This is one of the topics I covered in my session at BarCampRDU…
One of the big shocks for me early in my career was finding out
that Sales could be an almost step-by-step process. I had always
thought of it as a thing that you did by talking a lot to the customer
and just “pushing” the product, whatever that means.
In the mid-nineties, I had the good fortune to work with a graduate
of IBM’s legendary sales training program. Back in the early 80’s they
had spent a lot of time and money figuring this stuff out and he was
happy to share some information.
While there is no “magic bullet” to make anyone buy anything, there is a process that helps eliminate the “why did that sale go away” factor.
Basically, you need to have five key things in place for a sale to
be able to close. If you don’t have all five covered you don’t have
control of the sale. If you don’t have control, you really don’t know
what’s going on and can easily have a “where did that sale go”
experience… The sale can still close, but it will be due to blind luck and not good sales technique.
The Five Keys fits rather nicely in to a Sales Process, something I’ll blog about another time.
1. Needs
Have you established what the customer’s needs are? Does your
product or service meet those needs? Most sales people are so absorbed
in the product they’re selling that they assume it is a fit for the
customer’s needs. You need to explore what the customer is actually
looking for and whether your product fits the bill. The critical thing
is that your product must fit the bill as far as the customer is concerned.
If the customer is unaware that your product meets their needs, or worse, if they don’t believe that it meets their needs, there will be no sale.
You also need to consider if the customer’s need is critical or non-critical. If a customer’s world ends without your product, it’s a critical need. In other words, do they have to have your product in order to function? Or would they just like to have your product. Most sales are non-critical.
If you are lucky enough to have a product that meets a critical need, it will be much simpler to establish a firm timeline for your sale.
2. Budget
Have you really discussed budget? Not just price, budget.
Yes, the customer needs to like the price, but do they actually have
the budget to do this? If so, when do they have it? Are there other
items competing for the same budget dollars? Are there other
constraints on spending money in the budget? Who signs off on the item?
The customer can love your price, but if they don’t have the budget you
don’t have a sale.
3. Competition
A lot of folks either forget about the competition or they ignore
them. Has the customer considered any competing products? If so, which
ones? In the mind of the customer, are your features and overall value
superior to the competition? Many sales people are reluctant to mention
the competition on the grounds that it may put the idea into a
customer’s head. This is just plain stupid thinking. Given how much
information is easily available online, no customer in their right mind
makes any kind of purchase without looking at their options, including
your competition. You have to eliminate the competition by delivering
superior value (notice I said superior value not better price), and again, it’s the customer’s opinion that counts, not yours.
4. Timeline
What is the customer’s timeline for the purchase When do they need
the product delivered by? Are they ready to purchase now? Will it need
to be next month, next quarter, next year (see Budget, above)? If the
customer says the timeline is “in the next few months” that usually
means they don’t have a timeline. And that means you don’t have a sale.
Beware: Most people don’t like saying “no” to anyone, even a
salesperson. The easiest way to not commit to a sale is to avoid a firm
timeline. As a sales person, it is your job to fish for the real
answer to this question (and all of the others). “Within the next few
months” is not a real answer. “Definitely by July 31” is.
5. UDM
Finally, a little sales jargon. UDM = Ultimate Decision Maker. In
many cases the customer you are dealing with is NOT the one to approve
the purchase. Is the UDM aware of your proposal? Have they approved the
purchase? If possible, it is always best to have actually spoken with
the UDM, have them confirm the status and answer any questions they
might have directly. If your customer is wary of having a sales person
call their boss, offer to do a joint call (10 minutes or less) with
them and their boss, or to communicate by email. Most UDMs don’t mind
being involved in such a way – it makes them feel like they earn their
paycheck
Conclusion
That’s all there is to it. If you have those five things under
control, you’ve done everything you can to get the sale to closure.
The next step is to track your sales and see if there is a regular spot
where things go awry – maybe your competition are stepping up their
value, perhaps your sales guy (or gal) doesn’t lock down the timeline.
Maybe your customers have a really long buying cycle (like schools or
the government)?
It can also be valuable to go back and look at sales that failed
before you started working this way and see if any patterns emerge.
You’ll be surprised at how often one of these simple things has been
overlooked…