Salespeople have been searching for the magic words forever: the perfect closing question, the perfect objection response, the seven-word phrase that somehow causes another human being to abandon whatever they were thinking and say:
“Holy crap. Nobody has ever phrased it THAT way before. Where do I sign?”
I admit, I was guilty of that too. When I was first starting out, I searched for everything I could find on how to be better at telephone sales. In fact, here's a book I bought at a used bookstore in the '80s, How to Get More Business by Telephone. It was first published in 1957!
Of course, with AI, you don't even have to search for the magic phrase yourself.
You can ask it for 17 versions, pick your favorite...
...but still get the same no salespeople were getting almost 70 years ago.
If magic sales words actually existed, I would have trademarked them 30 years ago and would be writing this from my private island.
Which reminds me of an exchange I had with a reader years ago.
I had written this trial close, or temperature-checking question, in one of my newsletters or books:
“It's a pretty good offer... what do you think?”
A reader emailed me:
“You know how much I like your sales tips and advice. I use and teach it every day, so you understand I'm not picking on you. But that line is weak. The answer could be ‘no’ or ‘I don't know, what else can you do?’
I suggest, ‘There's a lot of real value in this offer. How do you feel about it so far?’ I always want to know how they feel, not what they think.”
And you know what?
At one point I probably would have agreed with him.
I believe I even wrote a tip years ago recommending that very thing: ask people how they feel instead of what they think, because supposedly you'll get a more meaningful answer.
But now that I'm older, wiser, and have considerably less hair protecting all that wisdom, I look at it differently.
Seriously, is a prospect sitting there thinking:
“Hmmm. Art asked what I THINK. Good thing he didn't ask how I FEEL. Now I can conceal my true emotional state and give him a completely different answer.”
Sure, it sounds good to an academic, or some creator or influencer repeating something they saw somewhere else. But I doubt it makes much difference in the real world.
Because whether you ask what they think, how they feel, or some other beautifully crafted question you invested 20 minutes getting AI to rewrite, the most important factor is:
What happened BEFORE you asked it?
Your Closing Question Isn't the Problem
A closing question, trial close, temperature check, or commitment question primarily gets someone to reveal the mindset they already have at that moment.
It usually doesn't magically CREATE that mindset.
Think about it.
If I've confused or bored you for 10 minutes, talked mostly about myself, ignored what you told me, presented things you don't care about, created objections, and generally given you several reasons to want me gone...
there is no magical closing question coming to save my behind.
“How do you feel about moving forward?”
No.
“What do you think about moving forward?”
Still no.
“Would it make sense to take the next step?”
Uh... nope.
“Is there any reason we couldn't get started today?”
Yes. The previous 10 minutes of you talking.
There isn't one technique that magically alters someone's entire state of mind like a hypnotist.
Although based on some of the questions I still get, plenty of salespeople are searching for one.
Sales and persuasion happen through a process.
1. The Opening
The objective isn't to close anything.
It's to create no resistance, establish relevance, generate enough curiosity to continue, and move naturally into a conversation.
Screw this up and you might never get to Step 2.
That's precisely why I put so much emphasis on the first few seconds of any prospecting conversation. If you're creating resistance before you've even had a conversation, whatever brilliant closing technique you're saving for later isn't going to get much playing time.
2. The Questions
A fundamental rule of sales I have repeated thousands of times is, “Get information before you give it.”
We help people talk through their situation, what they're trying to accomplish, what might be getting in the way, what that's costing them, what they've already tried, and what they'd like instead.
Good questions get you information and get the other person thinking about their problem, pain, or desire. Once they've talked through their own problems and priorities, you can tell pretty quickly whether there's anything worth talking about.
3. The Recommendation
Only now do we prescribe.
Just like a good doctor doesn't walk into the examination room saying:
“Good news. I've already decided what medication you need.”
Which is about as absurd as a sales rep presenting before they've asked any questions.
Your recommendation should be the logical result of what you've learned, making it relevant, easier for them to see the value, and much more natural to move to the next step.
4. The Commitment
This is where we validate everything that happened before it.
Sure, sometimes people volunteer the sale.
Bless those wonderful people.
The rest of the time, we still need to ask.
And yes, words matter.
I've invested my entire career teaching people how to choose words that create interest instead of resistance.
But the right words aren't a substitute for the right process.
Imagine walking up to a complete stranger in a bar and asking:
“How would you FEEL about marrying me?”
Probably not great.
Try changing one word:
“What would you THINK about marrying me?”
Ahhhh. Much better. I'm sure that will do it. (Hoping you feel the sarcasm there.)
Now imagine two people who have been dating for years, are wildly in love, have talked about spending their lives together, and both clearly want the same future.
At that point, one of them could stumble through the proposal, forget half of what they planned to say, drop the ring under the table...
and still get a yes.
The ring under the table didn't matter. They'd been saying yes for years.
So yes, keep working on your openings, questions, responses to resistance, recommendations, and commitment questions. The words matter.
Just don't become so obsessed with finding the perfect line that you ignore the process that gives the line its power.
Because there are no magic words that rescue a lousy sales conversation.
The magic, if you want to call it that, is everything that happened before you asked.
Get THAT right and you'll need a lot fewer “closing techniques” and magic phrases
P.S. Speaking of AI and magic phrases...
This is actually one of the things we're being very careful about with the new Smart Calling AI Coach.
The last thing the world needs is another AI tool giving salespeople “perfect” responses without knowing what the hell happened before the question or objection.
Context matters.
Who are you talking with? What do you know? What has already happened? What are you trying to accomplish? What would make sense to do or say next?
That's what we're teaching it to understand.
Not just what to say. Why, when, and whether you should say it at all.
More on that soon.
Keep making it your best week ever!
