Assumptive Close: Effective Techniques To Close More Deals

Closing a sale is one of the most challenging tasks for some salespeople. While for some, it’s an easy win. Winning a deal depends on the sales technique we apply. Using the right sales technique and, most importantly, at the right time can easily win you a deal.

We understand that closing a conversation with the prospect is a nerve-wracking experience. Sometimes by the time the conversation ends, the prospects are already ready with a ton of reasons not to go with your product or service. They ditch your product often because of the competitors, low-budget, lack of authority, etc.

But, using an effective sales technique can help you get through this situation and move prospects through the pipeline. And notably, one of the best sales closing techniques is Assumptive Close.

Assumptive close is a sales technique where the salesperson assumes that the prospect has already agreed to buy the product. This isn’t it. There is a lot more to learn about assumptive close. And, we have got you covered.

We have created a detailed guide on Assumptive Close in sales. This guide includes a detailed overview of the assumptive close sales method. We have covered various sub-topics of the assumptive closing technique, such as its pros and cons, how to attempt an assumptive close, its alternative, etc.

So, continue reading ahead to know everything about the assumptive close method in sales.

What Is The Assumptive Close in Sales?

Assumptive close is also better known as Presumptive Close or Assumptive Selling. In this sales closing technique, the sales representative already assumes that the buyer is ready to purchase their product or services. Salespeople try not to ask questions that make prospects think again about whether they want to go ahead or not.

During the typical sales conversation with the prospect, we usually ask them questions that require their confirmation and make them think again about their decision. Here is an example: ‘Do you want to purchase the product?’

This type of question makes buyers think again, which could also change their decision.

But in the assumptive close, we don’t ask questions that put pressure on prospects to make the decision.

Instead of asking questions like these, we ask questions like these: ‘When should we start implementing this?’

With this question, we understand that the buyer has already said ‘Yes,’ and it’s now time to move to the next or final steps.

Assumptive close is one of the traditional sales closing techniques to speed up the closing process. This is because the sales representative already assumes the buyer’s decision on their behalf. However, this technique isn’t ideal for all situations. It also has some pros and cons, which we will discuss later in the guide.

To sum it up, assumptive close means assuming the buyers’ decision by yourself and planning to move to the next or final step of the sales process.

This is an overview of the assumptive close. Read the next heading to know who should use the assumptive close sale technique.

Who Should Use the Assumptive Close?

Assumptive close is a sales technique widely used in the sales industry. Sales representatives use this method to speed up the sale closing process and get more deals. However, this technique doesn’t work well in all situations. Salespeople only use this approach when there is some kind of mutual understanding between them and their prospects.

Salespeople have reported that sometimes it backfires, and prospects act aggressively. So, the situation and temperament play a huge role in the efficient working of this approach.

Read the next section to better understand when you should not use the assumptive close.

When Should You Not Use the Assumptive Close?

Using this technique depends on the temperament of the prospects and your ability to control them. This selling approach works effectively in any circumstances but fails in some.

Here we have mentioned some of the temperaments for which you should avoid using the assumptive close approach.

Prospects With Hyper-Analytical Temperament: You should avoid using this technique with people having a hyper-analytical temperament. These prospects demand to know every bit of detail about the product. They don’t move forward unless they get to know everything about it. So, closing a sale with this approach might not get you a sale even after much effort.
Prospects With Aggressive Temperament: If it feels like the person on the other side of the call is irritated, frustrated, or whatever, then don’t use this technique. This will not win you a sale, but you will increase their level of irritation or frustration.
People With Controllable Temperament: Some prospects take more time to understand the product or service. The primary use of this technique is to speed up the selling process, and prospects like these don’t like it. So, create the flow they want; speeding up the process can offend them.

If your prospects fall under any of these temperaments, don’t use the assumptive close sales technique. So, continue reading the next section to know the pros and cons of the presumptive close.

What Are the Pros and Cons of the Assumptive Close?

Here we are listing the pros and cons of the assumptive close.

Pros of the Assumptive Close:

The presumptive close has some powerful pros that make it better than other sales techniques. Read the pros of the assumptive close below.

Speeds Up the Closing Process: The main aim of this sales closing technique is to speed up the buying process. You don’t need to be on the call with your prospects for hours to close the sale. You can complete the deal in a short time too, which is one of the most significant advantages of this approach.
Never Gets ‘No’ From the Prospects: In this sales approach, the salesperson assumes that the buyer is going with the product or service. Therefore, this eliminates the hearing ‘No’ from the customers.
Reduces the Pressure Off of the Prospect: When the salesperson already assumes that the prospect will buy their product. So, this ultimately takes the pressure off of the prospect. That’s how it reduces the prospect’s pressure.

