19,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Master these top-performing sales skills to dominate the marketplace
Critical Selling is a dynamic and powerful guide for transforming your sales approach and outperforming your competition. This book is based on Janek Performance Group's, an award winning sales performance company, most popular sales training program, Critical Selling®. Let authors Justin Zappulla and Nick Kane, Managing Partners at Janek, lead you through their flagship sales training methodology to provide you with the strategies, skills and best practices you need to accelerate the sales process and close more deals. From the initial contact to closing the deal, this book details the winning strategies and skills that have supercharged the sales force of program alumni like OptumHealth, Santander Bank, Daimler Trucks, California Casualty, and many more. Concrete, actionable steps show you how to plan a productive sales call, identify customer needs, differentiate yourself from the competition, and wrap up the sale. You'll also learn proven techniques for building rapport, overcoming objections, dealing with price pressures, and handling the million little things that can derail an otherwise positive sales interaction.
Sales are the lifeblood of your company. Are they meeting your expectations? What if you could exceed projected sales figures and blow your competition out of the water? This book provides the research-based framework to ignite your sales team and excite your customer base, for sustainable success in today's market. Let Critical Selling® show you how to:
- Connect with customers on a deeper level to build trust
- Present a persuasive and value-based solution tailored to your customer’s needs
- Handle pricing pressure, doubt, and objections with confidence
- Utilize proven methodologies that help you close the sale
Sales is about so much more than exchanging goods or services for cash. It's about relationships, it's about outperforming the competition, it's about demonstrating real value, and it's about understanding and solving people's problems. Critical Selling shows you how to bring it all together, using proven techniques based on real sales performance research.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 311
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
Ähnliche
CONTENTS
Cover
Additional Praise for Critical Selling
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Critical Selling: Focusing on What Matters Most
Chapter 1: Selling to Today's Buyers: Remain Customer-Focused
Recognize That Buyers Have Changed
Use the Right Sales Approach
Know How Your Customers Perceive You
Become a Trusted Advisor
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 2: The First Step Is to Believe: Change Your Mindset
Mind Your Mindset
Always Be Improving
Stay Patient through Change
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 3: Why Planning Matters: Determine Your Approach
Understand That Planning Matters
Think about Planning
Set SAM Objectives
Plan Ahead and Reflect After
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 4: A Solid Opening: Connect with Your Customers
Plan Your Opening
Master the Greeting
Create Connections
Deliver a Legitimate Purpose Statement
Confirm for Feedback
Close the Opening with Some Reflection
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 5: It's All about Discovering: Get to Know Your Customers
Understand the Benefits of Discovering
Ask the Right Questions
Target the Six Critical Areas of Focus
Listen Actively to Understand Your Customer
Avoid Common Pitfalls
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 6: Presenting What Your Customer Needs: Link a Tailored Solution
Take Advantage of Discovering
Plan the Approach
Tailor the Solution
Ask for Feedback
Strengthen the Solution
Link Your Solution
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 7: Leverage Momentum at Closing: Capture Customer Confidence
Summarize Where You've Been
Gain Commitment to Move Forward
Define Next Steps
Confirm with Your Customer
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Chapter 8: Dealing with Objections: Return to the Land of Discovery
Recognize Real Objections
Understand Why Objections Come Up
Be Prepared for Objections
Work through Objections
Maintain Goodwill and Ask for Feedback
Critical Selling: Lessons Learned
Conclusion: Putting It All Together: Mindset + Practice + Process + Action
Plan Each Sales Interaction
Connect and Reconnect
Ask Questions (and Listen to the Answers)
Adjust Your Attitude
Appendix: Case Study: The McCrone Group
The Challenge
The Solution
The Results
About Janek Performance Group
About the Authors
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Figure 1.1
Figure 3.1
Figure 3.2
Figure 3.3
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Chapter 1
Pages
i
iii
iv
v
vi
xi
xii
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
Additional Praise for Critical Selling
“As the sales landscape has evolved, so too have the needs of our customers. The methods, research, and strategies provided in this book have given our sales organization the tools they need in today's market to create a positive customer experience, grow relationships, and improve conversion rates. If you are looking to increase sales, I would recommend this book to any salesperson, sales manager, or executive!”
—Brad Hice,Manager Sales & Finance Programs/TrainingDaimler Trucks Remarketing Corp.
