# Closing-Attitude Scale — Verbatim Instrument Source: SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham (1988), Appendix B. --- ## Administration Instructions (verbatim from Appendix B) > 1. Read the following 15 statements about closing. > 2. After each statement, put a check in the box that most nearly represents your own opinion. > 3. Follow the instructions at the end of the scale to calculate and interpret your score. --- ## The 15 Items Rate each statement on a scale of **1 to 5**: - 1 = Strongly Disagree - 2 = Disagree - 3 = Neutral - 4 = Agree - 5 = Strongly Agree | # | Statement | Score (1-5) | |---|-----------|-------------| | 1 | Closing is the most valuable of all techniques for increasing sales. | ___ | | 2 | Trying to close a sale too often will reduce your chances of success. | ___ | | 3 | Unless you know a lot of closing techniques, you will be unable to sell effectively. | ___ | | 4 | Even at the start of a sale, it never hurts to use a trial close. | ___ | | 5 | Weak closing is the most common cause of lost sales. | ___ | | 6 | Customers are less likely to buy if they recognize that you are using closing techniques. | ___ | | 7 | You cannot close too often when selling. | ___ | | 8 | Closing techniques don't work with professional buyers. | ___ | | 9 | The ABC of selling is Always Be Closing. | ___ | | 10 | It's your other behavior earlier in the sale, not your closing technique, that determines whether a customer will buy. | ___ | | 11 | You should try to close every time that you see a buying signal. | ___ | | 12 | From the moment you enter the customer's office, you should act as though the sale has already been made. | ___ | | 13 | If a customer resists your trial close, then it's a sign that you should have closed more forcefully. | ___ | | 14 | No matter how good your other skills, you will never succeed unless you have good closing techniques. | ___ | | 15 | Using closing techniques early in the sale is a sure way to antagonize customers. | ___ | --- ## Scoring Formula (verbatim from Appendix B) > To calculate your score, take the number (between 1 and 5) of the box that you checked for each statement and add up your total for the 15 statements. > > Theoretically, a score of 45 is absolutely neutral. A higher score shows a positive attitude toward closing, and a lower score shows a negative attitude. In practice, most salespeople score a little above 45, and in our studies we allowed for this by taking a score above 50 as demonstrating a favorable attitude toward closing. **Total score range:** 15 (minimum) to 75 (maximum) **Neutral point:** 45 **Favorable-attitude threshold:** > 50 --- ## Interpretation Context (verbatim from Appendix B) > In the study described in Chapter 2, the salespeople with the best results were those with a low (unfavorable) score: one below 50. > > As Chapter 2 explains, however, the effectiveness of closing techniques depends on the type of selling you do. > > If your business involves **low-value goods and services, unsophisticated customers, and no after-sale relationship with the customer**, then a very favorable attitude toward closing (a score above 50) might well be justified in terms of your selling situation. > > But if you score above 50 on this test and your business involves **larger sales, sophisticated customers, and a continuing post-sale relationship**, then please read Chapter 2 very carefully. In the larger sale, closing techniques are more of a liability than an asset. --- ## Supporting Evidence from Chapter 2 ### Photo-Store Study - **Setup:** A photographic store chain trained salespeople in closing techniques; study compared performance before and after training on low-value vs high-value goods. - **Low-value result:** Success rate rose from **72% to 76%** (transaction time shortened, more closes used). Positive, directionally favorable. - **High-value result:** Success rate fell from **42% to 33%**. The same closing training that helped with cheap goods *hurt* results with expensive goods. - **Conclusion:** Closing techniques speed transactions in low-value sales. They reduce success in high-value sales. ### 190-Call Study (initial Huthwaite research) - **Setup:** Observed 190 calls; compared the 30 calls with the most closes vs the 30 with the fewest closes. - **High-close calls:** 11 of 30 resulted in a sale. - **Low-close calls:** 21 of 30 resulted in a sale. - **Conclusion:** Contrary to the "five closes per call" folk wisdom, more closes correlated with *fewer* sales. ### BP Buyer Study (professional buyer questionnaire) - **Setup:** 54 professional buyers from three large organizations asked: "If you detect that a seller is using closing techniques, what effect does this have on your likelihood of buying?" - **Results:** - More likely to buy: **2** - Indifferent: **18** - Less likely to buy: **34** - **Conclusion:** 63% of sophisticated buyers actively resist when they detect closing techniques. ### Chemical Company Attitude Study (the origin of the scale) - **Setup:** A marketing director believed poor sales results were due to "attitude problems" — not enough closing drive. Rackham devised the 15-item scale and measured 38 salespeople. - **Finding:** 21 of 38 scored above 50 (favorable attitude toward closing). Comparing sales results: the high-attitude group was *below target*, not above it. - **Conclusion:** Pro-closing attitude did not predict sales success; it predicted underperformance. --- ## Notes for Score Administration Items 2, 6, 8, 10, and 15 are **negatively worded** (agreement = skepticism about closing). The scale is designed so that all items are scored at face value (1-5 as stated); the aggregation naturally produces a lower total for pro-SPIN, anti-closing attitudes. Do not reverse-score any items — use the raw sum.