Ethical sales training: part 1

So I’m going to start at the beginning, as they say, start with some definitions of what the sales process is, I’m starting at the beginning because if you can get the idea, get the view, actually really understand what’s taking place, I think it helps a lot 

What you’re really trying to do, what it’s really about are just these few things. The sales process really is just effective communication. People can communicate with each other in various ways, some are more effective than others.

All you’re really trying to do is communicate on a specific topic, specific point, explaining to them what your offering is, why it’s beneficial to them, answering the questions they need to answer in their own mind to decide if it’s good for them. Taking them through the process. So really that’s all it is. It’s effectively communicating about a specific topic. And the communication is about helping people make decisions that are good for them. 

Now they should also be good for the company. It need s to be good for both of you.

But the opposite of this, which is why sometimes sales and sales people get a bad name, is because people can learn how to get people to do things that aren’t good for them. There are ways to manipulate people and get them saying yes when they really shouldn’t be saying yes. So it has to be good for both parties. 

You don’t want to do work for a person that no matter what you do, they’re not going to be happy or after you do the work, they’re not going to pay you or some other bad combination.

So depending on the type of industry, the type of sales you’re doing now, for a new customer, they don’t really know what’s important, they don’t actually know what questions to ask. And your competitor is  saying, well I can do the job for $1,000 and you’re saying, well it’s going to cost you $2,000. They don’t necessarily have the criteria to realize that there’s a reason for that difference.

So in terms of helping them make decisions that are good for them, really what we’re trying to do is answer all the questions that a reasonable person needs to answer to decide what’s beneficial or not for them. 

You may not be offering the same specific service as another company, or maybe your service is not right for them.. This is the process, helping them decide. When you say we’re going to remove a tree, well, does that mean you’re going to remove the tree, clean up after you do it, grind the stump out and leave the yard as nice as when you showed up? Or does it mean you’re going to remove the tree and leave it laying there on the ground and there will be tractor marks all over the lawn? So it’s an education process, really. It’s educating the customer about what they need to know to make a decision that is good for them.

So once you understand what we just talked about, the essential concepts of selling, then it’s just a numbers game. The more people you contact, the more people you present to, the more people are going to buy. If everything else is equal it is all about the numbers.  Now, everything else isn’t necessarily going to be equal. There’s a different quality of service that somebody will offer. Or if there’s a good fit or a bad fit.

There’s your skill as a salesperson, how well you can communicate. But if all those factors ARE equal, it’s going to come down to numbers. The more people you contact, the more presentations you make, the more people will buy. So it seems like a simple thing, but it’s really the core of successful sales. 

In today’s world, with the internet, where people can reach millions of people at a time and so forth, it’s really changed the way sales works in many ways because there is so much volume. The proof of what has been known for centuries really, it still comes down to communication and numbers.  The more people you contact, the more presentations you make, the more people will buy.  It is a bottom line, basic fact, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

Keep this in mind because it factors into every aspect of selling. 

The next point after the idea of effectively communicating and giving the prospect all the information they need to make an intelligent decision that is good for them.  What you are actually doing is communicating and that the number of people you communicate with is very important, the next thing to keep in mind is there is a very definite process to selling.  Or there is a definite process to communicating effectively for the purpose of showing someone that your product or services is good for them and the right choice is to buy from you. 

the essense of the sales process
Effective communication, not tricking people

Ah, but is it the right choice?   We will get to that soon under “qualifying.” . 

 Or we can also say there is a definite process to buying.  

The sales training about a process that is simply effective methodical communication.

So there is a definite process, a definite journey that the prospect needs to go through, to go from maybe even not knowing what the product is about or even not knowing they need it or should need it or should want it, all the way up through the point where they have enough information to make a decision that is going to be good for them, that’s going to be beneficial to them. 

So through effective communication, we want to move the prospect from this uncertainty and basically an unknown situation to a commitment and feeling comfortable saying, yes, I want to do business with you. And really, there are only two questions that you have to answer in the positive for the customer.   These are:

Do I believe you?  And can you do it?

Do I trust what you’re saying? If they don’t believe you, if they don’t trust you, it doesn’t matter how good your offer is, it doesn’t matter  if it’s going to work or not.  If they think you’re lying to them, if they think you’re trying to trick them, they’re not going to buy from you.

This is part of the frustration of being an honest and ethical sales person. YOU may know beyound a shadow of a doubt that your product or service is the right decision for them, but they may not know that. At least not yet. Through these sales training lessons I will show you how to get them to also see it is the best decision for them. And how to do this without lying, exaggerating, misleading, tricking or preasuring anyone. In this sales training I will explain it.

sales training
track ratios to improve sales

 The second question you have to have them answer yes to is, do they believe you can actually deliver. They may feel like they trust you, but they may have doubts as to if you can do it, or if your company can do it.   Maybe you’re new at business or you’re just doing the selling and you believe your company will deliver as promised but maybe they have doubts about that.  So maybe you have convinced them you are trustworthy, and they believe you. But they can still have doubts about the ability of you, or your company or your product, to deliver what they need or want.    These may seem like the same thing, but they really are two different issues.

If the product is the same, and the selling skills are the same, the more people you see, the more sales you make.

Really, that’s all you really have to get them to say yes to.  Two questions.
And we’ll go through how you can get a yes to both these questions.

the essense of the sales process
Sales is a science

Just a brief comment because of who you work for. It’s really a piece of cake in a way, because your company is  probably the best in the business in the area you work with. Maybe there’s somebody who’s just as good, but there’s really nobody better. If the customer hires you, they’re getting the best they can get and probably at about the best price they can get for the quality of the work. So it’s a great place to be selling from. Because you don’t have to have any sort of moralistic or ethical questions about what you’re doing, which isn’t always the case for what people are selling.

To recap briefly, all you’re doing is communicating effectively. You want to make sure it’s good for them. You are not trying to trick anyone, and if you really are coming from this place of honesty and decency, this will have a big impact on how much people trust you.  If you really do believe your product or service is right for the customer, this will come through. 

Okay, that is all for this section,  next we will go on to exactly how you do what we just talked about. I will go through the 5 steps of the sasale process. These 5 steps or stages have been known for centuries, and they really haven’t changed, even in the internet age.

This sales training will continue in other posts





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