When you’re selling a product or service that needs a “presentation” or a “proposal”, it’s very easy to get caught up in the mechanics of the process – the Powerpoint, the PDFs, the laptop and cables – and forget the only important part: making the bloody sale.
If you were to reverse-engineer a successful sale, here’s what it would look like, most of the time:
- You started off by confirming that the person you were dealing with had the sole capacity and authority to make the buying decision
- You then asked them if and why they needed whatever it was you were trying to sell them, and why now
- You didn’t forget to ascertain that their financial means were aligned with the cost of your offering
- You used trial closes throughout – eg – “If I can solve those problems within your budget, is there any reason we can’t be getting this set up straightaway?”
- You got as much commitment as possible on the first call or meeting, even asking them to buy right there and then
- You avoided mailing out lengthy follow-ups or proposals (they never read them) and instead arranged a second face-to-face to bring the deal home
And guess what happened next? They bought!
Let’s Get On With It!
Jonny