One of the first sales training programs in my early years as a rookie salesman involved “The Sales Cycle.” Without a doubt, learning this early in my career guided me in sales for my entire career. The sales cycle has been practiced for generations. It is truly the backbone of selling. Once you understand this concept and can follow the steps of the cycle, selling becomes meaningful, worthwhile, and enjoyable. I have termed the sales cycle as “Selling 101”. While there are many other skills to learn in one’s career, this is the beginning. Every other skill is built on top of this.
In the next several articles, I want to briefly share with you the basics of the Sales Cycle. After you read through these articles, you will have a better understanding of the building blocks for making a sale. Successful salespeople follow this cycle diligently every day throughout their careers. The sales cycle is a series of steps and actions from start to finish. It consists of the following,
1. Suspecting
2. Prospecting
3. Pitch
4. Answering Objections
5. Close
SUSPECTING
Today, the marketplace is expansive and diverse. It is impossible to address everyone in the marketplace as the number is not manageable. Once upon a time, there were 20 doors to knock on but today, there are thousands. Additionally, the product you sell may not be appropriate for everyone. We do not want to waste time selling to people who do not have a need or we could not develop the potential of a need. Time is the one commodity that is scarce in the life of a salesperson. We want to maximize our time and thus to be effective, we sell to those who have the potential to buy. SUSPECTING allows us to initially identify “suspects” that we could consider for our product. This is the first step in making a sale. Simply put, Suspecting is to understand the overall market universe, and who you think you can approach with your product.
PROSPECTING
Once you understand who you could sell to, PROSPECTING is the next step. In this step, you dive deeper into the suspects to find those that really have the potential to buy, have a need or a perception of a need can be created. Prospecting is done by asking a series of questions. As you prospect, you can eliminate those that really do not have any potential and further trim the universe to a manageable number. One question that is always asked in prospecting is “Does he have the means to buy?” After all, if funds are not available, he will not be able to buy no matter how hard you sell. Investing time to identify prospects is important so that time and effort is spent on those with the potential to buy. Getting answers to prospecting questions will ensure that you are selling to those who could become a customer.
In the next article, we will follow the cycle and present the next steps.
Comments