As we continue our series on control, we arrive at one of the most overlooked truths in sales:
you’ll never reach a true win-win close without control.
Not the iron-fisted, “my-way-or-the-highway” type of control.
Not the pushy, used-car-lot stereotype.
We’re talking about positive control—the kind that guides, clarifies, and makes the entire journey easier for both you and your prospect.
Let’s break this down.
Why Are You Selling in the First Place?
Before we dive deeper into control, we need to revisit the real purpose of selling.
If your only motivation is your money, your quota, and your commission check, then I say this kindly but firmly:
there are other careers that may better suit you.
Sales, at its core, is about solving someone else’s problem.
The money is important, of course it is, but it’s a result, not a motive.
When you help people, you make money.
When you help more people, you make more money.
That’s why we call a successful sale a win-win:
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Win for them: Their problems get solved.
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Win for you: Your income continues to rise.
Simple. Elegant. Profitable.
But none of it happens without control.
Where Control Enters the Sales Process
Control in sales doesn’t show up as a command or a force.
It shows up as a process.
Every step of your sales cycle: Research, Contact, Interview, Qualify, Educate, Agreement, Close, exists to guide the prospect toward the best solution for them. If you skip steps, speed through steps, or let the prospect take over and drive the conversation straight into the nearest ditch, the sale will never reach that win-win outcome.
Let’s take a look at where control matters most.
Contact & Interview: The Trust-Building Zone
After researching your prospect, you enter the Contact and Interview stage:
the part of the process where trust is born.
And here’s the hard truth:
Without trust, nothing else works.
You won’t get honesty.
You won’t get real concerns.
You won’t get the truth behind their buying decision.
Without trust, you’re essentially selling in the dark,
and no salesperson has ever said,
“I close better when I can’t see what’s going on.”
But with trust?
You gain visibility, clarity, cooperation, and the ability to guide the sale.
This is where real control begins.
Qualify: Establishing Their Reasons to Buy
Once trust is built, the next step is Qualify, where you uncover:
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Why they should buy
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Why they should buy now
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Why they should buy from you
—all from their point of view, not yours.
Without these answers, you have enthusiasm without direction.
With them, you have a roadmap.
Education: Inspiring Action
After Qualification comes Education, the moment when the prospect fully understands that your product or service will:
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Meet their expectations
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Exceed their expectations
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Solve the exact problems you uncovered
This step is where prospects shift from “maybe” to “I need this.”
It’s also where they begin to picture themselves with the solution…
which is a polite way of saying:
they start mentally spending money.
Well done.
Control → Clarity → Close
Every step you’ve taken up to this point has been about positively steering your prospect toward the best solution for them.
If you’ve maintained the right degree of control, steady but not pushy, confident but not domineering,
then by the time you reach the close, the outcome feels natural.
Not forced.
Not pressured.
Just two people agreeing on the right solution.
And that’s the real win-win.
The Bottom Line
Control isn’t about overpowering your prospect.
It’s about guiding them so well that the destination becomes obvious.
When you maintain positive control throughout the process,
the close becomes the easiest part of the sale.
And that is what you’re after.
