{"id":88,"date":"2015-07-29T21:47:29","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T21:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/salesx17xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=88"},"modified":"2015-07-29T21:47:29","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T21:47:29","slug":"its-a-process-seven-steps-to-successful-selling","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/cerritos-sales-1\/chapter\/its-a-process-seven-steps-to-successful-selling\/","title":{"raw":"It\u2019s a Process: Seven Steps to Successful Selling","rendered":"It\u2019s a Process: Seven Steps to Successful Selling"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objective<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Explain the role of the seven steps of the selling process.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\nYou may have been surprised if someone told you that movie scripts, regardless of the genre, all follow the same basic formula\u2014the same sequence of events\u2014almost down to the minute: after three minutes, the central question of the movie is introduced; after twenty-seven more minutes, the main character will set off on a new path; fifteen minutes more, and something symbolic will happen; and so on.[footnote]Viki King, How to Write a Movie in 21 Days<\/em> (New York: Quill Harper Resource, 2001), 34\u201337.[\/footnote]<\/span> It\u2019s hard to believe that The Fast and the Furious<\/em> would follow the same formula as The Notebook<\/em>, but once you know what to look for, you\u2019ll see that the structure holds up. Clearly, Hollywood has come to learn that this particular structure is the secret to keeping the audience\u2019s attention, earning positive reviews, and selling movies.\r\n\r\nIn the same way, almost all selling\u2014regardless of the product that\u2019s being sold\u2014follows a particular sequence of steps. It\u2019s a simple but logical framework that has been the accepted model for almost a hundred years.<\/span>[footnote]William C. Moncreif and Greg W. Marshall, \u201cThe Evolution of the Seven Steps of Selling,\u201d Industrial Market Management<\/em> 34, no. 1 (2005): 13\u201322.<\/span> [\/footnote]\u00a0Salespeople have adapted the specifics of the process as culture and technology have changed, but the fact that they\u2019ve followed the same basic model has for so long testifies to its effectiveness. The selling process<\/span><\/span> is generally divided into seven steps that, once you understand them, will empower you to sell virtually anything you want and satisfy your customers:\r\n
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    1. Prospect and qualify<\/li>\r\n\t
    2. Preapproach<\/li>\r\n\t
    3. Approach<\/li>\r\n\t
    4. Presentation<\/li>\r\n\t
    5. Overcome objections<\/li>\r\n\t
    6. Close the sale<\/li>\r\n\t
    7. Follow-up<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nEach step of the seven-step process is covered thoroughly in this and the next six chapters so that you can learn the details of each step and how to apply them in various selling situations.\r\n
      \r\n\r\nFigure 7.1<\/span> Seven-Step Selling Process[footnote]Adapted from Michael R. Solomon, Greg W. Marshall, and Elnora W. Stuart, Marketing: Real People, Real Choices<\/em>, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 450.[\/footnote]<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"image\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      When the Seven-Step Selling Process Is Used<\/h2>\r\nAs you learned in Chapter 3 \"The Power of Building Relationships: Putting Adaptive Selling to Work\", the sales process is adaptive, which means that each situation may be different and salespeople have to adapt and understand what is important to each customer and where each is in the buying process. But in order for a salesperson to use adaptive selling, he or she must thoroughly understand the steps in the selling process and how each works to can use them effectively.\r\n
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      The Evolving Role of Technology in the Selling Process<\/h2>\r\nWhile the basics of the selling process have remained the same over the years, the methods of communication and the way people interact are quickly evolving with the use of the interactive capabilities on the Internet by customers and salespeople alike. Each step now includes much more collaboration between customers and salespeople (and even between customers) with the use of social networking, consumer reviews, wikis, and other community-based tools. This technology allows salespeople to learn more about their customers at each step, and therefore provide more relevant and powerful solutions to customers at each stage of the buying process (covered in Chapter 6 \"Why and How People Buy: The Power of Understanding the Customer\").[footnote]Selling Power Sales 2.0 Newsletter, Selling Power<\/em>, September 18, 2008, http:\/\/www.sellingpower.com\/content\/newsletter\/issue.php?pc=868<\/a> (accessed June 21, 2010).