and ordered his lunch and then sat down at a table. As he unfolded his lunch, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a new book he had just purchased the other day. It was a compilation of multiple sales experts. It was titled Sales Success. He opened the book to Chapter Ten, which was written by Dr. Allan Colman. The chapter was titled How to Own the Closing Zone. Jack began to read.

Anyone who desires to be a sales leader or efficient marketer must refine his or her closing skills. Many people are experienced with getting their feet in the door. Some people are even quite successful in developing new leads on a regular basis. But completing the cycle by turning proposals and pitches into signed contracts takes a corporate approach that only a few have mastered but all can learn and implement. This chapter discusses successful closing strategies and ideas so that you can own the closing zone.

We often tell our consulting clients, "Stop planning. Start closing." The reason for this is simple: Marketing strategies are an essential step in creating awareness about your firm or your practice, but you must also take action, engage with your prospects, and close more business.

That doesn’t mean that some planning isn’t required. One often overlooked area of new business development is taking the time to identify your prospects’ needs so that when you meet them one on one – when you’re in what we call the Closing Zone – you’re ready.

Here are a few key questions to answer before going into the meeting:

When we work with our clients to help them prepare to close more sales, we take the time to explore and fully answer these and related questions. Having a list of prospects is great; validating each prospect’s potential and having a customized game plan for each meeting is even better.

Beginning to End

While many people assume that closing is what happens at the end of the sales process, the reality is that closing starts with the very first contact or meeting and then continues with every subsequent communication.

Understanding that closing is a process and not a milestone means that, in order to facilitate the process, you must always be working to set up the next contact and keep the relationship growing. There are a few important skills you’ll want to master along the closing path:

Don’t forget the importance of understanding the client’s decision-making process: knowing who else might be involved, what the decision-making timing is, and what additional information might be needed. Learning the answers to these questions is a good way to keep the dialogue open, build client relationships, and move your prospects closer to closing.

Hiring the Right Business Development Consultant

In 2011, quarterback Aaron Rodgers helped the Green Bay Packers take the Vince Lombardi trophy back to Wisconsin for the first time in 14 years. But Rodgers didn’t do it alone—he had the support of an entire team of players and a gentleman named Mike McCarthy, the Green Bay Packers’ coach. Could Rodgers have claimed the victory without McCarthy? Maybe. But having McCarthy there to help identify weak areas, develop game-winning strategies, and offer encouragement certainly increased the Packers’ chance of bringing the trophy home.

The same thing holds true for companies interested in improving business development: when you want to increase your chance of bringing home the trophy—or closing the sale—consider a business coach. A business coach can help you identify the highest-performing business development strategies, map a course for closing more sales, and reassure management that business development efforts are on the right path.

When looking for a business development consultant, here are a few things you’ll want to find out:

If your business development consultant can answer “yes” to the above questions—like we can here at the Closers Group—you’re on your way toward the Closing Zone and bringing home the trophy—the closed sale. If they hesitate, or can’t answer one of the questions above, you may want to consider finding a replacement to help lead your team to victory. Feel free to contact us if we can help.

Divide and Conquer: Distinguishing Yourself and Closing the Deal

No two clients are the same. When getting to know your prospects – or looking for additional business from existing clients – it’s important to accept this reality. Tailoring questions and presentations to fit the client’s needs, personality, and industry will separate you from your competitors. Before the meeting, do your research to ensure quality work and questions. This will ensure that you’re at your best in the Closing Zone.

Here are a number of questions that you should consider asking at every meeting:

Your interest in day-to-day operations will show your eagerness to jump right in and start working. But how do you tailor questions specific to the client? Refer back to your research. Edit and add questions as necessary. Corporate clients will have different needs than a small, private company. Don’t treat them as one in the same!

The hard part comes next: listening. Both talking and listening lead to closing the deal. Building and diversifying your closing skills will lead to more business and better client relationships.

