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SAVVY SELLING - MARCH 18, 2005

By Michelle Nichols

The Recipe for Sales Success

Creating an effective selling process comes down to a few basic ingredients, the right method, and a willingness to adapt

Selling is similar to cooking a large roast. Like preparing a slab of prime rib, getting an appointment with a decision maker requires plenty of time, money, and effort, so it's important to have a recipe you can trust. With such a substantial investment, you can't afford to wing it and do whatever comes into your head. You need a sales process -- a recipe, if you will.

When you're on the hot seat with your clients, if you have a tried-and-true sales process, you can relax and pay full attention to what they're saying. Why? Because you already know what you're going to say and do next. You'll sound more confident and be more articulate. You're also less likely to forget a key area you will need to cover before asking for the order.

Despite the thousands of sales books that have been published, there's no one-size-fits-all sales process. Some sales books give you a few basic steps, but those thumbnails aren't anywhere near detailed enough. Some might as well have been written by engineers, with all the steps and complexities the authors expect you to remember. To maximize your success, you're going to have to create your own. There are three major steps to creating a good sales process: plan, execute, and refine.

Step One: Plan. As Disney's (DIS ) favorite nanny, Mary Poppins, would remind us, "Well begun is half done." No matter how long you've been selling your products or services, you will make more money if you plan your sales process. I don't mean just planning it in your head, I mean write it down. For starters, I recommend you study a few good sales books, then modify the ideas you've read with what's worked for you so far, and come up with an initial sales process.

For example, let's say you sell luxury cars. Perhaps your initial sales process is to attend networking events of business owners, looking for entrepreneurs who feel a luxury car is part of their image or personal "brand." Then, for each prospect with whom you connect, you mentally qualify them, exchange cards, place a follow-up call, invite the prospect to see your new models, go through your standard presentation, arrange a test drive, and then close them on a car -- or a fleet of cars!

Step Two: Execute. Unfortunately, the value of a theoretical sales process, however good, is virtually zero. The magic starts with the application. So go out and try your new process at least 10 times. Experiment with several of your target customers. Test it on folks who are somewhat outside your target market, but could still benefit from owning or using what you offer. Make careful notes about what worked almost every always, what only worked sometimes, and what simply fell flat. You want feedback. But, of course, if someone wants to buy from you, close the sale!

To expand the above example, let's say you went to two networking events and found a total of 10 business owners who might be interested in buying luxury cars. As you worked your way through your initial sales process, you found that several kept putting off a visit to your showroom, saying they were simply too busy. Several others disqualified themselves for financial reasons, but you later found out there were some tax incentives that might ultimately have made the cars more affordable. And two of the 10 actually offered referrals, even though they didn't buy cars from you.

Step Three: Refine. This is where the power of having a sales process really pays off. Refinement is the difference between having 20 years of sales experience and a year of sales experience repeated 20 times. At this step, you apply the feedback you received from executing, and figure out how to duplicate the surprises that were good and avoid those that were not-so-good.

Again following through on our example, let's assume you refined your sales process three ways. Now, if prospects say they need a new luxury car but they can't seem to make the time to come to your location during store hours, perhaps you offer a quick two-minute qualification checklist to decide which car would best suit their situation. Then you arrange to bring it to their office at lunch time for a test drive.

Perhaps, on your way out, you leave them with a nice boxed lunch as a thank you. Other refinements might include updating your standard sales presentation to reflect the new tax incentives, and asking for referrals even if they don't buy from you.

INNOVATIONS. But wait, you're still not done. Now apply your newly refined sales process to 10 or 20 more prospects, look for feedback, and refine yet again. Ultimately, this is a never-ending cycle. Because the sales environment is always changing, there's always room for improving your process. For instance, more of your clients probably carry Blackberries (RIMM ) than was the case five years ago. That allows you to consider e-mailing some information that you might have previously delivered by voicemail.

Continually planning, executing, and refining your sales process is like trying to get closer to a moving target. Sure it takes effort, money, and time -- but a carefully crafted approach will help you sell more and close faster. Happy selling!

Michelle Nichols is a sales speaker, consultant, and trainer based in Houston, TX. Her columns are available to purchase for reprints or syndication. She welcomes your questions and comments. You can visit her web site at www.savvyselling.com or contact her at michelle.nichols@savvyselling.com. Her direct line is (281) 610-6307 and her toll-free number is (877) 352-9684.

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