SKILL
Verbal Buying Signals That Tell You to Close SELLING POWER EDITORS
Knowing the direction your call is taking gives you more power to control it. If you develop an ear for verbal signals, that can tell you when your prospects are ready to buy. Do that and you’ll be able to respond quickly and maintain a steady course toward the close.
To help you translate verbal cues into buying clues, one seasoned sales manager suggests paying attention to prospects’ words, tone of voice, rate of speech, and other audible indicators. Discovering the shortest route to a sale means you need to listen carefully for these signals, then interpret them.
6 | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 SELLING POWER © 2026 SELLING POWER
PERFECT YOUR TIMING During the decision-making process, prospects may change their minds every time they consider a new buy- ing pro or con. To seize opportune closing mo- ments, the sales manager says you must be sensitive to signals that tell you when buyer moods swing in your favor. “Identifying when buyers are
ready to buy is key to being success- ful. If you can’t pick up on signals that prospects are sending (rate of speech, tone, choice of words, or even silence), then you could very easily miss the opportunity you seek to maximize.”
STRONG SIGNALS In selling conversations, as in all oth- ers, you can take some statements at face value; others warrant close scru- tiny. Look behind a casual question about pricing, for instance, and you’ll often find serious buying intentions. Among the statements that always
indicate a green light to the sales manager are buyer references to third-party approval or agreement that their needs match product ben-
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