The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

The Sales Process I Use To Sell High Priced Goods and Services

Dan_Cardone

Losers make excuses. Winners find solutions.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
360%
Jul 23, 2019
331
1,192
Introduction

I want to keep this post as short as possible. Its not going to be a comprehensive manual on sales, rather its an outline of the method that I use to get people to buy whatever it is I'm selling.

My Background

I started out playing online poker and then became a poker coach. Transitioned into affiliate marketing which led me to becoming a professional direct response copywriter. Used the money I made to start some other companies and to become an investor. All along the way I have used sales skills to sell not just my products and services but also my ideas and vision.

A few weeks back I posted on here asking for sales book recommendations. I have a new venture coming up and I wanted to see what, if anything, was new in the world of sales. I looked into the suggestions here, looked at the top selling books on amazon, and took a deep dive into the newest sales related books that have entered the arena...

What a clusterf*ck!

The Problem With Most Sales Books

Most sales books, even newer ones, are still out there pushing the high pressure sales tactics that worked back in the 80s and 90s.

Other books are now teaching what has been termed "consultative selling." This is better but most of these books still highly over complicate matters.

My Sales System

I have a decently simple system of selling. It works well for me and has worked well for others I have taught it too.

Here is my quick sales brain dump:
  1. Sales begins with marketing. Effective marketing will set you up for the win and prime the prospect to buy from you long before you ever get them on the phone. Effective marketing will also establish you as an expert in your niche or industry. Being thought of as an expert is of vital importance in the modern world. People are skeptical and only want to deal with recognized and known experts. Your marketing efforts can set you up as the expert who holds the key to their success. While I may be writing a post on sales, I actually consider myself to be a better marketer. Effective marketing is why I can outsell those who are better technical sellers.
  2. Your marketing funnel must have a way to filter out low probability prospects. Jeb Blount calls this "shaping win probability." Time management wise, its much more effective to sell to those who have a high interest in buying vs those with a low interest.
  3. Not everyone is looking to buy right now, in fact, most aren't. You need a way to nurture the leads who aren't yet "high probability" so that when they are finally ready to buy, you are the guy they think of first.
  4. Follow up is important but the way you follow up even more so. The vast majority of follow up calls I get from salesman amount to "Hey, just checking in to see if you're ready to buy yet!" What value are they offering me? They become nothing more than a pest when they fail to give me value. When you follow up it should be to offer them something of value. A free report than can help them (but also sells them on your product/service), a free strategy/discovery session, advice, tips, etc. This leads to my next highly important point...
  5. The prospect should see you as less of a salesman and more of an educator and expert. Focus less on selling and more on educating and adding value to your prospects life.
  6. You must have a strong Unique Selling Proposition. The prospect needs to know why they should buy from you, why you are leagues better and above your competition, and why they shouldn't concern themselves with your product's price. Having a strong USP is vital so don't neglect it. It will be part of your sales pitch.
  7. Have an outrageous offer. When they hear your actual offer for your product/service the prospect must go "wow, thats what I would get?!?!" The same product with two differently worded offers can greatly impact the prospects feelings towards it.
  8. A strong offer will create skepticism. Allay the prospect's fears by having a very strongly worded 'Risk Reversal Guarantee.' The prospect needs to feel, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is absolutely no risk to giving you their money.
  9. Ask them questions to establish their needs and pain points. This will tell you how to frame everything else. For example, if their main pain point is not having enough free time but you structure your sales pitch to making more money, it won't be effective. If, however, you learn their pain point is not having enough free time to spend with family then you can tell them how making more money can be leveraged into having more free time. Now they are paying attention!
  10. Remember, during your "pitch" you are doing more listening and asking questions than you are trying to sell.
  11. Once you have their pain points and problems, agitate those feelings by asking them to describe those feelings in detail. The prospect must really feel it to their core.
  12. Once you know what the most common objections you get are, structure your pitch to address those before the prospect even thinks of them.
  13. The ultimate goal of your pitch isn't to tell them to buy your product or service, its to get them to think "Hey, this product would be a perfect fit for me!" How you accomplish this varies depending on many factors but listening to the prospects pain points, combined with a good USP and offer that matches up to those pain points goes a long way towards this goal.
  14. How to overcome objections: 1) Empathize. ("Trust me, I understand why you would think that.") -> 2) Clarify and get to the root of their objection. ("Why do you feel you need to ask your spouse?") -> 3) Loop back and resell them based on the real objection you found out about from Step 2. ("Trust me, I fully understand why you don't like the price but here is why it isn't an issue...") -> 4) Assume the close. If you get another objection on step 4 then go back to step 1 and repeat. Some people call this process "Looping" (Belfort), some call it "Running The Train" and some call it other names. Whatever the name, its effective when done right.
  15. Manage disruptive emotions. There are some emotions you will experience that helps you, and other emotions that will hinder you. You must become good at managing your emotions. Getting mad after the prospect has just given you his 8th objection is normal but you must learn how to manage it. Anger is not helpful here!
  16. Induce scarcity in your pitch. High pressure sales tactics don't often work well anymore BUT carefully induced scarcity works wonders.
  17. Reward them for taking immediate action. "Mr. Prospect, I've learned during my years of doing business that those who are decisive and act fast often make the best clients. For that reason if you decide to be that kind of person and take action today, I'll knock X% off of the price." Inducing scarcity and then hitting them up with this is a lethal 1 - 2 knockout combo.
  18. Get and use the prospects commitment. At some point early in the interaction ask the prospect "Are you committed to getting this problem solved?" At the close you simply remind them of their commitment. "Okay, Mr. Prospect, you said you were committed to getting this problem handed...." Again, make sure you use this in a way that does not induce high pressure. A little pressure added skillfully is fine but the old high pressure closing tactics do not work well anymore.
  19. Remove friction from the buying process and make it as easy and headache free as possible.
  20. Always go for the second sell. When the prospect is in a buying mood, go for the second sell. Have something else related to tack on that the customer would want. This can significantly add to your profit margin.
  21. If the prospect still doesn't buy from you, simply add them into your lead nurturing system and follow up with them. Remember, add value to them on every follow up so that you become a welcome guest and not an annoying pest.
  22. Be sure to ask your happy customers for testimonials and referrals.
  23. Keep your pipeline full by using effective, education based, marketing.
This was just a very quick run down and overview of my approach. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask and I'll answer when I can. Once again, I don't claim to be some amazing sales guru; In fact, I consider myself an expert marketer but only an intermediate salesman, but this is the exact process I use to sell high priced coaching services, consulting services, seminar tickets, online courses, etc.

