How Much Should a Sales Team Pressure Buyers to Close?

How Much Should a Sales Team Pressure Buyers to Close?
Closing is a big part of sales, and it is not easy. Recent research by HubSpot found that close rates by industry average between 19% for Finance and 22% for Computer Software.  With only 1-in-5 opportunities closing, how much should a sales team pressure buyers to close?

Does End of Month Pressure Work?
Let’s see what happens at the end of months.  Many sales leaders push their sales teams to hit monthly and quarterly quotas by offering better terms to buyers at the end months.  According to HBR, salespeople close three times as many deals at the end of the month as the rest of the time, but they:

• lose 11 times as many
• decrease average deal size by 34.5%.

It is obvious that there is a complicated relationship at play here.  Most sellers say they avoid being pushy during sales calls, but the majority of buyers rank sales reps as pushy. So it is important to know how to handle a buyer that wants “time to think about it.”

Should a sales team pressure buyers to close?

Take our Sales Quiz
When you’re trying to close the deal, and the buyer says, “I need time to think about it,” should your sales team:

1. Try to get the buyer to make a decision then and there.
2. Give the buyer as much time as they need to make a decision.
3. Call the buyer back in a day or two to remind them of your unique value proposition.

What the Sales Research Says
According to research, when it comes to sales negotiation, Option #2: “Give the buyer as much time as they need to make a decision” is the most effective approach.

Why?

A recent study* found that when people are forced to make a decision immediately, they’re more likely to stick with the status quo. But when people have time to think it over, the odds shift in favor of change. Buyers think of all the problems with their current situation, making you more likely to win the sale.

This is contrary to what many sales leaders tell their sales reps to think and do.

The Pitfall
When buyers ask for more time, we know from solution selling training that the tendency of most sellers is to immediately fear they are going to lose a sale on which they may have invested a lot of time. And that tendency is borne out by experience — oftentimes buyers who say they need to sleep on it, or think about it, or run it past someone are in fact getting cold feet and just don’t want to admit it. But the research hammers home the point that if you try to hustle buyers up at this stage, you’re reducing your chances of success.

Action Steps Regarding How Much Should a Sales Team Pressure Buyers to Close
Our sales microlearning library recommends two business sales training tips:

1. Build a Strong Sales Pipeline
   Make sure your sales pipeline is substantial enough that you can afford to wait a few days for any one prospect to make up their mind.  If you feel too much pressure, your prospect will as well.

2. Ruthlessly Qualify Sales Opportunities
   Ideal target clients do not need to be pressured.  Beef up your qualifying techniques so that you weed out as many nonbuyers as possible before you reach the decision phase.  This allows you to help clients to succeed versus pushing your product or solution.

The Bottom Line
We know from sales leadership simulation data that too many sales people feel pressured to pressure their buyers.  We also know that buyers do not respond well to feeling pressured, manipulated, or “sold to.”  Focus on helping your ideal target clients to succeed at a pace that works best for them.  Establish value early in the qualification process and mirror their buying process if you want to increase your odds to close the deal.

To learn more about how to effectively close more deals, download The 2 Most Common Sales Negotiation Tactics to Prepare For

*SOURCE: van de Ven N, Gilovich T, Zeelenberg M. Delay, doubt, and decision: how delaying a choice reduces the appeal of (descriptively) normative options. Psychol Sci. 2010 Apr;21(4):568-73. doi: 10.1177/0956797610363546. Epub 2010 Feb 26. PMID: 20424103.