Today marks 60 days since the launch of The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the 10 Commitments That Drive Sales. The feedback you receive about a book is always interesting. Here are a few important takeaways.
I included a model of the language that you can use at the end of each chapter so that the reader could develop something that would work for them. You know, their words, something that fits them. Readers are emailing to share with me that they are using the sample language very similar to how it is laid out in the book, and they are surprised how well it works.
My view on this is that there are a lot of things that work, and plenty more that don’t. It’s the fact that they know what commitment they need and have some idea as to how to ask for it that is bringing them success.
One sales leader told me that he is using the commitments to coach his sales team, and asking them what commitment they intend to gain during the next client interaction. Invariably, they start with the Commitment to Decide, the final ask. But as they talk through their plan with him, they discover that they really need the Commitment to Collaborate or the Commitment to Build Consensus or some other earlier commitment.
It’s another proof point that the very idea of “closing” has been limited to the final ask for so long that it persists. It’s also proof of the central premise I had when I pitched the book: No one has ever written down the commitments that tend to come between target and close, what Neil Rackham called an “advance” in SPIN Selling. These commitments are what allow you to control the process and help your clients with better results.
On the negative side, there are still people who are put off by the word “closing.” They believe that the book contains 110 closes with tie downs and smarmy language that is going to make them feel bad about themselves and ruin the trust they are trying to build with their clients. There are not any “closes” in the book that resemble anything you have ever seen in a book on closing. Instead, there are strategies for asking for commitments that build trust and allow you to better serve your clients.
If you haven’t yet picked up The Lost Art of Closing, please do check it out. I know it will help you produce better results now and in the future. Send your receipt to me at anthony@iannarino.com, and I will send you the workbook and an invite to the Facebook Mastermind Coaching group. At the time you are reading this, there will be five weeks of videos archived for you in the videos section.
