Whenever the idea of a planned presentation comes up, usually the first thing sales people think about is a “canned script.” In a canned script, I am referring to the old-fashioned, smile-and-dial era, word-for-word, rehearsed, “Pitch.” Such was a primary tool of sales people, in particular telemarketers, years ago. Alternatively, we had the opposite of the canned spiel with the show up and throw up method, where sales people just walked in and did whatever they thought came natural.

While most sales professionals have rose above the smile and dial pitch, the question arises of the validity of using a planned sales presentation today. While not exactly a throw-up tactic, many still believe it is best to know all you can know about your product and prospect, and then just go in and let the sales interaction flow impromptu, directed by the prospect’s interests. So, dealing with today’s modern and educated buyer, should you play-it-by-ear and wing it, or use a planned and structured sales interaction?

Defining a Planned Sales Interaction
I believe that for the majority of selling situations, you should use a well-planned and structured sales presentation; but allow me to define exactly what I mean.

Although with a planned presentation, you may have a few words or phrases that you might use verbatim, I am not talking about a canned script. By a planned presentation, I am referring to “a thoroughly interactive, yet totally controlled methodical process that systemically moves the sale through incremental, yet critical stages, accomplishing interim goals at each step, while maximizing the odds of closing the sale.”

You can keep your sales interaction feeling impromptu, but you must have a way to control the direction and outcomes. You should have a step-by-step process that leads to a successful conclusion. In such, you can maintain the flexibility to adapt to responses, yet keep the process on track towards a narrow objective.

A Strategy
A Planned sales interaction is a strategy. With a planned interaction, you want to know what you need to accomplish at each stage of the presentation. For instance, in your first step, you may want to design proper seating arrangements as soon as you arrive. Or you may want to find out more about the prospect’s delivery systems during your warm-up talk. Perhaps you need to uncover more about the current contract the prospect has with a competitor.

In your second stage, perhaps you need to uncover exactly how much the prospect is spending on the outdated system, how much time their people are wasting due to lack of training. It is a plan on what you need to accomplish and when.

Planned VS Canned
So what is the difference between a planned sales interaction and a canned pitch?

A Canned Script – PUSHES: Pushes benefits, forces ideas, and minimises interaction.
A Planned Structure – Pulls: Pulls out problems, uncovers pain and maximises interaction.

A Canned Script – SUPPRESSES: Suppresses responses and objections and stifles emotion.
A Planned Structure – EXTRACTS: Extracts responses and objections early or avoids them and stimulates emotion.

A Canned Script – TELLS: Tells the prospect things.
A Planned Structure – ASKS: Asks the prospect questions.

In dealing with today’s sophisticated and educated buyer, now more than ever, you need to have a well-thought-out plan. You must have a strategy to accomplish every sales goal, including just setting an appointment.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

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You know the age-old Golden Rule—“Do not reveal the price until the end.” Even if you are new to sales, management has told you that you have to wait until the closing stages before you tell the prospect the price.

However, does such a rule or concept still have merit, especially in dealing with today’s modern and educated buyer? Since today’s prospect has instant access to a ton of information about what you sell before you even show up, and they are so short on time; does it still make sense to hold out on the price, even if the prospect is demanding to know?

In a word…YES!! Below are three critical reasons why you should still never reveal the price until you have built significant value.

#1. Price is Irrelevant Until You Have Established the Value
For your product or service to have any value to the prospect, the prospect must have a NEED for that product or service. Before you can establish a need, there must be a solution. Before there can be a solution, you must unearth a problem. The significance of the problem for which the product is a solution, determines its value. Until there is such a value, the price is meaningless. The following analogy, though absurdly fictitious, will help demonstrate the point.

If I came to sell you a gigantic inflatable chair and I told you that the price for this huge, pink blow-up chair is £600, would you buy it? Would you consider it for a discounted price of only £350? You would have to think that such a child’s toy is not worth more than £10.

