How to Become a Selling Machine

There are a lot of sales people out there that have no clue what they are doing. They don’t know where they are, in the sales process, which leads to their timing being off. Timing is everything in sales. You have to strike when the iron is hot. If you miss your window, it is not the end of things just harder to recover. If you want to be a selling machine you need to have a sales process. I know people shy away from structure because they do not like to be controlled. Sometimes you need structure to hold you accountable. I have seen and tried a few selling processes but this one has been the most effective. I will go more in depth, with these steps, in future blog posts.

1. Greeting/First Impressions

First impressions are everything. People make judgments about you based off their first 30 seconds of meeting you. You have to be on point. You need to look professional, smile, have positive body language, and an upbeat tone, in your voice. Capturing your client’s attention is the most important aspect, of the greeting. Speak clear and be concise with what you have to say. Time is the most valuable asset to your clients so it is imperative not to waste it. Don’t approach with “how can I help you?” That is the easiest way to kill a conversation because it is pre-programmed, in our brains, to say we are just looking.

2. Questions: Needs/Wants Analysis

Questions are so valuable, in your sales process. You need to have predetermined questions that you ask your clients to find what they need or want. I see it all the time where sales people will not ask questions and just expect their clients to close. If you are trying to get your clients to buy the first thing they see before knowing if it is truly right for them, you will fail miserably. If you don’t know what your client is seeking then you will be on the wrong product or service. You can never ask too many questions. Think of yourself as a consultant. How can you recommend something without knowing all the facts? Get the facts. Some clients will be more open to others but that is where you need to revert back to your other senses. Listen to what your clients are telling your and adapt.

3. Find Product/Service and Product Demo to Build Value

If you have successfully implemented or completed step 2 you can start to find the right product or service. I hope you were listening to EVERYTHING your clients were telling you. There is no easier way to kill a deal than by showing your clients something opposite of what they were describing to you. This is how you prove to your client that you are there to help them solve their problems and not to just getting them to buy something. When you have found the product or service that is when you should demonstrate it. This is how you create value. Teach your clients something they would not find out just by looking, at the product. That is how you create value, in the product or service, and simultaneously in yourself, as a sales professional.

4. Proposal to Make the Deal Real

You need to make it your mission to present 100% of your clients a proposal. They have to know the numbers. What would it take for them to own that product or service? This is where you incorporate suggestive add-ons. Get your clients to see the numbers and you are one step closer to the close. This is a great stall tactic. Hopefully you have asked your clients to buy by now. If they are trying to leave you can use pricing as a stall tactic. Getting figures will keep your clients attention a little while longer and set you up for another opportunity to buy. Not only that, it may fish out the true objection so you can overcome it.

5. Ask for the Sale/Close/Referral

It worries me how salesmen think they are asking for the sale sometimes when they are not. I can write that up for you? MANURE. It’s poop. Nothing makes me cringe more. If you are not clearly asking, for the sale, you are killing the deal. Ask for it. For the love of all the sales gods… ask for it. If you have completed that you are most likely going to get an objection. I think it is safe to say that 80% of first objections, in the close, are smokescreens to the real one. Is price really the objection or is value? The close is a delicate… it’s like a chess game. One wrong move and you’re minced meat. You have to resort to questions and fight. Don’t give up. Fill each problem presented to you with a solution. That is how you overcome objections. Once you give a solution, then you ask your clients to buy again. This may happen a few times until you get it right. Be positive in the close and you will stay in it longer. If your energy and attitude start to go south then so will the deal. Never get frustrated at your clients. People buy from people they like. Remember you solve the problem, you win the deal. Once you get the deal, you need to ask for referrals or social media reviews (depends on your profession). Referrals are how the professionals separate themselves from the amateurs. You need to do this when your clients’ confidence is high and when you have their attention. Do not get off the phone or let them leave and then ask. Ask for it right then and there and they will be more agreeable. People want to help other people. If they can help you out, in the moment, they will. You just need to ask for it (seems to be a common theme in sales and life).

6. Follow-Up

There are two forms of following-up. There is following-up before the sale and after the sale. Following-up before the sale is all about getting your client’s attention again to solve their problems. It is a tricky art form. Mastering it equals constant success. Following-up after the sale is how you separate yourself from everyone else. If you check in on your clients just to see how they are enjoying their purchase, it will make you stand out. No amateur does it. Keep in touch with your clients because that is how you get continued business and future sales. You have to generate your own traffic, in sales, to become successful. Following-up needs to be done.

This is a tested and true sales process. It is simple and elegant all at the same time. You have to know where you are at, in the sales process, at all times. If you know that you keep failing, at the proposal or close, you are weak in steps 1, 2, or 3. Then you can reverse engineer your entire sales process to see where it is breaking down. Then you can improve. If you just go through it with no understanding, then you are unprepared. The greats are the ones who can see everything and adapt. Try this sales process out with yourself or your team and you will find success.

Please comment below what you think of the sales process? What did you find most interesting about this article?

Always be perfecting your sales process!

Happy selling!

-Cody