Sales

OBJECTIVE: The prospect makes a decision

The skill of helping others make decisions is measured by your ability to:

• get decisions from prospects
• in optimal time frames

To be proficient at this skill, you develop your ability to:

• Ask questions that make decision making simpler
• Assist others to think through doubts and concerns

You know you are proficient if as a result of your questions your prospect:

• Identifies their concerns to you
• Makes decisions that benefit their business

A framework for getting decisions includes the following bases:

• Asking for the decision
• Overcoming Stalls and Objections

How to ask for the decision. (Keep it simple).

• At a minimum, just ask for it
  • Do you want this?
  • How would you like to pay for this?
  • Can I deliver today?
• Offer alternative choices
  • Would you prefer option X or option Y?
  • Would you prefer to pay cash or put it on a credit card?

How to Overcome Stalls and Objections

1. Clarify the stall or objection
   • What specifically would you like to think about?
   • What are the specific things you need to think over? Is it the price of the solution? Are you concerned that the solution will not be able to do X or Y? Or is there something else?
2. Isolate the objection
   • Other than X, is there anything else holding you back from making a decision right now?
3. Trial close the objection
   • If I can resolve this to your satisfaction, would you then agree to go ahead with placing the order? (If not, go to #2)
4. Answer valid objections and ask for the order
5. If still unsuccessful, use the withdrawal close
   • It seems like what I have is not for you. Thank you for making time to meet with me and for listenting to my solution. (They may draw you back in).

OBJECTIVE: The prospect understands your solution and how it solves their problem!

“I will practice, and improve, and polish the words I utter to sell my goods, for this is the foundation on which I will build my career and never will I forget that many have attained great wealth and success with only one sales talk, delivered with excellence.

Mandino, Og. The Greatest Salesman in the World (pp. 70-71). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

The skill of presenting is measured by your ability to explain your solution in such a way that:

• your prospect understands:
  • your solution
  • how your solution solves their problem
  • the financial implications of implementing your solution
  • the financial implications of NOT implementin your solutions

To be proficient at this skill, you develop your ability to:

• Explain complex ideas in a simple way
• Ask questions that confirm understanding.

You know you are proficient if as a result of your presentations your prospect:

• Can explain your solution it back to you
• Can explain how your solution solves their problem
• Can explain the cost benefits of implementing your solution
• Can explain the cost of not implementing your solution
• Experiences a positive emotional shift in favor of your solution – they become a champion of your solution.

A framework for presenting covers the following bases

• Present features
  • Explain the components that make up your solution
• Present Benefits
  • Clearly identify to the client how each feature solves a problem the prospect has identified in such a way that the prospect see’s the benefit of the feature in relation to the problem they want to solve.

OBJECTIVE: The Prospect feels understood!

The skill of qualifying is measured by your ability to ask questions that:

• allow the other party to feel understood …
• while establishing whether a viable sales opportunity exists.

To be proficient at this skill, you develop your ability to ask excellent:

• Open-ended questions.
• Closed ended questions.
• Questions that confirm understanding.

You know you are proficient if as a result of your line of questioning:

• Your prospect or client increasingly trusts you (feels more at ease with you and opens up).
• They feel that your questions are helping them clarify a problem.
• Your line of questioning helps them identify the real problem they face.

A framework of questioning covers the following bases

• Need
  • Do they need what you have to offer in the first place
• Want
  • If they need what you have to offer, what are their wants in relation to a potential solution
• Roles
  • Who are the role players involved in making a decision on the solution that is to be selected
  • What are their respective roles in the decision making process. These roles can be categorized into
    • Decision Maker (Has the final say in the solution selected)
    • Influencer (Influences the decision maker)
    • Administrative (Facilitates the actual purchasing process)
• Affordability
  • All factors that affect the ability to afford a solution including
    • Cost of the problem
    • Budget to solve the problem
    • Credit worthiness
    • Access to other sources of capital to solve the problem
• Timing
  • How soon are they willing to invest in solving the problem
  • When will a decision be made regarding selection of a solution