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How to Know When to Close
58 Plays3 years ago
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Transcript
Introduction and Personal Journey
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast, where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level.
00:00:08
Speaker
My name is Taylor Armstrong.
00:00:10
Speaker
I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in a year and cracking the code on why sales reps fell.
00:00:19
Speaker
I teach you how to avoid the mistakes I made and bring in the top solar dogs of the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro, and closing more deals.
00:00:31
Speaker
What is a Solarpreneur you might ask?
00:00:33
Speaker
A Solarpreneur is a new breed of Solar Pro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery and you are about to become one.
00:00:42
Speaker
What's going
Podcast's Mission and Solarpreneur Concept
00:00:43
Speaker
on, solopreneurs?
00:00:43
Speaker
Taylor Armstrong back with another episode.
00:00:46
Speaker
If you're new to the podcast, we are here to help you close more deals, generate more leads and referrals, and have a much better time in the solar industry.
00:00:54
Speaker
Hope you're doing well.
00:00:56
Speaker
Hope you're having a great start of the fourth quarter.
00:01:00
Speaker
It's game time, and it's all about finishing the year strong.
00:01:04
Speaker
Unless you're listening to this at a different time of the year, it's always welcome.
Challenges in Closing Deals
00:01:10
Speaker
But today we're going to be talking about something that I have been asked quite a bit, and that's just when should you close?
00:01:18
Speaker
Okay.
00:01:19
Speaker
And when I first started out in solar, this is something that I had no idea.
00:01:22
Speaker
It's like, when do you actually close a deal?
00:01:25
Speaker
Do you just tell them in the beginning?
00:01:26
Speaker
Yeah, let's do this.
00:01:28
Speaker
Sign here and here.
00:01:30
Speaker
Put your John Hancock and we're getting those bad boys up on the roof.
00:01:35
Speaker
And there's a ton of confusion just around when should I actually try to close them?
00:01:39
Speaker
Okay.
00:01:41
Speaker
And it helped.
00:01:41
Speaker
My company eventually gave me some slideshows and kind of walked them through slides and that gave me a structure, which might be a good idea if you're new to closing.
00:01:52
Speaker
I think it's great to start out with just some slides.
00:01:55
Speaker
I recommend not using slides and just tailoring it to each person.
00:02:00
Speaker
I think you can kind of get robotic with slides, but I think great way to start and it will help you stay organized.
00:02:08
Speaker
But make sure you have some sort of closing script, some sort of way to keep on pace when you're closing, because especially starting out, that's going to help you out a ton.
00:02:19
Speaker
So let's jump into the topic.
00:02:21
Speaker
When should you actually close?
00:02:25
Speaker
And we're talking about this in a knockstar call with over with Taylor McCarthy, Danny Pesce.
00:02:32
Speaker
Taylor, he was giving us his thoughts on this and what he said, four things.
00:02:40
Speaker
Hey, solopreneurs, are you sick and tired of spinning your wheels every month and not seeing your sales increase?
00:02:46
Speaker
Well, so was I, and the truth is I was never able to improve it until I figured out what was going wrong.
00:02:52
Speaker
So that's why I'm excited to announce for a limited time, we are doing a free cells diagnostic.
00:02:58
Speaker
We'll break down your cells process.
00:03:00
Speaker
figure out the holes in your business and see how we can help you improve.
00:03:05
Speaker
So act now we have six bucks for this month.
00:03:08
Speaker
So book a call now.
00:03:09
Speaker
Don't miss out.
00:03:11
Speaker
What you're going to do is send an email to taylor at solarpreneurs.com.
00:03:16
Speaker
That's taylor at solarpreneurs with an s.com.
00:03:20
Speaker
I'll send you out a calendar link and we will figure out the time that works best.
00:03:24
Speaker
So shoot that email and let's increase your sales.
00:03:30
Speaker
Said you close when they slow down the pace.
00:03:33
Speaker
You close when they ask more questions.
00:03:35
Speaker
You close when you receive positive stimulus.
00:03:38
Speaker
You close when they favor your test close.
00:03:42
Speaker
So let's unpack that a little bit.
00:03:45
Speaker
First of all, when they slow down the pace, what does that mean?
Recognizing Cues for Closing
00:03:50
Speaker
Well, if you've been closing for a little bit, a lot of times you can sense in the deal when things are slowing down a little bit, they have a lot of questions, and maybe you've gone through numbers, they like it, they start to relax a little bit, there's signs that they don't really have other questions, and we'll talk about some of the nonverbal cues you can use to pick up on this.
