Most sales people try to sell a drawn out recipe…instead of a succinct menu!

In very simple terms, a menu is a promise and a recipe is a process, and although both items have to be sold…the promise must always precede the process. Take a book for example; if the potential customer is not attracted by the ‘title’, then he will not bother to examine the back page ‘details’ or the contents, etc. So, while the book can be thought of as being dynamite, the title is without question the detonating device that creates the interest and attention. Although none of the preceding information is rocket science, the fact remains that most sales people ‘present’ the recipe details first, which kills the sales opportunity almost immediately! Here is another way of separating the promise and the process:

The process covers ‘what you do’ as a company, concerning your product and the success strategies you offer…and the promise covers ‘what you get done’ for the customer, relating to how you will aim to improve his business performance

Everyone knows that in business, the philosophy of ‘doing the job’ is far less powerful than the attitude of ‘getting the job done’…and this fact reinforces the need in selling to promise ‘what we will get done’ first, followed by information on ‘what we do’ (to fulfil the promise). It is also important to remember that the ‘process’ is mostly about strategy, while the ‘promise’ represents a goal…and it makes no sense at all to talk about strategy before alluding to the goal.  Here are some examples of what happens when you sell by starting with the promise, versus starting with the process…

• The challenge: aiming to sell a product to a retailer. Starting with the promise…”My reason for calling is to discuss an opportunity that is aimed at increasing your sales in this area by $300 net a week.” Starting with the process…”My reason for wanting to see you is to discuss a product we are promoting, and to show you some merchandising concepts.”

• The challenge: aiming to sell insurance to a client who is under-insured. Starting with the promise…”At the moment you are missing out on significant benefits in a critical area of insurance, and I want to discuss the best way to address this opportunity.” Starting with the process…”I want to talk to you about an area of insurance relating to income protection and business expenses.”

• The challenge: aiming to sell the right air conditioning solution to a couple that have asked for an inexpensive system. Starting with the promise…(after dealing with what was asked for) I also want to show you another idea that I think would be perfect for you…without having to spend too much more.” Starting with the process…”Are you interested to look at some other ideas involving a more comprehensive system?”

• The challenge: aiming to sell a business service to a prime prospect. Starting with the promise…”My purpose in calling is not to talk about changing how you buy now, but to show you an idea that is aimed at improving your results in this area by a minimum of 20%.” Starting with the process…”I would like to tell you about our company and our service, to see if we can help you in the future.”

One approach ignites interest and the other snuffs it out. Markets have a need to be ‘positively selfish’, and if you want to control sales results, you must satisfy this need.