Sales 101: The Sales Process

Everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The universe, sex, a workout. Everything. Different people may go through these at different speeds and in different ways but nevertheless there is a process. Sales is no different. There are certain steps every salesman must go through to sell a product to a customer making for a mutually beneficial transaction. Everyone will add their unique personality and spin to the process but the process is there nevertheless.

If you want to become an effective salesman you must have this process down pat. You must know it like the back of your hand. Like everything else before you can do your own thing, you must have the basics mastered. Below is the step by step process of a sale from the beginning of the interaction to the end. This is for face to face sales but a similar process takes place in the online world and through other means of selling, such as cold calling. Memorize this process to become the best salesman that you can be.

Introduction

The first part of the sales process is the introduction. Introducing yourself to the prospect. This is a relatively straightforward step. Greet the prospect in a friendly genuine manner. After all here is someone who you can help and who can help you. Be real, friendly, and genuine. Your attitude is always shining through. Smile, make eye contact, and be professional. Ask them what it is that you can help them with. Genuinely listen to what they are saying. Be a good listener. Remember to focus on the needs, wants, and desires of the prospect. The introduction is what is going to set up the rest of the sales process. Make it good, remember you only get one first impression. Make it count.

Find the Why

Why is the prospect here. What is he or she looking for? What are his or her desires? Your job as the salesman is to find these out so that you can best service your prospect. Do this by building on the questions you asked into the introduction stage. Again genuinely listening is paramount to your success as a salesman. Different customers may want the same product but for different reasons. Find out the customer’s why. Find out the customers needs, wants, and/or desires. Then fill those needs, wants, and/or desires. Get down to the customer’s true motivation. For example they may say they want something for a logical reason (the reason they use to rationalize it to themselves) but are actually looking to fill an emotional need. Make sure you are addressing what the customer is truly looking for, which isn’t always the first thing they say.

Satisfy the Why

Now that you have identified the why the next step is naturally to satisfy the why. Choose the item/product/service that will best serve your customers needs and then “sell” it to them. Tell them the benefits of the product. Tell them how it will improve their lives and most important how it will solve that why that you just identified. Tell them about all the great things that your product does (as a good salesman would never sell a product that he didn’t believe in). Maybe even tell them why you personally enjoy the product so much (if it correlates with the customers needs of course). As in all steps of the sales process focus on the customer. Focus on their wants, needs, and desires. Filling them at this point. Let them know how much they will be missing out on if they leave without the particular item/product/service that you are showing them.

Make An Offer

This seems so obvious that it doesn’t need to be mentioned. Well it does. A large part of the salespeople that make up the profession never once make an offer. Some follow everything perfect up until this point but then never make an offer. It would be like taking a girl on a date, saying the right things, touching her in the right ways, but then never going for the kiss. Not only do you miss out but the customer misses out as well. Make an offer to the customer. You can relist all the benefits after the offer is made but make sure you offer the customer a chance to purchase the product. Don’t think they will do it on their own. People are finicky and wishy-washy by nature. Help them through this step, they won’t get through it without you. Make an offer.

Close the Sale

Closing. Entire books have been written about this part of the sales process. Ultimately this is the step that matters. This is the step that makes the life of your customer better and ensures you eat that night. Closing is what it all comes down to. If you can’t close you won’t be a good salesman period. You could have every single aspect of the process down to a science but suck at closing and go hungry. Likewise you could be just alright at all the steps but a master of closing and be rich. Closing is an art in and of itself, separate from sales and selling. Be persistent. People will try to give you all kinds of excuses and reasons why they can’t buy. Persist through both for your sake and the customers. You must have good frame control while closing. If you crack the customer will lose faith and the sale will be a no go. Stay confident and stay persistent. The average customer isn’t going to buy a product the first, second, or third time you ask. Persistence is the name of the game.

Summary

Alright so we’ve covered from introducing yourself to the prospect to closing the transaction and making money. This is the sales process in a nutshell. Some spend more time on different areas than others. You find what works best for you, everyone is different. However all sales must go through this process in some way, shape, or form. Use this as the outline you follow and you will find your sales increasing. Once you have mastered this process then you can add or subtract from it. However until then stick with it and it will serve you well.

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Best Wishes

-Charles Sledge

Charles Sledge