As you've probably seen here previously, we are currently surveying businesspeople from around the world about the biggest challeges facing them today.

Many respondents have told us that closing sales is a key problem at present.

We've taken this question out to 70 top business experts from around the world to get their best advice on converting customer interest into actual sales.

We got all kinds of answers, which we'll be developing into shows in the near future.

In the meantime, here are 5 of the best tips from our experts:

1. Remove all resistance – understand the selection criteria that your customers use, what triggers  them to buy, and importantly, what barriers you may be putting up without being aware of it. By removing these barriers, you'll start to see improvements immediately.

2. Give it away – a great way to persuade your audience of the value of your product, reassure them, and show them the potential value of doing business with you is to give them something for free.

3. Analyse details of ecommerce purchase process – take a very close look at each step of your sales pipeline, tracking customers' progress as you go. With strong analytics, you will be able to find where points at which customers are dropping out, refine your check out process, and enjoy the results.

4. Be persistent and follow up – no-one ever said sales was easy, especially not in the current climate. It will take multiple approaches to get the results you want, so find a reason to get back in touch with some of those promising leads!

5. Ask for what you want – if you don't ask, you won't get. Whether you're looking to fine tune your closing technique, or leverage additional sales from your existing customers – learn to just ask!