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Close Encounter Sometimes you need more than a handshake to seal the deal.

By Barry Farber

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I've been in the business of sales my entire adult life.I'm either selling something myself or training others to bebetter salespeople every day. I've studied all the closingtechniques. And I've interviewed thousands of the top salesreps in the country, who've all come to the same conclusion: Ifyou can't say, "Why don't we go ahead with this?"to your customer, then there's something wrong-not with yourclosing, but with your approach to sales.

And remember, your closing technique only works if it'sbuilt on a strong foundation. To prepare for sales seminars, Iinterview my clients' customers to understand what myclients' salespeople are doing right and wrong. The people Iinterview tell me things like: "The best sales reps come inhere and know my business. They know who I sell to, and they knowwhat I need. They don't approach me with some genericpresentation they learned by rote. They make me feel like I'mtheir first and best customer."

How do you develop the best closing technique? There are fourmain stops along that road: