The sales process can generally be broken down into seven separate activities, and this applies no matter what product or service you’re selling. Let’s break down each step of the cycle so you can assess the health of your own sales process.
The first step in the cycle is prospecting. Whether you’re receiving leads or finding them on your own, or a combination of both, this step creates the foundation for the entire process. The problem is that if your prospecting doesn’t work, you can attract people through your sales process who are not a good fit for your product or service offering. So instead of prospecting, think of this step as the act of finding the right buyers—not just the buyers, but the people who are the right fit.
How do you prospect? Do you have a profile of buyer characteristics or needs? Have you created a composite of your most successful buyers to determine who is a good fit for your product or service? Or are you blindly targeting your prospects in the hope that someone will find the product or service useful? If you try a methodical approach to prospecting, an approach that defines your target audience, you’ll find prospecting easy and effective. Take a moment to consider how to find the right buyers.
Next, you must make the original contact with the prospect. If your first contact takes on the proverbial “bull in a china shop” tone, then your carefully plotted first step in finding the right buyers is futile. Do you charge in and insist that the prospect is perfect for the product, or do you approach it from a problem/benefit standpoint? For example, you can research your right buyer, determine what their problems are, and simply contact them to explain how your product or service can help them solve the problem. You can go into more detail when you start with a sales presentation. The original contact with the prospect should be a soft approach that introduces the idea that the solution is within their reach, and that you are there to help them achieve that solution.
The third in the process is qualification. You’ve taken the time to identify the prospect as a suitable potential buyer, but here you need to dig deeper into the analysis of their issues and problems. Your organization may have a detailed “checklist” or qualification process, which you should always use to avoid wasting time. If your organization does not have a specific qualification process, you can develop one. What specific characteristics of the prospects make them a good fit for the product or service? Of course, the qualifying step is two-pronged: You have data and characteristics to compare your prospect to, but you also need to turn that data into a proper questionnaire. Spend some time with the prospect to find the answers. If the answer is positive, you are on the right track. But if it’s negative, think about how the prospect will view you—they’ll know you had a genuine interest in your business and its success. And when they find out that a friend, colleague, or other organizational leader really needs your offer, they’ll immediately refer you.
Fourth, your sales presentation should go into great detail about the benefits of the product or service. Don’t spend time talking about features when you have an audience. Spend time explaining how your offer can solve problems, make life easier, save money, or create efficiencies for the potential customer. Your presentation should “paint a picture” of the prospect once he, she, or they have purchased your solution. Your presentation should make the prospect wonder why she hasn’t thought of this before.
After your presentation, you will have to deal with concerns and objections. How are you handling this now? Believe it or not, some salespeople get riled up when a prospect objects to certain benefits or product features. And another shocking fact is that sellers can promise that certain problems will not happen when they actually will. The best approach to handling concerns is honesty followed by a workaround or method of addressing the objection. If you’re not sure, say so. If you need to get another opinion, tell the prospect that you will take the issue up with the appropriate person. If you’re taking the time to get the facts, your prospect will thank you down the road.
Closing the sale is simply asking for the business. And the success of the closing can be based on how you approach it. Not a difficult approach, but one that says you’d be happy to have the prospect as a customer. It’s an approach that says you’ll be with them when they get started on their new product or service. And it is an approach that summarizes all the benefits that the prospect can obtain immediately. Don’t stop once the presentation is done. Are you closing the sale or leaving it to chance?
The final step in their process is to ask for references. This step is not based on what you say, but on when you say it. Analyze your most successful clients to determine when they are most open to asking for referrals. Do they get immediate benefits from your product or service, or do they need to use it for a while before they feel comfortable? Examine your product or service and your customers to determine when you ask for referrals. And when it’s time, be direct and ask if someone else you know could use the same benefits they have now.
So how does your sales process stack up? Look at each step of the cycle, make adjustments to your own methods, and enjoy success.