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The Four Major Steps in Sales
Written by: Alen MajerArticle Overview: By definition, a sale is the act of meeting prospective buyers and providing them with a product or service in return for money or other agreed upon compensation. A sale is an act of completion of a commercial activity. The "deal is closed", means the customer has consented to the proposed product or service by making full or partial payment (as in the case of installments) to the seller.
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The Four Major Steps in Sales
Selling is therefore a process in which you need to follow certain steps, one at a time, to reach your final goal – the sale itself.
The same fundamentals that govern the direct sale of tangible goods govern the indirect sales of intangible goods.
Your sales process will also depend on your efforts invested in research and understanding your customer base, together with your energy and enthusiasm about your product.
Sometimes you can skip some steps if the customer is giving you signals to move further, faster. Otherwise, it solely depends on you and your readiness to be prepared before contacting the prospect.
If we simplify the whole sales process we can agree that there are four major steps in sales:
1. opening/qualifying
2. information gathering
3. presentation of your proposal, and
4. closing.
Opening phase is usually a result of a cold call to someone who has not yet heard of you or thought about working with you.
Information gathering is a second step when sales person is asking customers what they do, how they do it, and why they do it that way. Then he/she ask how his company can help them do it better. Usually second step means getting the meeting or presentation opportunity.
Proposal is next step when sales person is giving the presentation based on the gathered information, and giving the recommendation or meaningful solution to solve their pains, issues, or needs.
When customer decides to buy that is a fourth step in sales process and the only step that actually counts - closing the deal. This means they see the value in your solution and you assisted to buyer to make a decision based on information you provided.
When you don’t close the deal you did not completed your process. It is very similar to playing baseball when you get to the third base but never reach home and score; in sales this means you have gone through three steps but on the end you didn’t engaged buyer enough to see the value in your solution.
You didn’t address their needs that will trigger a buy to happen. You have wasted your time and your customer’s time, and there is hardly any chance of getting back to that customer to try to sell again.
Article Tags: baseball, closing the deal, cold call, customer base, indirect sales, intangible goods, meaningful solution, opportunity proposal, sales person, score, tangible goods, three steps
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About the Author: Alen Majer RSS for Alen's articles - Visit Alen's website Alen Mayer, Canadian Sales Expert, is fiercely committed to guiding Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals to improve their sales knowledge and skills so they can achieve extraordinary sales results, close more sales effectively, and learn more to earn more. If you are looking for a proven Sales Expert who will show you new ways of getting more clients in less time, how to book more appointments by fighting phone resistance, and learn new ways of handling excuses and objections to excel in sales, you've come to the right place. With 20 years in sales and 10 years of experience working with amazing clients with similar worries and concerns and guiding them to achieve remarkable success, my mission and commitment is to help sales people achieve their goals faster than they would without my guidance. I am living proof that you don't need to be a natural-born salesperson to be successful in sales. What lights me up about this work and what sets me apart from other service providers is that I believe that sales is a process and that process can be taught. You always need training. A great salesperson is always trying to make him or herself better. Alen is author of these books: ■ Selling IS Better Than Sex - www.SellingIsBetter.com Sales Training Programs: ■ Get More Appointments TM Summary: - 20+ years in international sales and business development, 10+ years in sales management, coaching and training Alen has inspired audiences from St. John's to Vancouver, and across North America and Europe. Whether a business conference, association meeting, or other event, every aspect is planned and coordinated to maximize attendee value. As keynote speaker, Alen achieves your objectives. To book Alen Majer, one of Canada's top sales experts, please send an email to alen@alenmajer.com.
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