Author: Thomas Ligor

Closing a sale is often seen as the most challenging part of the sales process. It’s the moment of truth when all your effort, relationship building, and strategy come to fruition. However, many sales professionals struggle with this critical step, either because of a lack of confidence, technique, or understanding of the customer’s needs. In this guide from Thomas Ligor of New York, he will explore proven closing techniques that can help sales professionals across industries secure more deals and enhance their performance.

1. The Assumptive Close

The Assumptive Close is based on the principle that you assume from the beginning that the customer will make a purchase. This confidence is reflected in your language and actions, subtly guiding the conversation toward the sale. For instance, instead of asking if they would like to proceed, you might ask, “Would you prefer the standard package or our premium service?” This technique works best when you’ve built a strong rapport with the customer and clearly understand their needs.

2. The Now or Never Close

This technique creates a sense of urgency, suggesting that the customer must act now to take advantage of an offer. It can be particularly effective when you have a legitimate reason for the urgency, such as a limited-time discount, end-of-season sale, or limited stock. For example, “If you sign up today, you’ll get a 15% discount, but I can only offer this until the end of the week.” It’s crucial to use this technique sparingly and genuinely to maintain trust and credibility.

3. The Summary Close

The Summary Close involves summarizing all the benefits and features of the product or service that align with the customer’s needs and desires, highlighting how it offers the solution they’ve been looking for. This technique works well towards the end of a conversation, helping to reinforce the value proposition and reminding the customer of why the offer is perfect for them. For example, “So, with our service, you’re getting 24/7 customer support, an all-inclusive warranty, and a 20% reduction in your monthly expenses.”

4. The Question Close

Asking strategic questions can lead the customer to close the sale themselves. This technique involves asking questions that get the customer to verbalize the benefits they’ve perceived or how the product or service solves their problem. For example, “Do you think this solution will help you achieve your goal of X?” or “How much do you value the added benefit of Y?” It encourages the customer to confirm their interest and readiness to buy.

5. The Takeaway Close

The Takeaway Close is a reverse psychology strategy where you suggest that maybe the product or service might not be right for the customer, based on their needs or concerns. This can lead to the customer actually reinforcing their interest or desire for the product. It’s a delicate technique and should be used judiciously, as you don’t want to dissuade a genuinely interested customer. For instance, “Given your concerns about the budget, perhaps the full suite of services might be more than you need right now.”

6. The Soft Close

The Soft Close is a low-pressure technique aimed at gauging the customer’s readiness to buy without pushing them too hard. It involves asking for their opinion or a minor decision that leads towards the sale. An example could be, “How do you feel about what we’ve discussed today?” or “Would you like to see how the product looks in your space?” This approach can help identify any lingering objections while keeping the conversation open and consultative.

Closing is an art that requires understanding, practice, and a genuine connection with the customer. Each of these techniques can be effective in different situations, depending on the customer’s personality, the nature of the product or service, and the context of the sale. The key to successful closing lies in active listening, empathy, and the ability to guide the conversation confidently towards a mutually beneficial outcome. Remember, the ultimate goal of any sale is to solve a problem or fulfill a need for the customer. By focusing on their interests and how your offer aligns with their desires, you can close more deals and build lasting relationships.

The landscape of sales is perpetually evolving, shaped by technological advancements, shifts in consumer behavior, and changes in the global economy. As we approach 2024, several key trends are emerging that promise to redefine how sales professionals connect with customers, leverage technology, and drive growth. In this blog, Thomas Ligor of New York will explore these trends and discuss how sales teams can adapt to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

1. Embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning are not just buzzwords but are becoming integral tools in the sales process. These technologies can analyze vast amounts of data to provide insights, predict customer behavior, and personalize the sales experience. In 2024, we can expect AI to play a pivotal role in lead scoring, forecasting, and even in automating routine tasks, allowing sales professionals to focus on strategy and relationship building.

