There are six steps to complex sales and long-term commercial relationships: 1) get to know all four buying influences (economic, user, technical, coach), 2) informational gaps are red flags, objectives to address. ‘Leverage from strength’ describes using advantages to remove flags, 3) buyers are receptive when in growth or trouble mode, but not ‘even keel’ or overconfident mode, 4) results are objective; wins are subjective; buyers need both, 5) matching your company’s characteristics with candidate characteristics identifies ideal customers and so reduces wasted prospecting, 6) the sales funnel (prospect, qualify, cover the bases, close) is a forecast tool. Action plans help improve current position (moving prospects down the funnel) and are to be done every 2-4 weeks for key accounts.
Salesmanship
14. Miller and Heiman, Conceptual Selling (2005)
People buy to solve their problems or address their goals. Pushing product therefore is inferior to a three-step sequence of getting info about the concept, connecting your product’s attributes to the concept, and getting incremental commitment that advances the sale. Key tactics include setting a single sales objective for each call; establishing minimum and best-possible expectations and getting commitment to next steps (or else walking away); defining a valid business reason for the call; and establishing credibility through experience, knowledge, presentation, or association. Getting info comprises confirmation questions to re-establish expectations, searching for new info to better define the concept, and questions to uncover the client’s attitude (the ‘win plus results’’ phase). When giving info, focus on differentiation, on tailoring strengths to the concept. Commitment questions, which are not closers, are to ensure interim steps. The call plan (chart p320) comprises identifying the concept, defining a valid reason, establishing action and commitments, establishing (test) credibility, getting info, giving info, getting commitment.