However, what if I informed you that the local reservoir dam just collapsed, the equivalent of a small tsunami is on the way, and in a few minutes, the entire town is going to be 20 feet under water. Now if I asked £10,000 for that same chair, you would consider it a bargain.

The price is irrelevant until you have established value.

#2. The Prospect’s Ability to Listen Disappears After They Hear the Price
The moment you reveal the price, the prospect makes a buying decision. On hearing the price, the prospect feels they have all of the information they need, and makes a mental decision (usually negative), and that’s it. The prospect now has a closed-mind, and deems any additional information unnecessary. It becomes near impossible to build value after you have revealed the price.

#3. Price Before Value Creates a False “Price vs. Value” Perception
The sale takes place when, to the prospect, the value exceeds the price. This is not about money. It is about perception and expectations in the prospect’s mind that determine how they feel about the offer. It is about emotion. When you quote a price before establishing value, it creates the perception of a price that far outweighs the value. No matter how you try to build value after revealing the price, you cannot change that feeling, because you cannot, (significantly or justifiably), change the price.

Conversely, if you build the value before price, in the prospect’s mind that price will be greater than the value. If you have done a reasonable job building value, then when you finally reveal the price, it should be but a fraction of the established value. Therefore, the prospect perceives the price to be far less than excepted and thus a proper price vs. value perception results.

And how exactly should you respond to the prospect who asks you for the price upfront?

Here’s how:

“James, there are a lot of options and variables that we need to take into consideration before I can give you an accurate figure. Is it ok if I ask you a couple of questions to get some further information so I know which one of our products/service would be the right one for you?”

A lot has changed when it comes to dealing with today’s modern buyer. However, holding on to that price until after you have built the value, is one concept that must stay the same.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Bestselling Author, Sales Authority & Speaker On Modern Day Selling Methods 

MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

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Hi all,

It’s Louise here again, filling you in on the latest news from the MTD HQ. November has been a very busy month for Sean and the team as we held our first ever Sales Summit recently!

MTD’s MD Sean McPheat has had many successful experiences keynoting at business events and conferences across the country, and he thought it was about time MTD had our very own sales event…and what an event it was!

Our 2011 Sales Summit was held on Thursday 17^th November in Heathrow, and with over 100 UK and international sales professionals in attendance it certainly was a packed day.  

The Summit played host to 3 fantastic speakers who presented four must-see sessions on all manner of topics, from prospecting, networking and building value during a sales interaction, right up to influencing, negotiating and communicating with potential customers.

Sean kicked off the day with his first session on “The Ultimate Sales Audit”, where he helped guests to thoroughly rip their sales approach to pieces and really analyse the way that they currently sell. Sean encouraged his guests to make the most of their sales interactions and gave great direction on how to pre-sell their products.

The second session of the day was taken by international public speaker Simon Hazeldine, who had our guests rolling with laughter during his fantastic session on “Bare Knuckle Negotiating”. As an ex-bouncer from a former life, Simon had plenty of real-life experiences to share with our guests as he took our delegates through the negotiation process – sharing with them the strategies, tricks and tactics they need to survive and thrive when negotiating with a client.

Following a networking lunch in the beautiful atrium of the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, guests took their seats once again as Sean McPheat returned to the stage to present his much sought-after session on eselling®. Sean is the creator of the alternative sales approach known as eselling®, which helps businesses to prospect and sell online through the use of social media and other internet based services. Guests, of course, were very keen to see this session in particular, as this is fast becoming one of the biggest successes of Sean’s recent accomplishments.  

During this session Sean showed his guests how they can use the internet to network with key decision makers, listen for leads, prospect online and position themselves as an industry expert.

One of the main focuses of the eselling® approach is to teach sales professionals how to use social media within their business, and to gain a real and substantial return on their investment – so Sean treated his guests to a 20 minute LinkedIn video tutorial, in which he gave guests a guided tour of the benefits of using LinkedIn as a business tool and showed them how they can create valuable business leads via this medium.  

