Is There One Best Sales Methodology?

Hi Diamond Star

You make some very sound points. I agree with you that to be successful your really need to think about what you are doing with a left and right brain sided approach.

Especially in todays enviroment where people are changing. The speed of this change is getting faster as the years go buy.

It is interesting ( we are based in the uk and deliver our face to face work mainly in Europe) that a lot of clients are now coming to us because they want the "advanced" skills . Their words not mine. For them they are starting to appreciate that to get sustainable results its not about a rote sales process it is about flexibility of approach.

Product knowledge of course is a given. Along side the ability to communicate and converse without always adding in a feature and benefit every three to four words!

So often we "think" we are thinking when in essence it is just mental activity!

The truth is you will not win all of the people all of the time.

If you are prepared for this you will be one stage ahead of everybody else at least.

Good luck on your Island. With your approach I know you will be a star ! ( excuse the pun!)

Sales Manager Coach -SalesManagersCoach

• Greet
  • Nice warm welcome
  • Introduction, create opportunity to solicit clients name You will be needing this in the sales process. People like hearing their name, as well this is a very potent tool to use. Will be used three times +++

·Refer to Kevin Trudea Mega Memory If you have problems here

• • Stay away from “Hi, how are you today” unless you are willing to hear about how sick Aunt Bertha is
  • Stay away from, “Hi, how can I help you”……Don’t divest your control of the sale…..though, Since your taking orders get me a cup of coffee…… two sugars would be nice
  • Trail Trial Close…Be aware of your client & surroundings. Ie “Did you bring your checkbook”, “credit card burning a hole in your pocket today”

• Position
  • Yourself, & this should already be done. Ie You are in the right place, at the right time in the right uniform, with the corn knocked out of your teeth. Ask yourself, are you in the right uniform. Ie Are you trying to sell corn feed to a farmer in his barn dressed in your black suit & red power tie, as well have mentally prepared yourself for the day & expunged negativity.
  • Your Company. How did you hear about us….follow up with an impact statement about your company

1.Ask them, have they ever heard of you before?
2.Have they ever purchased from you before, from whom?

• • Start making observations governing the qualifications of your client. Ie, how are they dressed, mannerisms, etc. Prepare to start qualifying.
  • IE, your client drives up in a ratty VW Bug, they are probably are not qualified to drive an Mercedes SL 65
  • Trial close ……….
• Speak
  • Ask them what their budget is…….start Qualifying. Don’t wait to start closing only to find out this person is not qualified. Your wasting your time & theirs.
  • Look for common ground to help this client identify with you. People like to buy from somebody that identifies with them
  • Find out what is important to them in their buying decision, figure out what is their Dominante Buying Motive
  • Start the discovery process, find what product/service is right for them
  • Part of the discovery process is also knowing if they are ready to buy.
• Tell
  • Tell them about your product / service. And educate your client
  • Question your clients, & Listen to their answer. What they tell you is 100x more important then what you are saying
  • Get your clients involved, & help them visualize the benefits of your product/service. Ie ask them what room they are going to put that piece of art, where they are going to wear that diamond necklace, what department is going to use that service, where are they going to moor that new boat It is part of the closing process.
  • Trial close……..
• Show
  • This where you either sizzle or fizzle
  • Demonstrate the results of your service. Hey “where is the beef”, it’s right here & my numbers prove it, & it is documented in this award winning journal
  • Dazzle that diamond, bring that fire out. Show them how good it looks on their finger. This piece should be so hot there is smoke coming off of it
  • Avoid TMI, too much information
  • Trial close………are they ready to buy yet

