5 Closing Tips for Successful Phone Sales

How to Build Trust, Successfully Respond to Objections and End Your Enrollment Conversations Feeling Amazing

Everyone dreads that awkward moment when you’ve finished making your offer to a prospective client over the phone and you’re pretty sure that they aren’t going to invest – at least in that moment.

As a speaker, coach and entrepreneur who has plenty of experience in selling and closing products and services, I know firsthand how challenging and frustrating it can be not knowing the right moment to end a sales call.

And here’s the truth: No matter how hard you work and how much you help your clients, if you lack the skills to close sales successfully, your business will never grow to its full potential.

True, closing sales comes naturally to some people, but for others, learning how to effectively use proven closing techniques will come as a big benefit.

5 Closing Tips for Phone Sales

If this resonates with you, keep reading to discover five simple steps that will help you successfully and powerfully close any sales call.

1. Stick to your sales process

Whether you’re a speaker, teacher or coach, I highly recommend investing in sales training. There are several effective programs to choose from.

For example, here at Brave Thinking Institute, we have a seven-step enrollment process that works to empower clients to say yes to themselves and to their visions by means of a support system.

Our process has been tested and used successfully in tens of thousands of strategy sessions. Whatever process you’ve been trained in, the very first step to take in order to close a phone sale is to stick to and trust your process.

Don’t skip or add any steps.

2. Believe in your client

Do you know and believe deep down that your prospective client has the power to take this step in the direction of their dreams?

If you stay dedicated to your sales process, then you’ll come to a point in your call when your client expresses their interest, however, they may have an objection for why they can’t invest.

At Brave Thinking Institute, we call these objections “paradigms.” Paradigms are the voice of the status quo, or the voice of the familiar.

Here are some common paradigms:

• “I don’t have the money.”
• “I don’t have the time.”
• “I have to talk to somebody first.”

When you hear any of the above, it’s up to you as a coach to help your prospective clients change their beliefs to more positive ones that serve their highest and best interests.

For example, if a prospective client says they don’t have the money, your job as an empowering coach is to help them understand that their decision to invest is NOT about the money.

One great way to help your clients change their perspective on this paradigm is to ask them this question:

“If a loved one unexpectedly went to jail tonight and you had to come up with $2,000 to post bail, could you come up with the money?”

Most likely the answer will be yes, and you can then encourage your prospect to see that their decision is all about burning desire.

Ask them how much they want to grow and how much they want the results they’ve agreed that working with you is going to help them create.

When it comes to their time paradigm, let them know that everyone has the time to do what they have a burning desire to do. Again, it’s not about the time or the money.

It’s about burning desire to create new results. Now, even if you speak to their paradigms, this doesn’t mean that they’re going to make the decision to invest.

However, if they say no, that doesn’t shake your belief that they could if their burning desire was strong enough.

Have compassion for prospective client and, at the same time, believe that there’s always a step they can take at that very moment. Then combine your belief with faith and remember, faith is NOT “seeing is believing.”

Faith is “believing is seeing.”

A key step to closing a sale is to have faith in the power breathing your prospect that they absolutely can take a step in the direction of the life that they would love living.

3. Ask, ask, ask

Pretend for a minute that you have a friend who loves watching a certain genre of movies, and you’ve just seen a new movie that you know, without a doubt, he or she would absolutely love.

When you ask your friend to go see the movie with you and they decline, saying they’re too tired or because they have work to do, you keep asking because you KNOW your friend is going to have a great time and ultimately thank you for being so persistent.

You see, asking shows confidence, and confidence builds trust.

When your prospective client expresses that they’d love to work with you, then continue to ask them to invest in themselves. I suggest using phrases such as:

• “Let’s get you going.”
• “Let’s get you started.”
• “Let’s just take the step we can take.”

Continuing to ask someone to invest shows that you’re confident that you can help them based on their burning desire – the results they want to take, their story, where they’ve been and the places they want to go.

And the reason that confidence is important is because your prospect may be consciously or subconsciously questioning whether you can help them or not.

The nervousness they feel may be a paradigm.

They may be asking themselves how you’re going to help them when they haven’t been able to help themselves.

By showing confidence during the enrollment process, they will see that you have the ability to help them say yes to taking risks throughout your coaching relationship, put their fear in the back seat and direct them to creating new results.

