You have gone through the non-business conversation, had a productive business conversation, figured out what the needs and wants of your customer are and have dealt with every objection. Now it’s time to close the deal.

There are a number of different closing techniques and we will cover many of those over the next few weeks. Today though, I want to start with a technique that is more applicable after the sale, and that’s the art of adding-on.

If the customer has already bought from you, then chances are they have built up a level of trust, and that is the perfect time to add-on. That doesn’t mean a salesperson should take advantage of a customer and add-on something that they don’t need, it means the opposite. Smart salespeople look at adding-on as a customer service.

How many times have you bought something that requires batteries and did not realize that fact until you had left the store? The salesperson could have saved you a great deal of hassle and time if they had simply asked you if you wanted to purchase the batteries necessary for said item.

A young man comes in looking to buy an engagement ring for his fiancé and after showing him some rings in his price range, he selects one that he is interested in. After overcoming a couple of objections, the young man decides to make the purchase.

As a salesperson, you’ve closed a sale and that’s the ultimate goal, but you’re not done yet. You have the ability to increase your personal sales and offer one more customer service for your customer. If he just bought an engagement ring, then chances are very good that he’s also going to need to buy a wedding band at some point.

It can be something as simple as, “Now that we have the engagement ring taken care of, why don’t we look at some wedding bands that would go perfectly with your engagement ring?” Chances are decent the customer will say yes and you have another sale, and a very happy customer.

Adding-on is technically not a closing technique but it can certainly be used as an avenue to increase sales and more importantly, provide excellent customer service to your customers.

FINAO - Brad Huisken