• Overcome
  • It’s closing time, & it’s time to separate the boys from the men, & the order takers from the Champion Sellers
  • We know we are going to have objections, and hopefully all the known unknowns have already identified at this point and we are at the closing point. As well the water has been tested & a couple of no’s are out of the way
  • If you have an objection, & you will, go back to steps 4 & 5…. show & tell (something we all learned in 3rd grade)
  • Choose your closes wisely, many, many, many to choose from
  • Get your “yeses” on a roll
  • Is price really their objection? Did you build value durring your presentation?, did you really qualify them??????
• Nudge
  • Some folks believe I’t or not don’t feel they are worthy of your product/service in question & you have to reassure them it is ok to do something nice ie for their house.
  • Let them know it is ok to do something nice for themselves… isen’t it
  • Let them know it is ok to save time/money with your service. Ie, Is money/time important to you?
  • It's OK to have Taramasue while your on vacation, wouldn't you agree?
  • Assure them they are getting the most bang for their buck
• Add-on
  • This is not where we take advantage of the client & has invested their trust in you by taking advantage of their vulnerable state & try selling them something they do not need
  • This is where we maximize the value of this transaction ie one widget is good but two is better…..right?
  • Assuming you have their credit card, or their John Hancock on the purchase order, Ask yourself how else can I help this customer
  • Does this client need an extended warranty?
  • Would this client appreciate a matching emerald earring set to go with her new emerald necklace?
  • Would this gentleman lake a tie to go with his new Armani Suit?
  • Would this decision maker be able to facilitate Adobe Illustrator to go with their new Photoshop?

That's it in a nut shell (prospecting omitted for simplicity). Facilitating this methodology encompassed or enveloped in child like enthusiasm, by purging your inner negativity, & using the left side of your brain will take you & your team very far. Granted ( If I didn't type so dog gone slow) I could write a book for any applicable industry,chapter for each step, and a page for each bullet & and a paragraph for each sub bullet.

For demonstration sake, I put in a few techniques that are used just for demonstration. Technique is always subject to scrutiny, but that is not what this methodology is about. It is about doing the simple stuff, really, really well & being able to superimpose your industry & implement your technique to create a style that works for you.

I hope that the followers of this thread will recognize, and focus on the points of performance and realize the benefits of this methodology into whatever program they are trying to facilitate.

As well to address the prospecting element that has been omitted, the gray elephant if you will. There are too many avenues to create a favorable prospecting climate, & it is only limited by your imagination & fortitude to succeed.

j.p.o -DIAMONDSTAR

Great job Diamond! Only part that I don't agree with (again this is from car sales experience) is :

I never have agreed with qualifying a customer. Not saying you don't investigate and try to discover a customers "comfort level", but don't ASSUME that the customer can't by something by how he dresses, his mannerisms or what he drives. ASSUMING something just makes an A.S.S. of U and ME -jrboyd

Your Absolutely correct jrboyd.

Making an incorrect assumption can cost you dearly. The point here is (from one car salesman to another) here is to use some common sense

Not qualifying your customer ( ie what their budget is)will also cost you equally & I will clarify your position with an anecdote from a sales experience I had some time ago.

Gentleman walks in to our Art Showroom, guys is wearing a 5$ polyester Hawaiian shirt.

Engage this gentleman in chit chat (actually pre qualifying) & solicit what he does for a living. He tells me he is a welder.

He shows some interest in our art, not just one piece, not two pieces, three pieces of art. Were talking about $10,000 bucks now.

I close the gentleman, & a couple of days later I follow up to see how he is enjoying his new art set.

Call his number and I am promptly redirected to the hospital. I'm saying to myself, holy cow.......this guy is in surgery .Yeah, he was in surgery all right.........he was the surgeon.

So the moral of the story here is, we can't gauge all books by their covers, though more often than not we can use our powers of observation to correctly identify those that are qualified for your product/service.

I used the ratty VW/SL65 to briefly illustrate a point that most folks, people don't jump out of a $5000 car (at best) & hop into a $165,000 car. It is atypical. -DIAMONDSTAR

Do you recommend this in the majority of selling situations? -Gold Calling

I remember reading somewhere that these questions are very effective, but they didn't say why this is so.
Can you elaborate on them? My concern is that the customer might think you may be ill prepared, if you ask these. -Alexander

Good Question Gold Calling

I’m going to illicit one way or another what this person is qualified to buy & dependent on the sales environment I am going to find out how much they are willing to spend. Let’s put this in context.

