Contemporary Selling, 5e
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 Outline: Closing the Sale and Follow-up
Value-Added Information in Chapter 9
• Global Connection – “Proper Email Etiquette Avoids Cross-Border Faux Pas”
I. What Is a Close?
II. Closing Methods
A. Assumptive Close
B. Minor Point Close
C. Alternative Choice Close
III. Dealing with Rejection
A. Attitude Is Important
IV. Identifying Buying Signals
A. Verbal Buying Signals
1. Giving Positive Feedback
Chapter 09 – Closing the Sale and Follow–up
B. Nonverbal Buying Signals
1. The Buyer is Relaxed, Friendly, and Open
2. The Buyer Brings Out Paperwork to Consummate the Purchase
C. Trial Close
V. Common Closing Mistakes
A. Harboring a Bad Attitude
B. Failure to Conduct an Effective Preapproach
VI. Follow-Up Enhances Customer Relationships
A. Customer Expectations and Complaint Behavior
1. Communicating with Customers about Complaints
a) Listen Carefully to What the Customer Has to Say
b) Never Argue
B. Don’t Wait for Complaints to Follow Up with Customers
C. Other Key Follow-Up Activities
1. Customer Satisfaction
2. Customer Retention and Customer Loyalty
D. CRM and Follow-Up
1. Tracking and Sharing Common Postsale Problems
2. Sharing Postsale Strategies among All Members of the Sales Organization
3. Documenting and Comparing Levels of Satisfaction, Retention, and
Loyalty across Customers
VII. The Sales Manager’s Role in Closing the Sale and Follow-up
VIII. Summary
IX. Key Terms
Role Play
This role play completes the series of three role plays related to a new product introduction from
Upland, “Happy Teeth.” In the Chapter 7 and 8 role plays, Tracy Brown (the buyer for Max’s
Pharmacies) was scripted as a basically agreeable buyer. Now, students get to practice what they
Hints for the Instructor:
• Ideally, should script the mock sales call between Alex and Tracy so that the student
playing Alex can make several trial closes, learn of additional concerns/objections, work
to overcome those, and then move to another trial close. (Ultimately the student playing
Rhonda/Tracy should allow Alex to close—but not until several trial closes using
different closing approaches have been tried.)
Discussion Questions
1. What images of “closers” did you have before reading this chapter? List as many
negative stereotypes of closing as you can.
The images of “closers” that most students have will be negative ones.
• Pushing customer to buy more than originally discussed
• Doesn’t listen
• Talks incessantly
• Oblivious to customer needs
The negative stereotypical aspects of closing a sale are not needed (or desired) in relationship
selling. Instead of pressure, rapport, trust, and mutual respect are part of the long-term buyer–
seller relationship. There is open communication about mutual goals, and price should not an
2. Why is attitude so important to successful closing? What are some aspects of a positive
attitude that you believe contribute to success in closing (and in selling in general)?
Books on successful closing agree that a positive attitude is a key determinant of whether or not
a salesperson makes a close. Aspects of a positive attitude that contribute to success in closing
include:
Everything else being equal, salespeople who exhibit these qualities will close more business
than those who don’t. A positive approach to life is infectious and carries over to a salesperson’s
relationships with customers. Successful salespeople are successful in large measure because
3. Once a salesperson sees one or more buying signals from a prospect, he or she should
trial close. What happens if the prospect doesn’t close at that point? Why is this outcome
actually favorable for continuing the dialogue with the buyer and moving toward
closing?
If the prospect does not close, even after exhibiting buying signals, it means he or she still has
4. Why is it important to be able to use different closing methods in different situations?
It is important to use different closing methods in different situations because no salesperson can
rely on just one or a few ways to close a sale. Each method must be applied appropriately to the
right situations. Active listening, including paying attention to verbal and nonverbal buying
5. A sage of selling once said, “Your job as a salesperson is to do 80 percent listening and
20 percent talking.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
This statement is correct. Listening is crucial for the following:
• Understanding a buyer
6. Review the list of common closing mistakes in the chapter. Give specific examples of how
each might affect your success in a sales call.
• Harboring a bad attitude. As mentioned previously, salespeople who believe in
themselves and the product, show confidence, exhibit honest enthusiasm, and
display tenacity will close more business than those with a different attitude. A
positive attitude is infectious and will contribute to better relationships with
• Talking instead of listening. If the salesperson does not listen, he or she will not
understand the buyer, get to know the buyer’s needs, uncover buyer objections,
catch buyer signals, or know when to trial close.
• Using a “one size fits all” approach to closing. If a salesperson uses the same
approach to every closing, it will sound canned or like a robot, and the buyer will
become skeptical about your desire to develop a relationship.
7. What is it about postsale follow-up that makes it one of the most important ways to
enhance long-term customer relationships? What specific things can you do in follow-up
to accomplish this?
Postsale follow-up enhances long-term customer relationships because it adds value to the selling
proposition by providing excellent service after closing the sale.
