What is Sales?

Introduction

In the blog post “What is Advertising?”, we talked about how to attract attention and awaken the desire to buy. But that’s not the final goal. The ultimate goal is to turn that desire into a sale.

So what’s Sales? What are the steps needed to make a sale successful? What are the characteristics of a good seller?

The sales process starts with a potential buyer and ends with a paying customer.

Selling is the foundation of any successful company and allows to attract new customers, gain long-term partnerships with existing customers and build a positive image. Sales also help build trust with potential customers by helping them understand the value of the offer, but also how the company is able to deliver that value in line with its promises.

The task of selling is to:

Know in detail the product/service it offers,
Understand the needs and wishes of a potential buyer,
Evaluates if the offer satisfies these needs in the proper way,
Is familiar with the alternatives available to the buyer on the market,
Address customer complaints/objections and
Reach an agreement with the buyer in accordance with common interests.

In order to meet the strategic goals of the company, it is necessary that it employs sellers who will provide solutions to potential buyers and generate the revenue and profit necessary to achieve these goals. The sellers that the company employs must possess certain characteristics and skills.

In a modern business environment, the seller must possess the following characteristics:

The courage to approach potential buyers,
The persistence of calling customers continuously until the sale is finalized,
Intuition for choosing good customers as well as for assessing business potential,
Confidence in yourself as well as in the product/service offered to customers and
A character that demonstrates to customers that he is trustworthy and stands by his promises.

In addition to these characteristics, a successful seller must also possess the skills that allow him to find a buyer and contract a sale with him. The set of activities performed to sell products or services is called the Sales Cycle.

Sales Cycle

A sales cycle is everything that happens between the seller and the buyer from the first meeting to the conclusion of the transaction. This includes finding potential buyers, presenting products/services, providing information about products/services, talking to the customer about their needs, forming an offer, addressing complaints and final conclusion of contracts. After a successful sale, it is necessary to maintain and build good relationships with the customer in order to continue the cooperation in the future.

The Sales Cycle consists of the following activities:

Searching for Customers

We can look for customers among people we don’t know yet, those we know and among those our acquaintances know. We are looking for potential customers in our Target Market. It is important to find those customers who fit the profile of our ideal customer as best as possible (to learn more about what is the Target Market and the Profile of the Ideal Customer, see the article “What is Advertising?“). Sellers choose the people they believe best fit the profile of the ideal buyer and have the most potential for successful business cooperation.

To find a buyer, several methods are used:

Social Media – Once you find out which platforms your customers are on, you can easily find them using the characteristics of the ideal customer,
Conferences – Sales teams attend conferences where potential customers are present,
Meeting through a third party (friends or colleagues) and the like.

Already at this stage, the seller begins to build a relationship with a potential buyer based on understanding, respect and trust.

Contact

When a seller finds a person who he thinks is a good potential buyer, it is necessary to collect their information, such as name, e-mail address or phone number. Using these details, it is necessary to get in touch. You can do this via email, phone call, LinkedIn connection requests, or some other channel. In this step, the intention to cooperate should be expressed in the following (or similar) way:

“It was a pleasure meeting you at Conference X. I’m impressed with the way you’re doing Y! Based on our conversation, I think there are very interesting opportunities for cooperation. Moreover, your problem reminds me in many ways of a client Z problem that we recently solved. Would you like to meet me next Thursday to introduce you to this case? I’m sure it won’t take more than 15 minutes.”

Successful companies create scripts for their sales team to use when contacting.

A sales script is a document that contains everything the seller needs to know about the product or service they are selling as well as advice and ways in which the seller will present to potential buyers.

The script adapts to the communication channel — whether it’s through emails, phone calls, or some other channel. Scripts improve over time based on experience and feedback.

Presentation

Upon contact, the seller offered a potential buyer to show him how his product/service could solve the problem. On this occasion, the date of the meeting is also agreed, which means moving on to the next step – presentation. Here it is important to have a ready presentation that has been previously prepared and rehearsed. Whether a product demonstration or slides are used – it is imperative that the potential buyer is actively involved in the process. A good presentation is not one in which the seller speaks and the buyer listens but one in which the seller encourages the buyer to engage and focuses attention on those things that are important to him. Of all the activities, the presentation is the easiest (especially if the same presentation is performed for the hundredth time ;)).

Follow up

Ideally, the buyer will be delighted with the presentation and will decide to buy what you offer. However, this happens very rarely. More often, the buyer will say:

That the offer needs to be adapted to its specific requirements (which is often the case with services),
That more time is needed to think about the offer,
That he must invite other people who are essential to making a purchasing decision or
That what you are offering is not for him (a good qualification process should prevent this from happening).

The client may say that “right now is not a good time” just to get rid of you. This should not be interpreted as a rejection by the seller. Here it is enough to accept that, currently, your service is not required and the seller should ask permission to contact the buyer in the future. When a seller says when and about what he will contact the buyer again – he must do so.