00:04:10
Speaker
But when they slow that pace down, great time to start going into your closing questions.
00:04:15
Speaker
Okay, Mr. Homeowner.
00:04:19
Speaker
So now that we've gone through all this, do you guys have any other questions before we fill out the forms, start the application?
00:04:26
Speaker
No?
00:04:27
Speaker
Or Mr. Homeowner.
00:04:29
Speaker
So now that we've gone through all this, we have to obviously see if your home qualifies.
00:04:33
Speaker
But assuming it does and we're able to approve it, can you think of any reason this would not be a good idea?
00:04:40
Speaker
Two transitions I use quite frequently.
00:04:43
Speaker
Number two, you close when they ask more questions.
00:04:47
Speaker
And specifically buying questions.
00:04:51
Speaker
But when people ask questions, depending on the questions, you can tell when they are ready to close or not close.
00:05:01
Speaker
If they're asking questions like...
00:05:05
Speaker
Why should I go slower?
00:05:07
Speaker
Or I don't know.
00:05:07
Speaker
You can tell when they're not buying questions.
00:05:10
Speaker
But when they're asking very specific questions, like how long does it take to install this?
00:05:16
Speaker
What's the process like?
00:05:18
Speaker
How do I actually get approved?
00:05:21
Speaker
What's the chance I can do this and can't do it?
00:05:24
Speaker
Those are all great questions to close after.
00:05:27
Speaker
And we'll get into this a little bit more, but pay attention to the buying questions.
00:05:33
Speaker
You close when you receive positive stimulus.
00:05:36
Speaker
What's positive stimulus?
00:05:38
Speaker
Maybe they're getting stoked about it.
00:05:39
Speaker
Maybe they're like, wow, these numbers are way better than I thought.
00:05:44
Speaker
Maybe they're like, oh, this is a no-brainer.
00:05:47
Speaker
Why don't more people do it?
00:05:49
Speaker
Any type of positive stimulus, great time to close after.
00:05:55
Speaker
So pay attention to that positive stimuli.
00:05:58
Speaker
Sound like a scientist or something.
00:06:00
Speaker
Hopefully this takes you back to middle school science.
00:06:03
Speaker
Pay attention to that, and that is a great time to close.
00:06:08
Speaker
And number four, you close when they favor your test close.
00:06:12
Speaker
or some call it a trial close.
00:06:15
Speaker
But your test close are the little closes you sprinkle throughout the cell.
00:06:19
Speaker
Hey, when do you want your site survey done?
00:06:23
Speaker
Do you guys want it in the morning or afternoon work better for you?
00:06:29
Speaker
Hey, if you were to do this, do you think you guys would want your solar pretty quick?
00:06:36
Speaker
Awesome.
00:06:37
Speaker
Hey, can you see any reason that solar wouldn't be a good idea for you?
00:06:42
Speaker
No?
00:06:42
Speaker
Great.
00:06:43
Speaker
Those are all test closes, trial closes.
00:06:46
Speaker
In previous episodes, we have talked about questions, good questions to ask in the close.
00:06:51
Speaker
But there's a million test closes you could ask, a million trial closes.
00:06:56
Speaker
Great idea to write them out, experiment with them, and use them in your closing.
00:07:01
Speaker
But more importantly, drill them, practice, and rehearse.
00:07:05
Speaker
You don't want to be just throwing this in a close and having it be a train wreck.
00:07:09
Speaker
You want to practice these and drill them and rehearse them.
00:07:12
Speaker
before you get to the game.
00:07:15
Speaker
Right.
00:07:15
Speaker
Okay.
00:07:16
Speaker
So those are four points you should close out.
00:07:19
Speaker
Now let's talk about what are some cues you can look for.
00:07:23
Speaker
So there's two cues.
00:07:24
Speaker
You got the nonverbal cues and you got verbal cues.
00:07:29
Speaker
Hey, I remember when I was doing pest control back in the day, 2012, I sold for AppDame.
00:07:36
Speaker
And this is something they talked about all the time.
00:07:38
Speaker
It's like, oh, look for nonverbal cues.
00:07:41
Speaker
Look for them leaning in.
00:07:43
Speaker
Look for them, I don't know, raising their eyebrows, looking interested.
00:07:49
Speaker
And so we would always try to do that in pest control.
00:07:51
Speaker
Just look for these little signs and look for them on the head.
00:07:55
Speaker
Pest control is huge on up and down after every single point, trying to get them to do that and agree with you.
00:08:03
Speaker
So it's something I've noticed we don't talk about as much in solar.
00:08:06
Speaker
What are some nonverbal cues you can look for?
