How can I close a sale?

How can I close a sale? I have many clients that say they want Web sites developed, but when it comes down to it, it takes me months to actually close the sale.

One reader answered:
I have been in Sales and Marketing for some 30+ years selling services as well as products. There are some warning signs when you are talking to a difficult customer. I thought I would share them with you.

1. The customer does 90% of the talking in a preliminary meeting. The conversation should be about 50/50 with the customer giving you information about his business and you providing information about Web development issues.
2. The customer doesn't ask any questions or very few questions. They hired you because they don't know how to develop a web site. There should be an endless amount of questions. A good customer will ask several questions to at least understand a little about how a web site works.
3. This one you need to pay particular attention to. The customer asks you to provide a sample of a web site with little direction as to his marketing plan or direction. In other words "Do something, I'll see if I like it." 99 times out of 100 they won't like it and it moves the developer into an endless cycle of presentation and refutation. This is the standard way of managing for small businesses and large businesses for that matter. This means that the customer has no marketing plan or any idea what he wants to do with the web site.
4. Customer seems extremely busy. Difficult to set aside any time to meet with you to really get down what he wants in a site. Meaning: He is doing this because his competitors are doing it or he wants to get a site because his friends have sites or a myriad of reasons other than a sound business decision to start marketing his products on the Internet.
5. The Sales/Marketing Manager and the Owner/President have different directions they want to go in. In most cases you should be dealing with the Marketing Mgr and not the President. A web site is the province of the Marketing Manager/Sales Manager. If the Marketing Manager does not have the authority to make decisions about the site, he is working for a President who cannot delegate authority to other people. This means endless approvals by the President for every site issue.
6. There is no marketing plan that your customer can refer to that includes e-business. Check the existing marketing materials for consistency of message and use these as your guide for the site. Consistency is the name of the game and the web site is an extension of what already exists. Often times you will find that a new Sales manager was hired and has made changes that don't appear in the brochures or other sales literature. Let them decide the new sales/marketing direction before embarking on a site.
7. The Sale/Marketing Manager is afraid to take anything to the boss. This means you are talking to the wrong person for decisions. Chances are the Boss will treat you the same way. It is important to remember before a purchase order is cut for your services, you are not working for that customer. I always like those customers that are working with you on a project. This means that issues are negotiable and resolvable. A tyrant will not listen any advice you might give them.

1. Have a marketing plan that includes e-business
2. Have questions about the sight and development of a site.
3. Give a consultant enough information about their business to develop a site.
4. Has a broad outline as to what he wants the site to do.
5. Understands that during the design phase, the site will change. Nothing in the design phase is etched in stone.
6. Have one consistent marketing direction and message for their customers.
7. Will delegate authority to those in his company who are responsible for the site.
8. Have the web site as a priority, not an after thought.
9. Are willing to listen/discuss any reasonable suggestion put forth by the consultant.