Look at the strategy session as your first audition to showcase your skills as a coach and to help your clients say “yes” when there’s a part of them that wants it and another part that’s scared.

This is the first of dozens of moments to take a step toward new results over the part of them that wants to argue for why they can’t.

4. Close the loop

By the end of the strategy session, your prospect should have either clearly said “yes” or “no.”

This is what’s known as “closing the loop”. An important key here is to know that a clear “no” is perfectly okay! There are millions of other people wanting what you offer.

On the other hand, an open loop means that your prospect is saying something like, “I want this, but I can’t because of money, time, etc.”

If you have an open loop, do NOT hang up the phone – your work isn’t done! Remember, your role is to help people do what they really want to do. Help them to understand that THEY are in control.

Here’s the mindset behind ensuring a closed loop at the end of a strategy session:

As a coach, you should be 100% committed to supporting your prospect or client to take a step toward their vision.

Because no matter how small it is, there’s a step they can take.

5. Make a bright, empowered exit

So you’ve stuck to your sales process, you’ve checked in with yourself and you know you believe in your client.

You’ve asked for the sale many times in multiple different ways and you continue to get an open loop.

At this point, it’s time to lean into your intuition to see whether your prospect needs you to ask them again or if they’re getting irritated.

If you intuitively know that you’re not going to close the sale, and you won’t be serving the client if you ask them again, then it’s time to make a bright, empowered exit.

Remember, you’re running a successful coaching business, and there are many, MANY other opportunities to help people who are willing and ready.

You’ve got other work to do – and it’s time to move on to another potential client. This is when you want to say something like:

• “Okay, well, I’ve got to hop off. When you’re ready, let me know!”
• “I’m going to get going. I’ve got other people to help.”
• “Would you like to schedule one last follow up call with me before we end our time together today?”

Phrases like these are bright and empowered, and they also let the other person know that you’re busy.

The truth is that you have a limited number of hours in a day. If they want to work with you, wonderful! Remind them of the terms you’ve already given them at this point in the call.

Then get started on closing the sale. Otherwise, this is a great time to ask one last time if they want to schedule a follow up call with you to take advantage of the special pricing you offered.

If they say no, then make your bright, empowered exit.

One last BONUS closing tip: Beware the “sad whale”

If you want to successfully close a sale, do NOT give in to the “sad whale!” What is the sad whale, you ask?

The sad whale is when a potential client says, “Oh, I can’t.” They sound like a whale underwater (to hear exactly what I mean, watch my video above!).

You see, everything is created twice – first in thought and then in physical form.

By focusing on a problem rather than the solution, your potential clients have the ability to actually bring that problem to life.

Additionally, it can be easy, as a coach, to believe that these prospects are stuck where they are because they don’t have the time or the money.

But know this: Having compassion is a fantastic quality for a coach to have, just remember that your prospect is way more powerful than any circumstance, situation or condition.

Whatever you do, don’t agree with them and become a sad whale, too!

Let’s go over those steps one more time… In order to gracefully and successfully end a sales call that you feel good about, follow these steps:

1. Stick to your sales process.
2. Believe in your client – they are stronger than any circumstance, situation or condition.
3. Ask, ask and ask some more!
4. Close the loop by getting a clear YES or NO.
5. Make a bright, empowered exit because there are other people who need you.

You see, there’s a sale made at the end of every strategy session.

Either you sell your prospect on the fact that there’s an empowered step they can take that very moment that will change his or her life, or your prospect sells you on why they can’t.

Keep in mind that people are extremely good at believing their paradigms and telling their stories.

However, don’t buy into any of it and whatever you do, do NOT become the sad whale!

Would you love more tips and strategies to help you build your sales skills so you can help others achieve their greatest dreams?

If so, request a FREE Strategy Session with a Brave Thinking Institute team member, who has been personally trained by Mary to support people who are called to be transformational life coaches and change agents.

Being a life coach is an amazing profession that can allow you to make a big difference in the world.

However, it DOES require patience – not only do you need to know how to support and serve your clients, you must also know how to enroll clients, market your business and SO much more.

At Brave Thinking Institute, we’ve certified over 3,000 transformational coaches – coaches who, through our program, have developed all the skills listed above and who experience true fulfillment on a day-to-day basis.

Request your Strategy Session today!