If You Really Want to Be a Closer

The real close when you make a complex sale doesn’t occur when your prospect signs the contract and through all your effort becomes a client. The real commitment you need to gain only starts when your dream client signed your contract. The real close is gaining their commitment to change and to execute.

You’ve been here. You’ve sold your prospect the solution they need. They’ve agreed to make the changes necessary on their end. But then, you begin to execute only to find out that your new client is unwilling to change what they need to change. This even after you had a half-dozen conversations about how their processes and procedures would need to change.

The real close you need is gaining the commitments to go to war inside their own organization and insist on execution from the stakeholders that supported you. Closing the deal all the way means going back into your customer’s company and working with the stakeholders who are dragging their feet (or digging in their heels, if you will forgive back to back metaphors) to get the commitment to make changes.

These aren’t easy commitments to gain. Everyone wants the better results without having to fundamentally change what they are doing. This is why the incumbent failed. This is why your new client has changed partners three times and why they believe that changing again will give them better results. No one has been able–or willing–to push them for the real commitment they need.

Execution is messy. It’s political. It pisses people off. Before it produces the results they need. If you really want to be a closer, you will make the final close and gain the agreement to change what needs changing.