Solve the Selling Puzzle
By Tom Hopkins, Trainer and Author, "How to Master the Art of Selling"The selling process can be broken into very specific pieces kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. Our goal as professionals is to never lose sight of doing the best job possible within each phase before moving on to the next. Here’s an overview of ideas to maximize your efforts in each phase:
The first piece in the selling cycle is prospecting. I would like to touch on this by sharing one aspect of selling that is a growing challenge in sales: Getting past the receptionist! I’d love you to try this phraseology when you call a company where you’re trying to get to the decision-maker. You might say: “Hello, my name is Tom Hopkins.” Now don’t give the name of your company when you’re making this type of call. You would then say, “I’m calling regarding your company’s software solutions.” Then say, “Who in your company is responsible for decisions about that? (Before they can answer, continue) By the way, who am I speaking with please?” When the receptionist gives his or her name, use it. “Ann, thank you for your help.” You might, even, if she does a very nice job on the phone, tell her what a nice job she is doing. Many receptionists don’t get a lot of recognition. I always try to make anyone in the company I’m working with an ally by giving them recognition. I find it get more and better information about the company and the decision-maker that way.
Now the second piece in the puzzle is called original contact. This is a process of meeting the person in such a way that something happens. It’s the foundation of great selling. And never forget this: When you meet a person whether it’s on the telephone or in person, you must radiate the goal of helping them like you, trust you and want to listen to you. You do this through the steps of building rapport, letting them know that they’re important to you and that you’re there to serve. Show you care in your eye contact, with your smile and tone of voice. Then, demonstrate your professionalism with the questions you ask about them and their needs.
Then we move on to the third piece in the puzzle, which is qualification. The term qualification means we’ve done our best to determine their needs. I have an acronym I use to remember the qualification process. It is NEADS. The N stands for Now. Ask: “What do you have now?” Never forget — past buying experience somewhat dictates future buying decisions. Think about that.
The E in NEADS stands for Enjoy. Whatever they enjoy about what they have now, they will want that again in the new product. Ask, “What do you enjoy most about that particular software?”
The A stands for Alter. “If you were to make a change, what would you alter?” This is important to find out because you don’t want to elaborate on a feature that they dislike in their current product. This can shut down the selling process quickly.
And the D stands for decision-maker. You need to know if there’s more than this one person involved in making decisions about the company’s software. You can find this out by simply asking, “If we are fortunate to find a product to satisfy your needs, who other than yourself would be involved in making the final decision?” That is a great sentence for you to memorize and use in the qualification process.
And of course the S stands for, Solution. Tell them, “Our Company is dedicated to providing the best solution possible. This means we find out all there is to know about what you need and then we help you with the best solution for you.”
The fourth piece in the puzzle stands for presentation. The presentation covers three basic fundamentals: Who we are, what we’ve done and what we will do for you. Make sure you cover those three areas for an effective presentation. The next major point in presentation is to cover the money thoroughly. If potential clients have any question in their minds at all about the money, they won’t be making any buying decisions.
The fifth piece of the selling puzzle is handling areas of concern. I like to teach this phase in steps so you can remember them. Step #1 is to hear them out. Don’t interrupt the client when they are voicing their objection or concern. Oftentimes, salespeople will jump in to answer the objection and find that they have answered the wrong area of concern and therefore, opened up a whole new one. Practice the discipline of listening. Hear them out.
Step #2 is called feed it back. That means we ask the client to elaborate. He might say, for example, “Tom, I really just feel it costs too much.” This is how you feed it back. Warmly say, “John, today most things do. Can you tell me how much, too much, you feel it is?” That’s the Feedback.
Step #3 is question it. We ask how important it is. “John, is this area of concern critical at arriving at a final decision?” This one question often eliminates the entire area of concern, so Question It.
Step #4, answer it. That means you are choosing the applicable closing technique. If you turn pro in this business, you’ll have numerous closing techniques to use depending on the concerns they raise. Answer it and then move onto step #5.
Step #5 is to confirm the answer. If you don’t confirm it, chances are pretty good they’ll bring it up again. Confirm by warmly saying, “Now that settles that, doesn’t it?” Nod your head slightly as you say it and they’ll tend to nod with you.
Step #6 is to change gears. You’ve confirmed that this objection or concern is no longer a consideration that could keep the client from making a decision, now move on. You can do this by using the words, “By the way...” and moving on to another area of information regarding the product or service. Those three words allow you to mentally take them to a new subject.
The sixth piece of the puzzle is closing. If the above five steps are handled properly, this step will proceed smoothly and the closing of the sale will be very natural. When beginning this step, don’t show any physical or emotional change. If you suddenly act or sound different, it will trigger fear in them and they will put up defenses.
When you reach this point, you should have thoroughly covered all the financial aspects. You can’t receive the final yes until you have covered all the money involved. Once that has been done, you are ready to ask a test question. This could be, “Why don’t we just draft up our feelings on the paperwork and see if it makes sense.”
You then follow this up by asking a reflex question. A reflex question is a question you ask that they answer without thinking. For example, the company’s billing address or the correct spelling of their last name.
The seventh piece in the puzzle is getting referrals. Many people ask for referrals and don’t get many because they don’t ask properly. In fact, some people are turned off when you ask for referrals. I handle this by saying, “John, Mary, we’re trying to build our business on a word-of-mouth basis. I would so appreciate it if right now I could help you think of a couple people I might serve and ask for a couple of introductions.” Now when you ask for these introductions, it’s imperative that you use small groups that they can think of. You might start with their business associates outside of their company, another department if it’s a large corporation, friends or members of their family. You’ll be amazed how they’ll help you if you’ve done the job properly.
The eighth and final piece of the perfect sales process is attitude. This piece is critical. Every day you must work on keeping your own attitude. Too many people in selling wait for a good client, a good transaction, a motivational meeting, a seminar, or the manager to provide material to get them motivated. The day you turn pro is the day you realize that attitude in selling is everything.
The most important thing you have every day is your enthusiasm and your excitement for the job you do in serving people. People say yes to you more on your conviction, your excitement, your enthusiasm than anything else. And if you don’t have it inside of you, you can’t transmit it out there.
Tom Hopkins made his first million in sales by the age of 27. He accomplished this by making the subject of selling his hobby—studying every aspect of the sale in incredible detail. Today, he is world-renowned as a master sales trainer. For article feedback, contact Tom at info@tomhopkins.com.