Exactly how you ask for the sale may differ depending on the potential sale you’re dealing with. You also may want to start with more general sales questions to better qualify your lead earlier in the sales pipeline.

However, if you know you’re close to closing, try out these common sales closing questions that force your prospect to explain why they’re holding back, so you can lead them to the deal–and improve your close rate.  

1. “What are all the steps we have to take to help make this deal happen?”
2. “Are there any obstacles that could prevent this deal from happening?”
3. “Based on what we’ve discussed, do you think our solution is a good fit for your needs? Why?”
4. “When do you want to make a decision and begin implementing a solution?”
5. “If I was able to throw in [incentive], would you consider committing today?”
6. “When is the best date and time to schedule our next meeting?”
7. “Is there any reason that you wouldn’t do business with us at this point?”
8. “If we could find a way to deal with [objection], would you be ready to make this deal happen next week?”
9. “Taking everything into consideration, I think one of these two plans would work best for you. Would you like to go with [X] or [Y]?”
10. “You mentioned needing a solution by [X date]. If you signed up by [Y date], I can guarantee we have enough time for training and implementation. How does that sound?”
11. “Do you feel ready to move forward? I can send over the contract right now.”
12. “What do you think a good next step would be to solve your current problems?”
13. “Unless you have any more questions or concerns, I think we’re ready to get started.”
14. “Based on what you’ve said, it seems like our product is a good fit for you today. What do you think?”
15. “On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you that our product will meet your needs?”

Remember, the goal of these closing questions isn’t only to close deals and get more potential customers in the front door. You’re also using these thoughtful sales closing techniques to ensure a potential client is truly qualified and a good fit for your product or service—otherwise, they may churn out of your business shortly after getting started.

Put These Sales Closing Techniques into Practice

The best way is to put these effective sales tips into practice by trying them out. Here’s how to get started:

• Evaluate your sales process based on our sales closing process above.
• Choose the sales closing technique that resonates most with you and try using it on all of your prospects that reach the closing stage of your sales process in the next week.
• Rinse, repeat, and continue experimenting with these sales closing strategies until the right ones click and you feel comfortable asking for the sale.

One of the most underappreciated and often subconscious aspects of closing deals is carefully choosing your interaction style with your prospects.  

Now take these sales closing techniques and go out, and close some more deals!