4-Step Selling Formula: Win Hearts, Close Deals

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If you're any kind of commercial business, the most important thing you need to do is sell stuff. Everything starts with a sale. You have no revenue to fund anything unless you have sales. You don't have payroll, you don't have rent, and you don't have advertising or marketing until you have sales. So how do you get sales?

Obviously, you want to get people first to be aware of your product, to like it, and to want it. But you still need some process to transact the sale. If it's a small, less-than-$100 transaction, this can normally be done online or with a cash register. Once you start getting over $100, $150, or $200, you probably need some type of conversation with the prospective buyer.

If you're selling a car, you need a car salesman. If you're selling real estate, you need a real estate agent. If you're selling insurance, you need insurance brokers. Even if it's a smaller item, you want to have customer service—somebody that can talk to your customer. Do you have a plan for that? Does that person who is speaking to your clients have a strategy to make the sale the highest priority, giving you the highest probability of getting that sale?

Look, if the customer calls you, they have some interest. If you're a real estate company or car dealership, they didn't call you to order a pizza. If you're selling insurance, they didn't call to buy a pad of paper. They're calling for a reason, so you want to have a strategy for that call the minute it comes in. Every one of those calls represents a person that has your money in their pocket.

We're not talking about misrepresenting things or high-pressure sales. We're talking about helping the customer flow through that sales funnel—from "I want to find out more" to them being very happy to do business with you. That's a process. People are going to call, and they're going to be skeptical because that's the nature of the beast. They're going to part with their hard-earned money, whatever dollar amount you're asking them for in exchange for your product or service.

Think about what went into them earning that money. If it's a $300 item, for example, and that person earns $30 an hour, you're asking them to give you 10 hours of their labor—10 hours of their life—for your product. Certainly, they have some interest in it to begin with. They see that it might solve a problem or serve a need. That's why they're calling you. But how do you get them from that point to "cha-ching" where you're cashing the register?

First, you have to have a series of steps. We're going to talk about one possible way to do this with four steps to follow through this road to a sale or pathway to a sale. Many of you are familiar with this, and many of you already use it. But if you're not—or even if you are—you might want to make sure the process is at least intentional.

You don't want to just be giving out information like a talking brochure and letting the customer buy something on their own. You want to help the customer. That's why they called you. They don't want you to slam dunk them or high-pressure them into something, but they do want you to help them buy the thing they want to buy.

Give them some confidence in it. If you just say, "Hey, whatever, if you feel like buying it, great; if not, no big deal," that doesn't help them. They want to see confidence that they're in the right place and doing the right thing. They want you to validate their thought that what you have is good for them. If you're not even validating it or if the person you have on the phone lacks confidence in your product, how the heck are they going to have it?

Step one is to develop a good rapport. Start with a pleasant connection. Call it meeting, greeting, or whatever you want, but whoever's on the phone must establish that they're not just another robot voice. For example, we had an email come through the other day from a potential customer who reached one of our divisions after hours. Our automated responses went out, and they said, "I don't want to do business with a computer. I don't buy things from computers." Valid point, right?

The second step is asking the customer where they're coming from. Call it qualifying, fact-finding, or needs analysis. You want to start by understanding what the customer is trying to accomplish before you start selling. Even if they ask you, "Hey, what is this product you're selling? Are these widgets any good?" you might think that's an opportunity to jump into selling mode, but it's not. You're not there yet.

Step three is product or service presentation. You're going to answer their questions and mix in things about your product or service that are important for them to know—good and bad. Be honest about taxes, delivery times, or potential limitations. Include everything relevant, so there are no surprises later.

Finally, step four is asking for the sale. Say, "Hey, do you want to buy it?" Give the customer an opportunity to do business with you. If they're not ready, that's fine. But at least you'll know where you stand.

Sales can be challenging, and rejection is part of the game. But remember, every customer interaction is an opportunity to refine your approach and improve your process for the next sale. Keep refining, and don't be afraid to ask the hard questions or face objections head-on.

4-Step Selling Formula: Win Hearts, Close Deals
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