what are the most common sales closing techniques?
Posted: Wed May 28, 2025 4:36 am
As we’ll explain further, sales closing isn’t the only stage of the pipeline that matters, but it is absolute. You either close or you don’t. The make-or-break nature of sales closing can make it one of the most stressful aspects of selling, but it doesn’t have to be.
“fundamentally, closing a deal should be the easiest part of a sales cycle,” said jay camp, a strategic account director for large enterprises at salesforce. “there are a series of key milestones you have to hit in order to be in a position to close a deal. If those key milestones are done well, closing is the easy part because the work’s already been done.”
There’s no one way to close a sale. Your approach will shift based on the prospect with whom you’re engaging and what their needs are. But this curated list of tried-and-true methods provides a template of what strategies to deploy and when.
Assumptive close
this is a true power move that requires confidence in yourself and america phone number list your product. In the assumptive sales close, you move forward under the assumption that the prospect wants to buy and that the deal is pretty much done. Instead of asking them if they’re ready to buy, you’ll ask how many products they would like or when the solution could be implemented. The key here is to be assertive without being aggressive, which can ruin the rapport and scare the prospect off. It’s also important to make sure the assumptive close happens right after you’ve driven home the benefits of your offer so it’s fresh in the prospect’s mind.
Puppy dog close
this sales closing technique comes from the idea that if a pet store offered to let you “test a puppy out” and take it home for a few days, you would fall in love with it and never return it. In a puppy dog close, offer a free trial of your product with no strings attached. The hope is that the prospect finds your product so indispensable that after their little test drive, they can’t bear to part with it.
“fundamentally, closing a deal should be the easiest part of a sales cycle,” said jay camp, a strategic account director for large enterprises at salesforce. “there are a series of key milestones you have to hit in order to be in a position to close a deal. If those key milestones are done well, closing is the easy part because the work’s already been done.”
There’s no one way to close a sale. Your approach will shift based on the prospect with whom you’re engaging and what their needs are. But this curated list of tried-and-true methods provides a template of what strategies to deploy and when.
Assumptive close
this is a true power move that requires confidence in yourself and america phone number list your product. In the assumptive sales close, you move forward under the assumption that the prospect wants to buy and that the deal is pretty much done. Instead of asking them if they’re ready to buy, you’ll ask how many products they would like or when the solution could be implemented. The key here is to be assertive without being aggressive, which can ruin the rapport and scare the prospect off. It’s also important to make sure the assumptive close happens right after you’ve driven home the benefits of your offer so it’s fresh in the prospect’s mind.
Puppy dog close
this sales closing technique comes from the idea that if a pet store offered to let you “test a puppy out” and take it home for a few days, you would fall in love with it and never return it. In a puppy dog close, offer a free trial of your product with no strings attached. The hope is that the prospect finds your product so indispensable that after their little test drive, they can’t bear to part with it.