00:08:09
Speaker
So I'm going to tell you a few.
00:08:11
Speaker
Just like pest control, any cells, you can look for these nonverbal cues.
00:08:16
Speaker
Hey, solopreneurs, are you sick and tired of spinning your wheels every month and not seeing your sales increase?
00:08:22
Speaker
Well, so was I, and the truth is I was never able to improve it until I figured out what was going wrong.
00:08:28
Speaker
So that's why I'm excited to announce for a limited time, we are doing a free sales diagnostic.
00:08:34
Speaker
We'll break down your sales process, figure out the holes in your business and see how we can help you improve.
00:08:41
Speaker
So at now we have six bucks for this month so book a call now don't miss out.
00:08:47
Speaker
What you're going to do is send an email to taylor at solarpreneurs.com that's taylor at solarpreneurs with an s dot com.
00:08:56
Speaker
I'll send you out a calendar link and we will figure out the time that works best.
00:09:00
Speaker
So shoot that email and let's increase your sales.
00:09:07
Speaker
So one is the hand rubbing the face.
00:09:09
Speaker
If someone puts their finger on their chin, it's like, hmm, hmm.
00:09:13
Speaker
When you're going over the numbers, that's a good nonverbal cue that shows they're interested.
00:09:19
Speaker
Okay, again, if they're nodding in agreement, if they're showing enthusiasm, if they're leaning forward, if they're uncrossing their arms or legs, those are some nonverbal cues.
00:09:31
Speaker
They're interested.
00:09:33
Speaker
Okay, and I mean, it's not going to work if they just give you one head nod, you close.
00:09:37
Speaker
It's not to say they're going to do it right away, but you look for combinations.
00:09:41
Speaker
You look for clusters of these things.
00:09:44
Speaker
Maybe they touch their chin.
00:09:45
Speaker
Maybe they lean in after that.
00:09:47
Speaker
Maybe they do all three.
00:09:48
Speaker
They start nodding their head.
00:09:50
Speaker
Maybe they jump up and down and say, where do I sign the best non-RoboQ yet?
00:09:57
Speaker
But look for little clusters of these, and then you know it's probably a good time to close.
00:10:02
Speaker
Hey, and then verbal cues.
00:10:04
Speaker
We talked about buying questions when they ask more questions.
00:10:09
Speaker
So what are some verbal cues?
00:10:10
Speaker
What are some questions that you should be paying attention to?
00:10:13
Speaker
Maybe about the timeline of the project, right?
00:10:17
Speaker
Hey, so when can I expect my solar to go up there?
00:10:20
Speaker
Great buying question.
00:10:22
Speaker
Great verbal cue right there.
00:10:25
Speaker
Maybe it's a question about the customization of it.
00:10:28
Speaker
You show them the design.
00:10:31
Speaker
Hey, can we put a few panels on that side actually right there?
00:10:35
Speaker
That's a great buying question.
00:10:37
Speaker
So anything specific about the timeline?
00:10:39
Speaker
Oh, do I have to be here when they come put it up?
00:10:42
Speaker
Great buying question.
Turning Inquiries into Sales Opportunities
00:10:45
Speaker
What does my credit have to be in order to qualify?
00:10:48
Speaker
Buying question right there.
00:10:50
Speaker
How much am I looking at saving?
00:10:54
Speaker
Could be a buying question.
00:10:55
Speaker
Obviously, there's stronger buying questions than others.
00:10:58
Speaker
But something I want to bring up with this too, this is another point that we learned when I was doing pest control.
00:11:05
Speaker
People would ask, hey, do you guys do the yard too?
00:11:11
Speaker
And a lot of people, the rookie salesman, if someone asks a question, they jump on it and they're like, oh yeah, for sure we do that.
00:11:19
Speaker
We do that 100%.
00:11:21
Speaker
But the experienced salesperson, he turns that question into another question.
00:11:27
Speaker
What I mean by that is when they asked us, hey, do you guys do the yard too?
00:11:32
Speaker
Well, what the experienced salesman does, he said, do you want us to do the yard?
00:11:37
Speaker
When we come out this afternoon, do you want us to go ahead and take care of the yard?
00:11:43
Speaker
And you're turning that into basically asking for the sale because if they respond to that, if they acknowledge your question after that, it's a done deal.
00:11:52
Speaker
So take their question that they threw at you and throw it back at them.
00:11:55
Speaker
Use it as ammo.
00:11:57
Speaker
What you're doing, you're just pouring gasoline on the flame when you do this.
00:12:01
Speaker
If you can ask them another question and just solidify it.
00:12:05
Speaker
So in solar, how do we use this?