2. The Rise of Remote Selling

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards remote work, and this trend is here to stay in the sales domain. Remote selling, or virtual sales, is becoming the norm, requiring sales teams to be adept at using digital communication tools. This shift also means that sales training and operations must adapt to ensure that teams can build strong relationships with clients, even from a distance.

3. Increased Focus on Customer Experience (CX)

In 2024, the customer experience will become even more central to sales strategies. As products and services become increasingly commoditized, the experience a company offers will be a crucial differentiator. Sales teams will need to work closely with marketing and customer service departments to ensure a seamless, personalized customer journey that fosters loyalty and encourages repeat business.

4. Leveraging Social Selling

Social selling, the practice of using social media to find and engage with prospects, is set to become an even more critical element of the sales process. Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Instagram offer valuable opportunities for sales professionals to share content, participate in discussions, and connect with potential clients. Effective social selling in 2024 will involve a strategic approach to content, focusing on adding value and establishing thought leadership in your industry.

5. Sustainable and Ethical Selling

As consumers become more environmentally conscious and socially aware, they are increasingly looking for brands that align with their values. In response, sales strategies will need to emphasize sustainability and ethical practices. This could involve highlighting eco-friendly features of products or the ethical standards of the supply chain. Sales professionals will need to be well-versed in these aspects to communicate effectively with potential buyers.

6. The Integration of Sales and Marketing

The line between sales and marketing is becoming increasingly blurred, with both functions needing to work more closely than ever before. In 2024, successful organizations will integrate these teams to ensure a unified approach to the market. This collaboration can lead to more consistent messaging, better lead generation, and a more cohesive customer experience.

7. Advancements in Sales Enablement Tools

Sales enablement tools, which provide sales teams with the resources they need to sell more effectively, will see significant advancements in 2024. These tools will become more sophisticated, offering features like real-time coaching, advanced analytics, and integration with other business systems. Sales professionals will need to become adept at leveraging these tools to enhance their productivity and effectiveness.

The future of sales in 2024 is set to be dynamic, with significant opportunities for those willing to embrace new technologies, adapt to changing consumer expectations, and invest in personal and professional development. By staying informed about these trends and being proactive in implementing new strategies, sales professionals can navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Chelsea Market is an iconic destination in the heart of New York, loved by both locals and visitors.

It is a one-stop shop for both foodies and shoppers; as it is a food hall and a shopping mall in one, with commercial spaces such as offices and a television production facility. It is unique on its own, but what truly sets it apart is its initiative to offer startups free retail spaces and allow them to shine.

There is a growing trend among food halls – they are offering rent-free spaces to start-ups. These start-ups get to open a pop-up shop in a prime location, giving them a huge advantage in the business. In return, the food hall gains a source of fresh ideas and flavors.

Thomas Ligor explores below the growing popularity of pop-up shops and how they are integrated into the marketing strategies of Chelsea Market businesses.

Pop-Up Popularity: Advantages of Pop-Up Shops

Generates Buzz

One of the biggest advantages of pop-up shops is that they help brands and startups generate buzz – the sudden existence of a new shop taps into the interest of consumers. Established brands such as Adidas, Levi’s, and Gap have used this marketing tool to draw attention to a new product or promotion.

In the case of Chelsea Market, the food hall will also benefit from the buzz generated by the pop-ups that open in their retail spaces.

Allows for Testing and Experimentation

The temporary and low-cost nature of pop-up shops gives brands the opportunity to test new products and promotions in the market to gauge the demands of consumers.

This is especially true for the start-ups that have a pop-up shop in Chelsea Market – they can leverage the large influx of customers to identify which items on their menu have the potential to make it big on the market.

In return, the food hall gets to offer their customer base with a wide variety of food options, fostering repeat business. According to the Michael Phillips, President of Alphabet Inc. (the owner of Chelsea Market), “These partnerships give us access to regional specialty food in a really interesting way.”

