At Advance we view the sales process as two distinct processes.  (Note: while we are considering these two sales process elements separately, both parts of the process must work together to achieve the optimum result.)

1. Facilitate the prospect making a decision to either “buy” or "not buy".  (The part we are looking at in this article.)
2. Promote/motivate a positive “buy” decision.  (This relates to creating "value" and is addressed in another article.)

The key role of the sales person is to help the prospect to make an informed decision regarding the service being offered.  In order to do this, the prospect must receive the information in a manner that enables them to evaluate it fully and methodically, so that at the end of the presentation they can decide on how they would like to proceed.  Structuring a presentation to facilitate a decision is as important as explaining how “good” the service is, because if the prospect is still unsure about whether or not they wish to buy at the end of the presentation, they will leave to “think about it”.  Once a prospect leaves the club, the probability of them joining is significantly reduced.

So what causes your prospect to say: "I need to think about it"?  The simple answer is - they haven't yet thought about it. The key to a successful sales presentation is helping your prospect to "think about it" during (not after) the sales presentation.  The goal is to have nothing left for them to think about by the end of the presentation.  So what structural elements help to "facilitate" a decision?

1. If you have a special offer, it should be limited in number and duration

If you are running a special offer it should have an expiry date and be valid for only a limited number of recipients.  (If it doesn't have a limit, it's not special.)  The reason for both limits is to create urgency and to establish a decision timeline. The limited number of recipients helps to create urgency even if you are weeks away from the expiry date. 

For example: "The offer is limited to the first 30 recipients and we have had a huge response.  I would recommend making an appointment immediately to avoid missing out..."  If you an offer a "first visit incentive" (incentive to join on the first visit) then the decision framework can be quite easily and clearly established during the appointment phone call.  If you start to establish the decision making framework during the appointment phone call, it is easier to follow this through during the sales presentation.

2.  Fitness Review / Pre-activity Questionnaire

The Fitness Review serves a few purposes, and helps with both getting a decision and getting a "yes".  (We'll just be looking at the decision part now.)   The purpose of the Fitness Review is to get an understanding of the prospects needs and wants and to establish a decision timeframe (the "when" of the 4 W's).  This is all based on questions - so there is no pressure on the prospect.  Your aim, by asking questions, is to help the prospect gain clarity on what they want to achieve (and why) and when they would like to get started. 
We use questions to help our prospect to overcome their hurdles to getting started (clearing objections).  We aim to establish that there is no reason to not start immediately and begin enjoying the benefits sooner.

The Fitness Review can also help to guide our presentation in the areas of greatest relevance.  The decision making process is easier for our prospect if the information they receive is relevant and concise (we can avoid explaining the areas that are not of interest to them). 
 
3.  Setting up the decision making process at the beginning of presentation

At Advance we use a sales tool we call the "Keystone".  Essentially, this part of our presentation ties in with the appointment phone call and reinforces the conditions associated with any special offer including limitations. Using the first visit incentive as an example, you may say the following prior to commencing the tour of the facility:

"As mentioned on the phone, we offer a first visit incentive if you are able to make a decision on membership today.  This allows you to save 50% on the joining fee, plus pick up 2 complimentary personal training sessions.  Would you like to have a look at that offer in more detail after we have had a look around the club?"  (Prospect: "Sure...")  "Great.  Well what I can do now is show you around the club, run through the benefits of membership at (Club) and show you how we can help you to get the results you would like to achieve.  We have a few membership options available to you.  So, when we come back, we can grab a seat and run through the different options and the details of the first visit incentive and you can confirm which way you like to go... Sound OK?"

As you will note, in this example, we are establishing a decision making framework, but it is guided by the prospect.  We ask questions to confirm that the prospect is happy with the proposed process.  If they aren't, they will usually let you know and you can adjust accordingly.  In most cases the prospect will be more than happy with the guidance and structure (especially if there is a benefit available to them such as a value-add or saving). 