A salesperson can accomplish effective postsale follow-up by:
o Listen carefully to what the customer has to say.
o Never argue.
o Always show empathy.
o Don’t make excuses.
o Be systematic.
o Utilize a program to measure and analyze customer satisfaction.
o Evaluate customer retention, customer loyalty, frequency of purchases,
and the percentage of a customer’s total purchases captured by the
selling firm.
8. Consider the statement “Customer complaints are customer opportunities—but only if we
know about them.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
This statement is correct. Customer complaints allow the sales organization to know that a
problem exists that needs to be corrected and indicate a robust user of the product or service.
Handling complaints also provides an opportunity for salespeople to show that they have the
9. How do CRM and the use of databases in selling enhance closing and follow-up?
CRM systems allow a firm to manage its business with any customer through all aspects of the
relationship by using data warehouses of customer information. Data from CRM systems makes
the following possible, which enhance closing and follow-up:
• Tracking common customer postsale problems, sharing these problems with
others throughout the firm, and creation of viable solutions.
Global Connection – Proper Email Etiquette Avoids Cross-Border Faux Pas
Teaching Notes
Email correspondence has and continues to grow as a communication medium around the world.
It is becoming more used than personal means of contact in many cases. The average
1. Always include a detailed subject line.
2. Allow ample time for a response.
3. Know when and when not to reply to a sender.
Answers to Questions
1. Have you ever committed a major faux pas? What was it and what did you do to fix it?
Answers will vary across the six skills. Everyone has sent, replied to, or forwarded an email they
wish they hadn’t. In business, this becomes a potentially challenging situation as it can damage
2. Why are the email etiquette tips above especially important to observe when
communicating across borders?
Email etiquette is particularly important across borders because of the higher potential for a
misunderstanding or cultural miscommunication. Email is a dominant form of communication
Ethical Dilemma – Teaching Notes
Teaching Notes
Jeff Hill does have a difficult decision to make. On one hand, he has had a great working
relationship with Ronbev that is based on a long-term strategic alliance. He certainly does not
want to jeopardize that relationship. On the other hand, he wants to reward his team (and
himself) by getting this order in before the end of the sales contest. Some students may not see
addition, it could be argued that Hill knows Ronbev and is simply placing an order that Yokum
would approve anyway. It should be interesting to watch the students wrestle with the issues.
The chapter content on follow-up can be used effectively in this discussion. By focusing on
working with customer expectations and building communications channels that enhance the
value proposition, the discussion can focus on using this case as a way of improving the
relationship. The key, of course, is the value proposition. How would Yokum and Ronbev
Answers to Questions
1. Should Jeff go ahead and place the order he knows is coming and win the contest while
risking the anger of Ron Yokum?
Violating the confidence of the customer, despite Hill’s justification for supporting his sales team,
is never a good idea. Yokum and Ronbev have their reasons for the policies, and after six years,
it is not about trust. It is about the need to maintain control over the order size, product
characteristics, and other factors. Hill violates that trust at the expense of the relationship. No
bonus or award is worth losing the account.
This situation can also present an opportunity for Southeast Distributors. As noted earlier, it
provides an incentive for Hill to work on the value proposition with Ronbev. He may want to
focus on creating additional value if Ronbev will provide a little more control in order
2. How much latitude should a salesperson assume in closing the sale when he or she has
an established relationship with the customer?
The key in determining how much flexibility a salesperson should assume is to have a good
understanding of the customer relationship. In this dilemma, while there was trust in the strategic
alliance between the two companies, Ronbev had delineated a very specific policy in the area of
Mini-Case 9 – St. Paul Copy Machines
This case illustrates several problems that Paula experienced as she tried to close the sale to
Direct Mailers Inc. for the high-speed, multifunction copy machine. Answers to the questions for
this case can be found in the “Closing Methods,” “Common Closing Mistakes,” and “Follow-up
Answers to Questions
1. The closing mistakes that Paula made in her sales call with the Direct Mailers Inc.
representatives include harboring a bad attitude, using a “one size fits all” approach, and being
uncertain about what to do after the close. Paula was not very optimistic when she began the call.
Clearly, Paula has fallen into the “one size fits all” trap. Just because a sales person has success
with a particular closing method, it does not mean the method should be used exclusively. Paula
needs to become adept at using a number of approaches so she can use an appropriate method
when the circumstances call for it. Finally, Paula was uncertain about what to do after the sale.
2. In addition to the mistakes mentioned in the answer to Question 1, Paula did not
adequately address the concerns of the buyers. As illustrated in Chapter 7, handling customer
concerns is extremely important. That Paula still had three items on the “remaining questions”
them. By doing so she would have had fewer items on the “bad” side of the balance sheet and
she may have uncovered the one objection that killed the sale. Other closing techniques Paula
could have used include the assumptive close, alternative choice close, direct close, and
3. Paula should continue to follow-up with Direct Mailers Inc. buyers to ensure that when
they are ready to make the purchase, her copier is the one they will buy. In this case, the
responsiveness and assurance dimensions of service quality will serve her well. Communicating