3 min read
The New ABCs Of Sales
Something I often see with founders who are newer to sales is that they approach a sales call with only the end in mind.
Whereas a seasoned salesperson knows that the whole enchillada is important. And that the most important part is NOT the end.
First, what’s the purpose of a sales call?
No, this isn’t a trick question.
It’s to close the deal. Right?
If the lead is qualified, and is a good fit for our solution, you want to close the deal.
In fact if you’re really bought into the solution you provide, you go a step further and believe that it’s your duty to spread the word of your solution (and thus sell it) to as many people as possible.
You are a True Believer in the value of your solution.
Ok, but back to the point of a sales call.
We want to close the deal, right?
Trouble is, if the first time you think about closing the deal is at the end of the call, then you’re sunk.
If this is you today, never fear, we’ll get you squared away. We’ll have you thinking in terms of the New ABCs of Sales.
Here’s the thing. To close a high percentage of sales calls, you need to be a beast at Discovery, not at Closing.
Don’t believe me?
Think back about the last time you felt like you were really well Sold to.
When you bought something that you hadn’t anticipated buying, and left the conversation shaking your head, a bit bewildered at what just happened.
Do you think it was because the salesperson had some sneaky line to get you to pull out your AMEX?
Or was it because they kinda got you aware (and maybe a bit angry) at the crappy situation you were in, and they just happened to have a solution to the problem you’re experiencing.
The old ABCs of selling were “Always Be Closing”. But we can do better than that.
The new ABCs of selling are “Always Be Curious”.
Better?
In that mind-bending sales experience you recently had, it’s very likely that the salesperson you were talking to really got to know you, got to know your business, the situation you’re in, what your pains, goals, ambitions, and fears are.
They were genuinely Curious. They wanted to get to know you.
And when a salesperson deeply understands you, they are uniquely well suited to position their solution specifically for you.
This is really important, let’s make sure this is clear.
If you do a good job in the Discovery phase of a call you have a unique (and way better) way of positioning your Solution to solve their problem.
In these cases, the closing process is not a one-sized fits all solution. It’s custom tailored to speak to you. Your pains/desires/fears/ambitions.
But you can’t do this if you don’t know those things to start with….and the only way to learn them is to rock at Discovery.
So while the old school of sales was to Always Be Closing, the new guard knows that we need to Always Be Curious.
If we excel at Discovery, then the Closing phase just takes care of itself.
You’ve done the hard work to understand the customer, know what they want, and then you just have to position your product as one that solves those problems.
So in your next sales call, spend a bit of extra time in Discovery.
Deeply understand your future customer, and then position your presentation/demo/pitch to talk to that problem.
You’ll thank me! 🙂
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