Inc Magazine: How to Close a Sale

By Inc. Staff |  May 18, 2010

The drive to close a sale is portrayed in Glengarry Glen Ross, the David Mamet play turned into an Oscar-winning 1992 film, as the ultimate end-all in a Chicago real estate office. “A-B-C,” says Blake, the ruthless businessman played by Alec Baldwin in the film, who is sent to shake up the sales staff by holding a sales contest in which the winner receives a Cadillac and the loser gets fired. “Always be closing.”

These days, many salespeople have come to think of “the close” a little differently. The goal is not so much to sell anything just for the sake of making a sale. The goal is to cbook sales that truly help satisfy a customer, and that create a mutually-beneficial, long-term relationship.

“The ‘close’ of the sale is usually described as the point where a prospect or customer agrees to buy. This thinking is very traditional, and should be an obsolete view of the selling process,” says Jeff Thull, president and CEO of Prime Resource Group, who has designed and implemented business transformation and professional development programs for companies like Shell Global Solutions, 3M, Microsoft, Siemens, and Citicorp, as well as many fast track, start-up companies. “If you believe the close is the ultimate event, you will no doubt be limited in your success. If you respect your customers and believe they are intelligent individuals with whom you wish to have long-term and mutually beneficial relationships, your goal should be to provide them with products and services that will make them successful.”