Breaking Down the Course

Competitive alpine skiers – whether they focus on downhill, the slalom, the giant slalom, or the super-G – know that in order to achieve their goals, they need a specific action plan. In the case of alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics, that action plan starts by determining which events the skier will race and then moves on to focus on breaking down the course, identifying the right path to make the jump or turn, and analyzing the terrain and conditions in order to ensure that – when they arrive at the bottom of the hill – they produce a winning time.

When sports’ analysts comment on the downhill events, their focus is on two things: what individual skiers are doing that sets themselves apart and the terrain of the course.

Business development consultants have a similar focus. Their expert commentary and guidance helps sales and marketing professionals successfully analyze the terrain of client meetings and relationships. They are also good at analyzing what makes each professional or business unique.

Every business has something that sets it apart. For some, the differentiating factor is a heightened level of client knowledge. When this is the case, all of the components of business development training dovetail.

If you’re having difficulty pinning down what makes you different, a business development consultant can help you identify it and work with you to build a strategy around that difference. If you’re looking to improve your closing skills and take your sales strategy to the next level, a consultant can help you identify the best strategies for evaluating the options available to you, choose the right path for your presentations, and work with you to ensure that you stay on course and sign new clients in record time.

Staying in Shape During Off-Season

While the action may not be on the diamond, don’t think that there isn’t activity during baseball’s off-season. Owners, managers, and coaches are making behind-the-scenes changes that will help build the team’s strengths, develop new offensive strategies based on their players (and those who they’ll be facing once the season is underway), and preparing for the action. Players are doing their best to stay in shape as well so that, once Spring Training is underway, they’ll be ready to perform when the time comes to step up to the plate.

Like the red zone football where the offense needs to stay focused and persevere toward the end zone, baseball’s batters need to step into the box in order to score. Studying the opposing pitcher’s patterns and form – along with good, old-fashioned practice – are crucial parts of success. Still, no matter how much power a hitter has, often strikeouts precede hits and runs. That’s where perseverance comes into play.

Persistence also pays off when you’re engaged in marketing. An attorney client of ours had held several meetings with an Assistant General Counsel at a university in her area. When this AGC was promoted to General Counsel, our client asked my advice about how to proceed now that her prospect was twice as busy. I suggested she offer to provide backup support, filling in at the GC’s former position until a replacement could be found. Not only did her prospect take her up on the offer, but additional engagements were also lined up.

Had she not been to the plate several times to develop her closing skills, and learned her prospect’s best moves, she would not have been ready to hit this one out of the park.

Excelling in the Red Zone

It was perhaps the best NFL game of the year, where the Indianapolis Colts came from behind with less than a minute to play, beating the New England Patriots by a single point. Watching the game, it was clear that neither team was willing to quit—both team’s offenses and defenses played their hearts out.

The number of times each of these teams scored when entering the red zone demonstrates just how important it is to persevere and to never say it can’t be done. That same ‘never quit’ sense of commitment should be practiced by the sales leadership at your company. Just because your proposal wasn’t selected, your firm did not make it on a company’s panel, or you couldn’t get that client meeting you wanted, don’t quit. Periodically contact the prospect in order to keep your name in front of them. That way, when it comes for his business to replace their current firm or bring in a legal specialist, you’ll be considered again.

Going to the World Series

Each year, Major League Baseball’s World Series is a reminder of the importance of developing strong closing skills. Regardless of which teams make it to the “big dance,” the players to watch are the power hitters and the closing pitchers. This year, the Philadelphia Phillies returned to the series, but the power of the hitters and the closing skills of the New York Yankees pitchers combined to dethrone last year’s champs.

Just as strong closing pitchers are critical to an MLB team’s success, closing skills are crucial for business success. Whatever analogy you use when you’re making an important pitch to a prospect, it’s important to focus on the close. Perhaps one of the most underutilized tactics for closing involves simply having an agenda.

When you’re invited to the big dance and have an opportunity to generate more business -- whether an informal dinner meeting to discuss future opportunities with a current client or a formal RFP response – take the time to talk with your prospect ahead of time. Indicate what you believe will be important and be sure to identify your prospect’s ideas and priorities. Focus on each of these areas, practice your responses to possible questions, consider different approaches, anticipate what might be “thrown at you,” and even ask your business development consultant to play devil’s advocate and introduce additional scenarios.

