Run the general closes

1. Where these closes fit

Some closes work no matter what the prospect blames. You use them on any answer that is not a yes. Why they are the set to commit to memory, and where they sit beside the closes for each kind of blame, is SOP 100, section 3.

The general closes, in their order:

• What's your main concern (section 2 of this page)
• The reason close (SOP 100, section 4)
• The hypothetical close (section 3)
• The zoom-out close (section 4)
• The one-to-ten close (section 5)
• The best-case-worst-case close (section 6)
• The close for a prospect whose card is not on them (SOP 96 — Answer a discount request and capture payment, section 7)

Set up each one the same way. Repeat back what they said, then agree before you answer (SOP 100, section 2). If a close needs you to say something blunt, ask first (SOP 97 — Get permission before getting real).

2. The main-concern close

What you say. What's your main concern? If that does not get a real answer, the sharper form is What are you afraid of happening?

It is named as probably the one most used to build rapport with a prospect.

When to use it. When a prospect says they need to think it over, ask about their main concerns, or about which variables they are weighing up to decide. That lets you have a more productive conversation.

How it runs, in order:

• Ask for their main concern.
• If they give you fluff, ask the sharper form: what are they afraid of happening?
• If they still do not budge, spell out the actual worst case for them. The worked line: So you're afraid of spending the money, and of me stealing it and spending it in Vegas?
• They will laugh and say no. Now you are back in the sale, and the next answer they give you will be closer to the truth.

The worked line is the only wording given for spelling out the worst case.

The stall "I need to think about it" gets its own page: SOP 107 — Handle I need to think about it.

3. The hypothetical close

What you say. If this were perfect, would you do it? Then: So what's the difference between perfect and what we've got?

What to do with the answer.

• They name a real, small detail. Fix it and close.
• They cannot think of anything. Then you say: Right. It sounds like it has nothing to do with the program. It's something else. What are you afraid of happening? Let's talk about that.

Between those lines sits a point: the prospect is not going to know, on the spot, all the things you can deliver. How that point bears on the close is not established on this page.

The last question of this close is the sharper form from section 2. This close is said to work astonishingly well. This page gives no figure for how well it works.

4. The zoom-out close

What you say, in order.

• Let's zoom out for a second. You want [X]. We sell [X]. The same thing fills both slots: what they want is what you sell.
• Do you think getting lost in the details might be why you haven't made it happen so far?
• When it comes down to it, all you need to decide is whether you think this makes it more likely that you hit your goal than doing it on your own. And if you've tried it on your own already, maybe this is the thing you've been waiting for. It just doesn't look the way you expected.

5. The one-to-ten close

What you say. From 1 to 10, with 1 meaning no interest at all and 10 meaning ready to start right now, where are you?

What to do with the answer.

• They say 10. Great. Let's rock and roll. Then close the sale.
• They say 9 or less. Ask: What would it take to get you to a 10? Let them reply. Then say: Not a problem. I think we can sort that out for you. Feeling like a 10-ish now?

What to do when the thing they name cannot be taken care of is not established on this page.

Flag: the follow-up question. After a 9 or less, this page asks what would get them to a 10. In SOP 249, section 4, the questions are what would make it a ten, and why it is not a one. Asking for the gap gives you something to fix; asking about the one has them list their own reasons to buy, and leaves the gap unnamed. This page does not settle which reading is right.

6. The best-case-worst-case close

There are three variations. The third is marked as the one to use when there is no guarantee. The first leans on a guarantee in its own words. The second does not mention one.

Variation 1. Lay out the options, framed as all risk-free but one.

• Open: Let's look at the options. Both are risk-free, and only one is sure to keep you from what you want. Best case, worst case.
• Option one: you do it, the result comes, and life is awesome.
• Option two: you skip it, so the result does not come, since you never did it.
• Option three: you do it, and the result still does not come.
• Because there is a guarantee, all of these are risk-free except for one. Only one carries a true guarantee that you will not get where you want to go: walking out the door.
• Close: So which risk-free option do you want? The one that guarantees you won't get there, or the one that has the potential to get you where you want to go?

Variation 2. Best case, this changes your life for good. Worst case, you get [X] amount of time for free and pick up a lot along the way. Either way, you end up closer to your goal. Ready to start?

Variation 3, with no guarantee. Let's weigh it up. First choice: you take a risk and start. You either hit the goal or move closer to it whatever happens, since you'll learn so much. Second choice: you take no risk, and you make sure you miss what you want, because you never begin. Which choice do you think moves you nearer your goal?

7. Flag: how many options, and which one carries the risk

Variation 1 does not keep one count of its options. It opens with "both are risk-free" and then lists three options. It also calls walking out the one option that is not risk-free, and then offers it in the closing question as a risk-free option.

• Read as a choice between acting and walking away, the three options are outcomes of acting and not acting. The cost: the middle line, all risk-free except for one, does not fit a choice in which both are risk-free.
• Read as three options, the one exception is walking out. The cost: the closing question calls walking out risk-free after the variation has said it is not.

This page does not settle which reading is right.

8. What this page does not decide for you

• Which general close to open with. The main-concern close is the one tied to a prospect's words, "I need to think about it." For the others, not established on this page.
• What to stack after a close that does not land. The stacking rule is SOP 100, section 5; it does not name which close follows which.
• How the point about what you can deliver bears on the hypothetical close. Not established on this page.
• The time in variation 2. This page gives no figure for the free time the worst case offers.
• A 9-or-less gap you cannot fix. Not established on this page.

9. The checklist

Step	What you do
Before any close	Repeat back, agree (SOP 100, section 2)
"I need to think about it"	Ask their main concern, or what they are using to decide
Fluff answer	Ask what they are afraid of happening
Still stuck	Spell out the worst case; they laugh, say no, and you are back in the sale
Hypothetical	Would you do it if it were perfect? What's the gap?
They name a small detail	Fix it and close
They name nothing	It's something else: what are you afraid of happening?
Zoom out	You want X, we sell X; might overanalyzing be the reason? This, or going it alone?
One to ten	10: start. 9 or less: what would get you to 10?
Best case, worst case	Walking out is the only sure way not to get there
No guarantee	Use variation 3

10. What this page does not cover

To sort what the prospect blames, use SOP 99 — Classify an objection. The reason close and the rules for stacking closes are SOP 100. Answering a discount request, and what to do when the card is not on them, are SOP 96. Closes for particular objections are SOP 102 to SOP 107, then SOP 111 and SOP 112. Training a team to use these closes is SOP 108 — Drill a team on closing.