Most people do not associate the sales process with an enjoyable activity. Usually, the most common thing that comes to mind when thinking about a sales process is a horrible sales experience that still haunts your past. But there is a way to redeem yourself from those haunting sales calls, and turn the sales process into something is actually enjoyable. To do this, you must stop thinking about this idea of what sales should be, and start thinking about how it can become an enjoyable, efficient part of your everyday selling routine. In this expert sales interview, Tasha Smith, interviewed by John Golden, explores how to enjoy the sales process with five key steps.
This expert sales interview discusses five key steps to making the sales process enjoyable:
- Step 1: Set up an appointment
- Step 2: Provide an agenda
- Step 3: Gain insights and do a discovery
- Step 4: Make it personalized
- Step 5: Give two choices
Set Up An Appointment:
So many salespeople attempt to sell on the fly, and they end up in a conversation where they’re trying to build value over messenger or email. Many salespeople revert to this method because they can’t get their clients to come to appointments, but clients don’t want to come to appointments because they don’t know what to expect, how long it’s going to take, or what is going to happen during the conversation. In order to successfully set up an appointment, be specific! You could say something like: “I’d like to set up an appointment to go over your goals, a little about the company, and our most popular packages. Our first call will take about 45 minutes, and you don’t have to move to the next step. But, if you’d like to, you can, and I can tell you how. Is this something you’d be open to?” In this example, you’ve taken away any perceptions the client has and replaced it with exactly what’s going to happen in a non-threatening way that makes them feel comfortable.
Give an Agenda:
This step gives your client a specific agenda that mirrors the promises you made when you set up an appointment. This might look like, “today we’re going to go over x, y, and z (all things you mentioned when you made the appointment), it’s going to take 45 minutes, and you don’t have to sign up for anything but if you see something you like I can help you move forward today.” It establishes credibility and consistency with your client, which are both very important things.
Gain Insight
This is the discovery phase of the sales process. Ask your client what they want to go over, what their goals are. Inquire about how reaching the goals or solving their problems would impact their overall quality of life. People don’t want the product or service that you’re selling, they want what your product or service will get them. They want the health, the wealth, the status, the relationship, etc. What matters is how reaching the goals will impact their quality of life.
Personalization
Personalization is so important in the world of sales. Part of selling well is ensuring that you connect the dots for your client about how what you offer them will help them get what they told you about in step 3. Don’t make it so hard on them, tell them exactly how your product or service will help them improve their quality of life. You might say something like, “have you ever been in a situation where you weren’t prepared for x, y, or z? Our product can help you next time that happens by doing x, y, and z.”
Give Two Choices:
The statistics and the science of behavioral psychology suggest that giving people two choices is instrumental in gaining compliance. Many salespeople only give one choice, which makes the potential client feel trapped and scared. Give your prospects two choices that are the best for both of you, and it will help you move forward with closing the deal. Remember that you’re always selling to a human.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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