Drop All the Fancy Sales Tactics and Focus on the Fundamentals to Close Deals

[Woosah]

You've probably heard me mention on more than one occasion how important sales are to a business's survival and growth.

There are tons of people I meet who need help with this.

Looking at what's out there, I can understand why—"business gurus" complicate the process by introducing so many tactics and methods that really aren't necessary.

The truth is, selling is simple and focusing on it is the quickest way to turn your business around.

It's all about taking emotion out of the picture and just focusing on the fundamentals.

And I'm going to tell you exactly what those are here.

To start, I want to stress that selling is not about convincing anyone to buy something they don't need or want—and can't benefit from having.

Those old-school high-pressure car salesmen have done enough in giving sales a bad reputation.

Selling is actually about educating your prospect on how what you have will make their life better.

So, the purpose of engaging in a sales conversation is to see if what you have can HELP them—you getting paid is just a consequence.

Creating this sort of a WIN-WIN situation is how sales superstars hit their quotas.

To actually do this, you only need to do a few things.

1. Lead the conversation and display your expertise. You have to know what you're talking about. You must be an authority on what you have, and they must like you for it.

2. You have to build trust. If you don't show that you understand your client's pain points and that you're not trying to rob them of their hard-earned money, they're not going to trust you have what will help them.

3. In your pitch, you must sell the BENEFITS—not the features.. People don't buy into features, they buy into results. They have to have their mind's eye on an image of their life improving WITH your product/service.

The psychology behind this: Features appeal to logic. Benefits appeal to emotion. People take action based on emotion, THEN they logically rationalize the decision they made.

4. You have to ask for the sale. This one's kind of a no-brainer, but it's often missed. Rookie salespeople often feel uncomfortable asking for the sale. They assume people will just ask to buy. And, they sometimes will, but why risk it? Remember the first point? Lead the conversation and display your expertise.

5. Handle the objections that come up by addressing them and asking questions. Because we all have fears and limiting beliefs, you may get declined with what's called an "objection". If you've determined what you have can actually benefit them, and they've acknowledged that throughout the conversation, the objection is a smoke screen. Dig deeper, and then ask for the sale again.

6. Follow up!!! Your job isn't done when you've made the sale. Your job is done when your customer is happy and you've ensured what you've given them is actually making their life better. Unless you complete this essential step, you'll likely miss out on repeat customers and referrals. Follow up with every single sale you make.

That's all there is to it. Anything extra just complicates the process. Keep it simple. Keep it casual. And most importantly, keep it moving forward. If you've proven what you have works, there's someone out there that'll buy.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Thanks @Woosah ! I have a question

Sometimes I myself do get that fear of asking for the sale, and as soon as someone says "I'll let you know", I don't know what else to say, and I'll end the call right there.

Is this the right thing to do.. or is it better to keep pushing?

Thanks

 

[Woosah]

Thanks @Woosah ! I have a question

Sometimes I myself do get that fear of asking for the sale, and as soon as someone says "I'll let you know", I don't know what else to say, and I'll end the call right there.

Is this the right thing to do.. or is it better to keep pushing?

Thanks

It takes practice and repetition to get over those emotions (and we all deal with them), but they tend to dissolve the more you believe in what you're offering. It might sound cliche to say "believe in yourself", but it's critical that you do because those emotions you feel within yourself get "passed onto" your prospect. This happens with the tone you use, the subtle language cues, and (if in person) your body language.

You can think of it as a chemical reaction. Your state of being is one type of chemical, your prospect's is another. The moment you engage them there's a mixture. The idea is to have your chemical (of certainty) stronger than theirs (of fear/uncertainty).

When you get objections like "I'll let you know" or "let me think about it", they're essentially telling you that they either don't trust you yet or that they don't have enough information (so they're stalling). Basically, they're not confident yet that you have the solution they need—that you can indeed help them—and they don't feel comfortable telling you the real reason why.

So, you have to dig deeper and probe to find out what that real reason is. A good way I've found to deal with that is to address their objection directly and just express the fact that they're hiding the real objection (in an appropriate and friendly way).

"Hey, I understand you need some time to think about it to let me know. Many people do. I've found that most of the time though, people can't make a decision because they're actually lacking information, not time, and I wouldn't be happy with myself if I didn't tell you everything you need to know to make the right decision for yourself. So, what part of this did you want to think about?"

Then proceed from there. Provide information. Build further rapport. And then ask for the sale again.

-- Side note: Treat each call as a separate and distinct case to study. When you're speaking with prospects, pay attention to the feelings in your body. Pay attention to how your tone/body language changes. To how your prospect reacts to certain pieces of information. Each conversation can reveal insights into how your process can be improved.

Let me know how things go. I'd love to hear if this made a difference at all in practice. Good luck!

 

[mikecarlooch]

It takes practice and repetition to get over those emotions (and we all deal with them), but they tend to dissolve the more you believe in what you're offering. It might sound cliche to say "believe in yourself", but it's critical that you do because those emotions you feel within yourself get "passed onto" your prospect. This happens with the tone you use, the subtle language cues, and (if in person) your body language.

You can think of it as a chemical reaction. Your state of being is one type of chemical, your prospect's is another. The moment you engage them there's a mixture. The idea is to have your chemical (of certainty) stronger than theirs (of fear/uncertainty).

When you get objections like "I'll let you know" or "let me think about it", they're essentially telling you that they either don't trust you yet or that they don't have enough information (so they're stalling). Basically, they're not confident yet that you have the solution they need—that you can indeed help them—and they don't feel comfortable telling you the real reason why.

So, you have to dig deeper and probe to find out what that real reason is. A good way I've found to deal with that is to address their objection directly and just express the fact that they're hiding the real objection (in an appropriate and friendly way).

"Hey, I understand you need some time to think about it to let me know. Many people do. I've found that most of the time though, people can't make a decision because they're actually lacking information, not time, and I wouldn't be happy with myself if I didn't tell you everything you need to know to make the right decision for yourself. So, what part of this did you want to think about?"

Then proceed from there. Provide information. Build further rapport. And then ask for the sale again.

-- Side note: Treat each call as a separate and distinct case to study. When you're speaking with prospects, pay attention to the feelings in your body. Pay attention to how your tone/body language changes. To how your prospect reacts to certain pieces of information. Each conversation can reveal insights into how your process can be improved.

This is great thank you!

 

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[originalMJT]

Thanks @Woosah ! I have a question

Sometimes I myself do get that fear of asking for the sale, and as soon as someone says "I'll let you know", I don't know what else to say, and I'll end the call right there.

Is this the right thing to do.. or is it better to keep pushing?

Thanks

When somebody says "I’ll Let you know" that’s When the sale starts. You tell them a bit more about the product, give them some more information about the company, and tell them a bit more about yourself and how you and the product have helped other people. Then say does it make sense to you to purchase this product today. Ask for the order, if a big purchase "it’s just a small deposit of 10% today" If they want/need the product they will buy. Don’t ask don’t get.