The Utility Close - What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Works
What does it sound like?
"Can you put this (Funding Product) to work?"
How it works?
After describing the terms of the approval (features of the product), and how it helps the merchant (Business Pro) achieve their goal/project, you must make the ask.
The ask you are making is not in if they want the contracts, or to pursue next steps.* These take no skin in the game from the Prospect.* Your aim is to elicit the most important buy signal: Utilization Intent.
What is Utilization Intent?
Your funding product, the money is useless to the Prospect unless they can utilize it to achieve their goal/solve their problem/fund their project.
If you hear “Yes” after using the Utility Close, you are near to closing the deal and getting a request from the Prospect for contracts/next steps.
Utilization Intent is expressed when the Prospect answers the questions with “Yes, I can,” or some derivative as such.
You may get a whole lot more than just a yes, like “Yes, I can.* But…this, that, and the other thing.”
The “but” will typically unleash a barrage of objections right behind it for the features/terms of the funding product – which can all be handled to move the Prospect forward and Fund.* (More on this later.)
But they have confirmed that they can put this program to work, and now all the objections you will hear will be mostly preferences.
As Funding Pros, we cannot always satisfy all preferences.* But you meet your customer’s Needs and now you’re in business.* Eliciting their preferences (wants) vs needs here is a crucial part of the process.
To be clear, the ask/pitch is if they can Utilize this approval for a Funding Program to go out and do what they said they were committed to doing with the Funding Product.* Direction and Accountability.
Why it works?
You have done great a great job in finding them the best fit for what they were looking for, to achieve their Outcome/fund their Project.* Now, you’ve put the ball back in their court, and have asked them a question most entrepreneurs would have a lot of difficulty in answering “no” to.
What business owner wants to admit they can’t turn every new $1.00 into $2.00?
Whenever language is used to communicate, we human beings create internal representations that match the meaning they give those words.* (Like a movie playing in our head).
I say apple, you won’t but help imagine an apple in your head.* It automatically happens subtly for all of us.* Our language is a powerful director of the movies our prospects play in their head.
We don’t want the movie we’re directing to be of them having to work through cumbersome paperwork, on top of everything else they are doing to run their business!!
Shortcut them to the Outcome, getting them to there destination!
This question allows the Prospect to skip all the steps most prefer not to take to get to their goal, gets them associated to what they really want, and helps get them committed to that Outcome. *Now they are faced with an internal question: "Can I put this funding to work and achieve my Outcome?"
The entrepreneur says Yes more often than no. *The odds are in your favor.
Once they’re committed to the Outcome, they’re ready to take the next steps and get you what you need to close up, Fund, and move Forward.
Put the Utility Close to work, and Happy Funding!
-FundingStrategist
https://fundingstrat.com