“Justin Zappulla and Janek Performance Group have been Santander Bank partners for years. Our Corporate Banking senior sales team was trained on the Critical Selling program and it immediately drove real results. The contents in this book have been able to deliver that special ‘click’ to our team here at Santander Bank in a recurrent basis which is something unique in a time of ‘broad brush approach.’”
—Xavi Ruiz Sena, Executive Vice President, Head of Finance Santander Bank
Critical Selling
How Top Performers Accelerate the Sales Process and Close More Deals
Nick Kane
Justin Zappulla
Copyright © 2016 by Nick Kane and Justin Zappulla. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750–8400, fax (978) 750–4470, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748–6011, fax (201) 748–6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: while the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762–2974, outside the United States at (317) 572–3993 or fax (317) 572–4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our website at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Kane, Nick.
Critical selling : how top performers accelerate the sales process and close more deals / Nick Kane, Justin Zappulla.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-119-05255-5 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-119-05257-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-05258-6 (ebk)
1. Selling. 2. Sales management. I. Title.
HF5438.25.Z37 2016
658.85–dc23
2015020838
Dedication
To my brilliant daughters, Alaina and Aubrey. Always remember the three things … And to the memory of my grandpa, Richard Zappulla, who inspired me to work hard, be kind, and always believe in myself. Thank you. I am forever grateful.
—Justin Zappulla
To my amazing daughters, Alyssa, Emily, and Sophia, I dedicate this book to you. Your smiles, courage, and enthusiasm keep me motivated every day! Without your unconditional love and support, this book would not have been possible. Remember what I've told you since you were born: You are destined to do great things in this life!
—Nick Kane
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is no small feat. It requires time, dedication, drive, and focus. The motivation for Critical Selling came from our desire to provide real, tangible skills, and best practices to all sales professionals who want to improve their performance in today's selling environment. This book was a team effort and there are many people we would like to acknowledge for their support, guidance, and hard work.
First, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the best team in the sales performance business, our colleagues at Janek Performance Group. Dana, Rudy, Amy, Mindy, Jerry, Brandon, and the rest of the team. Your unwavering commitment to supporting our clients in achieving their sales objectives is second to none.
Next, we would like to thank our confidant and “Chief Book Officer,” Kelli. Your work is truly first class and your zeal, expertise, and insight were paramount in bringing this book to life. We can't thank you enough for the countless hours you invested with us over this past year!
It's important to acknowledge the outstanding publishing team at John Wiley & Sons. A big “high five” to Lia, Shannon, Deborah, Peter, John, Liz, and the rest of the team. Thank you for your patience while guiding a few rookie authors through this process. All of you are true professionals!
Finally, we would like to acknowledge our first true sales family; thanks for giving two young kids an opportunity to be part of and help build a powerhouse sales organization. There is no question; the company changed the lives of thousands of sales professionals both in the United States and abroad, including ours. There was never a dull moment working side by side with who today remain some of our closest friends. Thank you to our personal mentors, Adam, Marty, and Mike. Your leadership and passion for sales excellence still live in us today!
Nick would like to personally acknowledge:
I would also like to acknowledge other people who contributed to this book. To my mother, Helen, and father, Mark, thank you for your wisdom, kindness, and courage. To my brother, Eric, and lifelong friend, Aviv, thank you for always being there for me when I needed you the most. To Brittany, thank you for your unconditional love, support, and all that you do. To my family in San Diego, Mila, Mike, Alex, Cindy, and Stella, thank you all for your kindness and encouragement.
Justin would like to personally acknowledge:
I would like to acknowledge the love and support of my family and those closest to me. I cannot thank you all enough for the steady and positive influence you've given me throughout my life, and this book would not be possible without you. Thank you to my mother, Debbie; my sisters, Alisha and Breanna; my Granny, Audrey; my uncle, Joe; my aunts, Rhonda and Carol; Jeff, Bob, Barbara, and Mark. I love you all!
IntroductionCritical Selling: Focusing on What Matters Most
In a day and age when meeting or exceeding quarterly expectations is more important than ever before, it's no secret that companies are constantly looking for ways to improve sales performance. That's because sales are the lifeblood of any company, and so the importance of focusing on sales performance remains a top priority with everyone throughout the organization, from the C-Suite to middle management to sales professionals working in the trenches every day.
In order to survive in today's fiercely competitive global marketplace, it's critical to operate a high-performing sales organization that can outsell the competition. To do this, there is quite a lot to get right, including:
The right sales strategy
A compelling value proposition
A well-defined sales process
The right sales talent
Effective sales tools
All of these things are crucial if an organization intends to keep firing on all cylinders. But where the rubber really meets the road in sales is in the real-world interactions between the sales professional and the customer.
