The Most Crucial Elements in the Planned Sales Process
Step #1 - Pre-Qualifying and Qualifying: The Most Crucial Elements in the Planned Sales Process
As it appeared in the December 2007 issue of Oilheating Journal of Indoor Comfort Marketing.
This is the 2nd article in a series discussing the sales process...
Beginning our exciting, and hopefully rewarding, journey through the sales process, we will commence our interaction with the prospect seeking the truth rather than a sale. With this in mind, our focus will be on the most crucial elements first: Pre-Qualifying and Qualifying.
Most salesperson mistakenly think their product knowledge, presentation, or their closing and handling objections skills are the most critical elements of success. It's no wonder, the majority of salespeople struggle and only deliver mediocre results.
In the previous article in this series, we discussed the importance of using and an overview of the planned sales process. We discovered that sales, like rocket science, can be distilled to its timeless and very simple laws and principles as detailed by the structured (not scripted or canned) sales process.
As we proceed to discuss the sales process in this issue and future issues we will keep the end result in mind as we mentioned previously: At the end of an effective selling system you must find your prospects saying to you or in their mind essentially this: “I’d have to be a fool to do business with anyone else regardless of price.”
Only with the end in mind can we begin the planned sales process and execute effectively (doing things right) and efficiently (doing the right things).
We will assume that the features and benefits of doing business with your company have been defined for your target market and that you have a pre-qualified and scheduled sales appointment (the lead) set by the company Sales Coordinator (person dedicated to qualifying and scheduling all inquiries for sales quotes as quotes should not be given over the phone and salespeople should not speak with prospects prior to arriving at the home).
Pre-call planning starts with leveraging your internal resources for information on the prospect and opportunity that can offer advance insight that may provide useful in advancing or closing the sale. You can discuss the lead with the Sales Coordinator that spoke with the prospect and set the appointment. You can also meet with the Service Technician or Salesperson that last visited the home or existing customers or another customer in the area.
Access internal electronic and paper data on service history; other jobs completed and customers serviced in the area (get before and after photos and testimonials and references if available); other salespeople’s experience in neighborhood or the particular application; and demographics of the area ann any other available data regarding the prospect.
To this end, I suggest checking out www.fedstats.gov where you can get some general statistics and demogrpahics by state, county and most major cities. For more detail, check out www.zipskinny.com where you can learn about the demographics of the area by zip code. And to gain even more insight, you can then visit www.zillow.com where you can access specifics about the prospect’s home such as age of home, house size, lot size, number of bedrooms and baths, value, taxes, heating and cooling system, etc. as well as other homes in the area.
Next, I recommend a drive by the home prior to call if time allows; be certain to have all your sales tools organized and accessible in your neat and clean vehicle; determine best route and alternate route via map, software or G.P.S.; and make sure you are dressed appropriately.
Pre-survey the neighborhood for house ages, types, condition, and care; outside equipment type, age, and brand; yard keep; car types; can you tell if it’s a transient neighborhood - Look for the For Sale/Sold signs; is it a close knit, “keep up with Jones’ neighborhood or distant? Neighbors talk and this can help if you service others in the area or seek referrals.
Approach your prospect’s house and observe the house age, type, condition and keep; home compass orientation; yard keep; chimney condition and location; outside equipment type, age, and brand if visible; car types, keep and bumper stickers; R.V., boat, satellite dish, motorcycle, pool, etc. (discretionary luxury items); kids toys; pickup the newspaper and pull back trash cans if applicable. Observing with an open and objective mind can provide you with a wealth of information about how a customer MAY view the importance of their home and investing in its improvement as well as personal lifestyle enhancement via your products and services. However, be careful not to judge a book by its cover.
Lastly, prepare for success and customer care by clearing your mind and getting focused. Set the objectives you want to accomplish: Commit to always know, where you stand, what they expect and what to expect and what happens next. Accept no mutual mystification or wishy-washy commitments from yourself or your prospect. IT’S GO TIME! As you approach the house, be sure you are not eating, drinking, or smoking in your car and end your cell phone call. Park on the street or out of the customer’s way and within safe conditions. Check appearance, breath, clip on ID badge.
