Selling Your Way to Success

Geoff Payne AFAIM, MIEEE

Learn how to get more prospects,

close more sales and create more
money whilst having more fun
achieving it
Dec 2005
 Selling your way to success.

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Steps Of A Sale 1

Information Gathering 6

Initial Appointment Phone Call 6

Initial Visit 7

Qualifying 10
Dominant Buying Motive (DBM) 10

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How to break down and close the sale. 12

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Steps Of A Sale

Essentially there are four major activity areas (or steps) associated with a sale. They are:

a. The information-gathering step during which you introduce yourself and your firm to
the prospect, discover their needs, and what is likely to influence them to buy from
you.

b. The presentation step entails the delivery of a proposal either in writing or verbally.

c. Building a commitment is the time during which the sale is closed.

d. The follow through stage, ensuring that the sale is completed and that you maximise
your chances of further success as a result of this sale.

The diagram below illustrates the amount of time traditionally devoted to these activities,
compared with how you will allocate your time after this training programme.

100
90
80
70
Information Gathering
60
50 Presenting
40
30 Building a
commitment
20
Follow Through
10
0
Traditional You the
Salesperson Professional
Salesperson

Notice how the traditional approach puts so much emphasis on the presentation and
closing steps. This is often reflected in traditional sales training where priority is given to
demonstration techniques and hard sell closing.

This philosophy as it unfolds puts the emphasis on information gathering and following
through. This approach results in a situation where the prospect is as anxious to buy as
you are to sell. Consequently, the presentation and closing steps will not only require far
less time, but they will also be painless and even enjoyable.
It is now appropriate to detail the process of executing each of the steps outlined above.
Information Gathering

The first step in gathering qualified information is of course getting an opportunity for a
face to face meeting with a prospect. This in itself is not always easy and later sections
of this programme are devoted to detailing a method of maximising your chances of
creating such opportunities.

Briefly, the method in these sections shows how to pro actively gather information which
will enable you to seek out suspects, qualify prospects and eliminate deviates (those who
would have you waste your time on them). Furthermore the section shows how to cause
a prospect to want to see you.

Now let us assume that you have a prospect (i.e. someone you believe can benefit from
investing in your product) and you want to get an appointment to see him or her.

Initial Appointment Phone Call

Before addressing this mini step in detail, it is a good idea to look at a couple of
Salespersons diseases which, if not treated, could cause one to not even to try to make
the call.

a. Laziness is the first of these diseases, and is perhaps the most infectious. The problem
is that without confidence and a methodology, making such a call is plain hard work
and we can easily convince ourselves that there are many more important things we
can do with our time, rather than make that phone call.

Without possessing a well practiced set of selling skills, we also realise that if we are
successful in getting that first appointment, we then have to go out and face the
prospect; and that can be even more daunting.
To cure this disease we must first
become consciously competent at
using selling skills, so that we are
confident in ourselves, and value the
work we do. If this alone does not
eradicate the disease try allocating a
set time to make these types of calls,
and then form the habit of standing
up while making each call. You will
be astonished at the result.
Use scripts. Without these magic
words we will often get tongue-tied,
go off at a tangent or just plain forget
what we are trying to say. Write
down word for word what you want
to say and the likely questions you may be asked. Answer the question and write the
 answers clearly under each question. (Tip: always end your answer by asking the
prospect does this answer your question).
Practice the script on anyone who has time to listen and ask questions. You will know
when you have mastered your script because you will feel confident, self assured and
ready to pick up the phone.
b. Fear is the other disease worth mentioning at this point.

FEAR stands for False Expectations Appearing Real. This is so with most
salespeople; they fear rejection, which causes them to not want to make that call.
Apart from these diseases there are a number of mistakes that are common when
making an initial call which we should be aware of, and ensure we eliminate them.
They include:
a. Forgetting you are only trying to get an appointment, and attempting to start selling
(by peddling) the product instead.
b. Taking up too much of the prospects time talking about trivia. Use the script.
c. Sounding dull and uninteresting. Smile when you talk it makes a huge difference to
the way your prospect hears what you have to say.
d. Lacking confidence and not really expecting to get the appointment.
e. Allowing the prospect to take control.
f. Failing to relax.

Now having exposed our potential weaknesses, let us get back to the call. The best
approach is to assume that you have every right to get the appointment, and that indeed,
after listening to your opening line, which outlines the reason for the meeting; the
prospect is keen to see you. (Practice your opening line and keep it to less than 20
seconds. In that time state who you are, what you have and why they should take time out
to see you)

With this in mind, take control quickly by suggesting a specific time for the appointment
early in the discussion. If the prospect objects simply suggest an alternative time and
seek his agreement. In practice because you are being so confident and wasting as little
time as possible with this call, it is seldom that a prospect attempts to put you off after
your second suggestion of an alternative time.

Some salespeople who use this technique boost their chances of success by suggesting an
unusual time such as 10.20 am next Tuesday.

The prospect automatically thinks the appointment is probably only going to take about
10 minutes, and is therefore more likely to agree to see you.

