selling process

THE SEVEN STEPS OF SELLING

The selling process is generally divided into seven steps that, once you understand them, will empower you to sell virtually anything you want and satisfy your customers:

Prospect and qualify Pre-approach Approach Presentation Overcome objections Close the sale Follow-up

PROSPECTING AND QUALIFYING

Before planning a sale, a salesperson conducts research to identify the people or companies that might be interested in her product.

A prospect is a lead that is qualified or determined to be ready, willing, and able to buy.

PRE-APPROACH The pre-approach is the “doing your

homework” part of the process. A good salesperson researches his prospect, familiarizing himself with the customer’s needs and learning all the relevant background info he can about the individual or business.

APPROACH First impressions (e.g., the first few

minutes of a sales call) are crucial to building the client’s trust.[

This usually involves introductions, making some small talk, asking a few warm-up questions, and generally explaining who you are and whom you represent. This is called the approach.

PRESENTATION

The presentation should be tailored to the customer, explaining how the product meets that person or company’s needs.

It might involve a product demonstration, videos, PowerPoint presentations, or letting the customer actually look at or interact with the product.

HANDLING OBJECTIONS After you’ve made your sales

presentation, it’s natural for your customer to have some hesitations or concerns called objections. Good salespeople look at objections as opportunities to further understand and respond to customers’ needs

CLOSING THE SALE Eventually, if your customer is

convinced your product will meet her needs, you close by agreeing on the terms of the sale and finishing up the transaction.

Sometimes a salesperson has to make several trial closes during a sales call, addressing further objections before the customer is ready to buy.

FOLLOWING UP The follow-up is an important part of

assuring customer satisfaction, retaining customers and prospecting for new customers.

This might mean sending a thank-you note, calling the customer to make sure a product was received in satisfactory condition, or checking in to make sure a service is meeting the customer’s expectations.

SOLUTION SALES In recent decades sales reps have

become adept at discovering customers’ needs and selling them “solutions”—generally, complex combinations of products and services.

This worked because customers didn’t know how to solve their own problems, even though they often had a good understanding of what their problems were. 

END OF SOLUTION SALES The hardest thing about B2B selling

today is that customers don’t need you the way they used to.

Customer’s have become skilled at finding their own solution; they don’t need reps as they once did.

In this environment a group of high performing salespeople have emerged-reps who have abandoned the traditional playbook and devised a novel sales strategy.

INSIGHT SELLING The best salespeople are replacing

traditional “solution selling” with “insight selling”-A strategy that demands a radically different approach across several areas of the purchasing approach.

These star reps coaches the customer in identifying unrecognized needs.

High-performing reps are still selling solutions—but more broadly, they’re selling insights.

NEW SELLING GUIDE FOR REPS Insight selling is built on three

strategies outlined below Avoid trap of “established demand” Target Mobilizers, Not Advocates Coach customers how to buy

TWEET ME, FRIEND ME, MAKE ME BUY

Social networks are an exciting development for sales reps.With little managerial discipline, all that clicking ,following and sharing will win more business.

Veteran salespeople and now sales trainers—offer insights to help companies and reps get maximum value from sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook .

IT’S WHERE THE CUSTOMERS ARE-

We know that customers are online and that they use the web to investigate purchases they’re considering. The shift from a “push” to a “pull” world of commercial messaging has been thoroughly documented by now.

Social media’s greatest potential, is at the start of the sales cycle, during prospecting, opportunity qualification, and pre-sales-call research. Short messages sent via social media produce much greater response than cold calling—and, even better, reps don’t always have to start the conversation. 

WHERE SOCIAL MAKES SENSE In social networking environment reps

often find potential customers expressing interest in solution they sell . Identifying these slightly warm prospects can save a rep from making many unwelcome cold calls.

Potential customers are surprisingly responsive to short messages sent via social media.

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