The One and Only Thing to Remember When You Close a Deal

The One and Only Thing to Remember When You Close a Deal: by Beth Cohen King

Instead of a post with the 35 things you need to think about when closing a deal, if I may be so bold, there is only one thing to remember, but maybe the hardest to do.
I’m lucky enough to have a CEO who loves to tell stories.  These are stories where you are both, belly laughing halfway through, and also provide some valuable life and business lessons. (I actually feel that the two are interchangeable.)  Here is one of his stories:

Our CEO, Charlie and his brother are out grabbing pizza.  As they are enjoying their slices they overhear a conversation between two men sitting near by.  The two men are in the middle of a business transaction – one the seller and one the buyer.  Very quickly they shake hands and agree to seal the deal.  To celebrate, the buyer says, “Hey, you want to share a pizza and celebrate?” The seller agrees, probably doing little fist pumps that, he not only wrapped the deal, but also he is going to get some free pizza out of this.

At that very moment, our CEO’s brother whispers to Charlie and says, “Bad move! The seller should have shook his hand and said: "thank you very much" and then proceeded to quickly walk out the door.

Now most of you probably know why it was a bad move, but in real-life situations sometimes what we know as best practices and what we end up doing are completly different.
The one and only thing that you need to remember when you close a deal:
1. NEVER TALK THROUGH THE CLOSE.
Why?  Because your buyers are never going to like you more than that very moment before they agree to the deal, and after that: fear, trepidation, and buyer’s remorse are bound to set in and make the person rethink their decision.  You don’t want to be around when that happens.  You want to have accounting processing the check already.
Like most things, it is easier said than done.  When you get wrapped up in the excitement of a deal it’s easier to keep talking and continually verifying your company’s value.  DO NOT DO THIS.  Use restraint; say: "thank you very much," and hold it together until you are outside the building.  Then, go have all the pizza you want to celebrate the close.