The day was capped off nicely by a very entertaining session from Sean’s number one Sales Trainer Mark Williams. Mark presented a session on The New ROI, in which he showed guests how to get a return on influence with their clients. Mark taught guests how to better understand and communicate with their clients, how to get clients on their side and how to influence people on a subconscious level.

In a final flurry of magic and mystery Mark even turned four grown men into a human table which went down a storm with the attendees!

Following the event, both Sean and the team have received some brilliant feedback from our guest, with many commenting that they are very much looking forward to next year’s Summit. Here’s what a few of our attendees have said about the Sales Summit:

“Sean delivers an excellent approach to selling that has helped me tremendously with my sales techniques. The conference he set up was great and I would recommend attending it to expand your abilities as a salesman.” – Andy Naisbitt, Business Development Manager at Gen3 Kinematics

“Sean is an inspiring and well prepared presenter. His ideas on today’s buyer are clearly well researched and his modern day sales concepts are backed up with practical examples and his own living proof that they work – Sean “walks his talk”. An expert in his field, Sean is also down to earth, personable and appreciative of his audience.” - Stephanie Keller, Sales Coach and Consultant at S2 Strategic Skills

“A fantastic and informative Sales Summit day, full of brand new content. I have learned more than in any other course I have attended in the past, the event was well organised and the speakers were amazing. I really look forward to attending some other courses with MTD Sales Training and thank you very much for your on-going email support which I highly appreciate and respect.” Kubilay Tunc, The Cumberland Hotel

Both Sean and the team have been thrilled with the feedback we’ve received from the event and we are now looking forward to the 2012 Sales Summit – bring it on!

Happy Selling!

Louise Denny

Marketing Manager 

MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Many people are under the impression that LinkedIn is generally only used as a recruitment tool, as it is very common to find job advertisements posted all over the site, and obviously LinkedIn’s main function is to provide each member with a professional (and searchable) profile – but recruitment is not the only service LinkedIn can provide and as a business owner or sales professional you should now realise what a fantastic tool LinkedIn can be…if you know how to use it.

Yes, it is true that LinkedIn in its most basic description is a professional platform where you can host your professional profile, connect with other professionals and engage in discussion with likeminded individuals…but if you cannot see beyond that then you really are missing a trick.

The way I view LinkedIn is as the biggest and best DECISION MAKER SEARCH ENGINE the world has ever seen! LinkedIn is 100% searchable, and that right there is the real beauty of the site, as hundreds of thousands of potential leads are waiting at your fingertips – you just need to know how to find and connect with them. Through a quick search of keywords you can find they key decision makers at the big companies you are interested in approaching, find out where they are spending their time and what they are interested in – all you have to do is reach out to them and make that initial contact.

Did you know that…

• 1 new member joins LinkedIn every second – LinkedIn Press Centre
• 59% of active social media users rate LinkedIn as their number one platform of choice – Performics

Are you beginning to see the potential yet?

You should be. So the real question then is how do you use LinkedIn to prospect and connect to potential leads?

Keyword Searches

The first thing you need to do is compile a list of keywords related to both your business and the people you are looking to connect with. You can search on keywords related to an industry or job titles. This could be Sales Managers, Sales Directors etc of companies in the technology industry, both worldwide and in the UK, by a specific region, who have 50 or more staff within their company.

You can be as general or specific as you want with these searches, meaning that you can target exactly the right type of LinkedIn members who you believe would be interested in your products and services.

Track Who Is Viewing Your Profile

You can track who is looking at your profile and how often they are viewing it, so that you can act instantly on companies and professionals who are already researching you and your company – meaning you are already on their radar and can therefore start to build a relationship with these leads.

Research Potential Contacts And Leads

A very basic element of LinkedIn is the ability to research not only individual people, but also to research who works for each company – so that you can find the right contact to connect with, rather trying to chase a lead through a member who will not be the key decision maker further down the line.

