Selling with a System

August 9th, 2010

A sales system is a repeatable process that provides consistent results. Sales people that have them can lay out their sales process and what likely results will come of it. Usually, that is a series of steps followed by a yes or no decision on buying the product or service. The problem is that few sales people have a system. They might have a general outline and an idea of what they’re looking for, but not a system. Have a selling system and follow it, otherwise selling defaults to the prospect’s system which is never efficient and rarely beneficial.

The problem with an outline is that it doesn’t provide any real guidance. It’s similar to a blueprint for a building. Architects could provide an outline that looked pretty good. Give the contractors a nice drawing of how they envision the building with some specifics on what rooms would be included. However, if they left the multitude of details up to the contractor, one of two problems could occur. The contractors will be unable to move forward because they don’t know how to start building or they start building on what they think it should be. If they don’t start construction, nothing gets done, but if they do start without clear blueprints, the project will be a disaster of miscommunication and errors. While a sales system probably doesn’t need to be as meticulously drawn out as a blueprint, it does need to be laid out down to a detail level with a solid understanding of the goal.

Find a system for selling or the prospect becomes the bewildered contractor. If the salesperson doesn’t know how to lead, they have to take the role. Unfortunately it’s one they aren’t qualified for. Just like the contractor can’t be blamed if the instructions aren’t provided for their building project, neither can the prospect be blamed. If we allow prospects to lead knowing it’s in the wrong direction, than there should be no complaints. However, if you want to provide the direction, you need to know how to do it. That’s your system. It’s a process that works for you that provides guidance for clients and prospects. Step by step you move them to a solution. If you have that system, use it and perfect it. If not, start laying out your blueprint. If you don’t you’re going to default to the prospect’s system and that is rarely one where the sales person wins.

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