Prospecting - Discovery - Proposal - Negotiation - Closing

Prospecting can be warm or cold. We get leads from advertising and we get references from people who are happy that have purchased systems. Some sales people purchase lists or get public lists making cold calls, sending letters, sending emails or visiting companies or homes such as door knocking. Once you get an appointment with the company or person we move to the next step.

Discovery is finding out the needs of the customer or pointing out needs that they didn’t know they had. It is during a site visit or appointment that sales people will often begin explaining their company , explaining the features of their products or trying to get the person to buy what they are selling. Listening is the better option for the sales person before he or she begins to share all the knowledge they have.

When the sales person provides a proposal they layout the counts and the type of the equipment and the pricing of the system or equipment and services. At this point the customer can compare the proposal with other proposals they have received from other companies. If the customer had specifications and plans and researched the equipment they can make a good comparison, if not they may not be comparing apples to apples. The customer will either decide to purchase or tell the sales person no. Often they will say they need to think about it or present the proposal to someone else to review.

For some sales people they purposefully price their products or services high so they can negotiate a lower price. I don’t have time to go back and forth with customers because I am always so busy with additional jobs. I normally price the systems with a fair price from the start. I can lower the counts or change equipment in order to lower the price.

Once the customer decides on the options they would like we can get agreements signed, a call list signed and a deposit arranged. After this is done we can order equipment and put the project on the schedule.

If you have not heard about SPIN selling there are steps you can go through that can help the sales person and the customer.

S - Situation

P - Problem

I- Implication

N - Need Payoff

Once we identify a problem that the customer has the question is can we help them solve the problem? When we go to the implication step we need to find out if they do not solve the problem what will happen? If we do solve the problem or need will it be a win win for the sales person and the customer?

During this process we need to BRT build relationships of trust. Often timing is something that can help you. If you talk to the customer right after a break in that is timing. Sometimes price is the issue so they will go with the lowest bid and most of the time the lowest bidder has inferior equipment and leaves things out. If you can reach an agreement where the sales person can provide value and solve the problem then you can build a relationship of trust.

You don’t need to be friends with your customers although when they know that you are honest and not trying to cheat them that goes along way.

Larry Love 801 428 1384 larry@peakalarm.com