Set Up A Company Profile

Simply setting up a company profile won’t suddenly generate a whole bunch of valuable leads but it is a good way of pulling all of your team members together under one page and boosting your personal brand, as it gives both potential clients and staff alike a place to connect and engage with each other and your company.

A LinkedIn company profile can be just as content-heavy and in-depth as your company website, as you can host your tweets, blog feed and embed banner images and videos on your page. You can also ask for both company and product/service recommendations via LinkedIn, which will really boost your credibility and add real value to the company and your products and services for all who view your company profile.

Join Groups And Participate In Discussion

This is perhaps the most direct way of prospecting via LinkedIn, as this is where you will start to make real contact with your desired clients, and through genuine engagement in these forums you can start to build good social relationships that can later be turned into valuable leads.

Find out what groups your prospects are members of, and then join these groups and start contributing to them through genuine and helpful content and by partaking in discussions and debates with fellow members. Once you have made this initial connection with a prospect via an enthusiastic exchange of ideas in a LinkedIn group it then becomes much easier to introduce yourself from a business perspective and start to take your relationship from a social to professional context.   

Prospecting On LinkedIn

The topics I have discussed above really are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to prospecting via LinkedIn, and there are many other factors involved in creating solid B2B leads from this sort of social media activity which go way beyond what we have discussed so far.

If you would like more information about prospecting on LinkedIn and through other social media sites and internet based resources then the eselling® approach will be of real value to you. eselling® is the art of using the internet and social media to prospect, network, build your personal brand and engage with key decision makers online – and this will help boost your knowledge on the modern way to prospect and sell online.   

Happy Selling,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Bestselling Author, Sales Authority & Speaker On Modern Day Selling Methods 

MTD Sales Training

(Image by The Seafarer)

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

32 years ago Brit band “Buggles” released their smash hit “Video Killed The Radio Star”, which paid homage to the way that technological advantages in television had crushed the success of the radio with its modern capabilities.

In today’s modern world, could we now be seeing the start of a new revolution? Has the internet and social media killed off the more traditional ways of selling? The outdated methods of cold calling, face-to-face networking and door to door sales are failing fast in the face in the ever-blossoming rise of the internet.

In order to understand how has this come about we need to look at the way selling has evolved over the last 30 years.

The Evolution of Selling 

The way that we sell has gone through massive changes over the last few decades. Let me explain the evolution of the sales process to you:

Essentially we have moved from an era whereby sales professionals would just turn up and roll off their sales pitch to the buyer – which was nothing more than a one-way monologue in which the sales person would simply push their product or service on the client – to the realisation that in order to sell a product or service to a client, sales professionals need to pull out the problems the buyer is having during a two-way discussion and THEN show why their product or service would be a solution to these problems.

This process took an even greater leap forward with the invention of the internet, as buyers now had a world of information at their fingertips, meaning that they could “google” all about the product or service, the company and even the sales professionals themselves before they decided to enter into the sales process.

Today, the buyer is now even more informed and knowledgable about you, your company and your products and services than ever before, as they not only come prepared with vast amounts of information about the product or service, but they also engage in a dramatically high level of social media discussion – in which they can gain peer recommendations about who they should be buying from and potentially be discussing your company with past customers and even your main competitors.

The Modern Day Buyer

So the big question then: who is the modern day buyer and how do they now decide to make a purchase?

Today’s buyers are much more sales savvy than their predecessors – they conduct research online about your products and services, your company, your competitors and they can even find out information about you on a personal level as well.

They want more choice, they want more for less, they want to bash your prices down and play you off against your competitors until you are practically giving it away! Buyers today are much more ruthless than many sales professionals realise – and this is because they are far more prepared and well informed than ever, before you even get the chance to speak to them.

There are some big questions you should be asking yourself when it comes to engaging with the modern day buyer. What online tools are they using to find out about you, your company or your products and services? What discussions are they having with other potential customers, current customers or even your competitors about your products or services?

Your buyers are an upgraded version of those you have encountered before; they have changed the way that they buy…but have you changed the way that you sell?

