ALWAYS BE CLOSING.
If you’re in sales and you don’t know the ABCs of sales or “coffee’s for closers,” do yourself a favor and watch the epic Alec Baldwin scene in “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
If you took the time to do that just now… inspiring, right? Yikes.
However, we all know the feeling of “failure” when we don’t close enough leads on the exhibit hall floor during a conference
Here’s the thing – not every person who approaches your booth is in the closing stage, yet we often go into closing mode as if they were. If you do this, you are putting the entire process in jeopardy.
I saw this image in an ad last month in Exhibitor Magazine and is actually what got me thinking about this post.
Even though you may have the “Coffee’s For Closer’s” pressure building up inside of you, it’s imperative to respect the process and acknowledge the Sales Funnel that we all know and love.

see image below from:
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/sales-funnel-template/

Be sure to ask any DPM who approaches your booth relevant questions that will make you aware of which stage they are in so you can (a) offer the appropriate information and (b) not completely freak them out with aggressive closing strategies.
Recognize that you will not close every lead that comes to the booth, but that by being there and engaging with them in a way that aligns with where they are at in the process, you are one step closer to getting the final sale – even if it happens when you’re back in the office 90 days later – or longer.
Work the the process.
Plus, if everyone was closing at the same time, you’d probably have a big problem fulfilling so many new customers simultaneously with the level of quality and service you’ve promised. First impressions matter.
So, when you’re creating your your post-meeting report and you are bummed out, or a superior is bummed out, that there weren’t more closes on the floor, take the time to analyze where they are at in the sales funnel and get to work at creating a process that will bring them closer to the final step.
Thoughts? Questions? Email Me!
Sarah Breymeier: beheard@podiatrymeetings.com