Today is National Coffee Day. But we all know, coffee is for closers. Here is my take on the Alec Baldwin scene: Like any sport, there are rules to selling, especially when it comes to closing the sale. So you can become a master closer and earn that coffee, here is a dozen of my best rules for closing the deal.

1. Stay seated. The saying goes, “Present the product, service or idea on your feet, but always negotiate from your seat.” Even if your prospect stands up, remain seated—going from a seated position to standing up suggests something has changed and allows your prospect the cue to exit and end the negotiations.
2. Master eye contact. This is a discipline you can only instill through practice, and you can perfect it by recording yourself and reviewing it. If you want to be believed and look confident, it is vital that you make and maintain eye contact with your prospect. It shows you are interested in them, confident in yourself and your product, and what you are proposing.
3. Communicate clearly. People don’t trust someone who cannot communicate confidently and clearly. I practiced for years using recorders and video and played them back, ensuring my communication was coming across the way I intended.
4. Be humorous. During the close it is always appropriate to use humor that can make people feel good, inspired, or hopeful. Everyone loves a good story and people are more likely to make decisions when they are more relaxed. You will close more deals if you can get your client to lighten up and laugh.
5. Prospects are buyers. Always, always, always, regardless of the circumstances: no money, no budget, not the decision maker—always treat the prospect like they are a buyer. I constantly scan the prospect for signs that demonstrate they are a buyer and have bought in the past: the watch, the shirt, the suit, the necklace, the car they drove in, the house they live in, the credit card they use, and others. All of those are evidence that this prospect—buyer—has actually shown the ability and history of being the decision maker and closing on deals. I always tell myself, “Every prospect is a buyer. Treat them as a buyer, and they will turn into a buyer.”
6. Get ink on paper. People don’t believe what they hear they believe what they see. Always have a contract available and a writing pad. Anything offered and any points of value should be written down to show the buyers what they get when they make the decision with you.
7. Always carry a pen. Have you ever had that one moment that changed the way you handle yourself professionally for the rest of your life? I remember once I was closing a deal and I reached for my pen—but it wasn’t there. The prospect saw this and took it as a signal that he shouldn’t sign the contract, and didn’t. I was devastated. Now I refuse to go anywhere without my sword in hand. All agreements require signatures and that requires ink! Keep a pen available at all times and in fact, have a backup pen too.
8. Stay confident. During a sale, I always maintain that we can come to an agreement, no matter what I am told by the buyer or those around me. The saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” This mindset of knowing you will reach an agreement requires that you eliminate all negativity from your environment. Treat negativity as a disease that kills, and be assured, it does.
9. Ask, one more time. Knowing another way to circle back and reposition yourself in a negotiation after being told “no” ultimately will determine if you become a great closer and get that coffee. It is not rude to persist; it is the sign of success and prosperity. When I continue to ask in another way for a “yes” after being told “no” it does not mean I didn’t listen to the buyer. It means I am more sold on my product, service or idea than I am on the buyer’s disagreement.
10. Positivity = Possibility. No matter how the buyer responds, keep it light, maintain a can-do attitude, and persist through the disagreements until you close the deal. When you react to the negative buyer by going negative there is only one outcome—and it’s not good for either party. There is no possibility of a positive or profitable outcome if you go negative, but rest assured that negativity always succumbs to positivity.
11. Stick and stay is bound to pay. Each time you leave the customer alone to check on something, it creates doubt and uncertainty in their mind. It creates unnecessary antagonism and tension in the negotiation, lowers the perceived value, and extends the closing time. Keep in mind, this does not mean there is not an appropriate time to leave a buyer and use an authority or third party touch for a close as this can be very powerful—as long as it is not overused.
12. Always smile. It may sound simple, but this isn’t just about your attitude, it’s also about your physical manifestation. I’m challenging you: for the next week, practice smiling with everyone in every situation you encounter. Whether it’s passing someone on the street, making eye contact with another driver at a red light, talking with your spouse, engaging with your boss or co-workers—anywhere in any situation. Do this until you are able to argue with a smile, disagree with a smile, negotiate, overcome objections and close with a smile. Haven’t you ever noticed that very successful people are smiling all the time? They are not smiling because they are successful they are successful because they’re smiling. This is a million dollar tip: smile.

These tips and more come from The Closer’s Survival Guide. Let me know which of these helps you close more in the comments below. Be great, Grant Cardone Grant Cardone is the world’s top sales training expert with the most viewed online sales training site in the world today with over 2000 segments of content used by companies like Ashley, Aflac, AllState, Google, MIT, InsideSales, Udemy, Chrysler, Toyota, MorganStanley, TMobile, ATT, Sprint, FranTarkenton Co’s, and thousands more.