5 Steps to Smarter Selling

2010 | Aug 18 in Home Page News , Lead Conversion

By E-Myth Business Coach,

I do not possess a "natural" selling ability. Actually, I'm quite sales averse, having had many bad encounters with many bad salespeople. I'm jaded. I'm always distrustfully on the lookout for "the pitch."

Unfortunately, this is the resistance that many businesses encounter when they try to sell to somebody. They must contend with the cumulative negative sales experiences of their potential customers.

That's because most salespeople don't sell smart. Smart selling is different than what most people consider selling to be—the unfortunate transactional, get-the-dollars model that pervades many businesses. If you view sales this way, as merely the occurrence of a transaction, there are only a finite number of transactions out there. You're cutting your business's potential at the knees with this perspective!

That's why, at E-Myth, we abhor the word "sales." According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a sale is "the transfer of ownership of property from one person to another in return for money." Eek! That doesn't sound very inspired, does it?

We like to refer to "sales" as Lead Conversion: the essential business process to acquire long-term, quality clients through the implementation of lead conversion systems so that prospects perceive the commodity and the company as emotionally satisfying. This, you can see, involves much more than "a sale" or just getting your customers' money!

With the right lead conversion system, my lack of natural selling ability is suddenly no longer a barrier to my success at converting qualified leads into quality clients. Why? Because, like everything else in your business, where there exists the possibility of creating an expert system, there lies the potential to empower ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results!

The Universal Five-Step Lead Conversion Process

With an expert lead conversion system, you (and all of your salespeople) will be able to sell smarter and acquire long-term, quality clients. Here is the basic five-step formula to help you get started:

1. Engage with your prospective customer. This is the point when your customers start to build their expectations about what they want or don't want. This is your opportunity to create interest; to show the prospective customer that you are committed to giving them what they want out of your relationship. Be sure to keep your focus on the customer. If you make one thing clear in the initial engagement, have it be that the needs and comfort of the prospective customer are your principal concerns.
2. Repeat the emotional message of your promise. Your customers want to engage with you because something about your product or service promises to meet their emotional needs. This promise was originally made during the lead generation process. Reengage with that promise, and affirm that your customer has come to the right place to have it fulfilled.
3. Determine the customer's needs. What do your customers want, and why do they think that your product or service can give it to them? The more you know about what your customers want and need, the better you will be able to meet those needs. Devise a standard set of questions that will enable your salespeople to determine what your customers' needs are, as well as how your company will expertly meet those needs.
4. Provide a solution. Your mantra should be: "Don't sell…satisfy." Help your customers to discover whether your offering solves their needs, and thus leads to a regret-free purchase decision. Take this opportunity to educate your customers about how your product or service will address and satisfy their exact needs. Be excited and passionate about the information you are relaying, and offer it with no strings attached.
5. Offer the product or service: Your customer should now have all of his or her questions answered, and be able to make a decision. So, make your offer through your customers' point of view. Consider whether the product meets theirs needs and delivers what it promises. If the answer is yes, then you've got a sale. If not, keep the door open. They will most likely be back when they're ready.

This universal five-step lead conversion process offers a great guideline for determining what elements are required for your lead conversion system. These concepts will help you to build a mutually supportive relationship with your customers; a relationship that is bigger than a mere transaction.

Shoot, I probably wouldn't be so sales averse if I had more frequently encountered a selling process like this. A process that addresses my concerns and needs, rather than the sales person's concern with getting a commission check!

Share Your Story

Do you have a lead conversion process? Does your sales team have a standard list of questions to determine what your customers' real needs are? Post a comment and tell us about it.

Further Reading

Tips on Hiring Salespeople
How to Win the Bidding War

Comments

1. Adabella W. says:

   We've tried to document our sales process but it's proven difficult. Since we offer graphic design services, and have limited staff, the process is different for each client and each sale is different. Any advice on how to document a USEFUL sales process for a creative company?

   Submitted Aug 18, 2010 8:52 AM

2. chris a. says:

   The sales "process" is the same for everyone.  The data that moves through the sales process changes.  Somehow you must hang out a shingle that attracts leads.  You must engage leads with some sort of description of services and what you can do for them.  This results in a proposal for work to be performed.  You then either win or lose this work.  The process starts again...

   Your process has four steps: advertising, sales, proposal, work.  Your process metrics are leads per month, cost per lead, sales calls per month, proposals per sale call, cost of winning a sale, and win/loss ratio, which determines your sales effectiveness.

   If the numbers vary a lot, then categorize the metrics by types of sales.  This will lead you to understand which slaes are more profitable.  Bigger sales may appear to be more desirable but they may be harder to get (i.e. higher cost of sale).  The important thing is to understand what the monthly sales activity level needs to be in order to maintain a stream of business.

   Chris Anderson, CEO
   http://www.Bizmanualz.com

   Submitted Aug 18, 2010 10:41 AM

3. Mike L. says:

   I'd add one final step to the process.  Once your 'lead conversion' is finished, let the customer know that you want the next one, and the next one and the next one.  Our business depends on repeat customers and I have finally concluded that the only way to get a repeat customer is to tell them that I want them to be part of that lucky group.

   Sales is about positive reinforcement.  A customer who has a good sales experience the first time should be very boldly, unabashedly informed that every single one of their future experiences will be just as good... or better. 

   We even go so far as to let customers know that we expect to do all of their future apparel decoration. 

   After all, lead conversion (sales) is all about service, unless you're the only one with a particular product.  It never hurts, though, to tell the customer that they can have high expectations that WILL be met.  It also never hurts to let each customer know what your objective is.  Mutual expectations create an even more positive experience.