Use what works for you, disregard the rest.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

G. Wellthy

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
117%
Jul 21, 2018
70
82
Thank you! I’m working on a higher priced sale right now. I’ve got to work on resolving pain (and marketing expertise) much much better.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
While I recognize Dan Lok and Grant Cardone as excellent business people are marketing experts, I do not think their sales process is top notch and refined.

Dan lok positions himself as slightly “arrogant” to the prospects. This is good if the product you are selling is training or coaching. It does not go well with everyday sales in other sectors. A jewel investor once told me a good salesperson is someone who positions himself/herself as slightly lower/humbler than the prospect. Wow. That made perfect sense to me and I haven't seen someone mentioning it in any sales book. Jordan Belford is a good example. He is an expert. He is not begging on his knees. But he is very sincere and gives enough attention to play a servicing role. “I am an expert. I know the stuffs but you as the customer is the king.” That in my opinion should be the vibe.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Dan_Cardone

Losers make excuses. Winners find solutions.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
360%
Jul 23, 2019
331
1,192
While I recognize Dan Lok and Grant Cardone as excellent business people are marketing experts, I do not think their sales process is top notch and refined.

Dan lok positions himself as slightly “arrogant” to the prospects. This is good if the product you are selling is training or coaching. It does not go well with everyday sales in other sectors. A jewel investor once told me a good salesperson is someone who positions himself/herself as slightly lower/humbler than the prospect. Wow. That made perfect sense to me and I haven't seen someone mentioning it in any sales book. Jordan Belford is a good example. He is an expert. He is not begging on his knees. But he is very sincere and gives enough attention to play a servicing role. “I am an expert. I know the stuffs but you as the customer is the king.” That in my opinion should be the vibe.
I know nothing about Dan Lok other than he has a book with a silly title.

I agree with you fully on Grant Cardone. Despite my name, Im not a big fan of Cardones sales methodology and last names are pure coincidence.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
I know nothing about Dan Lok other than he has a book with a silly title.

I agree with you fully on Grant Cardone. Despite my name, Im not a big fan of Cardones sales methodology and last names are pure coincidence.
I mentioned Dan because I saw similarities in the sales process.

Focus on delivering values and always asking for commitment. Typically Dan Lok styles.
 

PizzaOnTheRoof

Moving Forward
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
220%
Jul 30, 2018
1,218
2,682
Texas
Great post

What are you’re thoughts on the SPIN selling model?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Tourmaline

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
120%
Jun 4, 2019
898
1,082
Texas
What are your thoughts on Straight Line Persuasion?
 

