In sales, you are paid for your KNOWLEDGE, your EXPERTISE (how you apply your knowledge) and your RELATIONSHIPS. However long-term success depends largely upon how many strong relationships you have built-up along the way.
That is why to be a truly successful sales professional, you need to master all stages of the Sales Cycle. Not only that, but it is critically important that you address each stage of the process in the correct order to maximize your results (sales).
Let’s consider the various stages of the sales process – as it pertains to working with a brand new prospect for the very first time.
(Notice I refer to them as a “prospect” rather than a “client” as they do not become your client until they have actually bought from you)
1. Preparation (know your product, your market and your competition)
2. Targeting the right person (qualifying your leads – wherever possible)
3. Making a good “First Impression”
4. Getting an invitation to continue (“the Dating Stage”)
5. Connecting with the person
6. Assessing their needs
7. Making a tailored presentation
8. Handling their objections
9. Getting their commitment (getting the sale)
10. Assuring they are satisfied
11. Managing your self and your sales
The mistake most people make is to start imparting their knowledge about how good their product is, and even worse, going for the “Close” too early in the cycle.
This is not effective and it severely runs the risk of you losing your prospect’s attention, their interest and their respect (assuming they had any for you in the first place).
So again, it is so important that each stage of the Sales Cycle is followed in strict order.
First of all, you need to truly believe in what you are selling. This is a crucial part of Stage 1 of the process. By gaining knowledge about your product, its true benefits to potential clients, its quality compared to its competitors and its rank in its marketplace, you can become truly convinced and inspired by what you are selling. This will come through in your interactions with your prospects as you will believe it will help them – call it integrity, congruence, honesty etc. (Likewise, it can count against you if it is apparent that you do not believe in what you are selling)
TIP:
If you think there is a better product or service out there, go and sell it, as staying where you are is limiting your true potential.
Stage 2 is where you have qualified your prospect – at the very least you need to know that they have a level of interest in what you are selling. Your time is too valuable to spend convincing someone who doesn’t really want or need your product.
TIP:
Your ultimate goal is to accomplish Stage 6 of the Sales Cycle as often as possible, as once there, you stand a far better chance of getting the sale, by finishing off the remaining stages in the cycle.
Why?
Because by finding out “WHY” they want or need your product, and “HOW” they see it solving their wants and needs, it makes it easier for you to use your “knowledge” and presentation skills in Stages 7-9.
The problem is, the average person is not going to openly blurt out their needs and wants to you as soon as you start talking with them. In order to get to Stage 6 and beyond, it is critical that you deal with the CORE of the Sales Cycle – Stages 3, 4 and 5! If you can’t get through these stages, it probably does not matter how impressive your product knowledge is or how good your product may be – you have probably turned your prospect “off” for good.
Remember, when buying a significant product, people normally only buy from people they like (so long as there are not alternative suppliers).
So now the initial interaction with your prospect begins, be it face-to-face or over the telephone. The first thing you need to do is to make a good “First Impression” (Stage 3). If you fail at this stage, you are probably dead in the water!
Having made the right impression, it is crucial that you realize that this is only the entry to the game. Don’t even think about going into the heavy part of your sales presentation by talking about your product’s benefits and how great it is.
At this point you are only in the “Invitation” stage, or the “Dating Stage” as I like to call it (i.e. Stage 4). The fact that you have been granted an opportunity to speak with your prospect in the first place, and have now made a good first impression does not mean it is an invitation to start your main sales pitch. You now need to be allowed or “invited” to continue the process of presenting yourself and your product.
Whereas you only have a few seconds to gain a good first impression, in face-to-face selling you must now continue to sell yourself within the next 2-3 minutes to maintain the favourable impression you have hopefully already made. If not, you will likely not get an opportunity to continue to the next stage.
(Out of interest, if you are selling over the phone, you usually have less than 5 seconds to get an invitation to continue, and if you are successful in doing so, you have earned perhaps another 10-15 seconds more before the selling process is threatened)
This is where you now need to address the biggest obstacle in the whole sales process – “TENSION“.
The biggest obstacle to effective selling is tension between the buyer and the seller.
In the early stages of an initial meeting/conversation, both parties are going to have a measure of tension. You, the salesperson will be unsure if your prospect is going to be friendly, accommodating and genuinely interested enough in your product to make it a potentially successful meeting that can put you on the road to get a sale at the end of the day. They too will be tense, as they are worried you are going to be a direct, insensitive, untrustworthy salesperson. Tension is ALWAYS going to be there to some degree at the start.
Management and control of the tension level is one of the most effective things a salesperson can do to increase the likelihood of a sale.
(Please read this last sentence again…)
Why is this so important?
Because when tension is up, trust and cooperation are down, but when tension is down, trust and cooperation rise. If you can get your prospect to feel comfortable with you, your chances of success are infinitely higher.
This is where Stage 5 is so critical to your success. You need to “Connect” with your prospect. You do so by using further skills that help build “Rapport“.
The definition of rapport is as follows:
“Having a close and harmonious relationship where people understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well”
Creating rapport is huge, as it in turn leads to gaining their “Trust“.
And here’s the thing:
“Trust” in turn reduces the “Tension” which results in your prospect feeling more comfortable in opening up with you. They now feel more able to disclose their true wants and needs, and so you can now easily solve Stage 6 of the process.
Once armed with this information, you can now use your sales skills to show your prospect how your product can HELP them, and finish off the remainder of the cycle through Stages 7,8 & 9.
This is where you use your knowledge effectively. It not only helps convince them of the benefits of your product, but also helps to increase the level of trust they now have for you, as they feel they are being looked after by an expert.
Now that they feel comfortable with you they will become more likely to accept your recommendations and advice and therefore buy your product.
As I always like to say:
“You can have all the knowledge possible, but if you have no communication/interaction skills, you can lose the opportunity of the sale.
Likewise, with great interaction skills, you can sometimes get away with a lesser amount of knowledge and still get the sale if your prospect truly trusts you.”
… A truly successful sales professional will have both!
