What Happened to the Sale?

The following is a typical scenario.

A salesperson works with a large prospect that appears to want to buy.  The organization spends days, even weeks, putting together a detailed proposal with great product descriptions and cost justifications.  A whole team of the group's best people does a demonstration.  Yet, for some unknown reason, the prospect does not buy.  The reasons are unclear.  Reorganization, budget modifications, internal disagreements - these are some of the reasons given. But the sales organization knows these are just excuses.  The real barrier is something not said.

In fact, the real barrier to selling is our human adversity to change.  It's not just that your prospects don't want to change.  Sales people and sales management are also nervous about change.

So this is what happened to the sale.  The sales person sold in the same way he or she has always sold.  The prospect responded with vague uncertainty and either did nothing or bought from someone else.  The attempted sale occurred without a plan and without the careful control needed to assure success.  The customer did not get the best solution.  The sales person did not get the revenue.  The company did not get the customer.  Nobody won.

How Do You Change That Outcome?

Your sales people need to be willing to change how they sell.

They need to really understand the problems your products and services solve. Then, they need inquiry techniques that prompt prospects talk openly about their problems. 

Most important, sales people need to know how to connect the prospect's specific problems with the products and services your company offers.

We call that selling smart.

The core of the sales process is people.  People are motivated to change only when we see that something will get better for us as a result of our efforts.  SMART Selling uses sales skills and a highly controlled selling process to facilitate change that benefits everyone in the process.  The result is a contract for the sales person, a solution for the prospect and a customer for the company.

SMART Selling is a tactical approach.  We train people HOW to enable change and WHY each step in the process is important.  The goal of SMART Selling is to help develop a sales team that:

• Knows what they are doing at every phase of the process

• Knows why they are doing it

• Does it all so comfortably the entire team is consciously competent

SMART Selling changes the outcome.