Let’s say we are selling diamonds, nice diamonds like Graff diamonds. Canary yellow flawless superstars. The people that buy this product aren’t your typical folks & they know $150,000 isen’t going to get them very far. More than likely, I know who they are before they walk in the door and don’t need to ask that question.

All right, let’s say we are selling a lesser quality product, Zales Diamonds for example. The gentlman wants to buy an engagement ring for his lady. Heck ya, I’m gunna ask him what his budget is because I am trying to help him. His dominant buying motive is most likely something nice, but something that doesn’t put him in the poor house at the same time. A point that I want to bring up here in conjunction with this example is that your clients time is important, just as yours is

One more example, We are at the dealership on a Saturday. Car guys know, this is primetime. Heck ya, I’m gunna ask the what there budget is. Certainly they like that car that is $10,000 more than what they are qualified to spend & they want to test drive it too. Why waste their time & mine & set them up for failure after letting them drive around town in it & then putting them in a vehicle that they are qualified to drive. Sales guys know we can bump them up a little but not a whole lot.

Last example. Guy walks into your store & wants an illustrator program. I show the them the premium suite, it’s got everything. The only thing it doesen’t do is go grocery shopping for you. Tell them the price, he goes into shell shock. What am I going to do. I’m gunna ask him what he had budgeted for an illustrator program & find one that best suits his needs.

My belief on this that during the sales process, understanding your clients Dominate Buying Motive often times revolves around how much they are willing to spend. Once you understand that you can resolve their need by efficiently helping your client. -DIAMONDSTAR

Hi Diamond Star

You raise an excellent point.

Many sales people are initially taught don't raise price because people will always buy more.

Not so. You will always get a better result, less returns and a longer lifetime value buy actually looking at the customers needs and motivations/values.

This will build an automatic connection. I agree also that it depends on your market and where your customers actually are.

It is great to actually tell the customer again what value you they get for the price. If you are in a position to control it always add extreme value.

10x in use value what they paid. Is used by Dan Kennedy as a rule of thumb and really works.

The more we create value for clients the more we create wealth for our company. -SalesManagersCoach

Fantastic Question Alexander,

This opens up dialogue on different fronts as well opens up an opportunity to position your company, and yourself.

Let me explain. Let’s say were are selling Art. Customer walks and you ask him if they are familiar with Wyland Art. They say no, you kindly explain to them that Wyland is that guy that goes around the world & paints life size murals in his effort to spread the message to save our marine wildlife. He is the only American artist to receive permission to paint the Great Wall of China. Now you have positioned this particular artist for feats beyond the average artist. Now when your client looks at that piece of art work (unframed) with three strokes of the hand for $2500 bucks it makes a little more sense. What we are doing is building value.

Lets say they say yes, they have heard of you & they tell you they heard about you in a write up in the New York Times. Wow that’s fantastic; they know about you & don’t have to say much about your company at this point.

Dependent on the (ROE) or rules of engagement wherever you are at, you may want to ask who their salesman was. Typically in a commission based environment, salespeople take propriety with their customers. Like I said in reference ROE, you may want to turn this customer over to that salesperson & maintain civility, or you may want close this sale and split this commission. As they say, what goes around comes around. In further note if that salesperson is no longer there, say something complimentary.

On another front. Let’s say they have been to your store & they have shopped with you. It opens up an opportunity to direct them to a new let’s say a clothing designer. Something they wouldn’t have necessary known if you didn’t help them by telling them.

If preparedness is a concern, I would suggest practice with your colleagues. We can’t predict all circumstances, but we can be prepared for most. As they say in the music world “Get your Chops Down”. -DIAMONDSTAR

So it's less complicated then I thought of. Here are what my hypothesis was for your questions:

Hearing this could imply for the customer that your company is widely known among certain people (social proof).


This could be a revivication of a favorable buying state and an encouragement of consistency of being a customer. -Alexander