Revisiting the Basics of the Sales Process-20 years late

Hi All,

I meant to post this last week, but I had some major computer problems and got behind.

This article talks about the importance of building on the basics.

How many experienced sales people take the time for a course in Basic Sales Training? Not many. I spent over 20 years in outside sales, and never considered a class that went through the basic elements of the sales process. That stuff is for newbies. I certainly didn’t need anything like that. I didn’t realize the importance of going back to my sales roots until a manager recommended I do just that. At first, I was insulted. I didn’t need a refresher course. However, he was insistent. No matter how many advanced classes I had taken, he wanted me to revisit the basics. So, I gave in and did what he asked.

When I returned, he asked me if I had gotten anything out of the class. I said, ‘Yes. Oddly enough I did. I needed to be reminded of things I learned years ago. Basic things. The better you get at sales, the more you try to take shortcuts. You start thinking you’re good enough to take short cuts. Then you lose a couple of sales. The class reminded me that I need to cover all the bases in every sale.’ Returning to these solid principles helps you bring the structure back to your sales process. Helps you pay attention to every detail. Just like you were taught in Sales 101.

In this article, I’ll cover the sales process and how important the elements are to eventually closing a prospect. Everything from Pre Call Planning to Closing will be covered. This isn’t just for newbies. Anyone who is talking to prospects, or has sales people talking to prospects needs to read this article.



Due diligence prior to a customer meeting can take up a lot of time. Which is why many experienced sales people skip this step. They think they’ll just ask the prospect all these questions when they get to the appointment. I made this fatal error a few years back. I was meeting with a new CEO of a large healthcare company. A week prior to the appointment, I did a search on the company’s website for recent press releases. Well, during the meeting my boss asked the CEO what was new in their business. Several days before they had acquired a large healthcare company. That acquisition totally changed the product focus of our meeting. The expectation from the CEO is that we would already know about the new acquisition. Had I done proper due diligence the day before, we wouldn’t have been blind-sided.

I realize most sales people aren’t calling on CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies. However, if you do pre call planning as if you were calling on an important CEO, your prospect now has a new benchmark with which to evaluate your competitors. What if during every part of the sales process, you do a ‘little more’ than the other sales reps? Isn’t it worth the extra effort if you get the sale? It’s something to think about.



Most sales professionals don’t care for a lot of small talk. You’re there for a reason, so why not get down to business? Building rapport isn’t for you, it’s for your prospect. It’s to put them at ease, so when you start asking probing questions, they respond with the kind of answers that will help uncover needs. If you jump right in to the call, and start peppering your prospect with questions, they’re immediately on the defensive. When I was a sales trainer, I had many opportunities to observe new sales people with their customers. I’ve actually watched people physically back up in their chairs as they get questions fired at them.

Put yourself in this person’s shoes. Would you want someone approaching you in this manner? I doubt it. It takes 5-10 minutes to create rapport. If you take the time, it will benefit you in the long run. If you put someone at ease, it’s a lot easier to open the call and say, ‘Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your business?’ Noone ever says ‘No’ to this type of inquiry. By starting with a non-threatening question, they’re a little more relaxed and open to answering.



Many times, sales people make the mistake of assuming they know the problems of the prospects they’re calling on. You can never assume anything. Your job is to be asking open ended questions that will uncover problems that your problem/service can solve. If you assume things before you speak with the prospect, you may never get to the real problems that need solutions. It’s usually the unspoken problems that turn out to be the most urgent. If you uncover urgent problems, you’ve drastically shortened the buying cycle. It’s the things that keep people awake at night that make them buy quickly. Now, imagine that you went into the call with a lot of assumptions and never even asked some of these questions. Maybe you missed sales opportunity. You’ll never really know what the outcome would have been, will you?

Copyright 2006 Susan Adams www.susanadamshome.com



A lot of sales people are good at asking questions to uncover hidden needs. However, a need isn’t a need until your prospect understands the implications of not taking action. Do you have a way to quantify savings for this prospect? If you’re selling a service, can you put a dollar amount to their current method? Many sales professionals make the mistake of presenting features and benefits rather than quantifying savings. Feature and benefit selling is the least effective way to sell your product. What your product/service does for their business is much more important than any bell or whistle. If you can immediately make some process work better, or eliminate a persistent problem in their business you’ve just increased your ability to sell something. Features and benefits don’t make anyone buy quicker. After all, those same product attributes will be there a month from now—so what’s the rush? Think back on the times when you had a product with limited inventory. They were buying because of product availability, not because of some product feature.



There have been so many sales books devoted to the topic of closing, that it’s become the sole focus of too many sales professionals. ABC—Always be Closing—is so over used, it’s become counter productive. Sales is certainly about selling…..but that doesn’t mean closing should be your main focus. First, and foremost, prospects aren’t stupid. They know your job is to sell them something. But, if they fell too much pressure, they won’t do anything. If you haven’t correctly done the steps I’ve mentioned, you can ask all the ‘hard close’ questions you want. It won’t have any impact. You’ll simply annoy people and have them get you out of their office as quickly as possible. Instead of making closing the focus of the call, make the sales process the focus of your call. If you haven’t found a problem that your product/service can solve, there’s nothing to close.

The focus with your prospect should be on solving problems. If it is, closing will happen without much effort. You have problems closing when your prospect sees no reason for change. Because you haven’t created any reason for change. The right time to close is when your prospect has acknowledged they have a problem and agreed that your product is the solution. As simple as this is, most people aren’t doing this correctly.






In summary, if more sales people went back to the basics of the sales process, and covered all their bases, they wouldn’t find themselves selling on price. When you don’t create value, price is your only tool. Value is created when you solve problems and offer solutions. Stop worrying about the closing phase and get more in tune with actually selling….you’ll be happy you did.

Copyright 2006 Susan Adams www.susanadamshome.com