“YOU WERE BORN TO WIN, BUT TO BE A WINNER YOU MUST PLAN TO WIN, PREPARE TO WIN, AND EXPECT TO WIN.” – ZIG ZIGLAR

 

 

Sales Discipline Pays Off

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Some people think of discipline as a burden, but smart salespeople see it as a tool that keeps them from sabotaging their future achievements.

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Discipline frees salespeople from mistakes that can cripple their best efforts. It liberates them from wasting time on useless endeavors and failing to close sales.

Best of all, discipline removes the blinders of self-delusion we use to kid ourselves into believing we're more productive than we really are.

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Intelligent salespeople know the value of following the sales process. They know that 20 percent of their prospects will buy from them no matter what they do or say, and 20 percent won’t buy from them no matter what they do or say. It takes discipline to win over the customers that make up the remaining 60 percent.

 

 

The Sales Process Defined

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100% Effort from Start to Finish – positive attitude, friendly/helpful demeanor, staying disciplined no matter the circumstances and always following the sales process and using all available resources

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Proper Greeting – this is your chance to make a good first impression – clients will quickly judge what kind of person you are based on how you answer their call – remember to always include the brand name

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Express a Commitment to Help – this reassures your customer that you have listened to them, you understand what they want, and you are committed to helping them get what they want today - this instantly lowers their guard and creates some level of trust as well.

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Build Rapport – mirror your customer and build trust and a mutual feeling of friendliness – you don’t have to be their best friend, but being an empathetic, likable, helpful person will go a long way on your calls

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Establish and Maintain Call Control – it is important that you are steering conversations towards a more structured call flow in order to achieve the desired outcome. The best way to control the call is to establish early on that you have heard and understand why they are calling, you are here to help, followed by YOU asking them questions in order to provide them with the correct information they need to make a decision

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Build Value in Brand BEFORE Giving Price – In a price-sensitive market, the winner is the one who can show more value than the asking price. Value is determined not by the market, but by your customer. Explain what makes us different and build value in our brand to help them understand why they should choose our brand. People will pay more for quality if they believe the product/service is in fact superior or better than the competition. If you give the price before building value, you will now have to be reactive instead of proactive...you have now lost control of the call and you're allowing the caller to make a decision too early in the process.

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Accurate Pricing – this seems obvious, but it’s still very important to ask the right questions to ensure you’re giving them accurate pricing so there’s no surprises later in the call or at the time of installation. Changing the price will cause the caller to lose confidence and trust in both you and the company

3 Yes Questions – research shows that answering YES to questions or requests three times in a row trains the brain to want to keep saying YES because it feels good to say YES and the brain naturally wants to keep that feeling going – we can simply use three questions to verify their info that we know will be a YES, followed by immediately asking for the sale…and getting another YES

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Create Urgency – urgency is one of the most powerful aspects of human psychology – urgent situations cause us to suspend deliberate thought and to act quickly. Always set up your close by creating urgency – “appointments fill up fast”, “limited time offer”, etc…

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Assume the Sale – in order to achieve an extremely high closing ratio in sales you must assume that the outcome of your presentations will be as you desire – assuming the sale means that right from the beginning, and all the way through the process, you believe and remain committed to achieving the goal you set – you can feel confident assuming the sale if you have followed the sales process throughout the entire call – confidently ask 3 YES questions, create urgency, and assume the sale

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Rebuttals as Needed – most objections can be overcome by building a sense of credibility, trust, and re-framing the way your caller sees what you're selling – confidently (not arrogantly) address their objection ...then immediately return to where you left off in the sales process – remember that objections are usually a result of not understanding, fear of making the wrong decision, lack of trust, or low perceived value – remember to acknowledge their objection, not dismiss it in a way that can be perceived as insulting or disrespectful – the LMG Sales site has suggested rebuttals available for the most common objections - get familiar with them and use them

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Competitive Pricing as Needed – use this tool anytime your customer, objects to the price, says they want to shop around, or is hesitant to move forward after hearing the price – use the proper rebuttal to set yourself up for competitive pricing – afterwards, immediately go back to assuming the sale and leading them to enroll and schedule. Use these tools to capture clients at all costs.

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SOP - What to Bring to Install – always tell your customer everything they need to bring in order to have the device installed – be sure that they understand and also let them know that you’ll send an email that includes this information – we get paid for installs, so make sure your customer is prepared

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Proper Scheduling/Enrollment – again, this seems pretty obvious – be thorough and mindful to follow all of the correct steps when enrolling and scheduling your new client – missing a step, entering incorrect information, or forgetting to properly notate their account can create a huge mess and a potential problem for the client during install…which may cause you to lose a sale

 

Offer Email w/ Details and Follow Up – the follow up is everything – hoping your customer shows up for installation is not enough – let them know you’ll send an email with all the details for their install appointment – price, location, time, what to bring, what to expect, and how to contact you with any questions or to reschedule – a reminder phone call is great for customers scheduled out past the next 24 hours to increase the odds of them showing up – the follow up call gives you a chance to remind them of their appointment, address any questions/concerns, objections, buyer’s remorse issues, or give you a second chance to sell them if they chose a competitor after talking to you – if the call did not result in a sale then you should still send the same email without the appointment date/time and agree on a day/time for you to call them back

 

Confirm All Info Collected During Enrollment - the accuracy of the information collected during enrollment is critical for the customer to be compliant with their monitoring authority. It is also important that the fee group is correct and the account is thoroughly notated so anyone else that comes across the account can fully understand what transpired on your call

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Proper Call Closing – before ending the call, it is important that your customer has all of their questions answered, all of their objections/concerns addressed, and fully understands and agrees to the next steps in the process – ending the call properly helps minimize buyer’s remorse and the odds of them shopping around after your call – always thank them for choosing “brand name” and end the call on a positive note

 

 

What do sales reps stand to gain from following a sales process?

 

• Being more efficient – The magic of routine is that it improves efficiency. Sales reps who have the sales process down pat will act on it as second nature, totally confident and comfortable to work effectively within it.

• Developing stronger skills through repetition – The 10,000-hour rule – where the key to success in any field is a matter of practicing something for 10,000 hours – certainly applies in sales. Imagine how effective your sales calls will be when you work on the same process over and over again.

• Not having to reinvent the wheel with every new opportunity – Again, this comes down to a comfort level and having the confidence to execute seamlessly. Instead of having to come up with new approaches on every opportunity, you can simply rely on the tried-and-true nature of the sales process.

• Having next-step guidance – When sales reps get stuck on one tricky aspect of a particularly difficult opportunity, you don’t have to run to the manager for advice on what to say next. You can simply look to the sales process or call flow script for a helpful guide on what to do next.

• A sense of company commitment, support and dedication – Sales reps benefit from the strength of a united team. Just as sports coaches want all of their players to be on the same page and run the same plays...sales managers want their sales reps operating in the same manner.

• Closing more deals! – When the process is followed, salespeople won’t be skipping steps. It is the skipped and missing steps which lead to longer sales cycles and lower win rates.

 

 

“REPETITION IS THE MOTHER OF LEARNING, THE FATHER OF ACTION, WHICH MAKES IT THE ARCHITECT OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.” – ZIG ZIGLAR