Once again this area is specifically covered in much more detail elsewhere in the
Programme, so at this time we will proceed on the assumption that you can successfully
get that first appointment.

Initial Visit
The most critical thing to remember about an initial visit is the same as for any sales
meeting. You have to have a goal. As will be seen shortly we do not want to try to close
the prospect at this time, we merely wish to gather information, so surely our goal is
simply to get into comfortable conversation with the prospect.

Throughout this text there are a number of rules used for certain situations, which if
learned will assist in both the
understanding of professional selling
skills, and their application. There are
some very definite rules that apply to the
initial visit. You must at all times be
yourself, listen with both ears.
Remember the more you talk the less
you know about your prospect and his /
her needs. Use what you have been
shown in your way and in your words. If
you do this then what you do and say
will be natural and you will amazed at
the responses you get from your
prospects.

It is worth remembering that the more

your prospects talks the more he or she
will remember you. They will perceive
correctly that you are really interested in what they have to say.

Always arrive early

By doing this it gives you the opportunity to observe the prospects environment (the
receptionist, the waiting area, attitude of other workers etc.), thus enabling you to gauge
the type of person they are likely to be.

If you are for some good reason, going to be late, always phone before the appointment
time, and advise the prospects receptionist. In this way you will not upset him or her
greatly. They are almost certain not to see you immediately so you have the same
opportunity to observe as if you had been early.

Most firms have a peg board at reception stating if the employees are in or out. In every
case the owner / managing director /general manager will be at the top and the post boy at
the bottom. Check to see where your prospect is on the list. This will indicate if he or she
is high enough up the ladder to actually make decisions.
Be Prepared

Do not assume that the meeting is going to be successful unless you have complete
control. To achieve this you must plan how you want the meeting to go and be well
prepared. Have at least your first four questions ready.

Always Sell in Private

You are entitled to a level of respect as a professional salesperson, and this ought to be
afforded you by your prospect. Occasionally, you might for example, be asked to have
your discussion in the waiting room: (perhaps because the prospects of f ice is currently
occupied by someone else); it is OK to ask for an alternative venue such as the board
room, where you have an opportunity to optimise the time you and your prospect will be
spending together.

Refuse Tea or Coffee

The most natural thing in the world is for

a prospect to offer you a cup of coffee
when you first arrive. It is also natural
for you to accept, but in so doing you
surrender some control over the meeting,
and you may be denying yourself some
great opportunities later in the selling
cycle.
This will become clearer as we look at
some closing techniques.

Share Your Purpose Up Front

Your prospect will be more cooperative during the meeting if you share with him /your
purpose in being there. Be up front about it. Once youve broken the ice share with him
or her precisely what it is you hope to achieve and then seek their approval of that aim?

Your purpose is to ask your prospect a number of questions to determine if he or she

could benefit from what you and your firm have to offer (value chain). Tell your
prospect just that.

The prospect will almost certainly approve your purpose, but most importantly, at a very
early stage in the proceedings you are getting the prospect to agree with you on
something.
I will stress again and again throughout this course the importance of being comfortable
with your prospect. Practice your timing and ice breaking questions until you do not have
to think about them, they just come naturally. Do this and be yourself ALL of the time
and you will find you will actually enjoy the experience.

Qualifying

It is now time to look in some detail at what will constitute your purpose as referred to
above. First it is important to recognise that it is impossible to close a non-qualified
prospect. According to all of the text books on sales it cannot be done; and of course
they are right.

To understand the art of qualifying it is important to understand that when people want to
invest in your product they do so, not so much because they understand the product, but
because they feel that you understand them.

Therefore we ought to work at asking questions right from the start about them, and
recognise that all buying decisions are emotional rather than logical.
People use logic to justify the emotional decisions they make. They do not buy product
features. They buy how using the product will make them feel, or what using it will help
them achieve.

Bearing this in mind there are five distinct f actors we need to know about a prospect
before he or she can be said to be qualified, they are:

a. DOMINANT BUYING MOTIVE

b. NEEDS
c. WANTS
d. BUDGET
e. AUTHORITY

Dominant Buying Motive (DBM)

All five qualifying factors are essential, but establishing the DBM is the most important.
The DBM is the emotional reason this prospect will buy from you.
Ultimately, you will be putting some form of proposal to the prospect, in competition
with others. The proposal will deal in fact, and as such you could be defeated if it forms
the basis of your sales pitch. If, however you deal in the emotions of your prospect, the
opposition will not be able to compete.

The unfortunate part about dealing with a prospects DBM is that you cant ask him / her
what it is. What you must do is decide from the emotions of human nature, which one
drives your prospect the most. These emotions include:-

Ego
Pride
Anger
Fear
Greed

Your judgement as to which one applies is critical. You can start making your
assessment from the moment you arrive (early). How tidy is the environment, How do
the rest of the staff behave? Does the prospect have you shown in or come out to greet
you? What is their mood when at first seeing you? With practice you will learn which
emotion is most likely to be dominant with each prospect.

