To have a real impact on business results, sales training programs and sales coaching efforts must be grounded in a great sales system. That system must guide the salesperson through the entire sales cycle.
The Action Selling ® system, for example, has been described by enthusiastic learners as a map or GPS for navigating the sales process. Even veteran salespeople who discover the system in sales training courses find that for the first time in their careers, they have a conceptual guidebook that always lets them know exactly where they are in their sell cycle. They are thrilled to find that they no longer have to fly by the seat of their pants.
But among long-time practitioners of Action Selling ®—salespeople who have internalized the system—a subtle but important difference arises. They come to see the 9-Act framework more as a schedule or timeline that shows where the client is in the buying cycle, as opposed to where the salesperson is in their sell cycle.
Evolved sales pros
Let’s call these people “evolved” sales professionals. When they are more in tune with the stages of the client’s buying cycle, they know precisely when it is time to move forward to the next sequential buying decision that the customer will make. They know this even when the timing doesn’t match up with the sequence of their PowerPoint slides.
Evolved professionals who have received sales training programs and sales coaching based on the Action Selling ® system are better able to adjust Commitment Objectives on the fly. They know that in the heat of the battle, things often change. Above all, they know that if they are using the system correctly, they learn new things during every call! These things may require them to alter their plans, including the most fundamental goal they have set for the sales call: the Commitment Objective.
This happens, for example, when the salesperson uncovers a personal need—something the buyer personally stands to win or lose from the deal—that changes the urgency of the sale. The salesperson may have to move faster or slower, adjusting and applying key sales skills accordingly, based on the nature of that personal need. Evolved sales pros become so attuned to the buyer, and the buyer’s cycle, that they can shift gears quickly and smoothly. Even a major change in speed or direction becomes a natural-seeming part of the process.
As the key sales skills of questioning and product presentation are sharpened by experience and mindful practice following sales training and sales coaching, evolved professionals become true masters of the sales process. They have their fingers directly on the buyer’s pulse. They walk arm-in-arm with their prospects on the way to a sale. They know exactly where to go and when they will arrive.
For information about how to improve sales skills and make sales training pay huge dividends, contact Action Selling ® at (800) 232-3485.