Closing Deals Fast: The Impending Event Close

Most salespeople have a few “tried-and-true” approaches to closing a deal, and there’s nothing wrong with having a go-to that you use all the time. It’s what you’re most comfortable with, and it works—until it doesn’t.

If you really want to be a sales champion, you need to understand and master a wide variety of closes. This way, you’ll always have something in your back pocket when your tried-and-true technique comes up short.

To help build your sales arsenal of closing techniques, I’ve been sharing a few of my favorites. Here are some of the closes we’ve covered:

• The Next Steps Close
• The Takeaway Close
• The 1-10 Close 
• The Walkout Close 
• The Tie Down Close
• The Two Positives Close
• The Crystal Ball Close 

If you’ve got a client who just won’t make up their mind or finds every excuse to hesitate, The Impending Event Close is a great way to provide some urgency and motivation—and get your prospect’s signature on the dotted line.

Here’s how it works:

The Impending Event Close

This closing technique aims to speed up the timeline for closing a sale. By using an upcoming (or impending) event to create a deadline, the buyer feels they need to take decisive action.

The right impending event is meaningful to your client and has a specific date. It can be something in their personal lives, a promise you’re creating, or even a holiday. Whatever the event, your client needs to feel that getting the deal done before the event will be much better than waiting or rescheduling.

Here are a few examples:

Using Life Events

In the real estate industry, moving into a new house is a big impending event for clients. A mortgage loan officer can use the impending event close to provide a timeline and motivation for their client. They might phrase it like this:

“If you want to close on the 30th, I’ll need signatures on these documents by Thursday. Can you get me the signed paperwork by then?”

Moving into a new house is a big deal and a challenge to get everything timed right. Changing a closing date could turn into a giant hassle, so the client is highly motivated to help speed the process along.

Getting Deals Done Quick

A common strategy that uses this technique is to create your own impending event. This usually takes the form, “If I can do ____, then can you do ____?”  For example:

If I get you the delivery next Wednesday, could we move forward today?

In order for us to guarantee this pricing, we have to sign a contract by the 15th.

Note that these closes tell the client exactly what action they need to take before the upcoming event—and when they need to take it.

Impending Events On The Calendar 

Certain dates of the year can be excellent impending events to use as a motivator. Depending on your industry, you can find significant deadlines year-round: Summer vacations, new school years, the ends of fiscal quarters, periods before holidays, or even seasonal weather changes can be important impending events in your client’s life or business.

Motivate Your Clients To Close The Deal

Whenever you need to get people to move forward, the impending event close serves as a great motivator. I’ve even used it to get speedy responses when I’m planning an event! It’s a great technique to add to your sales toolkit.

Until next time—go sell some stuff!