Encourages Spontaneous Sales

Pop-up shops are temporary, which consumers view as “limited edition”. Because these shops will be there for only a limited time, it creates a sense of urgency among shoppers to visit the shop and buy their products now.

Builds Brand Awareness

Having a pop-up shop helps a start-up build awareness and extend its brand.

Online businesses can now interact and build relationships with their customers face-to-face, providing them with the opportunity to showcase and demonstrate their products’ features and functions that are otherwise difficult to do online.

For the pop-ups in Chelsea Market, they can associate their name with the iconic food hall, which can go a long way in their marketing strategies.

Start-ups who are chosen to create a pop-up shop in Chelsea Market are incredibly lucky; not only do they get maximum exposure and reach a wider audience straight away, but they also get to showcase their skill and products in a historical place, which will be tied to their name forever.

Commercial real estate may sound like a promising investment, but it can lead to devastating bankruptcy when incompetent marketing leaves owners with an abundance of office suites and no tenants to fill them. Owners who lack proper marketing skills will almost always lose out to the competition.

Marketing business space within a commercial property relies on a multi-pronged approach. Owners must first devise a plan of action, based around their property’s key selling points and the target markets that would have the most to gain from renting such a space. Once the finer details are hammered out, it’s time to begin an ad campaign involving both digital and print media.

Thomas Ligor of New York says that this may seem like an extensive to-do list, but most owners will find that effective execution of one step almost always makes the next step easier. It all begins with the initial planning phase.

Creating a Marketing Plan for a Commercial Property

It would go beyond foolhardy for any business owner to launch an ad campaign without first identifying the primary selling points of their product or service. This applies to commercial space as much as it applies to any other real estate. Owners must know why a tenant would choose them over the competition. A few key points to consider include:

• Location: Is the business located in a desirable part of the city? Are there eateries within walking distance where workers can take their lunch? What about bars or other attractions where colleagues can unwind after work?
• Size and layout: What is the square footage of the available space? Are the office suites generally uniform, or are there different options available to businesses of varying sizes?
• Amenities: Does the business offer any special accommodations such as an in-house gym or a sizable parking garage? How many conference rooms are there? Are there bathrooms on every floor?
• Price: How does rent compare with other commercial properties in the area? If located in an uptown or downtown office park, this concern could prove especially vital.

After considering the building’s key features and determining which talking points to highlight (and which to avoid), the next order of business is to identify a target market. This will vary in accordance with the type of building. For instance, an office building doesn’t need to market nearby foot traffic, whereas a retail space won’t need to focus as strongly on spatial versatility.

The key features identified above will also play a direct role in determining the best market for the space. Marketing a commercial business space to large advertisers or legal firms might not prove effective if they’d have to fight over a limited number of bookable conference rooms. By contrast, those same businesses might love a space with grand window views where they can dazzle their clients.

Integrating Digital and Traditional Marketing Methods

Just about no real estate venture can meet success in today’s world without heavy reliance on digital marketing. Its use has become mandatory for renters seeking to find any tenants at all, so commercial property owners will want to utilize all of the following resources:

• Online real estate listings: Popular listing sites like LoopNet and CoStar are a first stop for many prospective tenants seeking to rent out business space. When creating a listing, it’s important to use SEO keywords so that the ad will be easier to find.
• Social media content: Many realtors have found success on social media. If using Instagram for photos, a good tip is to hire a professional photographer. An even better idea is to create YouTube videos. While most people expect pictures to be doctored or strategically composed, videos can provide an honest 360° view of the available space.
• Email blasts: Mass emails make it easier to reach several prospects at once, and it’s easy to keep an ongoing list of contact info.

These resources are a good start, but it’s important to remember the rule of seven. Most prospects have to see a brand’s marketing at least seven times before they’ll bite the bullet and investigate. This means that digital marketing isn’t enough. It’s key to integrate traditional marketing as well.

