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There is no such thing as a "Born Salesman." It is a skill that is honed and practiced. Anyone can be a competent "Sales Pro," assuming they are willing to learn, practice and continue to practice the Seven Steps. Since all of us, who are subscribed to this web forum, either have an online business or want to start one, it is a common denominator that to varying degrees we all need to become sales professionals.
These are the steps:
1: Warm Up
This is the beginning of the sales presentation. This is where you and your prospect get to know each other and warm up to each other. The warm up should last at least a few minutes, although there are many sales pros who will readily admit that they are CONTINUOUSLY warming up with their prospect throughout the entire presentation. The basic rule to always keep in mind is that people do business with people they like and trust. The warm up is where you build the foundations for both of these with your prospect. Just doing some small talk and finding some common interests can work wonders. Always let the prospect do most of the talking. They will then feel much more at ease with you.
2: Qualify
Qualifying means asking questions. You need to find out what it is the prospect wants. What do they feel is important? What are they looking for? Why are they looking for this product? What problem do they have that they want solved? To put it in a nutshell...If the prospect says they want to get a green derby with a purple sash, you're going to have a very hard time selling them a pair of leather gloves.
3: Product Presentation
This is rather straight forward. After you've discovered what it is the customer wants, you direct them to the product that will be their solution. It is, however, very important to remember to "sell the sizzle rather than just the steak". In other words, show how the product will resolve the problem. Don't just show the features, but emphasize the benefits.
4: Pre-Close
This is an essential step in the sale process. You need to transition from information provider to decision provider. You need to have the prospects permission to ask for the sale. Keep in mind that 98% of the time, the reason why someone doesn't move ahead and make a purchase/decision is because of the money. If it isn't only the money, never doubt for a moment that money still holds the major influence. An excellent pre-close question is: "Besides the money, is there any other reason that you can think of that would prevent you from going ahead with this?" This also gets them to express any fears or objections they may have, which you can then address. If they say, however, that the money is the only real concern, you've now successfully funneled it all down to that. Your next response should be: "So, if we can show you how this product fits into your financial budget, we can take care of this now. Agreed?" When they give their agreement to that, they are 80% closed, and now you just have to find the way to make it affordable or to justify the investment.
(A VERY important note here: ALWAYS defend the product, NEVER the price)
5: The Close and Handling Objections
The definition of a "Close" is the actual act of asking the prospect for the sale. If you don't truly close, you will NEVER make a sale.
There are many tools and ways to handle objections. Remember, an objection is the prospect really telling you that they don't have enough information to justify them making a purchase. Objections give you, the sales professional, that special window into your prospect's mind, and tells you what they they are thinking and what needs to be resolved in order to complete the sale.
Here is a VERY IMPORTANT RULE OF THUMB: Always turn the objection into a question. Keeping the objection in the state of an objection puts you and your prospect in an adversarial mode, and you will never win being in that scenario. However, by turning the objection into a question, it makes the whole scenario calmer and more open to discussion and resolution.
For example: The objection: "It's too much money" should be replied with the following: "I I understand, Mr Prospect. That's a valid comment and many of my clients felt the same way at first, too. Let me ask you this...Since we both agree that this product is worthwhile, am I correct in understanding that you would move ahead with this, if you found it to be affordable to your budget?"
Of course he's going to answer yes. What other answer can he give you? So now you give him options on how you can make it affordable, and then RE-CLOSE.
6: Referrals
This is where you build your business. Leads are nice, but referrals are GOLDEN. Don't be afraid to ask your prospect who does he think will also benefit from this product or service, and get their names and phone numbers.
7: Warm Down
After you wrap up the sale, do NOT rush out of there or rush off the phone Spend a few minutes in small talk. Let them give you reasons why they decided to move ahead. Basically you want their mind to catch up with their emotions, so that the sale doesn't cancel. Warming Down further strengthens the trust and affinity that your customer now has with you.
I hope these seven steps help increase your closing percentage. Always keep in mind that even the BEST baseball players still fail more times than they succeed. However, the only true failure is to stop trying. Sales is, and always will be a numbers game. The more you practice and hone your skills, the more Yes'es you will receive.
See you at the top!
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