Cons of the Assumptive Close:

We looked at some of its advantages, and now, it’s time to look at some of its cons. Here are the cons of the presumptive close.

Not Good For High Tempered Buyers: Assumptive close might not be a good approach to go with the high tempered buyers. This can increase their irritation. Thus, it’s better to avoid this method in some situations.
Need Preparation: Assumptive close isn’t a one-hand activity. To successfully close a sale with the help of this technique, you will need to practice it in advance.
Might Feel Pushy to Some Buyers: Assumptive close will help you speed up the process, but it might not work with some prospects. They will feel like you are just selling them to get a sale, not to solve their problem.

These are the cons of the assumptive close. In this section, we look at the pros and cons of the assumptive close. Check the next section to know what is required for an assumptive close to work.

What Is Required for an Assumptive Close To Work?

You will need to consider a few things to do an assumptive close work. Here are these things:

Ability to directly interact with the prospects.
Lists of all necessary discovery information.
List of all necessary purchase and delivery information.
Effective product pitching skills
Top-notch communication ability.
Enough information about the prospects.

Continue reading the next section to check how to use the assumptive close sales technique.

How To Use the Assumptive Close Sales Approach?

Here are the given steps to use the assumptive close sales approach.

Step 1. Create a list of all necessary discovery and delivery details;

Step 2. Create a list of all delivery details;

Step 3. Start asking discovery questions and start closing when complete;

Step 4. Ask questions about the details of purchase and delivery;

Step 5. Close when you have covered every detail;

Let’s discuss each step in detail below.

Step 1. Create A List Of All Necessary Discovery

The first and foremost step is to make a list of all necessary discovery details that will help you close the sale. You need first to get at least five critical pieces of discovery information that you can use to identify the benefits of your offering that justify your presumptive closing.

Before the assumptive close, you have to be prepared with all the discovery details you will require to close the call. You will need to write down all the common reasons for which they will buy your product or service. Then start listing some questions for which your prospects will buy the product.

You can add questions like:

How can the product increase their revenue?
How can the product save them time?
How can the product save them money?
How can the product achieve their goals?
How can the product solve their problems?

Step 2. Make A List Of All Delivery Details

We have already made a list of all necessary discovery details that will require you to close the sales. You have now also presumed that the deal has been completed. It’s now a good time to create a list of all delivery details to help you finish the final step. In this list, add some questions you will need to ask the prospect to complete the closing. For instance, you can ask questions like these:

When do they want to take the car?
What model do they want?
What color combination do they want?
What add-ons do they want? (paint protection, maintenance package, etc.)

Step 3. Start Asking Discovery Questions and Start Close When Complete

We ask prospects several questions to know their needs, problems, challenges, etc. And these are known as the discovery questions. Discovery questions play an integral role in closing the sale.

It helps you find the buyer’s pain points, which you can use to pitch your product. In short, you tell your prospects that your product will add this value to their life to solve this problem. This enables you to close the sale more easily.

As soon as you gather two or three most important pieces of information by asking multiple discovery questions, you can head to the next step, which is closing the sale.

Step 4. Ask Questions About the Details of Purchase and Delivery

Remember all the necessary information we collected in Step 2 regarding purchase and delivery. It’s now the perfect time to use that information. You must have added some questions to the list that will help you push the sales process to the final step after assuming the buyer’s decision. You will now need to ask those questions. Here are the types of questions we are talking about:

When do they want to take the car?
What model do they want?
What color combination do they want?
What add-ons do they want? (paint protection, maintenance package, etc.)

Step 5. Close When You’ve Covered Every Detail

Here comes the final step, which is closing the call when you are done. After covering everything, you are now ready to close the sale. In this step, mention all of the information you got from them during the call, and tell them that you can get things done right now.

So, basically, you need to convey to them that everything is ready, and you are just waiting for their last call to deliver the product or service. This will help you close the sale easily without any further delay.

This is the 5-Step process to use the Assumptive Sales Closing Technique. Continue reading the next section: What Is an Assumptive Closing Question?

What Is an Assumptive Closing Question?

The assumptive closing questions are questions that help you skip the confirmation part. For instance, these questions help assume that the prospect has already bought the product. For example, you can ask: ‘What method of payment would you like to use?’ This question ultimately shows that you aren’t asking for the prospect confirmation. The prospect has already said ‘Yes’ to buying the product, and they are ready to move to the final step now.

Read the next heading to know the top ten assumptive close questions to ask your customers.

What Are the Alternatives to Assumptive Close Sales Technique?

