Train Your Sales Team Using an Effective Sales Process
Train Your Sales Team Using an Effective Sales Process
The “what” to do is addressed by a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy combined with CRM technology. This strategy and technology combination helps sales reps with knowing what they need to do next in order to move the relationship forward. For instance, given the right contacts at an account, they may need to establish a meeting with the decision maker, schedule a demonstration, and develop a proposal. However, these are just the mechanics of a sales process – the “what” to do for each step of the way.
While the mechanics are critical to the sales process, what they don’t address is the “how”. How do sales reps reach the decision makers to set up a meeting? How do they develop the best solutions-based proposal? How do they demonstrate the product in a fashion that reveals the best solutions to the prospect’s problems? The way to build a relationship with a client is to learn the “how” of selling, which is obtained through sales training. Sales training comes in many shapes and forms, but the best ones are those that follow a process. Each step of the process moves the relationship one step closer to a win-win solution and encapsulates the selling skills necessary within each step.
A basic flaw in many sales rep’s style is when they try to solve the client’s problems by educating them with a product pitch. Customers, especially decision makers, are not interested in the technical details. What they need to understand is how your solution will fix their problems and remove their pains. What often happens is that sales reps tend to make these product pitches to lower-level employees who are not the decision makers. Obviously, this wastes everyone’s time. What needs to be done instead is to focus more on asking the right questions, listening carefully to what the client is saying (or implying), developing the right solution using your products or services, and presenting those solutions as they directly relate to the client’s problems, all done with the right decision maker.
Each of these steps, and more, are learned processes and skills. The saying, “Good sales people are born, not made,” is false. Selling is mostly a science, not an art. With proper sales training and a solid sales process, nearly anyone can become a successful sales professional. So what does a good process look like and what are the skills needed for each step?
Let’s look at one in particular, the PEAK Sales ProcessÔ. PEAK is an acronym, which stands for: Prospect, Engage, Acquire, and Keep. Picture a 4-level pyramid where each step in the PEAK Sales Process builds upon the prior.
Step one, or the bottom level of the pyramid, Prospect, is where the initial contact is made which involves cold calling in order to find a prospective client. At this point, this is really just a raw lead rather than a qualified prospect. Here, the training would involve how to make cold calls, your attitude, the first impression you make, and the approach you make during the first phone call or meeting. Once you’ve prospected and found a candidate, you need to Engage them in the process of the sale, which is the second level in the pyramid. This training involves learning how to qualify what is now considered to be a “suspect” by asking them the right questions and listening carefully to their responses. Listening skills are paramount at this stage since the next steps in the process are based on what information is discovered in this engagement stage.
The goal of the Engage step is to understand the client’s problems and requirements in order to match the right solution to their needs. As a result of good questioning and listening, the sales rep will not only understand this critical information, but they will also ensure that the suspect is fully qualified. To be qualified, the client must have a budget, have the authority to make the decision or at least introduce you to the decision maker(s), have requirements for which you have good solutions, and be able to make a decision and purchase within a reasonable timeframe.
Once qualified, the next stage is where you Acquire them as a new customer. This is the third level of the pyramid and involves moving them from being a suspect to a prospect. In the acquisition stage, the sales rep presents and proposes their solution, negotiates with the client, handles objections, and closes the sale. If the prior steps were handled correctly, then this step becomes much easier since the client’s needs are fully understood, they already told the sales rep what they need, the sales rep’s trust and credibility should already be established, and the close becomes a natural progression of the process, as opposed to the typical “dreaded event” that most sales reps fear and loath. Hence, the goal of the acquisition stage is to get the prospect to become a customer.
The final stage, and the top of our pyramid, is where we Keep the customer. This is where they become a full-fledged customer and when the relationship is most important. Unfortunately, many companies do not have a customer retention strategy and lose the long-term relationship, and therefore any forthcoming business potential. An on-going relationship after the sale is critical to your future business and viability. There are several steps and skills necessary to ensure this relationship continues and to make sure your customer becomes, and remains, loyal to your business.
Having a clearly defined sales process with specific selling skills for each step will ensure that your sales reps will replicate their successes and become more consistent and effective. Regrettably, many sales reps are not trained or experienced with these skills, nor do they perform them in the right order because there is no process. They ask the prospect qualification questions when they should be closing, or they try to close when they should be qualifying, or they do a myriad of other actions at the wrong stage of the sales cycle. Performing the right actions at the right stages of the process is the key to successful selling.
With proper sales training and a first-rate sales process, your sales team will not only learn the appropriate skills but also when and where to apply them to become more successful. Thus, they will learn “How” to sell better. Combine this with “What” to do by developing a CRM strategy and using CRM technology, and you’ll have an unbeatable, world-class sales team.
Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ Lombardo
russ@PeakSalesConsulting.com
702-655-5652
Train Your Sales Team Using an Effective Sales Process - To learn more about this author, visit Russ Lombardo's Website.