Cold Calling R.I.P?

Cold calling as we know it is dying. Sales professionals hate making cold calls and people hate receiving them. Just look at these statistics and you will see why cold calling is fast becoming a dying art form:

• 73% of decision makers won’t accept an inbound cold call – Market Transformations
• 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations – Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey
• 2 out of 3 decision makers place more trust in their own research than in sales people – Market Transformations
• 90% of buying decisions are based on internet research – Gartner research

People want to buy; they don’t want to be sold to – so going in for that hard sale just a few lines into a cold call that your buyer didn’t even want to receive is not likely to get the desired response.

What you should be doing is “smart calling” – you need to make a connection with your prospective client first, by starting a discussion on Facebook or LinkedIn, or tweeting them an interesting link on Twitter which might help them solve a problem they are having. Once you’ve built this initial relationship with your client in the online environment they are most comfortable in, then  – and only then – do you make the call.

The Social Media Revolution

The Social Media Revolution is well and truly upon us and here are some interesting facts you that should know:

• More than 30 billion pieces of content are shared each month on Facebook – Facebook Press Office
• Twitter gets more than 300,000 new users every day – The Chirp Conference
• A new member joins LinkedIn every second – LinkedIn Press Centre

There has never been a more vital time to be out there on the internet, where you can be found, interacting with potential buyers and making a proactive effort to be involved with the discussion and sharing happening in the world of social media.

You need to contribute to groups, forums and discussions. You need to position yourself online as a trusted advisor and industry expert, who can be relied upon to give good, solid and honest advice to support your buyers with whatever queries they may have.

Everyone likes to feel like they are getting something for nothing, and if your prospective clients feel like you are giving them your time and expertise without immediately demanding something in return you will be amazed at how quickly you can become the go-to-guy when they buyer decides they’re finally ready to make a purchase.

Your buyers are now in control; they know what they want, they know when they want it and they do their research.  They don’t want to be interrupted with your call and they want to buy from someone they feel like they can trust.

By using the right social media and internet-based resources, you can start to network online, build up a reputation as an industry expert, build up your personal brand and find the people who are already interested in your products and services.  Once you have established this first point of contact with them you’ll find it so much easier to make that sales call.

Happy Selling

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

You have set a solid appointment, and immediately sent an email verifying the meeting information.  You then followed up by confirming the appointment by telephone the day before. Finally, you arrive at the 10:00 a.m. appointment a proper 15 minutes early.  The receptionist informs you that she will notify the decision maker (DM) that you are there.

However, 10:00 comes and goes and you find yourself still waiting in the reception area.  By 10:15 you check with the receptionist who tells you that the DM knows you are waiting and must be running just a bit late.  10:20. 10:25. 10:30 and still nothing.  The DM finally appears over 40 minutes late.  What should you do?

Acknowledgment Equals Respect
For the prospect that comes out with sincere apologies like, “I am so sorry to keep you waiting.  We had an emergency…” you may just let it go as you both work together.  However, what of that prospect that shows obvious and total disrespect for your time?   What of that prospect who just says, “Ok, I’ll see you now…” Or the one who greets you without the slightest regard for what happened?

A Delicate and Volatile Situation
This is a very touchy predicament.  On one hand, you obviously do not want to anger the prospect or chance killing the sale.  On the other hand, you can not overlook what, at best may be evidence of a slip-shod, inconsiderate businessperson; but at worst, can demonstrate an improper, inappropriate and possibly deliberate disregard for you and your value as a person and a professional.

Do Nothing?
Again, in cases where the prospect shows some acknowledgement of the mishap, forgetting it may be the thing to do as you both work out a solution together.  However, understand that if a prospect views you in such low esteem to not offer some explanation, then it is unlikely that anything good will result from this relationship.  If the prospect sees no value in you or your time, how can he or she possibly see any value in what you do or sell?

