A good sale has only eight stages, but you need to stay on top of the details step by step so you know when the right time to move forward is. Understand better:
- Prepare For The Journey
First, the seller needs to gather as much information as possible, not only about the company to which he will sell but also about the person or people with whom he will talk. Have you noticed the impact your experience has when you forget to pack something or carelessly prepare your suitcase for a trip?
Preparing for the Journey is like packing your suitcase and trying to do it as best as possible, paying attention to the smallest details. Nowadays, a huge amount of information about people and companies is available on social networks and, in general, on other internet portals.
So use this to your advantage! Whether through LinkedIn or the Lattes Platform, browse your network and search industry union websites to analyze the market. Oh, and in addition to not missing any important information, also be sure to document everything in the CRM system from the first step. Your next steps are much safer when you solidify your foundation in an integrated way.
- Investigate The Terrain
Did you reach your destination? Even if you have learned that it is cold in the region and have prepared your suitcase with a wide range of options, it is always good to look around to confirm that the data you have now makes sense. After all, it never hurts to check whether what was found in preparation for the Journey corresponds to the reality of the present.
At this stage, which we can call the connection stage, the first contact with the lead is made, starting the relationship with a potential customer. You can get in touch by email, telephone, or in a meeting (face-to-face or virtual) to get to know the lead better, but it is not yet time to take any sales initiative.
At this stage with sales operations consultant, always try to absorb the main information and even some minutiae captured in your lead’s speech. That’s because the baggage you carry on him until then is important, but it shouldn’t be considered enough. That way, right after breaking the ice, ask some initial questions probing more aspects, and try to fit into the rhythm of your prospect’s speech.
This is how; gradually, you discover what your interlocutor needs and how your company can serve them! For that, you need to ask questions. And a famous technique in this sense is the so-called SPIN Selling, which classifies the seller’s questions into four types:
Situation: questions that reveal the context of the sale and give a reading on the general situation that one wants to absorb;
Problems: a little more detailed, these are doubts that reveal specific problems and difficulties that need to be overcome by the buyer;
Implication: in this case, they are questions to determine the consequences of the buyer not solving his problem. For example, you forgot to put your cell phone charger in your bag. If you don’t take any solution to this problem, what does that imply?
Needs: finally, it is time to understand the need to solve the problem that was treated. What is needed to avoid the negative implications of the problem? Does the solution you offer meet the need?
All these classifications help the seller to investigate, now in a more personal way, how the land is doing. With this connection made, the next step is to qualify the lead, that is, to verify if the potential client’s needs are compatible with the company’s offer. If you move forward here and better understand the customer’s pain, you take a huge step toward completing the various stages of a sale. From this stage on, only contacts that have reached the point of maturity to close the deal will be transmitted to salespeople.
- Signal Your Movement
During the conversation, it is paramount to demonstrate to the buyer that you are listening to them and trying to find the right solution for their needs. Throughout the dialogue, nothing should be treated as irrelevant. So, to make this clear, use body language techniques (in face-to-face conversations) and NLP to signal your posture, practicing active listening.
Also, analyze your potential client’s verbal and body language.
Signaling the milestones well throughout the conversation and aligning the points well with the interlocutor can be decisive so that, at the end of it all, the experience has been as fruitful as possible.
- Make Proposals
With properly qualified leads transformed into business opportunities, pre-sales transmits these contacts to salespeople specialized in negotiation and closing.
Thus, after understanding what your client needs, it is time to present a proposal that has value for them. That is: after you have made sure that you can solve a need of your interlocutor and overcome his problem, don’t waste time!
Be clear and objective and wait (and carefully observe) your interlocutor’s reaction when making your sales pitch. Everything takes you to the final purchase decision, which marks the official passage from the lead to the customer — and increases financial revenue.
Here with Cultivate Advisors, it is fundamental not to try to impose anything but to make the moment of proposals also an occasion for listening and learning. To follow our example, with your suitcase meticulously packed, the context observed, and the clear communication of your steps, it’s time to move on to fulfill the purpose of your trip finally.
In this context, the CRM would be the equivalent of a smartphone, where everything in your trip is organized, recorded, and defined.