4. Trial Closes

Trial closes are questions asked after presenting each area or component of the service. Trial closes help to guide us in terms of whether we are on the right track with our presentation.  If we uncover any area that our prospect is not interested we can guide them back to areas of higher interest.  This will allow us to focus on areas of key interest and avoid unnecessary information that can make it harder for a prospect to assess the service. 

Additionally, trial closes allow the prospect to compartmentalise the presentation.  With each trial close, we ask our prospect whether they really like each part of the service.  We want them to really think and give us a response.  This process allows the prospect to break the decision down into manageable chunks of information - this is especially critical in full facility gyms where you may be presenting 6 or more service components.  We help them to think about the membership while they are with us now, so they don't need to think about it at home.

Keep in mind; once you ask for a decision, everything after about 2 seconds becomes uncomfortable.  Our prospect needs to be able to recap their assessment of your service in less than a few seconds.  This is what is likely to occur if you haven't used trial closes effectively:  The prospect thinks:  "Oh… I need to make a decision now... OK what did she mention about the weight training area, how do I feel about that, um... and the cardio area... um, I think that was OK... and the timetable - did the opening hours suit...ARGH! ...I think I better go home to think about it..."  The prospect says:  “Thanks for showing me around.  I am going to go home and have a think about it…”

When it comes to decision time, if you have used trial closes effectively, the prospect only needs to recall their "responses" to each element of the service not the details of each element.  Subconsciously, they will think: "I recall liking the weight training area and the cardio area... not so keen on the group fitness... Yes, I can see myself training here..."   

If you do hit a hurdle when asking questions during the tour - deal with it immediately.  For example: if there are timetable difficulties, help the prospect to see how they can work their fitness program into their schedule.  It is better to work it out now, rather than have them try to work it out later at home.

Trial closes can include:
This is our weight training area... (explanation)... ?  Can you see yourself making use of this area?
This is our group fitness area... (explanation)... Any questions? Do these classes sound like fun? 
We offer personal training... (explanation)... Do you feel that personal training will help you to hit your fitness goals sooner?
Here is our timetable... Do the opening hours suit..? So you can easily fit in your 3 workouts per week..?
Trial closes are just about being thorough.  You are asking questions, so there is no pressure.  It is just good customer service and it helps the prospect to make their OWN decision. 

5.  Pre-close

The Pre-close is a summary Trial Close done after touring the whole facility and immediately before the price presentation.  It is, again, especially relevant in a large multi-faceted facility where the prospect has quite a bit of information to absorb.  The Pre-close serves two purposes:

It allows the prospect to consider their interest in the whole service.  At this time they will be subconsciously checking off their responses to your previous trial closes.  You might ask a question like:  "So Mary; that is our entire facility and service.  Are you happy with everything you have seen?"

It also allows you to confirm whether the prospect has any further questions before going to the price presentation.  You might ask:  "Other than the membership options, do you have any further questions about the membership or the facility?"
At this point, the prospect should be very clear on value and benefits of your service and the only outstanding issue should be affordability.  The prospect should be left with one quite simple decision - Benefits v Financial Cost.

6.  Price Presentation and Close

When it comes to price presentation the goal is simplicity and clarity.  During the Fitness Review, Keystone Script and possibly the Tour you should have established what type of membership the prospect is after.  This means that you should be able to present no more than 2 options when it comes to decision time.  If you have more than 2 payment options, the prospect will, in many cases, need to go home to think about which is most suitable.  During the pre-close you should have established that the prospect likes your service and would be happy to take it up based on affordability.  We can now assume that they want to proceed until they let us know otherwise and we typically use an "alternate close" based on membership options.

For example, based on a fixed duration and two payment options:

"On our annual membership we offer two options either fortnightly installments or one single installment.  Our fortnightly option works like this... Our single installment option works like... They are both popular and it's just a case of which one would suit you the best.
Which would you prefer?"  ...and there it is... If all of other parts have been done thoroughly, most of your prospects will just pick a payment option and you have a decision and a new member.

If you have been thorough and you get a "no", in most cases that too will be decisive and you know that you can move on to serve your next prospect.  (You should still ask permission to stay in touch via your newsletter or set a call cycle contact in the future, if applicable.)