Sales is a process, not an event.
While I learned a lot earning my 6 Sigma Black Belt certificate, most of it does not apply to the subjective and intuitive field of sales. Those who have never sold for a living may confuse selling with "closing." While the conclusion of a sale can often be the most dramatic, the selling process most closely resembles old fashioned hard work.
Salespeople who have been at it for a long time make it look easy. They will tell you that their sales are a result of their relationships. They may not even realize that they're following a clear process.
There is variability in the process based on industry, product, the nature of the interactions (phone, email, face to face) but for the most part, successful sales follow a process that looks something like this:
While I learned a lot earning my 6 Sigma Black Belt certificate, most of it does not apply to the subjective and intuitive field of sales. Those who have never sold for a living may confuse selling with "closing." While the conclusion of a sale can often be the most dramatic, the selling process most closely resembles old fashioned hard work.
Salespeople who have been at it for a long time make it look easy. They will tell you that their sales are a result of their relationships. They may not even realize that they're following a clear process.
There is variability in the process based on industry, product, the nature of the interactions (phone, email, face to face) but for the most part, successful sales follow a process that looks something like this:
- Prospecting
- Developing rapport
- Establishing interest
- Info/requirement gathering
- Solution proposal
- Proposal
- Negotiation
- Conclusion
If you really want to get good at selling, you need to recognize your process and understand that it is your job to move the deal along, always working toward conclusion. Sometimes that conclusion will be a lost sale but losing and moving on is better than leaving unresolved loose ends.
6 Sigma forces you to break steps down into clear pieces to allow for better analysis. Once you can clearly see the pieces, you can figure out how they interrelate and what you need to do to move the process along.
My suggestion for you is to make sure you have a good understanding of the process that defines your situation. Give it some thought and ask around but don't let anyone tell you that there is not a process...I'll bet you my black belt that there is one.
If you really want to get good at selling, I recommend reading or watching anything by Jeffrey Gitomer. Even better, if you can see him live, its a full dose of sales training wrapped into a comedy show. www.gitomer.com
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