By understanding the appointment process, you can better understand the sales process and why some salespeople have such repeat business that they never have to cold call. We’ll see.
These are the typical steps in the dating process.
-First meeting or presentation
-Second meeting
-Get to know each other
-First date, social meeting.
-Second date another social gathering
-Romantic dinner or movie
-Several more dates
-Meet the parents
-Ask the question
-Commitment period
-Wedding
If you ask your date to get married on the first meeting, you will probably be turned down! There is a process and following the steps of this process is necessary to have a successful relationship.
Now, let’s look at a typical sales process.
-cold call
-Second cold call
-Meeting or business event
-Hot call or referral
-Testimonials
-Demonstration
-Introduce yourself to decision makers.
-Close
If you ask your prospect to buy on the cold call, they will be rejected, just like above.
So write down the steps of your sales process and follow them. In fact, the more steps you have, the better the chances of closing the sale.
Relationship selling is simply the most powerful sales tool you could ever employ. Forget all the closings, test closings, and persuasive techniques. Establish a relationship with your customer that ensures repeat business more than anything else.
How exactly is this relationship established?
First, you have to find common ground; something outside of work, but not too far. These are some examples of relational sales…
-Birthday cards
-Golf
-Bowling
-Hunt
-Fishing
-Personal collections, stamps, golf balls, paintings, stamps, cards, figures and more.
-Photos
-Children
-grandchildren
-Dance
-Bycicle
-Trekking
-Weightloss
I think you get the idea. You have to find something that it relates to and then expand on it. Add a golf ball to your collection, discuss fishing tips, share diet plans.
It takes some energy to do this, but customers want to buy from someone they like and trust. The best way to establish this is to find common ground and relate to it.
After you make the sale, check in with your customer at least every 90 days. Email them to ask how it’s going. Most sellers never do this and just come back when it’s time to renew.
Relationship selling is the ultimate ongoing sales process that generates a never-ending stream of renewals and referrals.
Your client wants to deal with someone they feel cares about. If you care about them, you should care about his company. Go find them!
