Sales, or not getting enough of them, can be one of the most frustrating aspects of being in business. It can easily feel like you’re always butting up against people’s resistance; that you’re trying to make people do something that they might not even be interested in doing in the first place. Or, your sales might be great, but you live in constant fear that your best salesperson will leave, or get sick, or otherwise abandon you. The good news is that you don’t have to struggle with sales; selling success isn’t nearly as elusive as you might believe it to be. With an expert selling system, you can increase your sales and decrease your dependency on expert salespeople.
First, selling isn’t about convincing, persuading or making people do something they don’t want to do. Rather, selling is about putting yourself in your customer’s shoes and focusing on what they need, rather than what you need (to make the sale). Your selling system should focus on helping your prospects perceive your commodity and company as emotionally satisfying and should center on satisfying your prospects’ needs: better health; a more attractive, fit body; better self esteem; etc. So try listening, rather than talking; you’ll be surprised at the impact this can have on your customers.
With the right sales system, a system that focuses on your prospects’ needs, you can eliminate your dependency on star salespeople. Suddenly, a person’s lack of natural selling ability is no longer a barrier to their success at converting qualified leads into quality clients. How? 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.
Every sales system should follow this simple five-step formula:
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 in your advertising efforts, or by your sensory package. 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 how you will 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. Imagine the best teacher you’ve ever had, and adopt that same tone with your customer. 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/ 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 sales process will help you understand what the necessary components of your expert sales system are and will help you build a mutually supportive relationship with your customers. With an expert system, you and all of your salespeople will be able to acquire long-term, quality clients. So, stop focusing on getting the sale, and start listening to what your customers need. If you can promise and deliver a solution that will fulfill that need, you have the makings for an excellent relationship.
Hillary Gerber is Senior Editor at E-Myth Worldwide. She can be contacted at 800.221.0266, or by email at hgerber@e-myth.com.