If you allow a prospect to treat you like a low-level peddler, then that is exactly what you will be.  Should you close the sale, you can bet this prospect will haggle with you on price, demanding more for less, and will never be satisfied with your service.   Chances are this would be a nightmare client who constantly demands your time, complains about everything, pays little or nothing and will jump to your competitor the moment a slightly better offer comes along.

Be A Professional
You must take control of situations like this, letting the prospect know that you are a professional and that your time is valuable. It is imperative that the buyer view your time as important and expensive as it is.

What to Do
What you need to do in these situations is to use the incident to raise the value of your time and achieve your objective to move the sale forward.  You want to use the situation as a positive.  Below and continuing in the next two posts, I will give you an effective method to take control of the above situation and use it to your advantage!

Use the prospect’s tardy incident to your advantage.  Here are four ways to do this and you can use one or all of the ideas that fit your selling situation.

1. Use the incident to enlighten the prospect of the issue without making it an attack

2. Use the incident to insure a proper meeting as planned

3. Use the incident to set the next meeting

4. Use the incident to raise the value of you, your time and your products or services

What to Do When the Prospect Is Very Late For the Appointment: Part II
Posting October 6, 2011

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

In Step I of designing your sales process, you determined the total length of time of the optimum sales cycle.  Then, in Step II, you designed the individual sales stages.  Now, let us look at what to do with this information and how the sales process will help you get better results from your sales activity and  make more sales!

Let us use a hypothetical sales person whose sales process looks like this:

• Suspect                     Indefinite
• Lead                         Indefinite
• Prospect                      1 day
• Working                     5 days
• Contact                      10 days
• Appointment             10 days
• Interaction                2 days
• Proposal                    1 days
• Negotiating               0 days
• Order                         1 days
• Installation                1 days
• Sold                            0 days

Total 12 Stages           Maximum time: 31 days

For this sales person, once he has a prospect, he should be actively working the account immediately.  He should make contact with the decision maker (DM) within five days after receiving the account, and he has ten days to set an appointment.  That sales interaction should take place within ten days and then the prospect should have a proposal two days later. 

In this sample sales process, there is no negotiating or waiting time for a decision, as the sales person should get a decision during that closing interaction.  If the prospect accepts the offer, the order should be in the system the next day, the installation complete the day after, and payment received on or before installation.

CRM Software and Your Sales Process
Once you have established a solid sales process, you need to configure and customise your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software program to reflect and accurately record your activity.  Every account in your database should have a “stage” assigned and your system should be able to give you reports of how many accounts are at what stages and how long they have been there. 

The Science of the Sales Process
With this sales process in place, we look and see that our sales person is having some problems.  Though he is working hard, and has a closing average that is actually a little higher than most sales people in the firm, he is consistently under sales quota.  What is wrong?

We investigate using the CRM software’s calculations and find that the sales person’s sales process is far off of the optimum plan:   

• Suspect                       0 days
• Lead                          0 days
• Prospect                      0 days
• Working                      22 days
• Contact                       2 days
• Appointment              15 days
• Interaction                  8 days
• Proposal                     4 days
• Negotiating                 0 days
• Order                         1 days
• Installation                 1 days
• Sold                          0 days

You can see some major problems right away.  First, the sales person does indeed work hard, as it appears the moment he gets an account; he immediately goes to work on it.  However, when it should take him 5 days to make contact with the DM, it takes our sales person an average of 22 days, as some accounts remain in the “contact” position indefinitely!  Once he reaches the DM, he sets the appointment almost instantly, often in one cold call. 

What do you think is one of the sales person’s problems? 

Uncover the Problem and Fix It
We can plainly see that our sales person is great at setting the appointment once he reaches the DM, but he has a real problem getting through gatekeeper screens.  You may think that this would be obvious, yet it usually is not.  When you are working with dozens or hundreds of leads, and making tons of cold calls, as long has you are having some success, it is very difficult to see the facts. 

We can also see that the sales person usually sets the appointment too far out.  In addition, after the sales interaction, the prospect should receive a proposal the next day.  However, it takes our rep over a week to deliver a proposal.  Why is this? 

