WHAT’S IMPORTANT NOW

Introduction, probing, trial closes, demo’s, close, follow-up, paper work, delivery, billing, collections, training, follow-up, introduction, probing, trial closes, demo’s, close, follow-up, paper work, delivery, billing, collections, training, follow-up. You may have an extra step, or you may not use one of these steps, but the idea is always the same for sales reps.

The question I have had asked of me hundreds of times is, “What is the most important step to making a sales?”

My answer is always, “It depends on what is important NOW!”

When you are working with a customer, you go through the steps of the sales, sometimes in order and sometimes it will depend on how the customer replies. I have seen reps go from hello to thank you for the order in as little as 3 steps. Introduction, probe and close (actually the customer said send it so you could say it happened in 2 steps).  In this case the “Most Important” step could only be Introduction or probe.

What steps will you use on your next prospect? You don’t know do you? Either do I that is why you need to know all the steps and be ready for all the replies a customer can give you.

If you are thinking that that is really not an answer, you are right! Now you think about it for a minute and tell me if you have a better answer.

We know that every customer is different, and every sales call is different. Sometimes the product or service you are selling fits perfectly and sometimes you need to tweak it to make it fit. All these factors influence the steps you will use and the order you use them in. At any time a customer may tell you send it, or that they are not interested. You need to know how to react immediately to the situation. I will go back to the original question, “What is the most important step to making a sale?” and I will go back to the original answer, “It depends on what is important NOW!”

Let’s understand that we do NOT dictate what the customer says or how a customer acts. Therefore we need to be experts of our own sales process. Think of a football team, they all have set plays they practice over and over again. Even after all the practice the opposing team may show a different type of defense that the team may have not seen before or may have not practiced against. So what do they do? They adjust! They make changes right there on the field. How do they know what to do? PRACTICE! They focus on what they know, NOT on what they don’t know. In other words, they focus on WHAT’S IMPORTANT NOW!

How will you know what is important NOW? PRACTICE! By going over your selling process hundreds of times and thinking about the transitions from one step to the next, not just in order, but in EVERY order, you will become the expert that will KNOW WHAT’S IMPORTANT and be able to make the adjustments necessary to get the order.

The only other unknown is what the customer may say that you didn’t think of. Let’s say that the customer drops a bomb on you in the middle of your sales process and you are caught off guard, what is important now? My experience has always shown me that when this happens getting myself some time to regroup is the most important thing. What you need is an escape hatch, a way to get out of the sales process without hurting the sales possibility. A great way I have always found to do this is to stop things from moving forward by asking for time to “Look something up”. I would say a very simple line, “Hold on, I need to look something up” (gezz, I am so smart) then I would open my catalog, crank up my laptop, or go to my smart phone and start a search. I would always try to keep the customer right there with me as I searched. I didn’t want the customer getting sidetracked with something else before I finished. What was I searching for? WHO CARES? I was just giving myself some time to figure out what to say to the customer and get back into sales mode. Remember, IT WAS GETTING TIME THAT WAS IMPORTANT NOW! With a little creativity and a lot of practice, you will find your escape hatch and learn the best way to use it.

If you can focus on what’s important now, you will always stay in control of the sale and be better prepared to guide the customer through your sales process.

Lorin