The assumptive close sales technique works the best in most circumstances, but sometimes it doesn’t. We already talked about those circumstances in one of our previous sections.

Yet, there are some alternatives to the assumptive close that you can use if the assumptive close method doesn’t work.

10 Assumptive close Alternatives

This section will talk about the alternatives to the Assumptive close.

1. The Option Close

Option Close is one of the simple yet effective sales techniques. As the name suggests, Option Close allows prospects to choose from given options. In this sales technique, we create questions strategically to get ‘Yes’ from the prospects on all options. For instance, you ask:

“We could do the first installment at the end of this week or the beginning of next. What works best for you?”

After looking at this question, we can understand that the answer to this question would be ‘Yes’ for sure. You don’t know whether they will go for the first or second option. But they will surely go for any of the given options.

2. The Suggestion Close

In Suggestion Close, you try to give suggestions to your prospects. Yet, this technique works best when you have a good relationship with your prospects. Otherwise, they won’t listen to your suggestions. An example of the Suggestion Close approach is:

“Based on what you have told me about your operations, I would suggest you receive orders on Fridays. Does this work for you?”

3. The Urgency Close

The Urgency Close Sales Technique is another excellent alternative to the Assumptive Close Sales Method. In Urgency Close, you create urgency or build pressure on the prospects to make the decision quickly. This technique works best when you know that the prospect needs this product. An example of Urgency Close is:

“This is a limited-time offer that is offering a 50% discount on the product. Would you like to purchase the product at this discount?”

4. The Soft Close

Some prospects don’t like being pushed by someone. They like to go slowly and steadily and learn everything about the product. But some salespeople enter the conversation, start pitching too soon and force the buyers to buy the product or service.

Soft Close refers to closing the sale without being intrusive. In this sales technique, you do everything slowly and easily while maintaining rapport with your potential client.

5. The Inoffensive Close

As the name suggests, Inoffensive Close refers to closing the sale without ending up offending the prospects. Salespeople create questions to show their knowledge, confirm value for the prospect, and suggest what they should do next. Inoffensive Close sounds like:

“Will our widget plan address those needs?”

6. The Now or Never Close

The Now or Never Close is a traditional sales close technique that promises extra benefits if the prospect takes the required action right now. It’s one of the best sales techniques to hear ‘Yes’ from the prospects, especially when the candidate feels uncomfortable saying ‘Yes.’

The Now or Never Close sounds like:

“I know you have been thinking about switching from your existing widget to ours for a while now. I have a special deal that might make it easier for you. If you switch to our widget today, I can include a premium support package for 12 months as a special thank you. But act fast! This offer is only available until the end of the business day today.”

7. The Summary Close

The Summary Close is a sales closing technique in which salespeople list all the features and benefits of their product or service before prospects confirm to buy the product. In this sales technique, you help prospects visualize what they will get after buying the product. Here is what the Summary Close sounds like:

“So, with our widget, the reduced size makes it easy to fit into small spaces, and with the improved battery life, it can standby for up to four days without charging. In addition, we offer the service plan free for all new widget users to help you learn how to integrate all the features into your business.”

8. The Sharp Angle Close

The Sharp Angle Close is better known as The If I – Will You Close. This sales closing technique gives something extra to the actual product, which doesn’t even come with the actual product. For instance, a customer gets a discount or additional service with the product.

“Absolutely, I can give you the widgets at a volume discount. But if I do, can we sign the deal today?”

9. The Question Close

In the Question Close sales approach, sales representatives ask questions that automatically create solutions for the prospect while discussing the prospect’s objections. It’s an excellent sales closing technique for prospects who hide information from you. Here’s what the Question Close looks like:

“Well, now that you understand the widget features, do you agree that it solves your problem?”

10. The Take Away Close

The Take Away Close involves reviewing features of your offer and suggesting that the prospect skip some features to save money, time, hassle, etc. It plays upon the fact that we, as humans, hate to lose something, whether we own it yet or not.

These are the best alternatives to the assumptive close. You can try any of the given sales techniques; if the presumptive close technique doesn’t fit well in the situation.

What Is the Best Method of Closing the Sale?

Assumptive close is one of the best methods of closing the sale. Yet, many sale closing techniques work best. But the assumptive close approach is more effective than other sales techniques. The effectiveness of any sales technique depends on the situation. In addition, assumptive close works best in many situations.

Conclusion

This is everything you need to know about the Assumptive Close sales technique. In this article, we discussed everything about the assumptive close in detail. We discussed many things about this technique, such as pros and cons, alternatives to the assumptive close, and much more. We hope you understood everything properly by the end of this guide.

That’s all this guide on Assumptive Close. We will see you with more guides on Marketing and Sales.