00:12:08
Speaker
A customer asks you, when would you guys be able to actually put it up there?
00:12:13
Speaker
Mr. Customer, when do you want it up?
00:12:15
Speaker
Would you guys want it up this month or next month?
00:12:20
Speaker
If they respond, guess what?
00:12:21
Speaker
They're sold.
00:12:23
Speaker
Taylor, how much can we expect to save going solar?
00:12:28
Speaker
How much would you guys want to save?
00:12:30
Speaker
If we could do this, how much would be worth it for you guys to save?
00:12:36
Speaker
Throw it back at them.
00:12:37
Speaker
Then they're going to tell you.
00:12:38
Speaker
They're going to tell you how they're going to be sold.
00:12:41
Speaker
Another way to use it.
00:12:43
Speaker
When would they come do the actual inspection for the home?
00:12:48
Speaker
When would you want them to inspect it?
00:12:50
Speaker
When would you want the site survey?
00:12:51
Speaker
Morning or afternoon work better for you guys.
00:12:54
Speaker
So think of ways when people throw a buying question at you, throw it right back at them and you're just pouring gasoline right on that fire.
00:13:04
Speaker
You're solidifying it.
00:13:06
Speaker
You're, um, you're putting basically to test their statement.
00:13:10
Speaker
You're putting, you're just validating their buying question even more.
00:13:15
Speaker
So when you do that, it's a great way to do it.
00:13:18
Speaker
So hope that helps.
00:13:19
Speaker
Remember what point do you close?
Ensuring Preparedness Before Closing
00:13:23
Speaker
Well, another thing I want to bring up, make sure you get them all the information.
00:13:27
Speaker
Because sometimes I will admit I've closed after they've asked me some buying questions where I have not gone over it, the essentials.
00:13:35
Speaker
So make sure you are going through the essential details.
00:13:39
Speaker
You can't just get a buying question right off the bat.
00:13:42
Speaker
Because let's say someone says, hey, Taylor, I want to do this.
00:13:44
Speaker
You don't need to explain anything.
00:13:45
Speaker
Should you close right after that?
00:13:47
Speaker
No, you should not close.
00:13:48
Speaker
You need to go through the details.
00:13:50
Speaker
You need to make sure they know the essential information.
00:13:53
Speaker
Because if you close after that, like I have...
00:13:56
Speaker
then you'll get some cancels coming back because they need to know what the details are.
00:14:03
Speaker
They need to know it's a loan.
00:14:06
Speaker
So make sure, especially if you get someone that appears a lay down sell like that, go through the hard questions.
00:14:12
Speaker
Make sure they know it's a loan.
00:14:13
Speaker
Make sure they know their credit's being run.
00:14:16
Speaker
At least a soft check.
00:14:21
Speaker
Make sure they know what happens if they move.
00:14:24
Speaker
Because if you don't handle these frequently asked questions, it can come back to bite you.
00:14:30
Speaker
It can cause cancellations.
00:14:32
Speaker
And sometimes if you go to save it, it will be too late.
00:14:36
Speaker
So that's my thoughts on when you should close.
00:14:39
Speaker
Okay.
00:14:40
Speaker
Close when they slow down the place.
00:14:41
Speaker
Close when they ask more questions.
00:14:44
Speaker
Close when you receive positive stimulus.
00:14:47
Speaker
Close when they favor your test.
00:14:49
Speaker
Close.
00:14:51
Speaker
So shout out to Taylor McCarthy for giving me some more ideas for this.
00:14:57
Speaker
More thoughts on it.
00:14:59
Speaker
But let me know what your thoughts are.
00:15:02
Speaker
Love to hear them.
00:15:03
Speaker
Shoot me a message.
00:15:04
Speaker
Shoot me an email.
00:15:05
Speaker
TaylorSolarpreneurs.com or over on Instagram or Facebook.
00:15:10
Speaker
Would love to hear your thoughts.
00:15:12
Speaker
And to end, I just want to say hang in there.
00:15:16
Speaker
Last month, I had a string where I think it was four cancels in a row.
00:15:20
Speaker
Probably the worst stretch of cancels in my career.
00:15:24
Speaker
So wherever you're at in this journey, whatever's going on, make sure you don't give up.
00:15:32
Speaker
I was listening on another podcast.
00:15:34
Speaker
They were talking about the quarterback that got knocked down the most times.
00:15:41
Speaker
I did some research on this.
00:15:43
Speaker
And Ben Roethlisberger...
00:15:45
Speaker
He has the record for the most career sacks, or rather he's been sacked the most time.