As long as the presentation did not end with a complete rejection, it is necessary to build on this communication.

It’s simply a matter of discipline. Success in sales requires patience and perseverance. The seller should be consistent in an effort to reconnect with the buyer until the client clearly WITHDRAWS from potential cooperation or PURCHASES a product/service.

If even after several presentations the client does not feel that the offer is for him, consider the following reasons:

Does potential buyer trust you?
Have you found a common ground with your buyer?
Have you addressed all the complaints?

Trust

Without a sense of trust, any sale is unachievable. Trust is a prerequisite for a successful sale.

The offer must be attractive enough to awaken the buyer’s desire, but it must not act “too good to be true” because it will cause suspicion and reduce trust.

In order to gain trust from potential buyers, the seller must be credible and reliable.

Credibility is based on a history of successful transactions, professional reputation, compliance with agreed deadlines, and knowledge of the products or services you offer.

Reliability is achieved by setting rules that we adhere to in all aspects of the business, from communication with the client to obligations under the law.

In order for a seller to awaken a sense of trust in a potential buyer, he should:

Show your expertise in a given area,
Show the results of previous projects,
Provide assurance that they will take responsibility if the solution does not work as promised,
Etc.

With this, the seller will reduce the risk to the potential buyer, gain confidence and build a positive image with him.

Customers who already know you and your company have formed an opinion about you based on the Reputation you have created.

Reputation is what people think of you, your organization, and your products/services. There is a direct correlation between reputation, trust and price – if you have a good reputation, people will trust you, which means that you will sell your products more easily at a higher price. However, if you have a bad reputation, it can be a real challenge to sell. Companies with a good reputation can sell products at a higher price than the competition.

The market is the ultimate arbiter in whether you are trustworthy or not. Building a reputation takes a long time, and it is possible to lose it in a very short time. That is why it is of great importance to build and maintain a good reputation: the actions of employees should always be aligned with corporate values.

If you feel that the buyer trusts you, but still can not conclude the sale, check if the buyer has additional complaints and address them.

Addressing Objections

While trust is necessary to achieve sales, it is not the only factor. The buyer can believe in the product, but if his interests do not overlap with the interests of the company, the sale will be difficult to achieve.

Sales don’t end when a potential buyer says no. This is normal (it’s also the most common word you’ll hear when you’re in sales). That shouldn’t discourage you. The fact that someone is talking to you implies that there is a certain interest (otherwise they would not be talking to you). When a customer says “NO,” it doesn’t mean the conversation is over — it just means you’ve run into an obstacle. The seller’s job is to remove this obstacle by addressing the objections. Examples of objections when buying might be:

“This costs too much,”
“This solution may help other people, but it’s not for me.”
“I don’t need this product that much, I can wait.”
“This solution requires so much effort on my part that it’s easier for me to do it myself.”,
Etc.

In order to address these and similar complaints, it is necessary to reassure the buyer that the complaint is not ACCURATE or does not MATTER.

To succeed, the seller must find the REAL REASON why buyers make objections.

The Real Reasons Why People Refuse to Buy

Derek Halpern, a shopping expert, argues that behind every “excuse” that causes a customer to stop shopping, there is actually one of four possible reasons:

1. Indifference (“Why should I buy this? Do I have such a problem? “Do I need this?”)

If you have not found what is important for the buyer, you will cause indifference. It’s not about what your company can do – it’s about why the customer would care about it! The more you talk about the qualities of the products you sell, the more you will increase indifference. Talk only about what’s important to the client. Expand the focus to other things only if requested by the client.

2. Skepticism (“Who are you and why should I trust you? Is what you offer valid?”)

It’s not helpful to argue with skeptics. If you claim that their objection is inappropriate, the skeptic will end the conversation. It is necessary to adapt to their attitude and admit the shortcomings that are true. In this way, you will gain the trust of skeptics. Skeptics need proof that this has worked for other people with similar problems.

3. Uncertainty (“I’m not sure this is for me. I don’t want to regret the purchase. It seems like a good solution, but I’m not sure I’ll persevere.”

Eliminating risks and providing ways to achieve security is essential in this situation. An uncertain buyer should not be forced to buy. Instead, you need to find something smaller (less important than a purchase) that the buyer could do to increase the sense of security about your offer. Instead of forcing you to buy, you can provide a free product or invite a customer to one of your conferences/training sessions to get proof that will give them confidence about your offer.

4. Procrastination (“I promise I’ll buy that, just not right now. Call me next week and I’ll be ready to buy.”

There’s a reason people postpone a purchase. You need to find out the exact reason why this is happening. If the product is good and suitable for the customer, the price is appropriate, etc. It’s not a logical reason why the customer is stalling. It’s about an emotional reason. There is a fear that delays their decision. It is necessary to find out what is behind this fear and address it. Customers may not have enough money to buy your product right away, but they are afraid to tell you. If this is the case, offer the option of payment in installments.

