Too often, sales teams wait until the end of a fiscal period before they shift into high gear, and ‘push the pedal’ all the way to the floor, in an effort to boost results. Since the day of reckoning is surely coming, however, why wait until your back is against the wall to ramp up sales productivity?

It would be optimistic to hope enough deals would simply materialize out of thin air to make your numbers before year-end. It’s more likely that whatever business you close in the coming months will be a direct result of the level of effort you put forth in the coming weeks–to cultivate new prospects, nurture qualified opportunities, and ultimately, bring deals to fruition.

So, why delay? Crunch time is…NOW!

With half the calendar year already behind us, and the finish line now in sight, here are three specific execution strategies worth considering:

1.) Re-Think Your Account Penetration Strategy

How many voice-mails have you deleted, or email solicitations have you trashed, in the last few weeks without listening to the entire message, or reading past the very first sentence? A bunch? That’s because traditional ‘cold calling’ tactics are no longer cutting it, and continuing to sound just like everyone else who is knocking on your same door list of target accounts has become somewhat of a futile exercise.

Fortunately for those who are willing to step outside the box of traditional sales thinking, there is an antidote for customer standoffishness—curiosity.

If a key decision maker in an important target account is not the least bit curious about who you are or what you can do for them, it’s highly unlikely that you will get an audience with them. On the other hand, as prospective buyers become more curious about how you can add value, that’s the ticket to securing a precious slice of their time and their attention.

So, what are you doing to ‘leverage curiosity’ in the sales process? If the answer to that question isn’t clear, whether you prefer books, audio, or on-site training, I’ve spent the last 20+ years teaching sales teams how to gain an ‘unfair’ advantage in terms of penetrating more new opportunities.

2.) True Differentiation is Highly Intangible

Simply claiming to offer the best products is no longer enough if you sell into highly competitive markets. You must also find ways to differentiate yourself from everyone else who is out there claiming that, “We’re better.”

Trouble is, important sales attributes like credibility, integrity, and thought leadership are not just something that can be indiscriminately claimed. They must be earned, which is why it’s crucial for salespeople to understand how to convey more intangible value than the competition, throughout the sales process.

3.) Secure Smaller Commitments on the Way to the Larger Sale

Strategic deals generally require a series of smaller sub-steps on the way to consummating a mutually beneficial business transaction. As a result, your ability to secure those initial and secondary commitments are often just as important as wrapping up the final deal.

What’s the best way to secure these smaller commitments? One option is to try and push customers to move forward. Another is to beg. The best option to move your opportunities forward is to use of superior closing technique.

What does an effective closing question sound like? Here’s just one of many examples:

Salesperson: “Mr. Customer, would it make sense to get the appropriate people together in front of a flipchart (or WebEx), so we can map out your options, how they would impact your business, and the associated costs?”

If you treat the mid-summer months as “crunch time,” and focus on increasing your sales effectiveness in each of these areas, the seeds you sow in the near-term should put you in a strong position to far exceed your numbers by year-end.

Especially during the ‘kickoff season’ of any new sales year, sales teams and marketing departments alike usually invest a tremendous amount of thought and energy into how best to position their solutions within their respective markets. That makes sense—after all, the more solutions you provide, the more money you and your company stand to make, right?

Most top performers in sales are good closers. But, instead of just focusing on “doing deals,” effective closers are keenly aware of the importance of securing smaller commitments on the way to consummating larger transactions.

Closing ‘deals’ in sales is easy if the customer has an immanent need, and they recognize the value of your product or service, and you’ve successfully differentiated your offering to the point where the customer believes their return on investment far exceeds the cost. What’s not to like? At that point, all the salesperson has to do is place an order form in front of the customer and say, “Press hard, five copies.”

I talked at length about closing strategies in my first book, Secrets of Question Based Selling, and one of my focus points was how the final phase of the sales cycle should be somewhat anticlimactic. Meaning, if a customer is indeed ready to buy, then you don’t need a magic formula or clever one-liner to coerce the decision maker into wrapping up the transaction. But when the customer is not ready, that’s when an effective closing strategy can be the difference maker.

Because buyers are increasingly skeptical toward vendors, it’s only natural that they hesitate before pulling the trigger at the end of the sales cycle. This trepidation shouldn’t surprise anyone, as most customers know what’s like to make a bad decision they later regret. Hence, this natural hesitancy on the part of potential buyers is the new reality that forms the backdrop for most sales opportunities.

That’s why I teach sellers to rely on “logic” when closing sales, rather than doing anything like pleading, or pressuring, or coaxing the customer into buying? To understand how to maximize your probability of success when closing, one must first understand the fallacy of those older-school approaches. Here’s a scenario you might relate to…and an example of how not to close:

Salesperson: “Mr. Customer, what do you say we go ahead and sign the paperwork and put you behind the wheel of this beauty?”

If you were the buyer, what’s the first thought that pops into your head upon hearing these words? I’m thinking, “This salesperson just turned up the pressure; he wants to close the deal right here and now. But, why should I care what the salesperson wants? I’m the one who has to live with the decision.” Another popular closing question goes something like, “Ms. Customer, what will it take for us to do business today?” This salesperson is clearly trying to turn the screws to press the customer to ‘put up or shut up.’

There are very few times in the QBS Methodology where I recommend exact wording, as the context and circumstances of one sales opportunity may be very different than the next. But there are times where specific wording and verbal precision can help a lot. How to secure commitments needed to close more sales sooner is one of those times.

While I’m not searching for a foolproof or surefire closing trick, I am happy to share the single most productive closing question I that know with you. The reason it works so well is because it taps into the customer’s motivations to act as opposed to sounding beggish or desperate. As you near the end of the decision cycle, and you think the customer is ready to be closed, simple ask the following:

Salesperson: “Ms. Customer, would it make sense to move forward with your purchase decision, so you can start reaping the benefits of our solutions?”

Notice I specifically asked if “it would makes sense” to move forward with a purchase. The underlying strategy here is pretty simple. If, for whatever reason it does not “make sense” to move forward, they will surely respond by saying, “No,” in which case, it’s easy to ask more questions to find out where the opportunity really stands. On the other hand, if it does make sense to move forward, you’ve made it easy for the customer to say, “Sure, let’s do it.” Either way, you get to know where you stand relative the opportunity, rather than just closing and putting your head on the proverbial block and hoping it doesn’t get chopped off.

Critics of this straightforward approach could argue that I’m giving the customer an “out.” Perhaps, but in today’s day and age of buying and selling, the vast majority of customers already know full well that they don’t have to buy from you. So, I’m willing to trade also the “outs” I’m ‘giving’ for the volume of accurate information I get in return by not verbally backing the customer into a corner.

Additionally, asking if ‘it would make sense to” move forward is just as viable early in the sales process as it is when you’re trying to wrap up the transaction. On the initial call, for example, if you’re able to pique the customer’s interest and establish enough credibility where they want to explore how your solutions might meet their needs, all you have to do is ask:

Salesperson: “Mr. Customer, would it make sense to get the appropriate people together onto a Web-x or conference call, to further explore your options, how they might impact your business, and review the associated costs?”

The significance of this technique is sometimes lost in its subtlety. Asking customers if ‘it makes sense” brings logic into the equation, thus taking the emotion out. Essentially, you’re just asking for their thoughts relative to taking the next step, which sidesteps the perception that you’re only focused on padding your own pocketbook.

As an added bonus, if the customer does agree to get “the appropriate people together,” there’s a good chance your suggestion of involving other key players in a conference call, Web-x, or meeting, could significantly shorten your sales cycle. The net result translates into closing more deals sooner, and more easily!