Establish a solid sales process and use it to sharpen your selling activities at every stage.  As you can see, our hypothetical sales person could actually have a high closing average.  That is, he may close most of the proposals he finally delivers.  However, until he addresses the problems in his process, he will never be successful. 

Finally
Lastly, in establishing your sales process, set closing averages at each stage, as well.  For instance, what percentage of DMs contacted, should result in an appointment?  How many appointments should result in a proposal? 

Let us assume your optimum process says that 80% of all sales interactions should result in a delivered proposal.  However, you see that your average is only 50%.  You instantly know that you have a problem and you know exactly where and what it is, and now you can fix it.

Establish a solid sales process and take the guesswork out of selling.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

In Part I of “How to Design an Effective Sales Process,” we talked about how the sales process is your blue print to convert leads into prospects and prospects into clients.  In the first step in creating your sales process, you determined the total length of time it should take to close the sale from start to finish, under optimum conditions.  

With a total allotted time line set for the entire sales cycle, the next step is to figure out each stage in the sales process.  You want to determine each stage of the sale and the optimum period for each stage.  Consider the entire sales cycle, and then break it down into individual stages. 

Sample Sales Stages
Below are some sample sales stages and time frames.  These are generic examples of possible sales stages and periods.  Depending on your situation, many of these examples may apply, or only a few.   This is just to give you a better idea of how to structure your sales stages and times.  Here are 12 sample sales stages from which you can determine which apply to your particular selling parameters.  

Sample Sales Stages and Times 

Stage                            Time

1. Suspect                   Indefinite
I’m not particularly fond of this term, however sales people who have worked with an organized sales process before will be familiar with it.  I am referring to a piece of unqualified data.  It could be the name of a business or consumer, but it is not yet a qualified prospect or even a bona fide lead.  Note: The reason the first three stages have a time frame of indefinite is because it could be information stored in your database that no one has yet seen. 

2. Lead                      Indefinite
Now you have some basic information and know that the contact could possibly be a prospect.  Often, your sales information will begin with “leads.”

3. Prospect                 Indefinite
Now you have identified the contact as a viable prospect who meets your targeting, technical and demographic qualifications.  

4. Working                  5 days
Now a sales person (or you) has attempted to contact the decision maker (DM) in this account. You determined that under optimum conditions, the sales person should make contact with the DM within five days after receiving the account.

5. Contact                    5 days
The sales rep has made contact with the DM, and should set an appointment within 5 days.

6. Appointment          10 days
The sales person has set an appointment, and should consummate that meeting within ten days.

7. Discovery Interaction 10 days
Rep met with DM and conducted the discovery meeting.  You want the closing interaction to take place no longer than ten days later.

8. Proposal/Closing Interaction  7 days
Sales person made the proposal and asked for the order. 

9. Negotiating            5 days
Now negotiating or waiting for a decision

10. Order                    7 days
The DM has placed an order

11. Shipped                 2 days
The order has shipped

12. Sold                       3 days
Product delivered and payment received

As you can see, these are very generic stages, but you get the idea.  Also, there are many other stages you may need to use such as:

Opt-in
Literature Sent
Literature Received
Follow Up Call
Not Interested
No Sale           (There is a big difference between Not interested and No Sale)
Disqualified
Order Shipped
In Financing

You may also consider additional stages after the sale, such as:

Customer
Reorder Customer
Phase II
Expansion Customer
Client
Partner

Design the stages of your sales process.

Next up, Part III – Putting It All Together
Posting September 23, 2011

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

The Sales Process is your guide; your step-by-step road map to sales success.  To reach any goal or objective with consistency, you need a plan.  The Sales Process is your plan, your blue print on how to turn a lead into a prospect, motivate a prospect to become a customer and help a customer become a long-term client.  The Sales Process is like a funnel, where in you will deposit as many “raw subjects” as possible in the top of the funnel.  Then, each “stage” of the sales process filters and refines these subjects, finally producing a smaller amount of sales. 