00:15:51
Speaker
He's a quarterback that has been sacked the most times.
00:15:54
Speaker
He's been sacked 554 sacks.
00:15:58
Speaker
But this podcast was talking about why don't they flip it to Ben Roethlisberger got up 555 times.
00:16:02
Speaker
He got sacked 554, but he got up 555.
00:16:11
Speaker
So keep that in mind.
Motivational Insights and Persistence
00:16:12
Speaker
Are you focusing on the negative in your solar journey?
00:16:14
Speaker
Are you going to focus on the positive?
00:16:17
Speaker
It's not about the cancels.
00:16:18
Speaker
It's about how many cancels can you have and keep moving forward.
00:16:22
Speaker
Hey, solarpreneurs, are you sick and tired of spinning your wheels every month and not seeing your sales increase?
00:16:29
Speaker
Well, so was I, and the truth is, I was never able to improve it until I figured out what was going wrong.
00:16:35
Speaker
So that's why I'm excited to announce for a limited time, we are doing a free sales diagnostic.
00:16:40
Speaker
We'll break down your sales process, figure out the holes in your business, and see how we can help you improve.
00:16:48
Speaker
So at now, we have six bucks for this month, so book a call now.
00:16:52
Speaker
Don't miss out.
00:16:53
Speaker
What you're going to do is send an email to taylor at solarpreneurs.com.
00:16:58
Speaker
That's taylor at solarpreneurs with an s dot com.
00:17:02
Speaker
I'll send you out a calendar link and we will figure out the time that works best.
00:17:07
Speaker
So shoot that email and let's increase your sales.
00:17:13
Speaker
Just like Rocky Balboa puts it best, how many hits can you take and keep moving forward?
00:17:20
Speaker
It's not about how hard you can get.
00:17:22
Speaker
Yeah, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
00:17:28
Speaker
How much you can take and keep moving forward.
00:17:30
Speaker
That's how winning is done.
00:17:32
Speaker
So remember that if you're going through a rough stretch, that is part of the solar coaster.
00:17:37
Speaker
We all got to keep pressing forward.
00:17:39
Speaker
That's how we're going to change this industry.
00:17:41
Speaker
So send this to someone today who could use some help in their closes or needs to know when to close.
00:17:48
Speaker
And appreciate you guys again.
00:17:49
Speaker
Love you all.
00:17:50
Speaker
Thanks for sharing the podcast.
00:17:52
Speaker
Thanks for being loyal
Upcoming Guest and Future Topics
00:17:53
Speaker
listeners.
00:17:53
Speaker
Next episode, we're going to have a fire guest on.
00:17:57
Speaker
Do not miss out.
00:17:58
Speaker
His name is Brian Leposki.
00:18:00
Speaker
He was recommended by Taylor McCarthy, friend of his.
00:18:04
Speaker
He's even outsold Taylor McCarthy a couple of times.
00:18:07
Speaker
Great guest, owns his own solar company.
00:18:09
Speaker
It's going to be sharing how to use CRMs, how to follow up with customers, closing tactics, a whole bunch of other stuff.
00:18:16
Speaker
So make sure you don't miss out.
00:18:17
Speaker
We'll see you guys on the next episode.
00:18:19
Speaker
Close some deals this week.
00:18:21
Speaker
Let's change the world.
00:18:22
Speaker
Peace out.
00:18:22
Speaker
See you next time.
00:18:24
Speaker
Hey Solarpreneurs, quick question.
00:18:26
Speaker
What if you could surround yourself with the industry's top performing sales pros, marketers, and CEOs and learn from their experience and wisdom in less than 20 minutes a day.
00:18:36
Speaker
For the last three years, I've been placed in the fortunate position to interview dozens of elite level solar professionals and learn exactly what they do behind closed doors to build their solar careers to an all-star level.
00:18:48
Speaker
That's why I want to make a truly special announcement about the new learning community exclusively for solar professionals to learn, compete, and win with top performers in the industry.
00:18:59
Speaker
And it's called Solciety.
00:19:01
Speaker
This learning community was designed from the ground up to level the playing field and give Solar Pros access to proven mentors who want to give back to this community and help you or your team to be held accountable by the industry's brightest minds for, are you ready for it, less than $3.45 a day.
00:19:20
Speaker
Currently, Soul Society is open, launched, and ready to be enrolled.
00:19:26
Speaker
So go to soulcidity.co to learn more and join the learning experience now.
00:19:34
Speaker
This is exclusively for solopreneur listeners, so be sure to go to soulcidity.co and join.
00:19:41
Speaker
We'll see you on the inside.