Sales. It's one of the skills that are desired by many and yet eludes most. It is a skill that overlaps many different aspects of life, and those who have mastered it, tend to do very well for themselves. With many looking to make their fortune, a group of people have also emerged to teach you for, at times, a hefty fee. Even with an incredible amount of resources available to learn this craft, the rates of success have stayed the same.

Scrolling through social media platforms, there are young salespeople, regardless of the industries (real estate, insurance, etc.) that will have "Always Be Closing" in their bio. This comes from the cult classic Glengarry Glen Ross and is quite amusing to me because the film is essentially centered around dubious tactics.

Now obviously we would all like to be closing deals. Have a full calendar, and sitting in our office, phones ringing with clients lining up to work with us. Although some reach that point, what is important to keep in mind is how we get there. Making a sale no matter what, as the movie would suggest, will make sure that you are not in that industry very long.

There is no doubt that the acronym is incredibly catchy, and I wanted to take the opportunity to use it to create better sales habits. So for our ABCs, it will be the three things that you should avoid doing. At first glance, you might think that these concepts are fairly obvious, but I will argue that these behaviors arise from an attempt to perform key aspects of the sales process, but are executed poorly. We will explore the ABCs ( What not to do) and DEF (What to do), and create better habits that will lead to more sales.

A - Argue

Our job in sales is not to be right, or prove that we know more about a topic. Our job is to help clients solve a problem. Arguing comes from a very important part of sales which is overcoming objections. Of course, it is our job to address any concerns, but if the situation turns into a back-and-forth where we stop listening and are trying to prove something, you have lost the sale. More importantly you have lost site of your goals and have shown that you care more about being right than helping.

It can be subtle and doesn't always present itself as a shouting battle. The difference is instead of listening to your client, you are preparing your next response, which usually will come quickly as if, the faster the response is the smarter you seem. Furthermore being in an argumentative posture trying to seem like the expert, has the opposite effect. Your "rebuttals" don't help clients, they just waste their time.

B- Beg

Just like arguing, begging doesn't have to be you in a client's office on your knees asking for their business. Begging can come from two different things. The first is when asking for a meeting and the second is creating a sense of urgency. Both are incredibly important, but again it's all in the execution. Going up to a prospective client and saying " Please give me an hour of your time. You won't regret it" is starting off the relationship from desperation and setting expectations high without knowing anything about their business or their goals.

Each sales process has its life cycle. A lot of the time the big commission sales jobs are selling products that don't get sold over one phone call or meeting. Creating a sense of urgency is more akin to making sure this sales process is staying on track, and making sure that clients have all the necessary information to make a decision. Calling too often or coming off as frantic in the whole situation shows clients you are more interested in closing the sale rather than helping them through their problems and assessing whether your product/service will help.

C- Convincing

This one tends to be the most surprising to most people. Isn't the whole point of sales to convince people to buy your product/service? Our job is to educate people about our product/service and show the value it will provide. People will not spend money unless they see that the value is greater than the price they will be paying. If they don't see the value after extensive education and responses to objections there is nothing really you will benefit from continuing the conversation.

Prospects don't need to be convinced. They will show that they are convinced by moving forward and working with you. Quite simply they need to be shown the product or service, understand everything about it, and decide if it fits their needs or solves their problem. If prospects feel they don't have a problem then any advancement in the conversation will become persuasive and again will show that you care more about the commission check than helping with the needs of a prospect.

The Bedrock of Sales

Before even mentioning what to do when engaging clients, three things need to be in place beforehand. These are the caveats to any successful career in sales. I would go as far as to say that if you focus on these three concepts you will start to correct bad habits that we just discussed.

Deep Understanding

Top Salespeople solve problems for their clients. They come with a wealth of knowledge about their product/service. They understand the industry, and their competitors, and give their clients a bird's eye view.

Sales is not 9-5. When you are not focusing on generating revenue. You are connecting or learning. Early on in your career, there will be more emphasis on the latter and the former will comprise more of your time when you have an established book of business. Becoming an expert does come with experience, but dedicating all your time immersing in your field will do wonders. It builds credibility that cannot be bought.

Before picking up the phone make sure you understand what you are selling. How does it help the end user, and of course different ways others have found success? The more you know the better prepared you are to handle objections and educate prospects.