   Mike Little, President
   www.teammatesinc.com

   Submitted Aug 18, 2010 11:19 AM

4. Ken N. says:

   I agree with Mike and have a bad experience to illustrate. I am a publisher and was on deadline. I had a client who had yet to make the decision to participate or not in an upcoming issue. It wasn't her call even--it needed to get through a committee. I messed up. In frustration I emphasized the need for deadlines, how this was affecting ME, etc., etc. It wasn't severe, but it was enough. She had indicated they "probably would" be involved (i.e., buy an ad). After my mild lecture, nothing happened. They had been a good client. Now they're not. I wish I had had just a bit more patience. The old saying is true: It's much easier to keep an old customer than to find a new one!!

   Submitted Aug 18, 2010 12:42 PM

5. Allen Mark P. says:

   Yes, entrepreneurs provide solution for the specific problem of the customer.  Product or service that will have exceptional value that will make the customer extremely well off.  I'm an internet marketing business and creating rapport is a major key in the lead conversion process.

   Allen Mark Pongasi

   http://ameribagleather.com/ameribag-leather-healthy-back-bag.html

   Submitted Aug 18, 2010 4:24 PM

6. Priscilla A. says:

   I thought about Ken R.'s post.  We all make mistakes.  The question is whether the situation/client is retrievable.  As the business owner I have the ability to get back to someone with an apology and some form of compensation -- like a deep discount on their next purchase.  In my case, the clients are yoga teachers who rent space from me.   My mistake was a case of double-booking on a particular day.  I apologized and gave the teacher a rent-free day.  She probably would not have taken her classes to another studio, but it made her feel better because she could make up the class or give her students a free class to compensate them.  And it was fair.  So I wonder if Ken could call the client and say, "I made a mistake by pressuring you about the deadline," and make a nice discount for the next go-round.  In a way, the mistake becomes a way to build the relationship and offer that "exceptional" value. Even if the client doesn't take the offer, you know you did your best to rectify the situation.

   Submitted Aug 18, 2010 7:55 PM

7. Gary P. says:

   If your product or service fulfils the clients' wants or needs, by the time you are at offer/ proposal stage it's yours to lose. As long as you concentrate on your client then most of the time it will lead to work. We emphasise to our agents that it is all about the client- forget why you need this work, forget about your bills/ debts/ mortgage etc and you will succeed and when you succedd in this manner then the bills etc are taken care of.

   Not only that, but we have found that when you are successful, the self- fulfilment from knowing that you have 'helped' somebody satisfy a want/ need is more motivational then obtaining a 'sale', thus spurring you on to the next

   Submitted Aug 19, 2010 12:20 AM

8. Angela H. says:

   Think about the best waiter or waitress you ever had, they asked questions wanted to know  more added value to the service.  You seldom see the person that owns the cafe or cooks the food, you remember the person who served you.

   Submitted Aug 19, 2010 1:47 AM

9. Howard T. says:

   This is exactly the right approach to the sales process. Putting the customer as an individual, considering their wants and needs, material and emotional will always lead to success in the long term. I tell my people to always talk from the customer's point of view - not from ours.

   We have a print business but we have a saying "we're not in the print business, we're in the people business".

   Submitted Aug 19, 2010 3:19 AM

10. Chris K. says:

    We try hard every day to focus on getting it right for the client. We try not to sell but provide a solution to their needs. We help them to discover the needs - which makes the process much more valuable.

    Submitted Aug 19, 2010 7:34 AM

11. Richard A. says:

    I found this article to be extremely valuable, including the comments. Many thanks!

    Submitted Aug 19, 2010 1:54 PM

12. PAUL L. says:

    Staying focused on the WHY around solving the clients problems as opposed to discussing features and benefits seems to be the holy grail in lead conversion... Just do it!

    Submitted Aug 21, 2010 9:05 PM

13. Laura-Jean B. says:

    I like Priscilla A.'s suggestion- to take the initiative and admit you let someone down that time with an offer to make it right clearly sends the message that you are most focused on their experience, not yours.  You've also removed their awkwardness of having to ask for compensation, and that possible bad feeling about you and your business (however mild) that may taint future decisions.    It's a good attitude to take into all your dealings to show customers that they matter, and a great way to win them over time and again.

    Submitted Aug 22, 2010 1:52 PM

14. Brett O. says:

    A friend told me of this small $12 book and it changed my thinking about my 'Success in Sales' a full 180' degree in just 80 pages, I couldn't put it down, I even read it twice.
    
    It teaches you a whole new way of thinking about a NO, and that you need to collect No's in order to find the Yes's.
    
    Then outlines that you should have 'No' goals as well as 'Yes' goals.
    
    After reading it I found myself not caring so much about whether the prospect would respond with a Yes, as I know that I am expecting approximately 7 more No's than Yes's.
    
    I think it's the best book I have ever read on Sales, you could adapt it to other area's as well, for example - applying for a job - you are bound to find one if you apply for 20 jobs instead of hanging out for the only one you apply for.
    
    The potential applications are huge, I found it at www.HowToIncreaseSales.org
    
    
    

    Submitted Sep 8, 2010 9:09 PM

15. Jeff F. says:

    Same old recommendation here, but it bears repeating....

    The salesman/saleswoman MUST, at all cost, find a way to satisfy an emotional need of the customer.

    This is not always easy to do.  It requires deep thought and reflection.  It requires empathy.  It requires forethought, and most of all it requires question after question.

    The salesman MUST not get caught in the "Here's what I can do for you" trap.  The salesperson must be learn to listen and find that emotional need.

    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.legalppm.com">private placement memorandum</a><br />

    Submitted Oct 19, 2010 8:05 PM