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Sales is the process of closing and sustaining business with customers. This is the foundation of all business and has been pursued as an art and science since antiquity. All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.~ Sun Tzu The following are classic sales techniques at various stages of the sales cycle including prospecting, client engagement, needs analysis, negotiation, closing and relationship management. These are all timeless techniques rooted in classical rhetoric and strategy that would be recognizable to the likes of Aristotle and Sun Tzu.
Lead NurturingThe process of building relationships with leads who are not yet ready to buy. This essentially resembles networking whereby you are getting to know a large number of prospects who are likely to enter the market at some point.Needs AssessmentThe process of communicating with the customer to understand their needs and pain points. This information is then used to craft a proposal and solution to be compelling. Understanding needs can also improve objection handling and your push to close.
Pain PointsCustomer problems that are potentially relevant to your offerings. Customers will tend to follow the path of least resistance to products and services that make their life more convenient, less stressful or simpler.KairosKairos is the ancient Greek word for time. This was personified as a minor deity who represented the fleeting nature of opportunity. This is an important concept in sales where a customer may sit on a purchase decision for years only to suddenly rush to buy. Kairos is also a core concept of persuasion which requires not only saying the right thing but saying the right thing at the right time.Sense of UrgencyCreating the sense that time is limited and the decision to buy must be made now or soon. This can also relate to generating a urgent need for the product such as generating a fear of missing out whereby it is suggested that most others have already made a change and the customer is falling behind.Social ProofThe use of social status to influence the customer. This can include the social status of the firm, brand and product. It is also common to leverage the social status of the salesperson themselves. For example, a salesperson who knows many people in an industry or who used to play professional sports.Foot-in-the-DoorFoot-in-the-door is the practice of gaining a small deal first in order to establish a commercial relationship that can be leveraged over time to sell more.Commitment EscalationThe process of getting a small commitment from the customer that can be leveraged to ask for greater commitments over time. Based on commitment consistency - the idea that people want to make decisions that are consistent with previous decisions.Door-in-the-FaceThe practice of making an unreasonably big request that you expect to be rejected followed by a more reasonable request. The initial rejection is supposed to put the other side in a mood to compromise. However, this could easily backfire. By prompting the customer to reject your request, you may give them confidence to start rejecting all your requests.Objection HandlingThe process of handling customer concerns and hesitations. This involves preparation for likely objections upfront and experienced salespeople get good at defeating common objections. This requires separate approaches for authentic objections and those that are insincere excuses or bogeys.Call to ActionA call to action is a short commanding statement that directly and unambiguously asks your customer to take some specific action. For example, a vehicle salesperson who says "choose a color" as a means to start the customer on the ordering process.NudgesNudges are gentle suggestions that are presented as if you don't care too much. These are perhaps more common in person-to-person sales than calls to action that are more common in online sales. ReciprocityReciprocity is the principle that people tend to repay kindnesses. This is used in sales whereby respectful treatment, concessions and benefits for the customer are provided upfront in hopes of some return.AnchoringGiving the customer clear reference points that they can use in decision making such as a list price or important figure of merit for a product. This prevents the price from being ambiguous and helps the customer to feel that they have "won" negotiations whereby the list price is typically higher than the price paid.Contrast PrincipleThe principle that offers be compared to less attractive options. This can increase customer conviction for a purchase and increase sales volumes. For example, the presence of bad choices in a list of prices that also includes a relatively good price may cause the customer to quickly choose the more attractive price with confidence. This is known as the decoy effect.BATNABest Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) is what both you and the other side would do if you can't close a deal. On your side, if you have lots of customers and limited supply, you are in a strong negotiating position and can push hard. On the other side, a customer who has many alternatives to your offerings that also meet their needs, has a strong position. Single Point of ContactGiving the customer a single person to call, the salesperson responsible for the account, for any questions or issues. This continues to build out the relationship with the customer post-sales and can benefit from the service recovery paradox whereby customers become increasing satisfied after issues if you handle them well.
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