|
Favorits •
Web Domain Directory •
ODP •
Annuaire FR •
Directorio ES •
Directory EN •
Diretório PT •
IT Katalog •
Czech Katalog •
Polski Katalog •
Maps •
Satellite Photos •
View Card
|
||
|
|
Sales Training |
|
|
| ||
 |
Win More Sales With a 5-Step Sales Process
Facilitating the buying process can be very straightforward and fairly uncomplicated. Yet most professionals have no idea what it takes to guide a potential client through a decision making process. They are completely lost when it comes to effective follow-up and unsure how to best get prospects to take the "next step". If they are lucky to get to a face-to-face meeting, they "show-up and throw-up." They spew all there is to know about their product or service and leave the meeting hoping for a favorable decision sometime in the near future. Their follow-up consists of a few phone-calls that go somewhat like this: "Hi, remember me? We met last week? Anyway, I just wanted to know if you've made a decision yet? No? Oh, OK, I'll call again?" Soon they discover their prospect got stuck in a "12-month meeting" (every time they call over the next 12 months the prospect is in a meeting). Sounds familiar? What's missing is clear, consistent and easy to duplicate sales process. In a nutshell sales process is a sequence of steps that predictably moves potential clients along the decision-making path. While your unique process will be based on the type of product or service you are selling and who the buyer is, here is a simple five step model that's guaranteed to help you close more deals. STEP ONE: Generate Leads The number one reason most promotional efforts don't get the desired results is trying to make a sale too soon. Advertising should be designed to generate leads - inquiries about your product or service from qualified prospects - not to get an order! Generating leads is relatively easy - there are hundreds (if not thousands) of ways to get potential clients to contact you. Speaking, publishing articles, referral systems, press releases, internet marketing, networking, print ads and direct mail are just a few ways that work well for attracting prospects interested in your professional services. STEP TWO: Pre-qualify Prospects Your promotional efforts are bound to create some responses from tire-kickers. Unless you have unlimited resources (namely money and time) to follow-up with people that will never make a purchase or create a referral - you want to eliminate the least ideal "prospects" right from the get-go. The best way to separate lookie-loos from genuine prospects is to ask them to invest a small amount of effort or money before they can receive more information. Have prospects fill-out a short questionnaire or request a small fee to cover your expenses of giving them additional information and only the serious candidates will move to the next step. STEP THREE: Send Positioning Materials Depending on how you generated the lead in the first place you may need to send out "fulfillment package" - the information promised in your advertising efforts. You can't give someone a "test drive" of your service - but you can illustrate your expertise through the materials you send out. White papers, special reports, articles, audio CDs and videos can give prospects a good insight into your level of expertise and "whet their appetites" - compelling them to ask how you can help them. This is a critical step but professionals often skip it altogether. I recommend that you never meet with a prospect unless he or she had a chance to read a special report or an article you wrote, listen to an audio-program you created, participated in a teleclass you facilitated, or had a chance to "experience you" in some other form. This gives you a chance to demonstrate your understanding of their problems, prove that you have the know-how needed to provide an effective solution, and position you as the expert who will not waste their time. STEP FOUR: Get an Appointment If you've done a good job in the first three steps - this will be easy. Your best prospects will actually look forward to meeting with you and exploring ways you can help them. While scheduling an appointment you can further qualify the prospect's level of interest and determine if you want to invest your time in getting together with them. However, avoid the pitfall of giving away too much information at this point. Remember your goal as this point is just to get the prospect to meet with you. STEP FIVE: Face-to-Face Meeting The content of your in-person meeting depends on the service or product you are selling and your target market. It could be a simple consultation that results in closing the sale or an elaborate presentation designed to moved the prospect to the next step in the process - like an "exploration meeting" with the purchasing committee or an "in-depth needs assessment". This is obviously a simplified model, but it identifies the five critical elements of the selling process. There are countless variations and tactics you could employ in each step, but each of those elements has only one objective - to move prospect to the next step! (c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski The Author, Adam Urbanski, The Marketing Mentor, helps Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more free tutorial articles, hot how-to tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com
