Sales Cycle Steps

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This doesn’t mean spending weeks and months wining and dining a client. What it means is for you to start setting yourself apart from your competition by taking time to understand their needs and objectives. This will be the foundation of your relationship.

Building an effective relationship with your customer is the first step in positioning yourself as a consultant, rather than a salesperson. Ultimately at the end of all the sales cycle steps, you want to be viewed as someone who can solve their business issues. By building a strong relationship with the client you are setting the stage for a long term repeat customer.

Let’s face it, the customer is willing to meet with you for a reason. They have an underlying business challenge they need help with. It is imperative for you to understand what these challenges are. Later in the sales cycle steps you will be connecting the features of your solution to these needs. If you don’t find them out up front, you will not have success selling to your client.

Through demand generation and prospecting activities, the foundation of your relationship will be established. Remember the focus is on their business and not your solution at this stage. Too many salespeople make the mistake of “selling” too early and sounding like every other ineffective salesperson in the marketplace. Adhere to the sales cycle steps and let the process help drive the deal.

Top earning salespeople take time to understand a variety of aspects of the customer’s business. The good thing is you don’t have to get too deep. A little bit of knowledge can go a long way in the eyes of a customer. Spend some time considering things such as the industry the customer competes. Who are the client’s customers? Who are the customer’s competitors? Is your customer in a growth or cost containment mode? What is their business direction? And so on.

There are lots of places to find information that will help you show the client you are interested in their business. The internet, local newspapers, magazines and other periodicals have proven to be great information sources. Don’t forget the customer may have their own website and annual report. These resources are gold for salespeople who go the extra mile to set themselves apart.

Let’s face it, ultimately you are interested in the sale. That’s why you are engaged. Just take the time to show you possess some knowledge of their business. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how far it takes you.

It doesn’t matter if you are selling a pair of jeans or the core technology for a nuclear reactor. The sales process does not vary. The length and depth of each step may vary by industry, but the sales cycle steps do not.

To differentiate yourself you need to get beyond the stigma of being “just another salesperson”. By adhering to the sales cycle steps and focusing on the needs of the client, you are working your way toward a consultative sell.

If you have done the up front work properly the next steps will flow naturally. Often the customer will arrive at your solution without you having to “close the deal”. This is how the Sales Pros do it. This is how you need to do it in order to make big dollars in sales.

Continue your quest for knowledge and absorb all you can. You will become a top sales performer before you know it. Remember to arm that attitude with process and knowledge. There is no telling how far you can go!

Thanks for Reading.

Good Selling.

Check out other important sales cycle steps