Pipeline

This is where many fail, and quite frankly what people find draining. For you to have a full calendar at the beginning of your career ( and even later) requires a lot of hard work. People will not magically call or seek you out. You need a pipeline. Depending on the product/Service this can be provided by a marketing team, but you are not going a top producer waiting for the leads to come in. It is an amazing resource that will build the stepping stones to your success, but remember large multi-million dollar deal clients, are not filling out a contact form on your company's website.

Once you focus on your pipeline and start to build it considerably, you won't have all your hopes ( or paycheck) riding on one deal. You plant many seeds which you nurture, and reap the rewards at a later date. It is our job to keep the pipeline full and keep prospects moving through the pipeline.

Belief in the Product or Service

If you wouldn't use your company's product or service, don't work for that company. If you don't have either an interest in the space or believe that there are better companies, don't take that job. I am not saying you will fail, but you will make an already very hard job even harder. You will be less motivated to learn about the industry, and you will not be able to show enthusiasm for what you are selling.

The good news is that sales jobs are abundant, and every industry has companies in need of sales talent. You can go and pick an industry that you have a genuine interest in, and it doesn't have to be an obvious company like Enterprise software sales at NetSuite. If you have a passion for Fitness, go and look at companies that sell raw materials to supplement brands. You will be getting paid for something that you already are probably looking up anyways, and talking to people that have the same interests.

Once you are working on the three concepts above it will make sense to learn the most important concepts of the actual sales process. Amusingly it is the next three letters after C. They are the core of what sales is, and no matter what you are selling, they have been mastered by every successful salesperson.

D- Discovery

The first step in the sales process is discovery. This is the time when you give the prospect center stage. Here you are LISTENING and asking questions. You are there to find out about the business/themselves. You want to know how they operate currently and what goals they might have. Essentially where they started, where they are right now, and where they want to be. Listening allows you to understand their needs, and IF you can help.

The second Portion of the discovery meeting is assessing their needs. Why did they take this meeting? Do they have pain points with their current product or service? What do they think they need to solve this problem? If they were to buy something, when would that be? The next step is extremely important. If it looks like that it's obvious they don't need what you are selling, wrap up the meeting, and thank them for the opportunity. This might seem very surprising, but I would rather be the person who tells them the reality, and people will respect you for that.

An example if you are using QuickBooks for 100 USD a month, and you have no issues with it there is no use in pushing a 5000 USD a month ERP system. The relationship doesn't end there, but we will get to that later.

E- Educate

After the discovery stage, you will assess if there is a need. If you find that your product/service can help, proceed to educate them. This will vary depending on what it is you are selling, but essentially it goes like this. Product/Service overview, how it can help, and how you have helped others. Again this is very general as different products/services have varying levels of complexity. Some might need a whole other meeting just for a demo, or include technical experts to go into more detail. Your objective is to educate them and leave no stone unturned.

The second part of the Education process will be to answer questions and overcome objections. This could be about pricing, technical questions, or general clarifications. Again this could be multiple meetings or phone calls depending on the prospect and what you are selling.

The most underrated part of the education process is illustrating the sales process to the prospect. This is how long it will take to implement, and who will be involved. Setting a timeline during this process, will create your sense of urgency and set expectations. Since you know their buying period (Discovery) there is no need to be pushy. You set the expectation of what is going to happen to align with when they are looking to buy. Your job now is to keep all parties on track.

F- Follow up

"The fortune is in the follow-up". "Learn it. Trust it. Adopt it. You are not the center of people's universe, and quite frankly people lose track of the goal to close the sale. Once you have educated your prospect, it is your job to follow up. If they haven't done what needs to be done, then we go back to education. Is there a problem with the price? Do they need more clarification about the product/service? You follow up until you get an answer. Whether it is a yes or no.

Also, the reason it's important goes back to the discovery section. I mentioned if it is apparent that there is no need for the product now, or it's not a good fit, the end of the meeting does not mark the end of the relationship. Follow up on how their business/ life is going. Feel free to let them know when you have a new product/service or even feature. Of course, be mindful of your follow-up. Things don't change daily, and that also means you don't need to be pestering them.

They might even call you to ask questions about the industry. Maybe revisit what you have to offer. It works both ways. It is the core of building relationships. To check up on friends, and family, and you should check up on clients (prospective, current, or past).

On a personal side note. I was talking to a woman, and we seemed to be hitting it off. I sent a message and didn't get a response. A week went by and decided to follow up, with something witty. She responded, and I will be marrying that woman next year. The Key to things that you want in life is in the follow-up.

-Cheers

Amir