I’m against all systems of selling, and so are all salespeople.
Still, sales systems are taught all the time. In fact, almost every salesperson has learned one along the way. I ask every audience I’m in front of, “How many of you have learned some system of selling?” About two-thirds of the hands go up. “Keep your hand in the air if you use that system every time you go on a sales call.” All hands go down.
I challenge them, “Why?” Responses typically center around systems being too manipulative, a bad fit or uncomfortable.
The reason I’m against systems of selling is they’re all manipulative. They’re all too rigid and “me based.” Worse, they force the salesperson to think about where they are in the system, rather than how they can help the client in their desire to purchase what they’re selling.
So, what is a salesperson to do? The answer is develop a strategy, develop an approach and develop an ability to engage the other person in a way that gains their interest.
Please understand I’m not saying learning a system is all bad. I’m saying learning a system and trying to follow it on every sales call is wrong. Anything you learn about selling will help you - either in what to do or what not to do. In all systems, there’s always something you can take away and put into your sales arsenal. There’s always something that will help you get better.
By using a structure rather than a system, you make the process more flexible to the situation at hand. By structuring it, you put things in order, develop a methodology, create tools and produce an atmosphere in which people want to buy from you.
Systems of selling require the salesperson to wonder if they’re following the system, or worse, where they are in the system. This is particularly horrible when the salesperson is in the middle of the sales presentation. Instead of thinking about how they can help, they are thinking about which step they’re on. It’s crazy when you think about it.
Do you have a structure? And if you have one, how flexible is it? The key to your structure is it has to center around the needs and desires of your potential customer, and focus in on their motive of buying rather than your skill of selling. Ask, not tell. Help, not sell.
If you think about the logical sequential order of a sales structure, it would involve:
• making a connection of some kind;
• making an appointment;
• getting ready for the sale;
• engaging the prospect in a way that you gain their interest;
• proving the value of your offer;
• coming to some kind of an agreement;
• delivering what you promise;
• servicing after the sale; and
• creating an environment and a relationship all the way through the process that’s so phenomenal, the customer is compelled to buy from you again, refer other people to you and speak about you positively in the marketplace.
Master those elements, and the world is your commission.
Let me take this process one step further. Approach, strategy and structure are driven by philosophy. Your philosophy will determine your structure. How you think about, feel about and live the practices of your sales life will be reflected in your philosophy.
My philosophy of sales is:
1. Give value first.
2. Help other people.
3. Strive to do the best at what you love to do.
4. Establish long-term relationships with everyone.
5. Have fun, and do that every day.
This philosophy has set the stage for my success. Living my philosophy has made me a better salesperson and a better person.
Do you have a philosophy? Do you have a structure? Create both and you set the stage for a quantum leap forward.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” and 11 other titles, is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer. He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at Gitomer.com. He can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