It is necessary for the seller to address the complaints and find common ground with the buyer in order to reach an agreement. This is achieved through negotiation.

Negotiation

During the sales process, there is often a situation in which neither the seller nor the buyer can be completely satisfied. In such circumstances, finding common ground is crucial. This means that a solution acceptable to both sides must be found. Basically, the result of such an agreement is such that neither the buyer nor the seller get everything they wanted, but it is still just and fair enough.

The process of reaching the common ground is negotiation.

When negotiating, it is important to take into account three things:

Setting
Structure And
Discussions.

With Setting, it is important to prepare negotiations in a way that increases the chance of selling. The setting includes:

To determine with whom you will negotiate and who is the buyer’s decision maker,
To let the decision-maker know who you are and how your solution can help them,
To understand in which environment negotiations will take place (live, online, by phone, etc.) and
To identify factors influencing negotiations (urgency, competition, alternatives, etc.).

In Structure, the conditions of negotiations are set. Here you need to know:

What exactly do you offer as a solution?
How much is it worth for the buyer?
How much does the alternative that the buyer is considering cost?
What are the complaints that the buyer might have when purchasing and how to address them?
What are the reasons why we are willing to give up on the deal?

In the end, we move on to Discussion, where the outcome can be:

“We have a deal according to the conditions.”
“We have a deal if the terms are corrected” or
“We don’t have a deal.”

When negotiating, remember that strength is on the side of the one who is more willing to walk away from the deal. That doesn’t mean you should be uninterested – on the contrary. Provide the customer with the value you offer, show a sincere desire to help them and be consistent in reaching a fair deal.

The buyer will try to find a way to get out of the conversation if he feels that the seller is intrusive. Through millennia of running and chasing, the human brain has adapted to run away from things that threaten it and to pursue those that are attractive to it. If the buyer feels that the seller is putting too much pressure on him, he will rate it as Desperation.

The best ways to motivate the buyer to buy without it seeming like pressure are:

Value-based sales – By establishing a link between the customer’s benefits and goals, and then emphasizing that connection – you sell based on value (If you explain to the customer that your offer will bring him a value of 1000 USD, it will be easier for you to charge it 100 USD).
Education-based sales – This allows you to take the position of “advisor” and allow the buyer to “justify” the purchase and view it as a good decision. (If the buyer learns something about your offer that they did not know before, they are more likely to increase the desire to buy without putting pressure on the buyer.

When the seller and buyer reach a satisfactory agreement, the contract is signed and the transaction occurs.

Transaction

After successfully concluded negotiations, a contract is signed or value exchange is carried out. An exchange of value between two or more parties is called a transaction.

The seller could exchange with the client goods, services, advice, information, respect and other things. It may make sense to give away some free products or services in order to strengthen customer trust and show respect. This will also develop customer loyalty and contribute to the long-term success of the company.

If the buyer is satisfied with the service, product and if the seller has gained confidence, he should contact the buyer for a Recommendation.

Recommendation (Referrals)

If you have a good relationship with the customer, it is okay to ask for a recommendation. Recommendations are earned. How do you know you deserve a recommendation? Just ask. For example:

“John, if you are satisfied with our service, would you recommend us to someone we could also solve the problem for?”

Likewise, it is your duty to provide the customer with recommendations for the services of other companies that you know might be of use to (your partners).

Referrals are the most effective way to get good customers. A recommendation transfers trust from one customer to another and significantly facilitates sales.

Maintaining a relationship with the client

What happens after the seller closes the sale with the buyer? Does the seller run off with the money and hope to never meet the buyer again? ???? No. The seller builds a network of satisfied customers and maintains and builds good relationships with them. This is very difficult, but very important.

Every customer matters. For customers, it is necessary to set aside time and pay attention to them. Will that customer shop again? Maybe not right away – maybe not at all! In any case, it is necessary to invest in relationships. Work can be very unpredictable. Opportunities come from the most unexpected places. That’s why it’s important to invest in customer relationships – we never know who they might introduce us to. That is why it is important that we are always the first thing on their mind when they think of the type of solution we offer.

Conclusion

The sales process starts with a potential buyer and ends with a paying customer. Selling is the foundation of any successful company and allows to attract new customers, gain long-term partnerships with existing customers and build a positive image. Modern business requires sellers who possess certain characteristics and skills. This implies a certain character, intuition, credibility and discipline, but also skills with which the seller will guide the buyer through the Sales Cycle until the end of a successful cooperation. The basic prerequisite for selling is Trust, and when that trust is earned, customers reward it with a Recommendation.

If you are interested in selling, I would recommend the following books:

“The Ultimate Sales Machine” (link) – An exceptional book by Chet Holmes, the man who was the most successful salesman for people like Tony Robbins, Charlie Mangar, etc.
“Never Split the Difference” (link) – A book in which FBI kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss outlines negotiation techniques.
“How to Sell” (link)
“The Art of Influence” (link)