The preparation that you put into a meeting will ensure that you’re ready for the big event. After the handshakes and greetings, “warm up” by reviewing the agenda with your client or prospect. Ask them if anything new has become opportunity or a challenge for them, get their input on the importance of discussion items and involve them in agreeing to the order in which topics will be discussed.

Think of your agenda as a playbook for the meeting – and go back to it as necessary to adjust your play when they throw a curveball or count on receiving a soft pitch. Make sure that your bases are covered throughout the meeting – focus on addressing all of their questions and needs, and don’t be afraid to swing for the fence and ask when their decision will be made.

The more that you practice your plays, the more that your performance will improve and the more success you’ll have.

Maximizing Rejection

Making it to the Finals

For the L.A. Lakers, it was a long time between championships. After being called basketball’s first dynasty for early back-to-back wins, the Lakers started to see long gaps between titles. During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, the team was embarrassed by the way they lost the finals to their longtime rival the Boston Celtics. After the loss, they made a team commitment to keep at it until they won – a commitment that paid off in the 2009 finals

Similar to the Lakers’ challenges, making a commitment to a comeback success is related to an often-overlooked concept in legal sales – an approach I call Maximizing Rejection. Simply put, if you don’t win a proposal, are passed over for new client work, or aren’t even invited to the dance, do not go in the corner and let yourself disappear. Instead, make sure that you continue to be present. As you continue to gain more experience, you will realize how important your investment with the company or agency is, and why continued follow up and follow through is so worthwhile.

Things not going your way? Here are some suggestions on turning things around:

Practicing proactive sales is a matter of recognizing that the prospect made an investment in spending time with you and your proposal. They got to know you–and if you were close in the finals, keeping in touch will enhance the prospect of future work. Don’t give up – stick with your commitment to your prospects, continue doing your best work, and close the sale.

The Amazing Spider-Man

No matter how many times Spider-Man was knocked down, captured, delayed, or rejected, he found a way to get through the situation and to win the fight

Maximizing rejection is an extension of this lesson - one that this business development consultant emphasizes to clients. Just because your proposal is not the one chosen doesn't mean that you don't still have a future prospect.

Instead of giving up when you don't close the sale, try the following:

Regular contact helps improve your chances of being retained in the future. Don't give up: remember, Spidey eventually got his man - and you can close more business if you follow his lead, and continue to pursue your prospects.

As Jack finished up his ham and cheese sub, he placed his bookmark back in his book and closed it. "That was a good chapter," thought Jack. "Very helpful." He pulled out his sales planner and opened it to his notes section. He began to write.

Action Steps from How to Own the Closing Zone with Dr. Allan Colman

Conclusion

Eight months later:

Jack opened his door at the glorious Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City to head down to breakfast. As he stepped out, crunching directly under his feet was the blue and white logo of the USA Today newspaper the hotel staff had left for him. Jack picked it up, only wrinkled slightly, and headed for the elevator.

Jack and the rest of his Cincinnati sales team for that matter were in Manhattan for their company’s national sales convention. All toll, there would be over five thousand sales representatives converging on the Grand Hyatt.

Jack walked into the brightly lit restaurant and was escorted by a young man dressed in sharp black pants, a black dress vest, and a sparkling white long sleeve shirt that didn’t have a wrinkle in sight. The young man motioned his arm toward a table in the middle of a row of small two-seaters in the middle of the restaurant. It was lavishly set with a sparkling white table cloth, a water goblet, an obviously china coffee mug, and a set of gold-plated silverware. The restaurant was a little cool in temperature but not uncomfortable.

Jack liked to eat breakfast alone. It was a time where he could read, pray, and reflect on his thoughts.

After he placed his order of oatmeal, wheat toast, a banana, and apple juice, Jack turned his attention to his USA Today. “I wonder if my favorite column is in this paper?” Jack thought to himself.

Jack immediately skipped the opening section and turned to the next section. There was a green square in the upper left hand corner that said “Money.” Underneath the words, it read “Section B.” If it were here, it would be in this section.

