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287Chapter 17: Making the Sale

and When would you like it delivered? Gain positive responses to those
gateway questions and then close the deal.

ߜ Make a buying assumption. For service or major-investment products,
you may choose to replace the outright order request with a buying
assumption. Using this approach, you paraphrase your prospect’s
needs, reiterate how your offering provides a cost-effective solution, and
explain when you can deliver or begin work, ending with a question such
as, Will that schedule work for you?

ߜ Gain agreement to a delivery plan. This approach is similar to making a
buying assumption, but it goes one step farther in involving the prospect
in the closing process. By presenting a detailed, written schedule, you
convey your readiness to do the job, your ability to do it well, and your
willingness to adapt your plans to your prospect’s wants and needs. By
providing input to the plan, your prospect begins to take ownership, an
important prerequisite to actually making the purchase.

Make buying easy

So your customer said yes. Now it’s time to complete the transaction, get the
contract signed, collect the money, and begin to deliver all the promises you
made as you presented the attributes, benefits, and values of your offering.

This is the point at which loyalty or dissatisfaction begins to grow. Opt for
the former by doing the following:

ߜ Make the transaction flawlessly easy. In professional service businesses,
see that the contract is professionally produced, error free, easy to under-
stand, and delivered in a manner that reinforces the caliber of your busi-
ness and product. In retail settings, be sure the cash/wrap area is clean,
adequately sized, efficient, and well staffed with people trained to affirm
the buyer’s decision and ready to begin the process of customer service.
(Customers literally abandon the product in their hands and make a quick
exit when they see long lines at a cash register.)

ߜ Add unexpected value. Package your offering well and include an unex-
pected enclosure, be it a sincere thank-you note (not a one-size-fits-all
preprinted card), a thank-you gift, an invitation to a new-customer event,
a next-purchase certificate, or some other offer that inspires customer
commitment to your business.

ߜ Make the purchase your first step in developing customer loyalty. The
next two chapters tell how.