The fact is that people still buy from people. Sales strategies, process maps, and clear value propositions are all important. But in the end, how each sales professional performs during the critical moments he has with his customers determines whether the deal is closed and the sale is won. It all comes down to execution.
Top sales professionals are always thinking about how they can better execute each and every sales interaction. They take the time to think about the most effective approach they can use with each of their customers. They keep abreast of the skills, best practices, and processes that produce the greatest possible results. And they look for strategic, concrete ways to improve their sales performance.
The Critical Selling framework we'll share with you in these pages is a proven, real-world approach that helps salespeople from all walks of life—any industry, any size company—flawlessly execute sales calls with customers in order to accelerate the sales process and close more deals. We've spent more than a decade conducting ongoing research and identifying best practices in order to develop world-class sales professionals. Our research has focused on two key areas: sellers and buyers. On the selling side, we have worked side by side with hundreds of sales organizations and thousands of salespeople to understand what it is that top-performing sales professionals do (and do better) that other reps don't to win more sales. On the buying side, we've taken a deep look at customers, examining how they investigate and evaluate products and services and how they ultimately make their purchasing decisions. The results we've uncovered have informed the approach outlined in this book.
As such, we know that this is an approach that succeeds in the real world. Following the skills, strategies, and best practices shared in these pages will help ensure that you are fully prepared to accelerate the sales process and close more deals.
One of the most apparent findings from the research we've conducted is that buyers are changing. Today's buyers:
Are more educated about products and services, and about the selling cycle
Conduct thorough research into product and service options—before ever connecting with a sales professional
Bring higher expectations to the selling cycle
Are becoming increasingly intolerant toward sales reps who resort to aggressive sales tactics
Do not want to hear a “pitch” in lieu of a tailored solution
Want sales professionals to bring valuable insights, ideas, and advice to the sales conversation
Place a greater premium on time
Have easy access to more alternatives and options
These important changes in customer behavior mean that sales professionals, too, must change. Today's top-performing sales professionals must adapt to busier, smarter, savvier customers, who come to the table with more demands and higher expectations. Those salespeople who embrace this changing landscape by fine-tuning their sales approach using the Critical Selling framework will achieve bigger, better, and more impressive results that bring more value to their customers and to their own organizations.
In the chapters to come, we'll look at specific strategies, skills, and best practices that, when fully embraced, will help today's sales professionals keep pace with tomorrow's customers. We'll also look at how to deal with common missteps. By embracing the approach found in these pages, you will learn how to:
Accelerate the sales process by quickly discovering what is most important to the customer
Create solid connections with customers and establish trust using effective relationship-building best practices
Differentiate yourself from the competition by adding value, insight, and advice to the sales discussion
Reduce the number of objections and effectively handle those you do receive, along with pushback from customers—at every stage of the process
Close more deals by adopting a proven, research-based sales approach
Of course, you can't accelerate the sales process and close more deals if you're not building strong relationships with your customers. The fact remains that good sales is all about building good relationships. That happens if—and only if—you're able to establish credibility with your customers. Top performers are much more than order takers with a bright smile and a firm handshake. They're more than merely effective sales professionals. While they can recite product info, values, and benefits as well as—or even better than—anyone else, they know how to go much deeper in order to understand customer needs and to explain how their product or service is in alignment with those needs. They build credibility with their customers. They build relationships. In doing so, they become trusted advisers who know how to sell to today's customers.
Selling to customers well be more challenging than ever before. At a time when customers are better informed than in years past, they've more than likely done a lot of research before they've even thought about talking to a salesperson. As a result, sales professionals can't just assume that the selling conversation can start with a product demo or an introduction to the levels of service they offer—they need to understand where buyers are in their journey and meet them where they are. Today's savvy customers aren't looking for someone who will simply belch out a lot of specs and data about their product and then ask for a signature on the dotted line. They're looking for someone who can add value to the sales conversation by sharing insight and advice. They're looking for someone who can help them make an intelligent purchasing decision. They're looking for someone who has taken the time to discover their needs. They're looking for someone who has evolved beyond order taker to trusted adviser.