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Most sales people know that they need to develop a relationship with their clients. If they don’t know this in today’s society and business climate, then they are probably living in a coal mine in Tibet. However, what they may have difficulty with is knowing what to do to develop that relationship as well as how to do it. Sales training and a sales process are the keys to knowing the “how”.
The “what” to do is addressed by a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy combined with CRM technology. This strategy and technology combination helps sales reps with knowing what they need to do next in order to move the relationship forward. For instance, given the right contacts at an account, they may need to establish a meeting with the decision maker, schedule a demonstration, and develop a proposal. However, these are just the mechanics of a sales process – the “what” to do for each step of the way.
While the mechanics are critical to the sales process, what they don’t address is the “how”. How do sales reps reach the decision makers to set up a meeting? How do they develop the best solutions-based proposal? How do they demonstrate the product in a fashion that reveals the best solutions to the prospect’s problems? The way to build a relationship with a client is to learn the “how” of selling, which is obtained through sales training. Sales training comes in many shapes and forms, but the best ones are those that follow a process. Each step of the process moves the relationship one step closer to a win-win solution and encapsulates the selling skills necessary within each step.
A basic flaw in many sales rep’s style is when they try to solve the client’s problems by educating them with a product pitch. Customers, especially decision makers, are not interested in the technical details. What they need to understand is how your solution will fix their problems and remove their pains. What often happens is that sales reps tend to make these product pitches to lower-level employees who are not the decision makers. Obviously, this wastes everyone’s time. What needs to be done instead is to focus more on asking the right questions, listening carefully to what the client is saying (or implying), developing the right solution using your products or services, and presenting those solutions as they directly relate to the client’s problems, all done with the right decision maker.
Each of these steps, and more, are learned processes and skills. The saying, “Good sales people are born, not made,” is false. Selling is mostly a science, not an art. With proper sales training and a solid sales process, nearly anyone can become a successful sales professional. So what does a good process look like and what are the skills needed for each step?
Let’s look at one in particular, the PEAK Sales ProcessÔ. PEAK is an acronym, which stands for: Prospect, Engage, Acquire, and Keep. Picture a 4-level pyramid where each step in the PEAK Sales Process builds upon the prior.
Step one, or the bottom level of the pyramid, Prospect, is where the initial contact is made which involves cold calling in order to find a prospective client. At this point, this is really just a raw lead rather than a qualified prospect. Here, the training would involve how to make cold calls, your attitude, the first impression you make, and the approach you make during the first phone call or meeting. Once you’ve prospected and found a candidate, you need to Engage them in the process of the sale, which is the second level in the pyramid. This training involves learning how to qualify what is now considered to be a “suspect” by asking them the right questions and listening carefully to their responses. Listening skills are paramount at this stage since the next steps in the process are based on what information is discovered in this engagement stage.
The goal of the Engage step is to understand the client’s problems and requirements in order to match the right solution to their needs. As a result of good questioning and listening, the sales rep will not only understand this critical information, but they will also ensure that the suspect is fully qualified. To be qualified, the client must have a budget, have the authority to make the decision or at least introduce you to the decision maker(s), have requirements for which you have good solutions, and be able to make a decision and purchase within a reasonable timeframe.
Once qualified, the next stage is where you Acquire them as a new customer. This is the third level of the pyramid and involves moving them from being a suspect to a prospect. In the acquisition stage, the sales rep presents and proposes their solution, negotiates with the client, handles objections, and closes the sale. If the prior steps were handled correctly, then this step becomes much easier since the client’s needs are fully understood, they already told the sales rep what they need, the sales rep’s trust and credibility should already be established, and the close becomes a natural progression of the process, as opposed to the typical “dreaded event” that most sales reps fear and loath. Hence, the goal of the acquisition stage is to get the prospect to become a customer.
The final stage, and the top of our pyramid, is where we Keep the customer. This is where they become a full-fledged customer and when the relationship is most important. Unfortunately, many companies do not have a customer retention strategy and lose the long-term relationship, and therefore any forthcoming business potential. An on-going relationship after the sale is critical to your future business and viability. There are several steps and skills necessary to ensure this relationship continues and to make sure your customer becomes, and remains, loyal to your business.
Having a clearly defined sales process with specific selling skills for each step will ensure that your sales reps will replicate their successes and become more consistent and effective. Regrettably, many sales reps are not trained or experienced with these skills, nor do they perform them in the right order because there is no process. They ask the prospect qualification questions when they should be closing, or they try to close when they should be qualifying, or they do a myriad of other actions at the wrong stage of the sales cycle. Performing the right actions at the right stages of the process is the key to successful selling.
With proper sales training and a first-rate sales process, your sales team will not only learn the appropriate skills but also when and where to apply them to become more successful. Thus, they will learn “How” to sell better. Combine this with “What” to do by developing a CRM strategy and using CRM technology, and you’ll have an unbeatable, world-class sales team.
Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ Lombardo
russ@PeakSalesConsulting.com
702-655-5652
Train Your Sales Team Using an Effective Sales Process - To learn more about this author, visit Russ Lombardo's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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