Whether you are a sales novice or an experienced sales professional looking for new inspiration, there are strategies to take your career to the next level.
Learn to strategically harness the power of influence to sway prospects and elevate your sales performance.
Know Your Value
The correct sales methodology is critical for any business to maximize its potential. Whether your sales team is new to selling or seasoned veterans, the right approach to selling can be the difference between crushing sales goals and falling short. Choosing the proper sales methodology starts with understanding what your company offers, your target buyers, and their unique buying process.
Today’s sales world is much different. Rather than leaning on old-school sales techniques, savvy sellers leverage scientific methods to close more deals.
Social selling, for example, helps salespeople build relationships with prospects by focusing on listening and providing helpful solutions to their challenges. This method also focuses on the value of your product, which is essential for building customer trust.
Another popular sales technique is value selling, which teaches salespeople how to deliver the benefits of their product to customers. It can be done by creating the challenger sale summary that shows prospects how your solution addresses their pain points and solves their problems.
Finally, SNAP selling is designed to speed up sales by identifying three key decision milestones. This approach allows prospects to keep their momentum without losing their way. Whichever sales methodology your business chooses, providing thorough training and various role-playing opportunities is essential to help your team feel comfortable with the new strategy.
Know Your Competitors
Identifying and analyzing competitors is one of the most critical factors in maximizing your sales potential. Understanding your competitors can help you spot weaknesses that you can exploit. It can also help you avoid any threats your competitors may pose.
One way to understand your competitors is by using a competitive grid matrix. It is a spreadsheet that allows you to organize your research and make it easier to compare competitors. Start by dedicating a row or column to each competitor you want to learn more about. Then, on the other axis of your grid, list the types of information that you would like to know more about each competitor.
Another way to better understand your competitors is by visiting their websites and reading their histories. It can give you a good idea of how they’ve grown and where they see themselves going. You can also gain valuable information about your competitors by talking to them face-to-face or over the phone. It can be an excellent opportunity to ask questions and learn from your competition’s mistakes. It can save you time, energy, and money in the long run.
Focus on the Buyer’s Needs
When choosing a sales methodology, choosing one that aligns with your business goals is vital. For example, you might opt for consultative selling to increase your sales potential, prioritizing building trust and understanding the customer’s needs. Or, you might select an approach like SPIN selling, which focuses on determining your prospect’s pain points and how your product can solve them.
Regardless of your sales methodology, keep track of any relevant data. It will help you see if the methodology works and make necessary adjustments to maximize your sales potential.
For example, if you’re trying to sell a technology solution, you might need to incorporate elements of a BANT or ANUM sales methodology. These methodologies focus on assessing the buyer’s requirements, identifying their problem, and narrowing their options to a short list of vendors.
Embracing a new art of selling requires the right attitude and skill set. It’s not easy to abandon old habits that aren’t serving you. But to master the art of selling in today’s rapidly changing sales world, you must step out of your comfort zone and learn new techniques to give you a competitive edge. Then, you can enjoy your sales success and feel good about your work. That’s what true sales professionals do.
Make It Personal
It’s no secret that salespeople must understand their buyers to sell successfully. But how exactly does one accomplish this? Sales methodologies can provide the tools to craft the perfect solution for each buyer.
These methodologies provide a framework for consistency in the sales process, which allows businesses to compare rep performance across different products and customer profiles easily. A sales methodology also empowers teams to work together effectively as they follow a familiar path throughout each deal.
In a modern sales landscape, more than relying on a traditional approach to selling is required. Today’s buyers are more informed and demand more customization in their solutions. That’s why it’s essential to leverage scientific methods when qualifying prospects and creating an effective sales pipeline.
One popular sales methodology is consultative selling, which emphasizes a collaborative approach between the seller and prospect. This method focuses on understanding your prospect’s challenges and how your product can help them overcome them. It also prioritizes addressing questions and concerns throughout the sales process to build trust with your prospects.
Another popular sales methodology is SPIN, which asks targeted questions to uncover buying motivations. This method provides valuable insights into a prospect’s problem-solving style, which can be used to inform the next steps of your sales process.
Take Control of the Budget Discussion
If you ever typed “how to sell” into a search engine, the chances are that you came across countless sales gurus who promote old-school selling techniques rooted in sales ideology from 40 years ago. These outdated tactics don’t work anymore because the buying process has evolved.
Buyers now have access to more information than at any other time in history and are much less receptive to being sold something they don’t want or need. Moreover, they can quickly and easily choose different options with a button.
As a result, it’s imperative to embrace a new way of selling that aligns with the current buying process to maximize your sales potential. Fortunately, several sales methodologies can help you do just that.
One such methodology is CHAMP (Challenge, Authority, Money, and Priority). This customer-centric selling method prioritizes empathy for the buyer’s situation over everything else. This approach ensures that your buyers receive personalized presentations and that their personal and business needs guide the sales process.
Another excellent sales methodology is Target Account Selling (TAS). This strategy helps you close deals by focusing on an organization’s most influential decision-makers. TAS leverages data gathered by your sales team to identify key accounts you can win, then focuses on the people within those accounts who can decide to buy your product.
Determine the Prospect’s Authority
No matter whether your business sells ERP implementation services to large enterprises or cooking supplies to local restaurants, you can see tremendous sales growth by implementing formalized sales methodologies. These high-level sales frameworks help your team understand buyers’ thought processes, desires, fears, and motivations to prospect, qualify, close, and upsell more effectively.
But most sales gurus still teach the same old-school techniques based on outdated selling ideology from 40 years ago. It’s time to change that.
You need to know your buyer’s authority to maximize your sales potential. That means determining who will decide and how many people will be involved.
For example, suppose you’re talking to the CEO of an organization. In that case, they may have ultimate authority but must also run their ideas by subordinates or the board before making a final decision. That’s why it’s essential to ask about the typical decision-making process before you present your solution.
You can use a tool to score prospects based on their qualification criteria and then leverage signals to turn their behavior into expert guidance for your reps. That way, they’ll be able to understand your buyers better and close more deals than ever before.