Jack scanned the first page; nothing there. He turned the page and there was his favorite column, “The Business Edge” by Mark Bowser.

Bowser's title today was very intriguing. It read "The Business Linchpin." Jack began to read.

The Business Linchpin: Can It Destroy You?By Mark Bowser

Is there a linchpin that could start a domino effect that could devastate your business? Or, is there a tipping point that could start an avalanche of success like a runaway snowball?

Interesting questions, but is there an answer? My wife and I love towatch the hit TV show Castle. Recently, they had an intriguing two-part episode that explored this concept of a linchpin. In the story, an economic linchpin was discovered that if put in motion would destroy the United States economy and start a downward domino effect that would lead the globe to World War III. It was a very entertaining escapade from our daily lives, and in the story, the bad guys almost succeeded? But, it got me thinking. Is it possible? Could one event so delude human reasoning and magnify emotions to the point of utter devastation?

I believe that there very well may be a linchpin or a tipping point foryour business. Let's explore the linchpin first. What if you had all your eggs for success in one basket and you lost the basket? Do you see where I am going with this? Brian Tracy says that "Everything Counts" when it comes to selling. What if you or one of your associates kills (accidentally of course) the business with your largest client? What if that client composed of 85% of your annual business? Could you survive...or would it be your linchpin?

So, what is the solution? We must avoid the business error so many of us are guilty of, including myself. We put most of our eggs in one basket, and if we lose that business, we are headed towards economic devastation known as Chapter 11. We avoid it by spreading out our marketing. By kicking into high gear our prospecting for new and more clients.

The only way to avoid the business linchpin is to make sure that no one event or any one client so controls the lifeblood of your business existence. Spread it out. Market more. Do business with different size clients. That will kill the linchpin... and not you.

Now, let's talk about the tipping point. Is there a point where all your marketing, all your sales, all your success converge into a place where it spills over to tremendous, incredible visibility and success? I believe so. Why do some products go viral?

I don't think we can know the answer...but we know they do. In fact, this article may go viral, but why this one and not another one?

Your tipping point exists and it will find you... if you continue to practice business success. In fact, do more of it. Supercharge it. What will make you more visible? What will get you and your product or service more attention? How can you get your product or service into the hands of more people?How can you serve them more than you currently are? Seek the answers to these questions and take action on what you discover, and before you know it, your tipping point may find you.

As Jack read the last paragraph of the inspiring article, he popped the last bite of wheat toast into his mouth. He then proceeded to pay his bill, giving the finely tailored, polite young waiter a very generous twenty-two percent tip.

Jack then went back up to his room and brushed his teeth. He looked at his watch and said to himself, "I still have 25 minutes before I need to be in the ballroom." The National Sales Conference was being held in the beautiful Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt.

Jack sat down on the sofa in his room and began to read the Sports Section of the USA Today. "Let's see how the Reds did last night." Jack was an avid baseball fan with his favorite team of course being his beloved Cincinnati Reds. "Awesome. Six to two. Take that you Cardinals. Let's see, that puts us three and a half games up on St. Louis."

At promptly 8:51 AM, Jack stepped out of his room and headed for the ballroom. The meeting was to start at 9:00 AM sharp. Since there were so many people at the conference, all sales reps had been given tickets. Free of course.

As Jack stepped into the expansive, richly decorated space, he looked at his ticket and found his row and seat. The ballroom was already three quarters full and would fill up quickly in the next five minutes.

Jack found his row and began squeezing his way politely to his seat. He thought to himself, "This is a great seat." Jack's seat was dead center and five rows back from the stage.

Every seat in the row was taken except the seat right next to him. “I wonder who is sitting here,” Jack thought to himself. As the words were forming in his mind, he saw a familiar figure make his way through the row. The older gentleman was dressed like royalty. To Jack, the man was royalty. Yes, it was Digger Jones. As Digger smiled at Jack, he stretched out his hand. His cuff linked, white shirt showed just slightly from under his stark black perfectly pressed worsted wool suit. “Big day for you, my friend,” Digger said with a warm smile.

