Getting Comfortable With Your Sales Process

I’ve been doing sales training of one kind or another over the last 20 years. I’ve always been perplexed and uncomfortable by most of the sales methods I’ve been taught.

I’ve encountered advice like:

1. Make the buyer feel the pain.
2. Try to get your buyer to cry (I’m not kidding).
3. Close hard and ask questions like “Do you really need your husband here to make a decision?”
4. Overcome objections by asking questions like “what else do you spend your money on today? What can you cut from your budget?”

Manipulation Vs. Value

The problem with these outlooks on selling is that they are manipulative. The focus is often on price and they lack any discussion about building value or trust. It’s this kind of stuff that made me want to run away from sales and do something else. Anything else! And, I did try to run for years. I didn’t want to feel unethical or manipulative.

Sales Is A Craft

This changed for me when a mentor taught me that sales can be a craft. One that, when done right, doesn’t have to be manipulative or feel negative. I could finally sleep at night! The sales profession has probably lost millions of talented people because they’ve been taught methods that don’t feel honest. I’d like to help change that.

There are four bedrock questions that everyone has to answer before moving forward with a sales career:

1. How do you define success? – Selling success is not making a sale at all cost. It has to be defined by the idea that everyone feels positive about the outcome. In other words, both the buyer and seller have a win. By the way wins can be both defined by business goals or personal goals (hopefully both). Is that how you define success?
2. Do you have a selling process? – Every good salesperson should be able to define their selling process. They should be able to describe it in detail and that process should should not have a goal to manipulate the customer. Can you define your process?
3. Do you consider sales a craft? – This is a big one. You have to see yourself as being part of a legitimate profession. With that should come a desire to constantly learn more and get better. Do you consider sales a craft that leads to a legitimate career?
4. Do you know why things go wrong? – Do you know why you don’t make a sale all the time? Most salespeople, if they are honest, will say no. They have these head scratching moments when they are downright confused about what went wrong. Have you experienced that? This goes to constantly trying to get better at what you do. You should always know what went wrong.

Get Comfortable

If you can say yes or would like to say yes to all four questions you’re ready to get comfortable. Selling shouldn’t feel like, well… selling. When you can answer yes to all four of these questions you’ll realize you’re a resource. You’ll understand you’re helping your prospects achieve their business and personal goals. You’ll KNOW that you’re a positive force in the world.

Under the Sales category in the Real Deal Strategy blog I’ll be breaking down the sales process that I’ve taught they will allow you to answer yes to these important questions. Stay tuned.