So, in Chapter 1, we'll look at how to sell to today's customers. Doing so in a competitive, evolving marketplace requires creating an effective selling relationship that incorporates Critical Selling skills and best practices, all with an eye toward developing the kind of trust and credibility that allows sales professionals in any industry, whether B2B or B2C, to think, act, and communicate in a customer-focused way throughout the selling cycle. That's because, regardless of all the changes in the world of sales, the customer is still at the center of any successful sales approach. Top performers understand that they need to change if they want to keep up with the ways in which customers, too, are changing.
Of course, change doesn't just happen overnight. So, the first step in all of this is to embrace the change that is required. This means that sales professionals need to have the right mindset when looking to improve performance. They need to be all in when it comes to understanding, accepting, and practicing the Critical Selling framework. Being open-minded to change is critical when it comes to adopting the skills that allow you to continually improve your performance. We'll talk about this in Chapter 2.
In order to sell to today's buyers, top-performing sales professionals know that they have to deliver a differentiated experience and find unique ways to add tangible value throughout the buying process. But first, if you truly want to become a top performer, you have to believe in the process and make a commitment to it. You have to have the right mindset if you want to accelerate the sales process and close more deals.
That means you have to commit yourself to training and practicing. You need to be open to the possibility that there is always room for improvement in your approach to customers. That's not to say that the experience, insight, or wisdom you've gained during the course of your career is without value. Rather, it means that in today's highly competitive marketplace, it's important to recognize that customers are evolving and that, as a result, sales is evolving. And so you, too, have to evolve if you want to keep up with your customers (and with your competitors). To do that, you need to believe that the process will yield tangible benefits—for you and for your customers.
In Chapter 2, we'll look at the importance of committing to and carefully following the Critical Selling framework. We'll discuss why top performers know that the key to securing more and better deals isn't about “always be closing” but rather about “always be improving.” Why? Because best-in-class organizations—and top-performing sales professionals—know that practice is a key component to success.
Change can be difficult. Trial and error as you learn the process might feel clunky. But top performers know that believing in the promise of change, and in following the Critical Selling framework from start to finish, is crucial to making it work. Because the Critical Selling framework isn't a buffet. It's a proven, logical, and practical approach to accelerating the sales process and closing more deals while building credibility with customers and developing lasting, profitable relationships.
Incorporating strategies, skills, and best practices requires planning, which underlies the entire Critical Selling framework. Why? Because planning isn't one step you do at the beginning of the sales process and then check off your to-do list. Top performers know that effective planning matters at every stage during the selling cycle. They also understand that it is important not only to plan ahead for every call but also to reflect afterward. And they understand the benefits of planning and reflecting for each and every call.
Part of planning requires outlining the critical objectives for each call, and in Chapter 3, we'll look at the importance of setting objectives, how doing so helps salespeople better connect with customers, and how it helps accelerate the sales process. We'll also look at a variety of helpful tools and resources that can make planning work for you—and for your customer.
From planning, we move to opening. Solid openings don't happen by chance. They don't begin with a canned line or a memorized script. Through our research, we have found that too many sales reps lean all too often on timeworn pitches when opening the sales conversation with their customers. On the other hand, we've also found that top performers understand the importance of crafting openings that are personalized for each individual customer.
Top-performing sales professionals understand that a solid opening requires specific, intentional steps, things to do in the first few minutes of the call that will set the stage—and the tone—for connecting with the buyer and building the kind of rapport that will put you on the right track to building stronger, longer-lasting relationships with customers.
Top performers understand the benefits of a good opening. They know that it's not about foisting their personalities upon the customer but rather about understanding the customer's style and adapting the conversation accordingly. Sales professionals who perfect the art of opening find that the rest of the selling cycle naturally falls in place.
In Chapter 4, we'll look at the elements of a solid opening. We'll look at how so many salespeople struggle with determining the right thing to say to the customer and with getting the conversation started on the right track, and we'll look at how top performers overcome those struggles in order to successfully open interactions with customers and quickly begin the rapport-building process. We'll also examine how delivering a Legitimate Purpose Statement helps you connect with customers, manage expectations, and successfully direct the sales conversation. We'll discuss the importance of confirming to ensure that you and the customer are on the same page. And finally, we'll look at best practices as well as common missteps in this stage of the sales process.
With a solid opening secured, the next stage in the Critical Selling framework is all about understanding. Our research has revealed that, unfortunately, too many sales reps gloss over this critical step in the selling cycle, sometimes out of haste, sometimes out of laziness, sometimes out of fear. But the discovering phase of the process is critical to understanding your customer and building trust—and getting it right actually helps speed up the entire sales process.
