Closing Techniques For Creating Urgency

Most sellers misuse discounts. They drop them too late. Talk to the wrong person. Add pressure. Miss their number. I’ve taught 1,000s of reps how to do it right. Here are 7 ways to use incentives without looking desperate: I’m not anti-incentives. I’m anti-commission breath. And that’s exactly what shows up when sellers drop a 30% discount on the 29th of the month…only to find out their champion still needs two more approvals and a legal review. It doesn’t close the deal. It just creates pressure. On you and your buyer. Here’s a better way. 1. Incentives are not discounts Don’t pitch 30% off like a used car dealer. Offer something valuable with a story behind it: → A month free → Preferred pricing → Bonus feature access It has to be legit—and tied to a reason (like quarter-end, new logo program, etc). 2. Talk to the decision maker If your buyer can’t actually sign, an incentive won’t help. You need someone who can say yes—or who can push it through. 3. Ask about their process first “What’s your timeline for getting this done?” If it’s next quarter, ask if an incentive would help them pull it forward. If they say yes, you might have a deal to accelerate. 4. Don’t offer anything if the timing isn’t natural You’re not trying to force urgency. So say: “I don’t want to show you this if it’s not something that’s realistic for you.” Let them opt in. 5. Always qualify timing “If we were able to offer something strong, do you think you’d be able to move forward this month?” You want buy-in before they see price. Not after. 6. Map the path to signature Lay out the mutual action plan: - Who needs to review the proposal? - When does legal need it? - How long does procurement take? If it’s not doable, don’t offer it yet. 7. Bring it up early in the month Waiting until the end will kill the deal. Even motivated buyers run out of time. So if you’re going to offer an incentive—do it with 2–3 weeks to spare. Not 2–3 days. TAKEAWAY Discounts don’t create urgency. Timing does. Know their process. Earn the yes. Stay out of panic mode. Close without pressure. Sell with trust.

I was on a strategy call with a Founder yesterday. His biggest question: How can I close more of my demos and how do I close them faster? The simple answer: Introduce URGENCY! There are three major things you can do to drive urgency on a deal: 1. Highlight your differentiating factor - Your market may be crowded with OG competitors. In my own experience, there’s no use trying to look like another big company. The best thing to do is acknowledge that you are a startup and highlight how great your technology is. - Find your 10X differentiating factor and own it. It could be a feature others don’t have or your product as a whole. Make your ICP feel crazy for not having it. 2. Emphasize your macro trend - Why should your ICP want your product now vs. a week from now? - What is the urgent and important problem they are facing? - It’s all about positioning your solution as the immediate, game-changing answer to their challenges. Showcase what sets you apart and why waiting could mean missing out on a transformative solution. - Bonus points here if you can highlight the terrible pain ahead if they don’t go with your solution 3. Make an appealing offer - Make an offer your ideal customers cannot refuse. It could be free onboarding, discounts, or an additional feature. - Find ways to off-set or eliminate perceived (or real) risk in your customer’s mind It’s not enough to just give a demo… It's about strategically driving the right amount of urgency for your ICP to be more likely to convert. These are just some of the key strategies to close more of your demos and win revenue faster. But what happens if you don’t have enough demos? Not enough pipeline? If you’re an early stage SaaS Founder looking to drive growth in 2024, grab a complimentary copy of my 5-Point SaaS Growth Strategy Guide. It shows you the key principles in consistently creating quality pipeline and demos for your SaaS business. Just follow the link in the comments below (choose recent comments in the dropdown if you don’t see it.) 👇

I had a brain fart a few weeks back and, in my haste to get a deal closed by the end of October, tried to manufacture some artificial urgency. Some nonsense like "If we do XYZ, will you sign by the end of October?" Kudos to the prospect who called me out on it. This is a cut and paste from their email back to me: "We will move fast with our decisions, but, please, let's not create any time pressure here. The important thing is to agree on something that excites both of us." When you're right, you're right. Manufactured urgency is bullshit, and people see right through it. Genuine urgency is the only variety of urgency that works. So - how do you create it? - Start by uncovering deadlines or events already on the buyer's calendar. Connect your solution to what they need to achieve. - Collaboratively build a timeline working backwards from their goals. Get their input to estimate reasonable timeframes. - Equip your champion to clearly communicate the “why” behind the project. Make sure everyone understands the vision. - Set regular check-ins to review progress and troubleshoot delays. Hold each other accountable to the joint plan. When you focus on understanding the buyer’s real needs, urgency happens naturally. No manufactured pressure tactics required.

12 High-Impact Questions That Ignite Buyer Urgency. I was coaching a salesperson the other day who kept losing deals late in the sales cycle. Something kept slipping through the cracks. I asked, “Walk me through your discovery questions.” He rattled off the usual, generic, yet important, qualifying questions: ➤ How do you typically budget for this kind of project? ➤ What timeline are you working with? ➤ What solution are you using now? ➤ What keeps you up at night? I then asked if he ever used this question. “What happens if nothing changes over the next 6 to 12 months?” He said, “I’ve never asked that.” The next call, he did. The prospect paused. Took a breath. Then said, “Honestly? We’ll fall even further behind. I’m already under pressure to fix this or we risk losing the account.” That deal closed a week later because he asked questions that made it personal, emotional, and uncovered the cost of inaction. That’s why urgency can’t be told. It has to be discovered by the prospect through implication questions. You don’t need better scripts to create a better outcome. You need better questions. #sales #selling #presentations #salescoaching