The Problem Solver: SELL! SELL! SELL! Marketing is good stuff.

Marketing is good stuff. Sales is better! At least initially. That is, we are sales driven---” Tom Peters.

It is the proverbial bottom line, the fuel that enables the rest of the company to run---The Sale. It is the ultimate vote of confidence, the meeting of minds between what your company has to offer and the buyers’ wants or needs. It is your mission statement validated. Out of all of the millions of options available to the buyer, it is that golden moment when they choose to spend their hard-earned dollars with YOU. Sales pays for salaries, rents, inventories, taxes, dividends, benefits, equipment, expense accounts, utilities, loans, petty cash--well, you get the idea. The Sale. Ultimately it pays for everything---including the intangible reasons for going into business in the first place, be it the accomplishment of bringing a new idea to fruition, or the dream of a better life for yourself, your family, and the buying public.

Just as the success of sales is basic to the survival of any business, the basics of selling are critical to the success of the sale. However styles and trends may change, the basics remain constant. As Peters says, “---marketing does have its place”. But where marketing leaves off, and the sale begins, what are the necessary steps that lead to the commitment to buy? What are the ABC’s or QPC’s of sales?

Q. Qualify. Step 1. The most obvious, the most difficult, and the most often omitted of the selling basics, it is the essential groundwork for the sales process. Simply stated, it is counterproductive to be presenting your product or service to someone who either (1) could not or (2) would not buy it. The prospect who is incapable of buying may not be able to afford it. They may not have the authority to make such a decision. It is possible they would love to buy what you have if they could. But they cannot, often, as stated, because they lack the money or the decision making power.

Step 2. P is for Presentation. P is for Product knowledge. This is where you tell your story. All of the features and benefits--the beauty of what you have to offer, tell your prospect now. Systematically add layer upon layer of value. Your client wants to make an informed decision, and you are the expert in your field. Learn everything you can about your product or service, so you can facilitate the coming together of what you have with what the buyer wants or needs. Everyone wants value.

By qualifying your prospect in advance, you are already aware of what his hot buttons are. Pepper your presentation with that which will especially excite him. While it is possible to “overtalk” yourself out of a sale, most people err on the side of adding >too little value. Almost never do buyers complain of considering a purchase having just too many valuable features and benefits! Add value--and then add some more.

C is for Close. C is for Create the opportunity to buy--the opening for the customer to say, “Yes”. Much as in life in general, the prize goes to the one who actively seeks it. Imagine the young man who has met “the perfect girl”, (i.e.: the qualifying). He tells her just how much he loves her (the presentation). Nice, but not enough. Without the close, without “popping the question”, little is likely to happen. C is for Commitment. Think of the close as simply the natural question that follows a presentation.

As with any query, closes can elicit Yes’s , No’s , and Maybe’s. Be prepared. Just as you know your product, know also the common objections to it. Preparation is a key in the success of presenting, qualifying or closing. You should know in advance the common objections to what you are selling. Overcoming objections is certainly a case of forewarned being forearmed. More often than not, the easiest and most effective way of overcoming most objections is to simply add more value. “No” and “Maybe”, translated for sales, often means the prospect is simply weighing risks against rewards---desires against costs. Adding more value will many times tip the balance in favor of buying. Picture a teeter-totter. On one end sits the $$$$ (the costs), opposing are the ++++ (the pluses). As you increase the reasons for buying (the ++++’s), you are likewise diminishing costs (the $$$). Adding value is a powerful, yet subtle, closing tool.

The Basics. The QPC's of Sales: qualify your prospect, present, overcome objections and close. Styles and trends may change, but the basics remain the same. Overlook them and you jeopardize your sale. Jeopardize sales and you jeopardize your business. To paraphrase Mother Goose, for want of the basics, the sale was lost, for want of the sale, the business was lost, and all for the want of the QPC’s.

Carol R.Wissmann
(253) 851-5101
BelleMann@hotmail.com