Take just your diagnostic tools initially: Plastic case clipboard, pen/pencil, highlighter, and red and blue felt tip pens, note pad, mini flashlight, measuring wheel, tape measure, 6 way screwdriver, ductulator, calculator, Confidential Home Comfort Survey and Engineering Analysis form, lead slip, freebie (magnet, keychain, mug, grocery list note pad, etc.), business cards, phone (off or vibrate only), floor and table top protective mats, booties, gloves, etc. You can always return to your vehicle to gather your presentation tools if necessary. Remember, your initial sales call objective is to qualify the customer and the opportunity and that “prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.”
Success in sales is 5% what happens during a call and 95% your personal attitude, which should be one of gratitude and service, and how you respond, not react, to stimuli encountered during a call.
With pre-qualification complete, the next component of the planned sales process, and considerably the most important part, is for the salesperson to do an excellent job of qualifying the prospect and the opportunity to maximize the potential for making a sale.
Most in-home salespeople mistakenly think that their presentation is the most important part of the sales process. In fact, so much emphasis is placed on presenting that salespeople feel they can actually win a sale based on their presentation. To compound matters, manufacturer-provided sales training and most training available industry associations and so-called best practices groups focuses on presentation skills of features and benefits.
Further, many salespeople feel that presenting is so important that they script their presentation and are diligent in making sure to say the same things every time to every potential customer and load their presentation with statements about how great their company, products, and services are. And to prove that the salesperson knows what they are talking about, they fill their presentation with a bunch of industry jargon and techno-mumbo-jumbo in an effort to impress the prospect with their technical prowess thinking ‘surely if the prospect hears how much I know they will want to do business with me.’
Unfortunately, the cliché people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care is an accepted truism for a reason. According to customer interviews and focus groups I’ve conducted over the years, most customers, who are very I-centered, say that while the company/product/service-centric, brand focused, technical feature and benefit rich rant rambles on, they are thinking one of several things: - Other than brand all the presentations sound exactly alike.
- Price was the only distinguishable difference we perceived between the quotes or companies.
- Several of the salespeople made such technical presentations with industry lingo that they made us feel stupid and/or confused us to the point that we did not understand what they were talking about or we should do, so we just went with whom we felt most comfortable.
- Not knowing much about the industry, products or what we should do, we simply went with the company priced in the middle. It seemed to be the safest choice.
- It didn’t seem that anybody truly knew what we wanted or how to solve our concerns, so we didn’t do anything…at least for now.
What I have learned from those comments and feedback is that most salespeople fail miserably to distinguish themselves, their companies, or their recommendations from their competition and with no discernable level of differentiation the prospect will ultimately make their own distinction based upon the only detectable or identifiable difference of any consequence or significance, which is usually price, aa means to minimize risk or loss.
If salespeople smartly heed my advice, they will seek to differentiate what they do by focusing on the prospect, what they have to say and what is important to them, versus the typical salesperson who is more concerned with what they have to say and why they think they are right for the prospect and how their company and recommendations are the best.
In fact, it is not what you know, but more importantly how a salesperson makes a prospect feel that will determine their ultimate success or failure on a sales call. If no salesperson establishes a level of comfort beyond others they are considering, the prospect will base their decision on facts, which allow little room for differentiation.
On the other hand, a salesperson that establishes a relationship based on trust and a genuine interest to serve with the prospect’s best interest in mind will sway more people to do business with them.
Hence, differentiation comes from focusing on qualification rather than presentation, which is done by building trust, a bond, rapport and a relationship based on mutual respect and having the prospect share exactly what it will take to earn their business and the salesperson sharing exactly what is required by them, their company and for their solutions to help if both parties can agree it makes sense to work together.
Sales are not won or lost after or as the result of a presentation, that’s simply when the decision is revealed. Sales are won or lost during the qualifying stages of the sales process when a salesperson either learns what it takes to earn the prospect’s business or not since the presentation can only be as strong as the qualification of the prospect and opportunity as it will or will not address exactly what the prospect needs to see, hear and feel to make a favorable buying decision.
Now that you understand success in sales won’t come from building a better presentation or sharing what you know, check back soon when we will address Step #2 in the planned sales process: The Opening, Introduction, and Qualification.
Until then, good luck and great selling!
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