Dan_Cardone

Losers make excuses. Winners find solutions.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
360%
Jul 23, 2019
331
1,192
Great post

What are you’re thoughts on the SPIN selling model?
Its not bad by any means but its only part of the equation. Its not fully comprehensive.

I'll explain more later when I have my laptop instead of my phone.
 

Dan_Cardone

Losers make excuses. Winners find solutions.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
360%
Jul 23, 2019
331
1,192
What are your thoughts on Straight Line Persuasion?
The parts on looping and tonality are good. Also the parts on "the three tens" are decent. He says the prospect must like you, your company, and your product. I agree. The methods we use to get the prospect to be a 10 on those three are vastly different.

Side note: I recently seen a video of JB selling watches. Either he just didn't care enough to actually try or he vastly overrates his own sales ability. I was not impressed.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

tmb22

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
111%
Dec 8, 2018
80
89
USA
Good stuff thanks man. My day job is in medical sales and someone just recommended The Challenger Sale so I ordered it. You got any thoughts on that one?
 

Sizemore

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
86%
Jul 21, 2019
43
37
Introduction

I want to keep this post as short as possible. Its not going to be a comprehensive manual on sales, rather its an outline of the method that I use to get people to buy whatever it is I'm selling.

My Background

I started out playing online poker and then became a poker coach. Transitioned into affiliate marketing which led me to becoming a professional direct response copywriter. Used the money I made to start some other companies and to become an investor. All along the way I have used sales skills to sell not just my products and services but also my ideas and vision.

A few weeks back I posted on here asking for sales book recommendations. I have a new venture coming up and I wanted to see what, if anything, was new in the world of sales. I looked into the suggestions here, looked at the top selling books on amazon, and took a deep dive into the newest sales related books that have entered the arena...

What a clusterf*ck!

The Problem With Most Sales Books

Most sales books, even newer ones, are still out there pushing the high pressure sales tactics that worked back in the 80s and 90s.

Other books are now teaching what has been termed "consultative selling." This is better but most of these books still highly over complicate matters.

My Sales System

I have a decently simple system of selling. It works well for me and has worked well for others I have taught it too.