Something as simple as putting a sign out front can do the trick, but flyers are both cost-friendly and effective. They can be distributed anywhere and will summarize the same information as an online listing while putting it directly in the prospect’s hand so they can’t simply click away.

Conclusion

The commercial real estate market might be competitive, but all it takes to navigate is a bit of planning and a multi-faceted ad campaign. With the right strategy and a nice array of resources, commercial business owners with even a hint of marketing savvy can beat out the competition and fill those vacancies in no time.

The key to a successful marketing campaign is getting the right message to the right people at the moment they need to hear it most. While there are a lot of innovative strategies out there, most boil down to the same few core marketing principles that are the foundation of an effective growth strategy.

Thomas Ligor of New York reviews below one of the tried-and-true marketing methods, known as the 6 P’s of Marketing. Following this guideline will help retailers get products in front of consumers, drive demand, and increase sales.

The Six Elements

These six elements – first identified by Harvard researchers as four P’s in the 1950s before expanding to six – combine to make what is known as the “marketing mix.” Experts note that it can take up to six months of employing these combined strategies before they yield results, but over time, they have been proven to drive retail sales.

Product

Everything comes down to this first P – after all, product is exactly what you are selling! Identify the market’s biggest pain point or need, and make sure your product is filling that gap. Pay attention to other products on the market and discover how you can set yours apart from the competition to offer something totally unique.

Price

Price doesn’t just refer to how much people pay for a product. A retailer’s pricing strategy should take into consideration the actual cost of making the product, so that they can price in such a way as to make a profit. Retailers should also review their competitors’ prices (and how they have changed over time) and adjust their numbers to make them as attractive and reasonable as possible.

Place

The place that a product is sold has a huge impact on the product’s success. In retail, this can involve physical placement in stores and making sure the product is in the appropriate department and on the best shelf to attract attention. Since so many retailers have gone digital, it also means selecting the right online vendor or app to sell the product, and even the design and appeal of the web page.

People

Retailers are nothing without their customers and employees! Who your audience is should be considered when developing a marketing plan – analyze how to reach them and appeal to them. A business should also strive to have happy employees with a strong customer service ethic, which will make the entire store experience more welcoming and attractive to potential consumers.

Presentation

Presentation – also sometimes called Packaging – is all about how your product looks and feels. From the color to the style to the feel of the box, each of these can impact a customer’s design to make a purchase. The product branding should also be instantly “recognizable” as yours.

Promotion

Promotion is the main “P” most people think of when they think marketing! This is the communication strategy retailers use to reach their customers and let them know about the product. Strategies for promotion include emails, public relations, paid advertising, content marketing, social media, discounts, contests and more.

Final Thoughts

By employing the 6 P’s of Marketing – product, price, place, people, presentation, and promotion – retailers can draw consumers to their products and drive overall sales.

As consumers become more sophisticated, brands have learned that connecting with their customers means meeting them where they are.

Enter ‘Omnichannel Marketing,’ an approach that focuses on the customer’s “journey.”

This marketing strategy acknowledges that brand engagement can begin in an online channel, continue in a different digital frequency, but finish their conversion at a traditional offline network–or any combination of the possible ways a customer can engage with them.

Thomas Ligor of New York discusses what experts have to say about omnichannel marketing and how it’s reshaping the consumer landscape.

An Explanation of Seamless Commerce

In a word, it means “seamless.”

Omnichannel Marketing acknowledges that customers are now sophisticated, and can choose any of the available touchpoints that the brand has provided, making them all work together as a cohesive unit.

Gone are the days that customers only use one or two touchpoints during their entire customer experience. According to Forbes, touchpoints have now tripled, and providing a seamless experience as the customer moves across them can mean an 18.96% engagement rate for marketing campaigns.

Imagine a customer engaging with Starbucks. They see an ad while working on their desktop, decide their mid-afternoon infusion of caffeine is due, so they reload their Starbucks card just before getting up from their desk. While walking to the store, they open the app, order their coffee in advance, and skip the line to pick it up.

