Sales - It doesn't have to be so tough!

Sales is something most of us dread, but it’s such an important part of any business. After all, how can a company succeed if they can’t sell their stuff?

But sales doesn’t have to be so freakin’ tough. Maybe you don’t like sales because you’ve had bad experiences with salespeople in the past. Maybe you can’t stand the idea that you’ll become the stereotypical pushy, annoying salesperson. Luckily, you don’t have to be. I’m going to show you a sales process that’ll help you overcome this fear, make you more comfortable in a sales setting, and perhaps even make you fall in love with sales. Ready? Let’s go.

The process is called the BASS selling model. It’s an acronym that stands for:

B: Build a Relationship

Sales is not about you. It’s all about your prospect! People buy from those they like and trust. Don’t be a robot. Speak from the heart and really spend some time getting to know your prospect. Different people have different styles of communication, so definitely try your best to adapt to each prospect. Make them feel at home, and your likelihood to closing that sale will soar.

A: Ask Questions

Questions are essential to getting acquainted with your prospect. But you have to make sure that your questions are open-ended and thoughtful. Ask them to describe, elaborate, and explain. Never settle for a one-word answer! Dig deep and learn the emotions, fears, and needs specific to your prospect. Listen to their responses carefully and really think about how you can help them. To learn more about creating amazing sales questions, read this post or listen to this podcast.

S: Solve a Need

If you asked great questions, you should have a solid grasp of what your prospect’s primary need is. From there, you can come up with a solution for them (your sales offer). Remember to focus on the benefits of your offer and how it can help your prospect. Avoid talking about features until they’re sold on the benefits, and don’t mention salesy words like cost, price, payment, contract, buy, sell, etc. Mentally prepare for objections and think ahead on how to best handle them. I suggest learning about the RACC model to overcoming objections.

S: Secure Next Step

So your prospect has a need and you can help solve it. What are you waiting for? It’s time to secure the next step. The actual step you must take is different for every product or service depending on its life cycle. If you’re selling a low ticket item, you might go straight for the sale. If your product or service requires several sales meetings, then be sure to schedule the next meeting before the current one comes to an end. You can also try to gauge your prospect’s level of interest by asking what they want to do next. Some may surprise you and jump on your offer right away.

That’s it; that’s the BASS sales model. Apply it in every sales meeting, and stay organized. Use a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and label each prospect as hot, warm, cold, past, current, etc. Schedule time to follow up with prospects, especially hot and warm ones. Keep track of your time spent and your conversion rate, so you can tweak your sales process as you go along. Remember to always follow up with appreciation after each sale!

One final thing I want to stress is the importance of knowing your product or service. Take the time necessary to learn it inside and out, and try using it yourself. Product knowledge is so critical, because how can you sell something you haven’t a clue about? You’ll lack authority, and your prospect will pick up on this easily. So go out and take action today.

Thanks and have a fantastic week,
Jared Polak