MORE RESOURCES: |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Spend More Time Selling On average a sales person spends less than two hours per day selling their products. This statistic never seized to amaze me, even though I had often found myself being an active participant of its findings. The Multiplying Factor In Sales Success Mark has an attitude! Mark had worked in an operational capacity in the plant of a mid-western uniform company for over eighteen years. He had held almost every job in the production end of the business, from janitor to purchasing. A Stupid Question This is a stupid question but it has to be asked.Does your sales letter create as many sales as you would like?What proportion of them respond to your advert?What is just as important, how many of those that responded actually purchased your product?How can you improve the response rate?How many new email addresses did you capture?Do you have an 'opt in' strategy so that you can mail them later with more offers without being accused of spamming?Let us look at the sales letter first. The Canned Sales Pitch Myth Canned or scripted sales approaches are rarely successful, because one size does not fit all in selling.Studies conducted by the public opinion researcher, social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich in the late '70's and the Stanford Research Institute's VALS (values, attitudes and life-styles) study that assessed buying motives in the early '80's, indicate that there are at least five distinct categories of purchasers or individual buying modes. 3 Tips to Get Clients Now "I need more clients!" wails Steve, a 32 year old Boston-based financial planner, echoing a familiar refrain. Poised and well spoken, Steve is after the same high net worth individual as others in his field. Sales: The Secrets Of Super Salesmanship Exposed Most people tremble when they hear the word "sales".This explains why most businesses fail. How A Dancing Horse Can Increase Your Sales "Yeah right!" I thought to myself as I started to turn off the TV after hearing that the show was about a dancing horse.I couldn't imagine watching a documentary about a dancing horse and its rocky road to success. Boost Your Sales With These Proven Responses When five years ago I was faced with having to sell my services for the first time I was terrified. I hated asking for the sale. Assumptions - The Hidden Sales Killer Assumptions can kill a sale. In my sales training workshops, I frequently discuss the importance of not making assumptions about a person before, during, or after the sales process. Evaluating Your Customer It is one thing to make a sales presentation, but it is another thing to make a sales presentation without first evaluating your customer. For all you know, you could be selling your customer something that they already have, or something they don't want, don't need, or can't afford. 11 Powerful Methods of Sales Lead Generation Are you searching for new and innovative ways of sales lead generation? Are you lacking in sources of good quality leads? Are you tired and bored using the same methods for generating sales leads?If you answered No to these questions you're either satisfied with the income you're earning - or you're not interested in earning a 6-figure income in sales. Please stop reading this article. 5 Ways to Increase Business Sales by Contacting Your Existing Customers One of the best ways to increase your sales and one that won't cost you a lot or take a huge amount of time is by selling more to your existing customers. This can be a lengthy process and expensive to win over a new customer between advertising, sales calls, and approvals. Sales Leads: 10 Sure Fire Ways To Unleash An Avalanche Of Sales If you knew a few sure fire ideas that have helped me, you may unleash an avalanche of sales and make more money at your website.Below are the secrets to help you generate sales leads:(1) Utilize holidays to increase your visitors or sales. Let Your Weaknesses Increase Your Sales Imagine.. 3 Basic Secrets That Will Explode Your Sales This Year In this article, I would like to talk about the three "well-known but often ignored" secrets for creating a successful product.These secrets are still valid in real world as they are online. The Ultimate Think Differently Sales Tip Sales drive revenues, and revenues drive companies. Companies, then, are only as good as their sales people. 11 Proven Sales Strategies to Help You Close The Deal There are a number of sales closing strategies that you can learn with different ones applied in different situations. Each salesperson might be more comfortable with one or another. Sales and the Law of Attraction I'm about to challenge your belief system, or at least I'm going to try.I'm going to tell you exactly why you make a sale, and why you do not. How Do You Use Your Sales Commissions? What do you do when you have a big sales week, month or quarter? What do the other salespeople you work with do with their money? Do you "reward" yourself? Do you "invest" in your future? As salespeople we are notoriously known for the amount of toys we buy with our commissions. Killer stereo systems. Are You Missing Out On Sales Through Fear of Pain? Improve the Persuasive Power of Your Words! Education plus Motivation is a powerful formula. But how do you ensure the motivation level in your prospective customers or yourself, for that matter, is really as high as it could be? Easy.
|