That is seamless commerce in a nutshell.

Despite the multiple channels used, as far as the customer was concerned, it was just one long conversation with Starbucks.

Personalization and Data-Driven Insights

In a successful omnichannel marketing strategy, the customer is in one continuous conversation with the brand.

There are no awkward silences or need to repeat themselves as they transition from one channel to the next. The channel the customer uses is no longer important, the brand strives to meet them wherever they are, while also remembering where they’ve been.

McKinsey & Company states that one-third of Americans have integrated omnichannel features into their buying habits since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that these habits are likely to persist.

For brands, this means that proper analysis of their data can show which touchpoints specific customers choose to use, and tailor their message to reflect that insight.

On a macro level, knowing which touchpoints are contributing the most to a sale, the brand can adjust their marketing spend accordingly.

Omnichannel Success Hinges on Flexibility and Adaptability

There’s no longer a one-size-fits all approach to marketing. Taking customer data and updating strategies real-time to reflect this data is vital to ensure a successful campaign.

The internet has made the world seem smaller than ever.

As new channels emerge and trends affect markets half-way across the world, staying ahead of competitors means brands should always be on their toes.

Knowing what message each demographic resonates with, which touchpoints they use, what aspects of the experience they value most, and making adjustments along the way is what’s needed to deliver in an omnichannel world.

In the age of online shopping and digital stores, captivating shoppers’ attention is a growing challenge for brick-and-mortar stores. One technique that has long proven its effectiveness is visual merchandising, a marketing practice that strategically pairs the display of products and services against floor layouts, color, lighting, and other elements to attract customers’ attention.

With over 55 stores, Chelsea Market, a bustling marketplace in New York City’s Meatpacking District, remains a strong player in the retail world by capitalizing on visual merchandising. Below, Thomas Ligor of New York explores the world of visual merchandising in Chelsea Market, the techniques stores use, and the success they find.

Framing the Architecture of Stores for Success

Once the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) factory, Chelsea Market boasts a historic value to visitors and locals. The market is open to the public on the ground floor, allowing visitors and shoppers to roam through a long strip of stores selling food, clothing, furniture, and more.

The simple architecture of the warehouse provides a pivotal role in making the market inviting and exciting for visitors. Combined with the magic of visual merchandising, stores can add their touch to their space while accentuating the architecture of the historic building. A physical store’s architecture utilizes visual elements like floor layout to the positioning of items on windows and shelf displays to create a unique experience for visitors.

Using Lighting to Set the Shopping Atmosphere

Lighting can also play an important role in creating the right ambiance for shoppers. Warm lighting can make a store feel friendlier and smaller, while cool lighting can make a store feel spacious. Additionally, shoppers visiting a store with bright lights might feel more energized to shop quickly while shoppers visiting a store with dim lights may take their time in casually looking through items.

For example, Chelsea Market Baskets plays with warm, dim lighting and invites visitors to a cozy experience. With wicker baskets spilling out as their storefront, the store matches the grandness of their historic home. Visitors are immediately drawn to the treasure trove of the store and feel invited to browse through all the little and big items the store has to offer.

Showcasing Products and Services in Center Stage

With over 9 million visitors per year, stores at Chelsea Market have just over a few seconds to spark interest in passersby, making visual merchandising instrumental. Fashion stores like Anthropologie utilize the traditional modeling of mannequins to display their latest wardrobe items for customers to see at first glance.

Others play with an open-door concept. For example, ALF Bakery brings a historical touch to its storefront by showing visitors the process of breadmaking. Visitors are immediately drawn to the hustle and bustle of the bakers, who market their fresh, warm-baked products front and center.

Conclusion

In-store shopping provides an experience still unmatched by digital shopping, and Chelsea Market is a marketplace that proves it.

From dressing up mannequins to displaying baked goods on the windows, the stores of Chelsea Market wield visual merchandising to continue keeping both locals and tourists entertained and intrigued.