The sales process is a journey that can vary in the amount of time invested. Regardless of how long it takes, it’s within your control to make it enjoyable for you and the customer!
Tasha Smith is with Emerge Sales Training and they help entrepreneurs become great at selling. Their goal is to make the journey enjoyable for both the sellers and their customers. Tasha’s company wants to ensure that the selling experience is in line with the sellers’ values and personalities. They offer one-on-one coaching with entrepreneurs to figure out what their best offers are, how to unlock their superpowers, and how they can communicate in an honorable way. They call it good human sales.
Unfortunately, not all salespeople are selling with the buyers’ best intentions. Some are tricking them into a one-sided experience where they win and the buyers don’t. However, when you’re selling for the benefit of the consumer, then you elevate the transaction for you and them.
Leveling the playing field
As a salesperson, ask yourself this question, “What is it about the sales process that makes it unenjoyable?” When Tasha coaches a new client, they start with the opposite of what they want to create and then reverse engineer the process backward. There are several reasons why a sales transaction can be unenjoyable:
The customer feels like there’s going to be a bait and switch.
The customer feels the pressure to buy.
The decision to move forward feels confusing and overwhelming.
The process is boring.
The customer has to work really hard at connecting the dots.
Your job as the salesperson is to keep these things from happening and making it a great experience for the customer. If it’s great for the customer, it’s great for you.
Tasha has some tips on how to make the sales process enjoyable. To begin with, we need to make our sales process customer-centric. The goal is to have high conversion but in a way that feels more effortless because you’re both having fun. The dictionary’s definition of “close” is “unite.” We need to start thinking about what our customers would prefer the interaction to look like. If they like how the conversation goes, then they are more likely to engage and convert higher. Customers are more responsive if they see you as a stable individual, trustworthy individual who offers hope.
Set up an appointment
Setting up an appointmentis a very common step in the sales process but the details can often be overlooked. Salespeople can get caught up in closing with speed because they don’t want to lose a sale. The downside to this is that we can overwhelm a potential customer or miss critical details. Our sales process should be more consent-based. We need to ask our customers if they would be interested in meeting, if our product sounds helpful, and if they’d be open to moving toward a solution to their problems. We need to go beyond just pulling out our appointment book and filling a time slot.
Putting in a little extra effort is a great step in earning your customer’s trust. Your job as a salesperson is to guide them and to give them the control to purchase. Giving someone the choice to say no makes them feel better and they are more likely to stick around until the end of the sales process. This simple shift can send a closing percentage through the roof because you’ve removed the stress from the customer.
Restate the agenda
Let your customer know how much time you’re expecting to be with them and stick to it unless the customer wants to talk longer. Make sure you ask your customer if the amount of time is acceptable. Let your customer know you’ll be talking about your company and going over your most popular packages and offerings. If the customers like what you have to say, they are likely going to move forward through the sales process but assure them they get to make that decision in their time frame.
By this point, you’ve eliminated the fear of risk for your customer. Through this process, you’ve offered trust, compassion, stability, and hope which are all qualities people are looking for in a transaction. Sales reps don’t just sell products. You’re leaders and problem solvers.
Discovery process
The discovery process can feel like an interrogation and that leads to an unenjoyable experience. Even when it’s a well-meaning person who is trying to get to know you, it feels like whatever they ask is going to be used as ammunition. Many sales trainers even call discovery questions “bullets in the gun.” Who wants to do business on the receiving end of that? Sales reps need to remember that the purpose of discovery questions is to personalize the experience for the customer. We need to be able to connect the dots for the customer and to make it easy for them to see how the transaction works. Make sure the questions are first and foremost clarifying for the client.
Answering questions can get boring unless the right questions are being asked. For example, if your product will help their health, ask about their health goals, their goals for their families, and discover what they’ve already done to meet those goals. Ask them what they know about your company so you’re not repeating information they already know. Then, offer a solution that will impact their quality of life. People don’t move forward because they want a better life.
Personalize the features and benefits
Now that you know their goals and how your services are going to impact their overall quality of life, personalize the features and benefits. Do this by offering “have you ever” scenarios. Find that common ground that allows for an easier conversation. When it’s easy, both of you feel energized and you can respond in ways that are relevant to your customer’s needs because both of you have the ability to pay attention. The harder the conversation, the less mental bandwidth you have in listening and being present in the moment.
As a salesperson, it is important to prepare your mind before you talk to people. When Tasha starts her day, she thinks, “Whose prayers can I answer today?” It feels good to be the answer to someone’s prayer. It is important to have fun and convey that you’re enjoying what you’re doing. Your confidence, belief, and enthusiasm can be contagious so let others experience the fun too! Be a person who is enjoyable to interact with. The more enjoyable we are, the better we are going to be in sales. You can be a good person and be successful too.
“Keys to Making the Sales Process ENJOYABLE for You and the Customer” episode resources
If you want the template, you can go to emergesalestraining.com/sep or you can email at tasha@emergesalestraining.com and she’ll respond in person.
If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.
This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.donaldk4.sg-host.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077.
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Donald is the host of the popular sales podcast,"The Sales Evangelist". He is the founder of The Sales Evangelist Consulting Firm where he helps small companies develop killer sales process to scale their business and increase growth.
Donald is also an award-winning speaker, sales trainer, and coach. He's a big fan of traveling, South Florida staycations and high-quality family time. Donald has a belief that “anyone” can sell if they have the desire and receives the proper training.