You cannot ignore the need to make this determination and still benefit from the skills
that are outlined in the next section of this programme. It is better that you make a choice
and be wrong. With practice you will get it right most of the time.

Remember it is OK to try, and fail...... the first time.

To discover the DBM, the art of questioning holds the key. Most people will open up
and tell all there is to know about themselves if only someone would ask. So play dumb
and ask questions such as:-

How long has your organisation been operating?

Who is your main competitor?
When did you commence working in your
existing position?
What is the most difficult aspect of your
operation?
How do you find the XYZ market at the
moment?

Questions such as these tend to get the ball

rolling and soon you will be given the
DBM by the prospect, without having to
ask for it specifically.
What questions can you ask that you feel
comfortable with?

This extract from the Theory section of the course lays the framework with which you
can start to develop your own style of salesmanship. Theory is fine and a much needed
part of any development; however the practice of sales is what makes you great.
Following the theory are six practical lessons on how to approach different sales
situations. These will give you the start to finish sales cycle and will explain in detail
what to do and when. These lessons are invaluable as they make you more confident
and shows in an easy to follow style how all the various theorys mesh together in
different ways.

SCENARIO ONE

Your name is your own name. You are the proprietor of a medium size printing service
operating throughout the Greater Metropolitan area.

You have three stores all linked by high speed computer links.

Your existing system was already installed when you purchased the business two months
ago. You were led to believe that the communications system in place was ok at the time
you acquired the business, but it has become apparent that this is not the case.

The store Managers frequently cannot send work to the other stores. If the information
does get through, you have to make a phone call to make sure the file was not damaged.
You generally feel that the business is suffering as a result of having an antiquated
communications IT system.

You bought the company (called Dollar Smart Printing) with your superannuation pay
out, received after leaving the public service. You are depending on the business to see
you through to retirement in 15 years time, and hope that you can sell it then for enough
to retire on comfortably.

The representative who is calling is one of five you contacted to come and see you
regarding a possible upgrade to your IT communications system.

How to break down and close the sale.

The first thing the sales person has done is make the appointment. To do this he / she did
not try to sell the product, and has been told they have thirty minutes to tell their story.

The salesperson has arrived early, with four questions he / she feel comfortable using. For
example:-

Thank you for taking time out to speak with me. I understand we will only have thirty
minutes is that correct?

To save time is there anyone else who is part of the decision making process available to
join us now?

I noticed on the peg board outside your title is proprietor. Can you tell me what that
entails?
I noticed you have a signed boxing glove of Mohammed Ali in reception are you
interested in boxing? Or is it an investment?

Notice how the questions are all leading question, are non threatening and invite the
prospect to start talking. You will also note that at least one of the questions invites a yes
/ no answer. This question will start the process of getting the prospect to agree with what
you are saying. (Remember simple questions have the most power. So use them often).

From the answers to these questions, you should have an idea what the prospects DBM
is. Remember to use phrases and language that will appeal to the DBM type you believe
the prospect to be. The responses you get back will help you fine-tune your initial
thoughts.

In this case, the prospect worked in the public service. He has told you he brought the
business with his superannuation and he needs the business to prosper so he can retire in
several years.

From the answers to the questions above which may have been; Yes I only have 30
minutes, No, I make these decisions, The position I hold is the owner and whilst I have a
management team I like to make and set the strategic direction of the company myself,
And finally, the boxing glove is an investment opportunity which I saw and liked. So I
brought it.

You now know he makes the decisions to purchase. He is also capable of seeing an
opportunity and acting on it (the boxing glove) His manner and energy lead you to
believe his DBM is pride with fear a close second. Pride in what he has done and fear that
he could lose everything if the business fails.

Now you need to find out the needs and wants. For example:-

Needs: What do you like most about your current system / process/ machine/ practices?
Could you elaborate?

Wants: How would you like to see it change? Could you elaborate a little for me
please?

Next, confirm whether they have the authority to buy or if others are required. This is
very important, and many prospects with a DBM of ego will lie unless you can coax the
truth from them. Remember, you can spend all day with a prospect; if they do not have
the authority to make the decision (dont believe the title allows them to do anything!) to
buy you are using your time unproductively. It is ok to continue your presentation with
the prospect if they say they will need to take it to other staff members, because you now
know you can steer the process so that these other people can be brought into play later.
You will also have the opportunity to make this person your champion. A champion
being:- somebody who supports your product or service within the organization.
Remember during this initial visit your prime goal is information gathering.

Both the theory and exercises are short extracts from the actual book so why not get
excited about earning some real money and having some fun at the same time. Become
the envy of your sales team or just blow your budget out of the water. It can be done and
you can do it.

Remember if you do what you did yesterday dont expect a different outcome today.
Make a difference. Make a change. Start now go to www.totalmanager.net and download
the full book now!

I look forward to working with you to help make you the best sales person you can be.

Best regards and happy selling

Geoff Payne.

PS. Remember that as a New Year bonus I am giving my sales guide and twelve months
updates to the book Free of charge. A $50 saving. Plus you will also receive unlimited
email help for any sales problem you are experiencing. For Ever!!!!!!!