Sales 101: What are the steps of selling?

□ § · · · § · · · □ § § · · § · · · · □ § § § New Roman">I’m not classically trained in sales and learned the hard way, just doing it, and I’m still learning, and so this is my own opinion from experience. I first thought the sales steps were only “Open, Presentation, and Close.” I still think so, but now I know that there are more steps in each of these steps. Over time I discovered that in the “Open” of a sale you should introduce yourself, your company and product, have some small talk, and find out if you are talking with the right person, and if it is a good time to hear your pitch, among other elements. The “Presentation” is the body of the sale where you present the brand values of the company, the benefits and price of the product offered, answer questions and overcome objections, among other elements. The “Close” is the most important part (good sales reps are always closing throughout a sales pitch), where you know the prospect wants to buy, you ask for commitment, overcome last minute pull-outs, present end of sale disclosures, and make the prospect feel good about buying form you (follow up), among other elements.
Open
Introduction
You
Company
Product, etc
Probe
Right contact
Right time
Qualified, etc
Presentation
Branding
Product
Benefits
Price, etc
Objections
Recognizing the real objective
Addressing the real objective
Overcoming objective
Redirect back to pitch
Close
Commitment
Disclosures
Follow up

Years ago I too believed in the importance of the persentation. Then I came across Jeff Thull (Mastering the Complex Sales, Primie Solution and Exceptional Selling) and jill Konrath (Selling to Big Companies), and I learnt that the presentation is good for only turning my service into a commodity and myself into a fungible vendor.

So, now my sales process is free of presentatinos and heavy on diagnosis. There are no objections and no armtwisting, called closing the sale. Prospects sell themselves based on my diagnosis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bald Dog

So, now my sales process is free of presentations and heavy on diagnosis.

Can you see that working in something like auto sales, real estate, food services, etc.?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bald Dog

So, now my sales process is free of presentatinos and heavy on diagnosis. There are no objections and no armtwisting, called closing the sale. Prospects sell themselves based on my diagnosis.

Don't people want to know what they are buying before they buy it? I would.

Every person is unique, and while you should know the information about your product, and understand that a "progression" will ensue within the course of EVERY interaction that you will have with your customers....it is best I believe to "custom taylor" your approach to every person that you encounter.
You see...the one thing that I have come to understand about people, is that even though "certain types" of people can have similar qualities in "our minds", they will ALWAYS appreciate a "fresh and original" approach.
Yes...this is a harder way of tackling the issue at hand...but in the long run you will find that customers will react to originality that is based on WHO THEY ARE...and not how you have "pre-determined" the situation to go.

Just be good listener, and more than finding the steps to practice....find out more about the right things to listen to. I can guaruntee you that you will seperate yourself from the "cookie-cutter" stigma of the salesperson in the eyes of your consumer.

Sincerely,
David

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

Don't people want to know what they are buying before they buy it? I would.

Thomas

They want to know it after they know the cause of their symptoms. But they are not qualified to diagnose themselves. That must be a joint process led by a professional who does it on a daily basis. And that pro is the salesperson.

First point: What in the reaosn why the prospect want to change? (buy something to solve a problem).

Why does the person want to buy a car? The willingness to change as the result of dissatisfaction.

Now, what is the cost of the dissatisfaction? I'm a $200 per hour lawyer and it takes 4 hours a day to commute to work and back home. By driving it would be only one hour. 3 hours of savings and an extra $600 to make. Every day. There are 220 working days a year, giving you $132,000 improved productivity per year.

How long do you plan to keep the car? For 5 years. That's $660,000.

So, what is a fair budget to achieve this extra income?

Now you have a value for the car.

Thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bald Dog

Thoughts?

Sure you have to diagnose the problem but you still have to present the solution. The value is what a ready willing and able buyer is willing to pay today for the solution. Similar cars with similar features shouldn't vary too much in price so figuring out how much to pay is pretty easy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

Sure you have to diagnose the problem but you still have to present the solution. The value is what a ready willing and able buyer is willing to pay today for the solution. Similar cars with similar features shouldn't vary too much in price so figuring out how much to pay is pretty easy.

Why would I present a ready-made, off-the-shelf shrink-wrapped solution when I have an opportunity to custom-design one in close collaboration with the client? That increases perceived value. I don’t want to work FOR the client. I don’t want to work WITH the client, so the client knows that she's the co-creator of the solution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

The value is what a ready willing and able buyer is willing to pay today for the solution. Similar cars with similar features shouldn't vary too much in price so figuring out how much to pay is pretty easy.

When I’m walking in your car lot, I put certain value on your car. When I’m being chased by an elephant, I put a drastically different certain value on the same car. The price may be the same, but value to the clients varies.

Thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bald Dog

Why would I present a ready-made, off-the-shelf shrink-wrapped solution when I have an opportunity to custom-design one in close collaboration with the client?

I didn't think you should but I think you still have to present your offer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bald Dog

When I’m walking in your car lot, I put certain value on your car. When I’m being chased by an elephant, I put a drastically different certain value on the same car. The price may be the same, but value to the clients varies.

Sure but I'm not going to overpay when I can get the same car somewhere else without overpaying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

I didn't think you should but I think you still have to present your offer.

At a very very high level. And instead of presenting a process, we agree on objectives we want to achieve.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

Sure but I'm not going to overpay when I can get the same car somewhere else without overpaying.

But when you're drowning and I swim along and say that I rescue you for $10,000, you are likely to take my offer and won't say, "Stuff it. I'll wait for the next swimmer."

It's our job to discover where they're drowning and what sort of liferaft to throw.

Am I making sense?

Sales 101: What are the steps of selling?

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