Closing the sale isn’t something that happens at the end of a presentation or after you’ve quoted the price. It is an ongoing process that is introduced upon your first contact with a prospect.

Imagine if you knew what the prospect was really thinking, what their future plans for their home were, or the extent of your competition. How much easier would your sales presentation be? The truth is that much of this information is available by utilizing basic sales concepts.

Let’s start with an invaluable piece of a sales presentation to homeowners: the “walk around” or needs assessment. What questions do you typically ask during this portion of the presentation? Here are several that we recommend:

When did you first consider the project?

What prompted you to contact us?

What other options are you considering?

How long have you owned your home?

What other home improvements have you made? And what were the outcomes?

How much do you know about the product(s) you are interested in and how closely have you examined the conditions which prompted you to reach out to us?

Asking these (and similar) questions is largely a matter of effective sales training and discipline on the part of the salesperson. The responses enable you to present your products and services in a manner that’s consistent with the prospect’s values. If you do not regularly allot 15-20 minutes to the walk around and needs assessment (at a minimum), then your company story and product presentation will not be as impactful.

Next, consider the issue of rapport, which is a state of mind that begins with feelings.  Prospects are more apt to listen to those who actively listen to them. Prospects like people who share their values and frequently agree with their points of view. But most of all, prospects like people who are similar to them. Bear in mind that this does not mean you should develop your acting skills or lie about your political or religious beliefs.

Rapport stems from gathering information and then presenting your product in a manner which makes others feel comfortable and listen more accurately to what you are saying. A noted psychologist once stated: “When you take the representational information that someone hands you and feed it back to them, it tends to rapidly create rapport.”

Remember, closing the sale is the natural conclusion to the satisfactory completion of each step in a sound selling system. Don’t ignore the basics.