How to Use a Trial Close

An HVAC contractor in Kentucky asked:

I want my sales team to incorporate a trial closing statement, do you have any ideas?

EGIA faculty member Weldon Long began by saying that the first third of your sales process should be explaining to the customer what they should be looking for in a good company, and then following it up by saying how your company fits that criteria.

“Set the standard of, ‘here’s what you should be looking for in a company, and here’s how my company fits in each of those requirements,'” said Long.

In that way, Long explains, customers get farther and farther into the sales process after you’ve built that trust with them during the initial phase of the conversation.

“Just before we go into the closing sequence that’s the spot where this trial close goes,” said Long. “You want to follow them down to the last objection being price.”

Long then explains that if the stage is set, if the expectations are right and a product demonstration went well, then there is a lot a salesperson has to go off of when the price conversation inevitably comes up. But before the price conversation, a salesperson still needs to have talked with the customer through every other objection aside from price.

The final question Long suggests salespeople to ask is “is there any reason, other than price, that you wouldn’t trust my company with this project?”

Then, the trial close will narrow all customer objections down to just price, with a customer worrying whether or not they can afford your quality of service rather than them haggling with you over a cost objection.

Weldon Long is a New York Times bestselling author and is a founding member of EGIA’s Contractor University. He is also a successful entrepreneur and esteemed keynote speaker, giving talks on the power of mindset, consistency and sales for business professionals.

Our faculty members have also answered questions on other topics related to sales in the contracting world, including Roleplaying the Sales Cycle and Explaining Ride-Alongs to Homeowners.

Hear more from our “Ask The Experts” faculty members on “Cracking The Code,” our weekly web series.

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