Everybody is a salesman in some way shape or form. We all have things that we look to sell whether it be getting someone to buy a product or getting people to agree on which restaurant to go to. Everybody must present their ideas in a way to sell their ideas and win over someone's trust and agreement. The process of a sale is pretty easy and straight forward but getting people to actually buy can be challenging. I recently picked up a copy of Sandler Sales Institute's - You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar. In the book they point out that in order for you to be really effective in sales, you need a sales system. The prospect has a system by default and if you don't have your own sales system defined you will miss many sales opportunities. Five rules you must observe to succeed in sales: Qualify your prospects Extract your prospect's "pain" Verify that the prospect has money Be sure the prospect is a decision maker Match your service or product to the prospect's pain Knowing these five rules can empower you to make more effective sales presentations. A lot of the time sales people try to sell items based on features and benefits but people aren't buying items based mainly on features and benefits. Studies show that they buy emotionally, they buy items to help them remove their "pain" or their challenge. The foundation of Sandler Sales Institute's sales system: You must uncover your prospect's "pain". You must get all the money issues out on the table. You must discover the decision -making process your prospect uses when deciding to buy or not to buy a product or service. You must present a solution that will get rid of the prospect's pain. You must post-sell your sell in efforts to solidify it. If followed, this system can help create a sales experience that is beneficial for both the salesman and prospect. The prospect gets their problem solved and understands the value of their purchase, the salesman makes a sale and feels good helping the prospect. There are many different types of sales systems to potentially use. In your business, you must take the time to craft your sales system and ensure it is being followed by your sales team consistently. Even if you are your own sales team you need to follow a system. Through the years I've met a lot of people who ignore this completely. They focused on advertising and hoped the sales would just naturally happen. Marketing doesn't always directly cause sales, it get's awareness and interest about a product or service. Sales efforts are needed to get the job done. While some people may purchase based on advertising alone you'll have a far better chance of successful marketing with a sales system. Do you have a defined sales system? What other techniques do you work that work for you?
