Websites 4 Small Business Newsletter
1 April 2005

How to Close More Online Sales Through
the Magic of Questions

No one can deny that sales closing techniques are absolutely
vital in face-to-face selling. But often, people ask me if they
can apply my powerful closing techniques to online marketing. My
answer is an unequivocal, "Yes!"

Of course, there are some closing techniques that are more
applicable to the Web than others -- but I'll show you magical
closing secrets that can dramatically increase your web sales,
and rapidly increase your online income. This works best on
direct response websites - i.e., those that focus on getting an
immediate response in the form of an order or lead.

Before we get started, I must emphasize that much of the sale is
made in the presentation. The close is largely determined by how
well you've presented the product to the prospect. Your objective,
then, is to take the prospect smoothly past the point of closing,
making it easy for him or her to come to a buying decision. You
can accomplish this with the strategic use of questions.

The All-Important Opening Question

When you're selling online, you don't have the benefit of
interacting with your prospect the way you would in face-to-face
selling. Therefore, the first thing you say in your web copy has
to be something that breaks preoccupation, grabs attention, and
points to the result or benefit of the your product.

At any given moment, your prospect's mind is preoccupied with
dozens of things. Therefore, a well-crafted question will cause
the prospect's thinking to be directed to what you have to say.

Your opening question must be aimed at something that is relevant
and important, and at something that your prospect needs or
wants. What do sales managers, for instance, sit around and think
about all day long? Increasing sales! Therefore, if your target
market consists of sales managers, here's an example of a
question you can use as a headline or as the first part of your
copy: "How would you like to see a method that would enable you
to increase your sales by 20% to 30% over the next 12 months?"

When you ask such a question, the first thing that pops into the
mind of the prospect should be, "What is it?" - whereupon you've
captured his or her attention, and you can then begin to articulate
how your product or service can solve the need posed by the
question.

Plan your opening question carefully. If your opening question
fails to break your prospect's preoccupation and grab his
attention, he will click away before giving you the opportunity to
present your product or service.

Questions That Keep Them Involved

Questions are equally vital during the presentation, i.e., in the
body of your web copy, for clearly explaining how your product or
service solves your prospect's problem in an easy, fast, or
cost-effective way.

Therefore, install questions within your sales copy that capture
attention. Keep your prospect involved, and keep his mind from
wandering off in a different direction by using intriguing
questions that grab his lapels and jerk him toward you. For the
length of time that it takes a prospect to answer a question in his
mind, you have his total attention. The prospect is drawn more and
more into the sales process as your questioning proceeds. If your
questions are logical, orderly and sequential, you can lead the
prospect forward toward the inevitable conclusion to purchase your
product or service.

Tip: Never say something if you can ask it instead! Think of how
you can phrase your key selling points as questions. The person who
asks questions has control!

Closing Questions that Presume the Sale

Just as questions are important at the beginning and the body of
your web copy, they are even more vital at the end in gaining a
commitment to action.

The key to asking a closing question is confident expectation. You
must skillfully craft your question to convey that you confidently
expect the prospect to say, "Yes" or to agree to the sale.

For example, you can pose the following question in your web copy:
"When would you like to start using to multiply your profits?" In
other words, you don't ask if they want to buy your product, but
when. This way, you're asking for the sale expectantly, and the
more confidently you expect to sell, the more likely it is
that you will sell.

Tip: In crafting your closing question, include the benefit that
your prospect will get from your product.

When you ask a compelling closing question, you diffuse the tension
that normally creeps up on your prospect at the "moment of truth."
A prospect's tension leads to the hesitance that kills so many
sales - both online and offline.

To be truly persuasive in the selling process, learn to use
questions judiciously throughout your web copy. Instead of trying
to overwhelm your prospects with reasons and rationales for doing
what you want them to do, ask strategic questions instead. When you
take the time to plan the wording of your questions, your prospect
will become more interested in your product -- and consequently,
you will make more sales.

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Brian Tracy is a million-dollar master of peak sales performance
and personal success strategies. As the world-renowned creator of
300 video and audio learning programs, and the best-selling author of 16 books, his ideas and approaches are used by most of the big money makers and the superstars of selling.

In his RealVideo course, "24 Techniques for Closing the Sale,"
Brian shows you powerful tactics that can double or triple your
sales closing rate -- and teach you how to sell 50% to 100% of all
prospects that you come in contact with -- all in just 63 minutes.
click here for instant access or go to
http://www.24techniquesforclosingthesale.com/g.o/Web4Business.