Discovering what the customer needs and what drives his purchasing decision requires salespeople to do two things: ask questions and listen to the answers. Seems simple, but many sales professionals struggle with these two critical skills, for a variety of reasons. Getting this right is crucial, and doing so puts you in a position to connect with the customer, become a trusted adviser, and offer solutions that are tailored to the needs of the customer.
In Chapter 5, we'll look at what it takes to ask the right questions and to become a good active listener. We'll examine critical areas of focus that top performers key in on in order to build a solid understanding of customer needs. And we'll explain how getting the discovering phase right can be a key way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Finally, we'll look at what top performers do in order to get this step right—and where average performers get it wrong.
As we've seen (and will discuss further in the pages to come), today's customers aren't interested in being pitched. Although a lot of sales professionals want to move straight from opening to closing (that old “always be closing” mantra can be difficult to silence), that's almost always a grave mistake. And although a lot of salespeople spend much of their time on perfecting their pitch, presenting a memorized, generic solution almost never works the way you might like to believe it will. The key to presenting successfully is to share a solution that is uniquely tailored to each individual customer.
Top performers know that getting the opening right and getting the discovering phase right pave the way to making presentations that are well-aligned to customers and their needs. So, in Chapter 6, we'll look at how top performers tackle this stage, from planning their approach to tailoring the solution to asking for feedback. Top performers also understand the power of linking, so we'll discuss why linking your solutions to your customer's needs helps provide the confidence each buyer needs to make the purchasing decision—and to be comfortable with that decision. Part of that requires you to understand customer needs, and we'll look at how the critical areas of focus discussed in Chapter 5 come to bear on this phase of the process. We'll also look at some best practices (such as presenting persuasively) and common pitfalls (such as presenting by rote).
It should be clear by now that the Critical Selling framework does not espouse the old saying that you should “always be closing,” an obsolete phrase that for far too long has served as the mantra for sales professionals. Closing should be neither pushy nor passive. Nor should it come as a surprise. In fact, top performers who practice the skills in Critical Selling understand that by planning each sales call, delivering a solid opening, discovering the customer's needs, and presenting persuasively, closing the deal comes naturally because they have simply built on the momentum that has already marked the selling cycle.
In Chapter 7, we'll discuss how and when top performers take the opportunity to secure what already has been done. We'll look at the four critical steps to closing well. And we'll look at the benefits of acting as a trusted adviser at this stage, about speaking directly and frankly with your customer, and about being straightforward.
When it comes down to it, closing should come naturally. It shouldn't feel rushed or pressured. Instead, it should capitalize on the momentum you and your customer have created during the entire sales process. In fact, getting everything right up to this point actually makes closing that much better—and that much easier.
Of course, getting everything right doesn't mean you'll never hear another customer tell you “no.” Few people like to hear “no”—especially when it comes from a customer. But dealing with objections is part of the game. Top performers understand that objections can come at any point during the selling cycle, and those who follow the Critical Selling framework know that the very process itself can reduce the number of objections. Why? Because asking the right questions, listening to the answers, and tailoring solutions to customer needs goes a long way in addressing the issues that most concern customers, often before they have even voiced those concerns.
Everyone wants to minimize objections, and the Critical Selling framework will help you do just that. In Chapter 8, we'll look at four key skills salespeople can (and should) use to address objections. We'll look at how to handle even those objections that customers have a difficult time articulating. And we'll take a close look at handling price objections, which is one of the trickiest landmines in the selling landscape and one that weighs heavily on the minds of most sales professionals. In addition, we'll discuss why top performers view objections as opportunities rather than obstacles (and why you should, too).
Accepting that it might be time for a new sales approach can be difficult. Change is hard. But top performers who follow the Critical Selling framework understand that it isn't a one-and-done experience. Top performers continually practice planning, opening, discovering, and closing. They reflect and assess. They learn from what works and what doesn't. And, importantly, they keep an open mind to change, to new processes and tools, and to the various evolutions in the world of buying and selling.
Look: we understand that there are a lot of ways to improve sales performance. There are a lot of tools and resources and gadgets and programs that purport to help sales reps win more sales. We know—because research has proven—that the process we'll share with you in these pages is one of the most effective ways to improve sales performance so that you can close more deals, closing them faster and with fewer objections. That's because sales isn't about tools or gadgets or programs. As we said before, sales comes down to the sales professional and the customer—and the interactions between them. Sales is all about executing on the critical moments in the sales process in order to achieve desired outcomes.