Here is my quick sales brain dump:
  1. Sales begins with marketing. Effective marketing will set you up for the win and prime the prospect to buy from you long before you ever get them on the phone. Effective marketing will also establish you as an expert in your niche or industry. Being thought of as an expert is of vital importance in the modern world. People are skeptical and only want to deal with recognized and known experts. Your marketing efforts can set you up as the expert who holds the key to their success. While I may be writing a post on sales, I actually consider myself to be a better marketer. Effective marketing is why I can outsell those who are better technical sellers.
  2. Your marketing funnel must have a way to filter out low probability prospects. Jeb Blount calls this "shaping win probability." Time management wise, its much more effective to sell to those who have a high interest in buying vs those with a low interest.
  3. Not everyone is looking to buy right now, in fact, most aren't. You need a way to nurture the leads who aren't yet "high probability" so that when they are finally ready to buy, you are the guy they think of first.
  4. Follow up is important but the way you follow up even more so. The vast majority of follow up calls I get from salesman amount to "Hey, just checking in to see if you're ready to buy yet!" What value are they offering me? They become nothing more than a pest when they fail to give me value. When you follow up it should be to offer them something of value. A free report than can help them (but also sells them on your product/service), a free strategy/discovery session, advice, tips, etc. This leads to my next highly important point...
  5. The prospect should see you as less of a salesman and more of an educator and expert. Focus less on selling and more on educating and adding value to your prospects life.
  6. You must have a strong Unique Selling Proposition. The prospect needs to know why they should buy from you, why you are leagues better and above your competition, and why they shouldn't concern themselves with your product's price. Having a strong USP is vital so don't neglect it. It will be part of your sales pitch.
  7. Have an outrageous offer. When they hear your actual offer for your product/service the prospect must go "wow, thats what I would get?!?!" The same product with two differently worded offers can greatly impact the prospects feelings towards it.
  8. A strong offer will create skepticism. Allay the prospect's fears by having a very strongly worded 'Risk Reversal Guarantee.' The prospect needs to feel, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is absolutely no risk to giving you their money.
  9. Ask them questions to establish their needs and pain points. This will tell you how to frame everything else. For example, if their main pain point is not having enough free time but you structure your sales pitch to making more money, it won't be effective. If, however, you learn their pain point is not having enough free time to spend with family then you can tell them how making more money can be leveraged into having more free time. Now they are paying attention!
  10. Remember, during your "pitch" you are doing more listening and asking questions than you are trying to sell.
  11. Once you have their pain points and problems, agitate those feelings by asking them to describe those feelings in detail. The prospect must really feel it to their core.
  12. Once you know what the most common objections you get are, structure your pitch to address those before the prospect even thinks of them.
  13. The ultimate goal of your pitch isn't to tell them to buy your product or service, its to get them to think "Hey, this product would be a perfect fit for me!" How you accomplish this varies depending on many factors but listening to the prospects pain points, combined with a good USP and offer that matches up to those pain points goes a long way towards this goal.
  14. How to overcome objections: 1) Empathize. ("Trust me, I understand why you would think that.") -> 2) Clarify and get to the root of their objection. ("Why do you feel you need to ask your spouse?") -> 3) Loop back and resell them based on the real objection you found out about from Step 2. ("Trust me, I fully understand why you don't like the price but here is why it isn't an issue...") -> 4) Assume the close. If you get another objection on step 4 then go back to step 1 and repeat. Some people call this process "Looping" (Belfort), some call it "Running The Train" and some call it other names. Whatever the name, its effective when done right.
  15. Manage disruptive emotions. There are some emotions you will experience that helps you, and other emotions that will hinder you. You must become good at managing your emotions. Getting mad after the prospect has just given you his 8th objection is normal but you must learn how to manage it. Anger is not helpful here!
  16. Induce scarcity in your pitch. High pressure sales tactics don't often work well anymore BUT carefully induced scarcity works wonders.
  17. Reward them for taking immediate action. "Mr. Prospect, I've learned during my years of doing business that those who are decisive and act fast often make the best clients. For that reason if you decide to be that kind of person and take action today, I'll knock X% off of the price." Inducing scarcity and then hitting them up with this is a lethal 1 - 2 knockout combo.
  18. Get and use the prospects commitment. At some point early in the interaction ask the prospect "Are you committed to getting this problem solved?" At the close you simply remind them of their commitment. "Okay, Mr. Prospect, you said you were committed to getting this problem handed...." Again, make sure you use this in a way that does not induce high pressure. A little pressure added skillfully is fine but the old high pressure closing tactics do not work well anymore.
  19. Remove friction from the buying process and make it as easy and headache free as possible.
  20. Always go for the second sell. When the prospect is in a buying mood, go for the second sell. Have something else related to tack on that the customer would want. This can significantly add to your profit margin.
  21. If the prospect still doesn't buy from you, simply add them into your lead nurturing system and follow up with them. Remember, add value to them on every follow up so that you become a welcome guest and not an annoying pest.
  22. Be sure to ask your happy customers for testimonials and referrals.
  23. Keep your pipeline full by using effective, education based, marketing.
This was just a very quick run down and overview of my approach. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask and I'll answer when I can. Once again, I don't claim to be some amazing sales guru; In fact, I consider myself an expert marketer but only an intermediate salesman, but this is the exact process I use to sell high priced coaching services, consulting services, seminar tickets, online courses, etc.

Use what works for you, disregard the rest.
Thanks for this!
 

Dan_Cardone

Losers make excuses. Winners find solutions.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
360%
Jul 23, 2019
331
1,192
Good stuff thanks man. My day job is in medical sales and someone just recommended The Challenger Sale so I ordered it. You got any thoughts on that one?
If I'm remembering correctly its a lot like SPIN selling. Decent book, you could certainly do worse.

The problem is how people look at sales now. Companies have a sales department, a marketing department, a social media and online managemant department, a customer service department, etc.

All these departments act as separate entities and have their own duties to fulfill. Instead of being looked at as sepeate, when it comes to sales, they should all be looked at as one giant synergistic sales force designed to further the companies positioning message in the prospects mind.

Today's customer will make their buying decision on how they feel about your company. This feeling will often be decided on long before they ever come in contact with a sales rep.

The videos they see on social media, the questions the ask your customer service, the way they are marketed too and nurtured as a lead... All these things will lead the customer to an opinion of your company before they talk to the sales rep. All departments must work together to install a predetermined opinion of your company in their mind. The ultimate goal is you never even needing to ask for the close. The goal is for your customer to decide for themselves "wow, I need this!" before even having an official sales conversation with a sales rep.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,563
68,692
Ireland
Good thread. I try not to read sales books. Marketing, yes. Sales, no.

My favourite sales quote is:

“Sales is a screening process.” (Blaise Brosnan)

When I’m on a call with someone I just have a chat. I don’t pitch at the end. I send a short proposal, check they’ve got it, then move on. I’m sure I’m leaving money on the table, but if they don’t bite my hand off then I’d prefer to keep moving.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top