Sales Closing Phrases That Will Make Your Customers Say “Yes”

Look, there’s more bad advice floating around about the perfect way to “ask for the sale” than there are timeshare scams in Boca Raton. Seriously, following some of these so called “rules” for closing a deal is a one-way ticket to getting laughed out of the building.

Before we dive into truly effective closing statements that don’t make you sound like a robotic infomercial host, let’s expose some of the biggest sales closing myths. Because the last thing any of us needs is another “Think it, Ink it!” celebration ending with a $50 novelty marble pen… and no signatures.

• You need some super slick “power closing statement” to seal the deal. I’ve tried every clever line in the book. All that flowery talk just makes you sound like a pretentious douche.
• Hard closing phrases are a must for difficult prospects. Trying to unduly pressure someone into buying is like telling them to eat a celery-flavored popsicle. You’ll get a big fat “negative response” and they’ll go running for the hills.
• Soft closes are for weak salespeople. Hey, I’m all for being a Jedi mind trick master but you can’t just go Darth Vader on every prospect. Sometimes you gotta take the softer alternative and plant little closing seeds instead of trying to force choke them into submission.
• Tie-downs and assumptive selling questions are cheating. What, you’ve never told a little white lie before? Getting the prospect to agree to some minor points makes the big “yes” a whole lot easier. It’s basically a foot-in-the-door technique to make them feel invested.
• You need a sense of urgency close. Nothing kills a deal faster than making someone feel rushed with stuff like “But if you sign today…” or “This is a limited time offer”. That’s just gonna make them hit the eject button real quick.
• Closing statements should focus on product features. Yeah, because everyone loves getting lectured about technical mumbo-jumbo. The close is about making them feel confident with you and your solution. Not reminding them how little they understand about it.
• You have to be a “hard closing salesperson” to be successful. As if the last thing any prospect wants is some obnoxious goon bombarding them with cheesy closing lines. Unless your definition of success is getting laughed out of the sales call.
• You should always go for the “improv close”. Because freestyling some random closing statement on the spot always goes over well. It’s not like stringing words together requires any kind of forethought or skill. I’m an expert at just winging it.
• You have to “set expectations early” about the close. Because that won’t immediately make prospects go “Oh crap, here comes the hard sell!” and start looking for the nearest fire escape. Nothing puts people at ease like overtly stating your intentions.
• “Time constraint” closes create urgency. You mean pressuring lines like “We only have 5 minutes left”? Yeah, that’s a real panic-button for prospects to finally say “TAKE MY MONEY!” More like “TAKE A HIKE!” am I right?
• “Freebie offers” make closing a breeze. Luring prospects with trinkets while hitting them with the old “But in order to get the free widget, you have to…” lines is a “foolproof tactic”. It’s like Willy Wonka’s sales philosophy: Bribe ’em then slam ’em!
• Bringing up “negative consequences” motivates action. “Sign now or you’ll be letting your entire company down, getting demoted to the mailroom, living in a box, etc.” Yeah, that’ll convince them! Nothing inspires buying decisions like overt threats.
• The “empathy statement” wins them over. Going with a line like “I completely understand your struggles with (generic human experience)…” before swerving into an obvious sales pitch? I’m sure that’ll come across as genuine and not at all condescending.
• The “option close” is a slam dunk. Ah yes, the old “Would you prefer option A or option B?” As if either of those sounds better than option C: “No thanks, I’d rather keep my money.” Setting up a pair of crappy choices doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.