Critical Selling provides a proven process that shows sales professionals how to handle those critical moments. This process helps sales professionals improve their customer approach, build trust, shorten the sales cycle, and close more deals. Having trained thousands of sales professionals in the Critical Selling program, and having gained research-driven insight from hundreds of companies and thousands of sales professionals, we've learned a thing or two about what makes the most effective sales approach for today's customers.
Top performers who embrace this process—and practice it regularly—understand that doing so will help their companies, their customers, and their careers. One of the first steps is to understand that having the right mindset is key to improving performance, and we'll look closely at that in the pages that follow. But before we do that, we first need to understand how customers have changed and what that change means for the sales process in general and for sales professionals in particular. We'll look at that next, in Chapter 1.
1Selling to Today's Buyers: Remain Customer-Focused
Maybe it's changing technology. Maybe it's the still-recovering economy, which in some sectors has yet to bounce back from the Great Recession. Maybe it's increased competition. Whatever the reason, it's useless to deny that sales is changing—and in dramatic ways. Researchers note, for example, that “[c]ompanies are reporting longer sales cycle times, lower conversion rates, less reliable forecasts, and compressed margins.”1
If the selling landscape is changing, so too is the buying landscape. Buying behavior is changing in numerous ways. Of course, today's buyers have always been and will always be different from the customers of yesterday. From the production era to the sales era to the marketing era to the information era, selling and buying have progressed, evolving with changing times, changing needs, and changing technology. It's no different today—except, perhaps, for the pace of change.
Back in the day, sales professionals held all the cards. If a customer needed something, the sales rep provided all the information, educated the customer, and drove the selling conversation. Oh, how the tables have turned.
Today, customers are in large part driving the selling conversation. In fact, many studies have shown, and thought leaders agree, that customers are much further along in the buying process before engaging the sales professional; some reports indicate that customers are as much as 60 percent of the way through their decision-making process by the time they connect with a sales rep.
The implications of these findings are no less than earthshaking. In addition to changing technology, a challenging economic climate, and increased global competition, sales professionals today now must deal with customers who are much further along in the decision-making process, who are much more educated, who are technologically savvy, and who are busier than ever. Customers often know what they want and have an idea of what it should cost as well as how long it should take to get it. They know what you and your competitors can offer, and they might even understand how the products and services you can provide vary from your competitors' products and services.
As a result, it's becoming harder and harder to differentiate yourself and your organization by what you sell. Products and features, options and benefits, prices and specials—despite all the various nuances that might make what you sell at least a little bit different from what your competitors are selling, the truth is it is much more difficult to differentiate on these points. Therefore, today's sales professionals face an important challenge: how to differentiate themselves from all the other sales professionals out there who are selling similar products and services for similar prices.
This is a critical point: in order to succeed, today's top-performing sales professionals must find ways to differentiate themselves. They do this by providing value in how they sell, not just by what they sell. They differentiate themselves by how they build credibility with their customers, by how they nurture customer relationships, and by how they become trusted advisors. In doing so, they can better sell to today's demanding buyers.
Throughout these pages, we'll discuss how these changes have affected the selling conversation, and we'll look at how applying the steps in the Critical Selling framework will help you accelerate the sales process and close more deals, all while remaining focused on the customer. We'll look at planning, opening, discovering, presenting, and closing. And we'll look at overcoming objections. But for now, let's focus on what it takes to sell to today's customer. Because the bottom line is that, despite all the changes, selling is still all about the customer.
That means that today's sales professionals have to focus on the customer. Our research has shown that top performers do several key things to remain customer-focused: they use the right sales approach in dealing with customers at whatever stage they are in their decision-making process. They understand how customers perceive them. And, finally, they work to become trusted advisors. But before they can do any of that successfully, they first have to recognize (and accept) the fact that buyers have changed.
Recognize That Buyers Have Changed
Yesterday's paradigms and yesterday's customers and yesterday's selling approaches no longer apply. Sales and selling are evolving, largely because buyers and buying are evolving. In many cases, buyers are bringing sales reps in much later in the process (the extent to which this happens depends in large part on the complexity of the sale). By some measures, most of the traditional sales process is already done by the time a customer even contacts a sales rep. Forbes recently noted, for instance, that about “57 percent of the sales process [has] just disappeared.”2
