Don't Snatch Defeat from Victory in Sales

Sales is easy if you know what you are doing.  It is a flow, where each step intersects with the previous one and is a build toward a “yes”.  Once we get to the final stages of the sales cycle, we have to really be on our game.  The wrong move, the wrong communication, the wrong timing and the deal is lost.

Finding clients is an art and so is building trust and credibility that you can help them solve their business problems.  We might be very charming when we first meet the client, sending out a competency vibe that the client relates to.  They are open to our inquiries into the current state of their business, where the gaps are located and the urgency of filling those gaps.  So far so good.

We are now working off a trust base sufficiently large enough to allow the client to pull back the velvet curtain and reveal all the difficulties and problem nuances they are actually facing, as opposed to that pristine image the marketing and PR departments have been publicly propagating.  Dragging out the dirty laundry for outsiders to see, is not something clients are going to do if the trust has not been established.  So good job and well done getting to that point in the sales cycle.

Presumably you are skilled and have refrained from suggesting any possible solutions, until you have done a proper job of digging deeply into the real issues facing the client.  You have not leapt in with your off the shelf product or service, the one size fits all, cure all snake oil.  No, you are a pro.

You have been asking well designed questions, which have been helping the client come to their own conclusion that what you have is the solution to their needs.  And the real beauty of this skill set is that the client, as yet, doesn’t even know what you have ready so you can help them.  Your questions have guided their thinking about the types of solutions they will need and hey presto, your solution is a perfect match.

Now we come to the unveiling, the drum roll, as the solution is presented.  This is the time for capitalizing on all the good work that has been put in beforehand.  We cannot get to this point and then blow it with a mediocre solution presentation.  We can’t start by only ploughing straight into the details, the guts of the solution, the spec, colour, size, weight, dimensions, timing, guarantees etc.  These are all plebian features, dross, mere detail compared to what we should be presenting in its entirety.

Firstly, we need to have our capability statement ready to go.  In this statement we clearly explain that we have exactly what the client needs and we have the capacity to deliver it.  There is a big caveat though. If we don’t actually have it, then we should state that plainly, honestly, down the cheap, lukewarm, bitter green tea and get out of there pronto.  Trying to slam the square peg into the round hole simply because you have invested all this time with this client and you need an outcome to meet your quota is stupid.  If this is not a match, then they are not a client and any efforts to force it are totally wasted.  Get going off to the next client, who will be a match and spend your time there instead.

If they are in fact a match, we communicate our capability statement to show that we can in fact help them.  We do match our spec with what they need and we do go through the key features.  But we don’t just stop there, like the vast majority of amateur salespeople.  We take each of those key features and we illustrate how these features bring benefits to the client.  We don’t just stop there either, we keep going, we keep climbing higher up the value chain.

We take that benefit and then we explain how that benefit when applied in their business will help them to succeed.  Now clients are always doubtful about what they hear from salespeople, so there is always going to be some residual scepticism.  They have been burnt in the past by idiot salespeople, so we have to deal with that poisonous legacy.  After extolling the virtues of the application of the benefits of the features of our solution, we bring forth hard evidence of where this has worked elsewhere.

This is the package we need to be delivering when we get to solution presentation time.  Then to test the waters to see if we have left anything out, failed to explain everything fully, we ask a trial close question.  This might be something as gentle as “how does that sound so far?”  This is low pressure and designed to draw out doubts, problems, additional information they may not have shared as yet.  We want to hunt down any possible objections to buying from us at this stage, so that we can get a deal done today.

When we are talking about all of these features, benefits and applications we should be weaving these together in a story.  Storytelling is easy for the client to remember and fleshes out the key points in a way that is most readily accessible.  Talk about a particular client in a similar situation and describe the who, what, where, when and how of that case.  The more vivid we can make the word pictures in the telling, the more compelling is the story we are sharing.

When we put all of this together, the client’s “yes” decision is made that much easier for them.  That must be our object and we use our sale’s skills to ensure we create the best possible outcome for the client.  This is not about getting a single sale, this effort is totally aimed at getting the reorders.  The pro understands the difference and wants to build a lifetime partnership with the buyer.  This is what we must be thinking when we get to the solution presentation stage.