[\/footnote]<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Sales<\/h2>\r\nLet\u2019s say you want to buy a gym membership. Maybe you received a promotional offer in the mail, your friends on Facebook have had good things to say about a particular gym, or you picked this club because it\u2019s close to home. Whatever the reason, you wander in and ask to speak to the membership director who seems to know a lot about the club and what you might be looking for. After some small talk about the fact that you both live in the same apartment complex, he tells you about the gym\u2019s amenities and gives you a tour of the facility. Then, you sit down to discuss pricing options and payment plans. If you have any questions or concerns (i.e., \u201cI noticed there are only three tennis courts. Is there usually a long wait to use one?\u201d or \u201cWhy aren\u2019t there any kickboxing classes on your class schedule?\u201d), the membership director will attempt to address those. Maybe he will tell you there is occasionally a wait to use the tennis courts at peak times, but you can reserve a spot up to a week in advance, in which case you can get right in. Or maybe he\u2019ll say that while they don\u2019t have kickboxing classes, they offer Zumba, which is a fun aerobic alternative.\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019re satisfied with his responses, and the price and product meet your needs, you will probably decide to sign a contract. Once you\u2019ve signed, someone from the club will probably follow up with a call in a few weeks to see if you\u2019re satisfied with your experience at their gym, or you may get an e-mail from them with a membership satisfaction survey or a text message about an upcoming event.\r\n\r\nThe example above is an actual selling situation. Although you may not have realized it while you were reading it, the situation follows the seven-step selling process.\r\n\r\nWhether you\u2019re buying a gym membership or a car, cell phone service or a new computer, the situation may be different, but the steps in the selling process will follow the same pattern.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales<\/h2>\r\nThe process isn\u2019t only limited to business-to-consumer sales; it\u2019s also the process that IBM will use to sell servers to a corporation, that Accenture will use to sell consulting services to a technology company, or that the Coffee Brewers Company will use to sell espresso machines to coffee shops. Imagine you run a chic new restaurant. You get a call from a salesperson who compliments you on the roasted chicken she had at your restaurant last weekend. After some conversation, she asks if you\u2019re satisfied with your commercial ovens. You have been having some problems with them and have been doing some casual research online. You know that her company is rated as one of the best oven manufacturers, so you tell her: the ovens are over ten years old, they take a long time to heat up, and they sometimes cook things unevenly.\r\n\r\n\u201cMany older ovens have this problem,\u201d she says. \u201cWould you be interested in learning about the state-of-the-art commercial ovens our company sells?\u201d\r\n\r\nSince you need a solution for your current ovens, you agree to set up an appointment with the salesperson. When the she arrives, you are impressed that she knows so much about your business. She visited your restaurant, reviewed your menu, spoke with some of the wait staff, read reviews on the city magazine Web site, and even had some conversations with some of your patrons on Chef\u2019s Blog. She explains that the ovens she sells heat up quickly and use energy more efficiently. She gives you an estimate of your annual savings on energy costs if you switched over to her product line.\r\n\r\nYou\u2019re interested, but you\u2019re concerned that the ovens might not cook food evenly. Ovens are a big expense\u2014what happens if you aren\u2019t satisfied with the product? The salesperson says you can lease an oven for a trial period at no obligation, and she shows you reviews from other customers on her company\u2019s Web site and on some restaurant industry blogs. You feel like this might help you solve your problem, so you agree to lease the machine for four months.\r\n\r\nAfter two months, the salesperson calls to ask if you\u2019ve been satisfied with the product so far, and she offers you a discount if you sign a contract to purchase two ovens in the next ten days. Since you have been happy with the leased oven and checked out the company\u2019s service record online from other current customers, you make the purchase.\r\n\r\nAs in the gym membership example above, this B2B selling situation follows the seven-step framework. Now, take a minute to review this selling situation in the box below to see exactly how the steps are implemented.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      The Seven Steps of Selling<\/h2>\r\nCompare the B2B and B2C examples you just read about. Do you notice a pattern? Although the products and customers were quite different, both salespeople adapted to the situation and the customer\u2019s needs, but followed the same seven steps to successfully complete their sales. In fact, you\u2019ve probably used a version of these seven steps yourself before without even realizing it. Take a look at some real-world selling examples below and how of each of the steps is used.\r\n
