You have an idea. You brought that idea to fruition. Your product is about to hit the market. You poured your heart, soul, and countless other resources into bringing your idea to life. Now what? You sell it. But how? How do you provide your sales team, or even yourself, with a clear path to success to sell your product? Simple: the right sales process.
You have been a business owner for years. Your sales are steady but they aren’t quite where you want them to be. You know you have a rock star sales team, but they just aren’t putting up the numbers you would like. You know you can get a bigger piece of the pie, but how? Simple: the right sales process.
You are considering a job in sales. You have little to no sales experience, but you see the opportunity in front of you and you want to take it. You want to show the world you have what it takes to run with the big dogs. People all around you are telling you that you should get into sales, but how? How do you prepare yourself with the right tools to make a gigantic splash and give the seasoned vets a run for their money? Simple: the right sales process.
Noticing a common denominator? You should be. The right sales process is what separates the mediocre from the great. Does that sound hokey and “salesy?” Yes, of course it does and of course it is. Whether you are just starting out in sales or a business owner who is looking to increase their revenue, having the right sales process will make a world of difference.
This doesn’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, a daunting task. Granted, it took me over a decade in sales and business to perfect my process, but I do not enter a single sales call or meeting with a prospective client without knowing exactly how I’m going to play it. From prospecting to closing to servicing the sale, there is always a plan.
Does this mean that I am saying that every sale is the same? Yes and no. The framework is the same, yes, but every customer is different and will have different needs. Are there generalities we can use to prepare? Of course, there are, but the fun part about the sales profession is that we can never be entirely positive about what the situation will throw at us.
In my role before I started my consulting business, I sold internet. I loved the job and that it would provide me with an opportunity to have countless conversations with countless business owners from whom I could learn - and learn I did. In my time with the company, and over a decade in successful sales roles, only one-time didI find myself left with absolutely no clue what to say or how to even begin to create demand for the prospect. He was an aging attorney who was nearing the end of his career quicker than Vin Diesel accepts his Fast and Furious roles.
He happily agreed to meet with me and I found myself in a one-room office that couldn’t have been bigger than my kitchen, with plaques on the wall behind his desk that held his licenses and degrees. He was an attorney licensed to practice in every court in Pennsylvania and all the way to the US Supreme Court. Having family members in the legal community, I had heard of this attorney before and had respect for him already.
“Well, Kyle, I have no problem meeting with you, but I gotta tell you, you’re wasting your time.” All right, I’ve heard this before. I internally geared myself up for one of my favorite parts of sales - the challenge! He went on to tell me he doesn’t use the internet, never has, and never will. “What do you do when you have to send a document to the courthouse?” I inquired. “Walk it over,” he grinned. “What if you have to look up case law or statutes?” Thinking I had him, I eagerly awaited his response. “I walk over to the library” he smirked. “What if it’s cold?!” I exclaimed, thinking surely this guy would crack. “I wear a coat. That exact one right there!” Even I had to laugh at that one. At this point I figured I’d just have some fun and see how far I could take it, so with my last bit of chutzpah, I said “but wait, what about efficiency for your customers? Surely there has to be a faster way!” The old attorney, appreciating the game we were playing, smiled warmly and said “luckily for me, I bill by the hour.” I laughed and looked at him and said “Well, bud, I have to say, for the first time in my career, I have nothing for you!” We exchanged handshakes and I walked out.
These things happen and they are anomalies. What aren’t anomalies are the successes I saw. My process followed and follows, the same framework time and time again. Do I stagnate? No. Do I change my process? No, not in a very long time. What do I do? I close. I target my prospects, I hit them with a hell of an ice breaker, I get the meeting, and then the real fun begins. I ask questions. I dig. I dig more. I dig even more. I explain to the customer what my company or product can do for them. I tell them what it will cost them and what they will get in return for their money, and by the end of it, closing is a no-brainer.
One of the most important parts of The Slaymaker Method sales process is knowing when to shut up. Don’t ever oversell. It’s incredibly easy to smell blood in the water and think that you are going in for the kill only to find out that not only does the customer have a bigger boat, but it goes faster and farther than you could ever even think of going. Being able to read people is a trait that some sales professionals have naturally but can also be taught if they want to be.
Let the customer do the talking while you do the listening. As cliché as it sounds, if you give the prospect the opportunity to share, they will give you information that will be like bullets. Take those bullets, load your gun, and then when the time is right, pull the trigger. When will the time be right? The customer will let you know. Either with their words, their body language, their questions, or other ways in the plethora of buying signals.
Does it sound cocky? Yes, I know it does, and you absolutely wouldn’t be the first person to listen to me and think “man, this guy is full of himself.” Even my incredibly amazing wife would tell you that I am full of myself, but at the end of the day, it is really just confidence in both myself and my process. I know my process works and it has gotten me, and others, to where we are today. I have come a very long way from when my girlfriend, now my wife, whipped the car into a car dealership that had a “Now Hiring” sign out front and made me go in and apply. I knew nothing about cars or sales and was still hired on the spot, but that is a story for another blog entry.
This was a very high-level overview of the process of the Slaymaker Method sales process - and I mean about 30,000 feet. To get a true grasp on the intricacies of each step in the process, you will have to wait for further entries or, of course, reach out to The Slaymaker Method today!
-Kyle
