You don’t have to look very far to find examples of PR problems:  A bad customer experience going viral on social media; an employee or other brand representative seen to be behaving inappropriately; a major disruption in the operation of your organization that results in a bad experience for your customers… and the list goes on and on.

I have a new PR problem I want to add to the list: It’s the term, “trial close.”  It seems nobody gets this quite right.

First, let’s look at it from the prospect’s perspective. Even the mention of the words “trial close” feels like a trick… like a salesperson is trying to sneak a major commitment right by them.  I’ve had more than one customer tell me they don’t like being “played,” and they see the trial close as just that: a game. Quite honestly, because of the way most salespeople react when using trial closes, I don’t blame them.

Let’s take a look at it from a misguided salesperson’s perspective.  They are taught to treat the trial close like it’s a singular, magical line, with the most classic of all trial closes being this: “If I can do this for you, will you commit to doing that for me?”

They lean in real close because when they hear anything other than a hard “no,” they assume it’s time to go in for the kill, and go sprinting to the close.  I should know; I was once that misguided salesperson, and that’s exactly what I was taught to do.

No wonder people don’t like to hear the words, “trial close;” nobody seems to understand it, or get it right.

Let’s start by getting a few things straight: A trial close isn’t a tactic designed to trick someone into a fullfledge commitment. It’s not a tactic designed to box prospects into a corner.  For the record, there are other trial closes available besides the classic, “If I can do this for you, will you do that for me?” Ironically, that trial close isn’t inherently bad, except when it’s used prematurely, it almost always is. It’s usually said with a clenched jaw, and delivered as if it’s an ultimatum. It doesn’t feel like a question; it feels like a trap.

However, when it’s used correctly, it’s a tactic used to confirm where your prospect is in his or her decision cycle, and nothing more.

It might be helpful to disclose I’ve been teaching people to sell for close to 40 years, and I don’t even like the words, “trial close.”  I like what those words represent, but I just don’t like the words themselves.  It sounds like a dry run at something you don’t have permission to ask yet. When you strip away the jargon, and look at the reasons we use them, you might just change your tune.

If we think of selling as collaborating with the client (which I’m hoping we all do,) then a trial close is just making sure the prospect we’re working with hasn’t wandered off the path. It’s not a push towards the finish line; it’s a way to make sure we haven’t missed something along the way. We’re making sure we’re in sync, and traveling in the right direction.  It’s the sales equivalent of asking this: “Are we still on track?”  For instance, here are two of my favorite trial closes that are rarely, if ever, used, and track other decision points:

• The first real decision a prospect needs to make is whether whatever problem they’re living with needs to be fixed at all.You don’t need to guess. You can just ask your prospect: “Are you committed to making a change?”
• The second real decision a prospect needs to make is what he or she would like the solution to look like.Again, you don’t need to guess; you can always ask your prospect: “Does this look like it could address the concerns you mentioned earlier?”

I could list some other trial closes that address other decision points a prospect goes through, but you get the point.  You could get the answer, “yes.”  Terrific, keep moving forward in your conversation.  You could get the answer, “no.”  That’s fine too!  Slow down, and ask some more questions to clarify what has now presented itself as an objection. Maybe you can move past the objection and move forward… or maybe you cannot move past the objection. Your prospect saved you the time and wasted effort of plowing ahead prematurely.

In fact, I’m not all that concerned which way a trial close may push the conversation. My only concern is not knowing where the conversation is going.  If you’ve sold for even one day in your life, you know the frustration of pursing a prospect relentlessly and not only not getting the business, realizing later on, you were never going to get that business.

When used with the right intent, trial closes are simply a tool that helps sellers meet buyers where they are, and not where we hope they are.  So, you can call them whatever you want: check-ins, decision points, progress markers.  Just don’t stop using them. The true mystery of the trial close isn’t if they are valuable.  It’s why so many people either misuse them or don’t use them at all.

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