What is Alternative Close?

Alternative close is a well-known and widely used sales technique. It is based on the assumption that customer already decided to buy the product and you limit the options. This is a good hack and works well with straight questions leading to positive outcome instead of clear cut yes/no question. Examples:

• Instead of asking “do you want to buy it?” ask “is 20 pieces enough”?
• Instead of asking “do you want a booking?” ask “when do you want to book?”

Why is Alternative Close Powerful?

Alternative close is powerful because you act like your customer is not confused. If you treat your customer like she is confused this feeling will reflect to her and you’ll probably get a straight “no”.

When to Use Alternative Close?

You use alternative close when you need a positive return and all options you give are positive. And in order to replace the standard two-option question (yes/no) it is said to be effective when the number of options is two, e.g.

• “Would you prefer a big size or a small size?”
• With friends: “Would you like to watch the game tonight or go to bowling?”