Professional selling is a business and a science and to be successful you must work efficiently.  A properly designed sales process will help you identify obstacles and problems within your sales system.  When sales are slow, it is not always due to poor closing rates.  A properly designed sales process will allow you to identify the obstacles that clog your sales funnel and cost you time and money.  If you design and follow a comprehensive sales process, you will move prospects systematically from “contact” to “sold” with efficiency.    

Over the next few posts, I will help you design your own sales process that you can customise to fit your exact selling situation and cycle. 

Step I: The Total Sales Cycle Time 
The first step in designing your sales process is to determine the optimum desired amount of time your sales cycle should take from beginning to end.  In other words, if everything went perfect, from start to finish, how long should the sale take?  How long should it be from the time you first acquired the lead or contact information, to the time you close the sale and receive the payment?  

Short or Long
It does not matter if you work on a one-call close or a multifaceted, inter-departmental, sales cycle that takes several months.  In either case, determine the optimum, best-case scenario.  In addition, you need to include everything that completes the sale in this time line.  If there is financing involved, then the sale is not complete until the funds are in place.  Include all of the logistics; delivery, set up, installation, etc. 

Figure out what is the length of time the sale should take from beginning to end.  

Lastly, this length of time has to be a realistic figure.  Do not use a figure that represents dreams and wishes.  Use real life examples and case studies to make this determination.   Once you have a set length of time the optimum sales process should take, then you have something to compare all sales to, as they move through the process. 

Next, Part II – The Sales Stages
Posting September 21, 2011

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Appointments that cry off at the last minute will cost you a great deal of money.  In addition to the time you spent to set the appointment, now you have travel time, gas and a host of other less tangible expenses.  Depending on your business, it may be impossible to eliminate canceled appointments completely.  However, you can greatly reduce them and diminish their effect on your sales process and income.   

Phrase the Appointment Differently
One way to help make appointments more solid is to phrase the appointment differently than normal. When you make an appointment over the telephone, where you are going to go see the prospect, as you are confirming, it may sound something like this:

“Great.  So Mr Prospect I will see you at your office on Tuesday, the 25^th at 3:00 p.m.” 

The problem is that often when you are to go meet the prospect, the prospect does not get a clear mental picture of an appointment.  In many cases, the prospect does not have to go anywhere or do anything.  The prospect will go to work as normal because you are coming to see him or her.  The prospect often feels as if he or she has no responsibility. 

Alternatively, if the prospect has to go somewhere to meet someone, the appointment takes on a different meaning.  So, when setting an appointment where you are to meet at the prospect’s place, simply turn it around and still ask the prospect meet you.  Here is an example:

“Great.  So Mr Prospect, we are set for next Tuesday, the 25^th at your office, and you will meet me there at 3:00 p.m., is that right?”  

Just have the prospect meet you even if you are going there.  This subtle change gives the appointment a different, more important feeling. 

Set Irregular Times for the Appointment
Another highly effective way to help keep more appointments from failing is to use off times for the appointment.  Instead of the traditional on-the-hour or on-the-half-hour times, try to set appointments for 15 minutes before the hour, or 20 minutes after.  As an example:

“Great.  So Mr Prospect, we are set for next Tuesday, the 25^th at your office, and you will meet me there at 2:45 p.m., is that right?”  

This approach not only makes it much harder to forget the appointment, but it also gives the impression of an easy, short meeting.  In addition, this gives you the image of a very busy VIP, whose time is extremely valuable and who schedules his meetings to the second. 

When Possible, Have the Prospect Direct You
In the modern day of things like Google Maps connected cell phones and Map Quest, people seldom ask directions.  However, asking for directions to the meeting place is a great way to help solidify the appointment in the prospect’s mind.  Ask for precise directions and if the meet is in an office building, then ask for directions once you are inside the building.   

Follow the above three lesser-known tips and you will have more completed appointments, more closing attempts and more sales.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…