If you do not get good at closing deals, then all your hard work of getting leads and moving them down to the BOFU will be for nothing. So, in this post, I am going to show you how to close a deal by learning the top skills necessary in the bottom of the funnel.

Before I start breaking down each BOFU step, here is the list of them for reference:

• Consulting the customer
• Negotiating the offer
• Creating the offer
• Closing the deal

Note: All of the skills in the BOFU stage to learn how to close a deal can be acquired through personal experience and somewhat through a mentor.

Consulting the customer

When consulting the customer, you hone down on the last objections of the prospect and deal with them. Those can be related to the pricing, the level of customer support, the functionality of the product, etc.

Skills necessary

Listening skills – have the ability to understand the customer at their core issues to clarify certain points.

E.g.: if the prospect has uncertainty about a feature working as stated, then show them past results from when other customers used the feature.

Objection handling from every angle – ability to approach an objection with different arguments depending on the predisposition of the prospect.

E.g.: explain concepts more thoroughly to less experienced prospects.

Aiding tools

Facilitate the objection handling by writing answers beforehand to all the possible objections and questions.

Negotiating the offer

When negotiating in B2B, you should aim for a win-win scenario with the prospect that solves their problems. Trying to get the upper hand and take as much money at the start will likely result in lower CLV and a higher churn rate.

Skills necessary

Listening and people skills – socialiszng skills are crucial to listening and finding the must-haves of the prospect; that will lead to an offer that pleases both parties.

E.g.: prevent rejecting one of their musts without knowledge of it.

Assertiveness – do not let prospects take your for a ride with assertiveness; you have to make sure that your side of the coin is respected too.

E.g.: some companies might take advantage of your ‘niceness’, which is when you should be assertive.

Aiding tools

Create non-negotiable product packages to reduce negotiating periods. Also, make pricing exceptions rarely.

Creating the offer

Create a contract that includes all the necessary clauses based on the discussion in the negotiation phase.

Skills necessary

Business law know-how – having a lawyer is recommended, but it does not hurt to have an understanding of business law and contract creation.

E.g.: be familiar with the typical clauses necessary in a contract and the basic laws.

Aiding tools

Choose software that permits online viewing and updating of contracts by both parties to make the process smoother.

Closing the deal

The objective when closing a deal is to mitigate last-minute resistance of prospects. And push for the deal to get done at a comfortable pace.

Skills necessary

Persuasion and handling of buyer’s anxiety – companies may have some lingering anxiety at that stage which you have to appease. 

E.g.: reassure the prospect of the features, of your business’ reputation, and of the quality of your customer service.

Aiding tools

A quality conference calling software can be crucial to sign documents at the same time and make sure that both parties are on the same page.

Conclusion

Your skills in the BOFU will determine your demo to close rates and the amount of revenue that you will bring into your company. Hopefully, this article has given you an idea of how to close a deal with the skills and aiding tools mentioned to make the process simpler. Here are the main takeaways from this blog post:

BOFU steps and their skills necessary

Consulting the customer

• skills: listening skills, objection handling from every angle
• aiding tools: pre-prepared objection responses

Negotiating the offer

• skills: listening and people skills, assertiveness
• aiding tools: set near non-negotiable product packages

Creating the offer

• skills: have a business law know-how
• aiding tools: use a contract creation software

Closing the deal

• skills: persuasion and buyer’s anxiety antidote skills
• aiding tools: quality conference calling and contract creation software