The Duke of Wellington close in sales, is named after the first duke of Wellington, who was the English commander in chief who defeated Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo. The Duke was known for being a great leader and a great strategist. He rarely showed emotion in public, he was a man of logic. That is why the Duke of Wellington close is named after him.
In short, the Duke of Wellington close involves summarising the characteristics of a product. Sum up all the negatives associated with making a purchase, then overturn these negatives and list all the positives associated with buying. If you can show that the positives outweigh the negatives and at the same time eliminate all the negatives, buying is the only logical option. In the prospect’s mind, making the purchase seems like the only logical thing to do because the positives don’t just outweigh the negatives, there are no negatives left!
Here’s an example. Suppose we’re selling mobile phones. You have reached the point in the conversation with your prospect that he is interested in buying, however, the phone doesn’t come free with his contract and it doesn’t come in his favourite colour. At this stage, he just needs to be pulled across the line by using the Lincoln close.
“Well sir let’s take one more look at this offer here. It is a shame that the phone isn’t free with your contract, and unfortunately it doesn’t come in your favourite colour. However, it is still relatively cheap compared to other phones, and you agree that black is also a nice colour for a phone. On top of that it has great reception and comes with all of features that you like, such as a high quality camera, email and a “Facebook button.” In my opinion this phone is a great buy. What do you think?”
You can end the duke of wellington close by asking for the sale straight away, but I prefer asking on open question. The reason why I ask an open question at this stage is that your prospect will commit himself to buying anyways, because this is the only logical thing to do. And the best thing is that you are giving him the space to make up his own mind, without being pushy.