“What do you mean?” asked Jack. “In fact, what are you doing here? I mean, it is great to see you, but I wasn’t expecting you at all.”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I have been planning on attending this from that first day we met back on that bench in front of the guerrilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo.”

“You are more than a mystery to me, my friend,” said Jack. At that, the meeting began. Mr. Frank Rohn stepped to the microphone. Frank Rohn was the company President/CEO. Rohn’s appearance was a shock to the entire audience. No one was expecting him to be here.

“Good morning!” said Mr. Rohn. “It is an honor to be able to spend a few moments with you today. I didn’t want to miss this. It is not often that we have a Michael Jordan of sales among us. As you know, I started with this company many, many years ago sitting in seats just like the ones you are sitting in this morning. Only, it was Chicago and not New York, and it was the Hilton instead of the Hyatt. “

“The year was 1983, and I was awarded the prize as the top salesperson of the year. Little did I know, that the record I set that year would stand for nearly thirty years. Well, I am thrilled to announce to you that it has been broken. There is one sitting among you today who has become the most extraordinary sales champion I have ever seen. Not too many months ago, his sales were dismal, and to tell you the truth, his job was on the bubble. I have been watching him closely for months like a father watches his child play baseball. I watched from the stands as he hit home run after home run. It wasn’t all victory. There were many strikeouts along the way. But I smiled as I saw our champion get up from the dirt and get back into the batter’s box. He is a true champion and an inspiration for us all of hard work, determination, enthusiasm, persistence, and integrity.”

“Without further ado, let me introduce to you this year’s sales champion and the new record holder, Jack Blake.”

The crowd erupted into a standing ovation. Digger was the first on his feet. Jack was stunned. He knew he was in the top five, but he had no idea that he was number one and had broken Mr. Rohn’s record.

With prodding from Digger, Jack slowly rose to his feet and made his way up to the stage. As he went, people were patting him on the back, shaking his hand, and giving him high fives.

As he reached the lectern, Mr. Rohn was smiling and clapping. He reached out his hand and shook Jack’s hand as he pulled him into a bear hug. “Congratulations. You deserve it,” said Mr. Rohn. With tears welling up in his eyes, Jack thanked Mr. Rohn.

Mr. Rohn motioned towards the microphone. Jack stepped up to the microphone and looked over the vast crowd of his fellow sales champions. His eyes connected with Digger’s. Digger gave him the thumbs up.

Jack began to speak, “Thank you. Thank you. I am not sure what to say. I am a little overwhelmed. But let me say this, it wasn’t that long ago that I was sitting on a bench in total despair when everything changed. That was the day my mentor showed up. He planted a seed in my life that has turned into a plant of Sales Success. My friends, you never know when and where that seed will begin to grow. But if you want it, badly enough, it will grow...because you will grow. Hear me when I say, if I can do it...then you can do it! Sales Success is yours. Choose it. Take it. Live it!”

22 Minutes Later

Jack was exhausted…at least emotionally. He walked out of the auditorium and the first eyes he saw were those crystal blue eyes of Digger. “Well done, my boy,” said Digger. “I am so proud of you!”

“Thank you Digger. I owe you so much.”

With a wave of his hand Digger said, “Eh, you had it inside you all the time.”

A short pause filled the expansive hallway. As they locked eyes, Jack finally realized… “You are leaving, aren’t you Digger?”

“I have my new assignment. Besides, you don’t need me anymore. You can fly on your own.”

“I am going to miss you my friend,” said Jack. With that, the two sales champions embraced as brothers.

As Digger turned and began to walk away, Jack called after him, “You know, you never did tell me who you really are!”

Digger paused, turned around, and with that trademark grin said, “Well, let me put it this way, my golfing buddy is Gabriel.” He took a couple of steps and then added with a chuckle, “And, he has never beaten me yet. You know, I am pretty good.”

With that, Digger walked down the hallway. Jack stood and watched his mentor, friend…brother. As Digger got further away, he faded, and faded, and faded, till he had disappeared. Jack smiled and walked towards the door…and his future.