Sales Training Update: THE 4 M’s OF A STELLAR SALES SYSTEM – #4
12/28/09 Sales Training Update: THE 4 M’s OF A STELLAR SALES SYSTEM – #4
I hope your year was as exciting and fruitful as mine was! As I look back on all of the wonderful people I’ve met this year, and the outstanding clients I’ve been privileged to serve, I’m so thankful, and I’m enthusiastic about having another great year in 2010!
This blog not only closes out this year, but also closes out a 4-part series. In my most recent 3 blogs I discussed the first 3 of the 4 M’s of a Stellar Sales System:
- Market: Who are you selling to? Why would they buy from you? How will you reach them?
- Metrics & Measurements: What are your Result Targets? What are your Activity Targets that will drive those Results? How will you measure and adjust your Activities and Results?
- Message: What is the real value that you provide? How can you most effectively communicate that value in your spoken and written word?
The fourth and final of the 4 M’s is, unfortunately, where too many sales training programs start: Method. Too often in sales training programs I’ve taken through the years – and in over 20 years of sales, I’ve taken hundreds of hours of sales training – the training starts with Method and focuses only on this area. It is very important to remember that the time and effort you put into mastering your Method will be much more worthwhile if you have spent the time to first master the other 3 M’s.
That being said, Method is extremely important. Method can be broken into three main areas:
- Process
- Tools
- Skills
Process is the documented step-by-step process that a prospective customer goes through to become aware of who you are, to engage with you, to work through their decision process and to finally buy from you. There is an ideal set of steps that every business can define that is an outline of their ‘base’ sales process. While each actual buying process will be as unique as each individual buyer, it is very important to start with an ideal process. As with a football play, or a game plan, you start with an ideal ‘script’ of how things will go from the first step through to the buying step. From there, you learn how to adapt and improvise to the variations that normal life and business will bring.
Tools are next. Once you understand and document your process, you can identify the supporting tools you need, and then create them. Examples of sales tools are cold calling scripts, 30-second commercials, marketing collateral, value questions that you will ask in a sales interview, documents you will use in your sales recommendation, etc. I’ve worked with hundreds of clients and while each set of tools has similarities, each of my clients needed me to help them develop a slightly different set of tools based on their industry, or the way they approach their sales process. It is very important that you go into the field each day with a customized set of tools that creates confidence as you move each sale toward closure.
Skills are the final component of Method. Skills are primarily your ability to smoothly and consistently use your tools to competently implement the steps of your sales process. Your skill is your ability to pull together your tools and process into a coherent sales flow that makes sense to the customer, and most importantly, that allows your customer to develop a level of comfort and confidence in you and your company. There is an inverse relationship between a buyer’s level of comfort & confidence, and their level of sales resistance. As your skill in creating comfort & confidence increases, your prospective buyer’s sales resistance decreases. But as soon as you begin to give that potential buyer reasons to be less comfortable or confident, their sales resistance will increase. And sales resistance is the killer of all sales. It may come in various forms, but it exists within every sales cycle, even ones that successfully conclude with a sale. The ability of the sales person to identify and neutralize sales resistance is the single most important factor of consistent sales success.
Spend some time on these three areas: 1-Process; 2-Tools and 3-Skills. Perfect your sales Method, and remember to continually adjust it. Your market and your customers are always changing, and you must continually adjust your Process, Tools and Skills to accommodate that change. In sales there is no such thing as staying in one place. You are either doing the work to move forward by continuing to learn and adapt, or you are falling behind and losing ground to your competition.
Embrace the 4 M’s in 2010! And if you want to share your ideas, or if you have some questions, just let me know. I look forward to talking with you again next year!!
Peter Bruening is a professional sales coach, trainer, speaker and author. He helps his clients increase their passion for sales, and in the process, their sales performance and revenue. Please visit his web site at: http://www.sellingpointsgroup.com