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      Step 1: Prospecting and Qualifying<\/h2>\r\nBefore planning a sale, a salesperson conducts research to identify the people or companies that might be interested in her product. In the B2B example, before the salesperson called the company, she had to find the company\u2019s information somewhere\u2014probably in a local business directory. This step is called prospecting<\/span><\/span>, and it\u2019s the foundational step for the rest of the sales process. A lead<\/span><\/span> is a potential buyer. A prospect<\/span><\/span> is a lead that is qualified or determined to be ready, willing, and able to buy. The prospecting and qualifying step relates to the needs awareness step in the buying process described in Chapter 6 \"Why and How People Buy: The Power of Understanding the Customer\". In other words, in a perfect world, you are identifying customers who are in the process of or have already identified a need.\r\n\r\nUndoubtedly, when the salesperson called the target customer to discuss his ovens (in the example, you were the customer), she asked some questions to qualify<\/span><\/span> him as a prospect, or determine whether he has the desire and ability to buy the product or service. This is the other component to step one. What happens if the customer is not interested in the salesperson\u2019s product, or he\u2019s interested but his business is struggling financially and doesn\u2019t have the resources for a big purchase? Perhaps he is only an employee, not the manager, and he doesn\u2019t have the authority to make the purchasing decision. In this case, he is no longer a prospect, and the salesperson will move on to another lead. Salespeople qualify their prospects so they can focus their sales efforts on the people who are most likely to buy. After all, spending an hour discussing the capabilities of your company\u2019s ovens with a lead that is about to go out of business would be a waste of time. It\u2019s much more fruitful to invest your time with a qualified prospect<\/span><\/span>, one who has the desire or ability to buy the product or service.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Step 2: Preapproach<\/h2>\r\nThe preapproach<\/span><\/span> is the \u201cdoing your homework\u201d part of the process. A good salesperson researches his prospect, familiarizing himself with the customer\u2019s needs and learning all the relevant background info he can about the individual or business.<\/span>[footnote]Geoffrey James, \u201c6 Things to Know about Every Prospect,\u201d BNET, January 12, 2009, http:\/\/blogs.bnet.com\/salesmachine\/?p=705<\/a> (accessed June 9, 2009).<\/span> [\/footnote]\u00a0Remember that in the B2B example, the salesperson knew important information about the restaurant beforehand. She came prepared with a specific idea as to how her service could help the prospect and gave a tailored presentation.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Step 3: Approach<\/h2>\r\nFirst impressions (e.g., the first few minutes of a sales call) are crucial to building the client\u2019s trust.[footnote]Michael T. Bosworth, Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets<\/em> (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995), 106.[\/footnote]<\/span> If you\u2019ve ever asked someone on a first date (yes, this is a selling situation), chances are you didn\u2019t call the person and start the conversation off with the question, \u201cHey, do you want to go out on Saturday night?\u201d Such an abrupt method would turn most people away, and you probably would not score the date you were hoping for. Similarly, as a professional salesperson, you would almost never make a pitch right away; instead, you\u2019d work to establish a rapport with the customer first. This usually involves introductions, making some small talk, asking a few warm-up questions, and generally explaining who you are and whom you represent.<\/span>[footnote]Paul Cherry, Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process of Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants<\/em> (New York: AMACOM, 2006), 21.<\/span>,<\/sup>Neil Rackham, The SPIN Selling Fieldbook<\/em> (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996), 40.<\/span>[\/footnote]<\/span> This is called the approach<\/span><\/span>.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Step 4: Presentation<\/h2>\r\nThere\u2019s a good deal of preparation involved before a salesperson ever makes her pitch or presentation<\/span><\/span>, but the presentation is where the research pays off and her idea for the prospect comes alive. By the time she presents her product, she will understand her customer\u2019s needs well enough to be sure she\u2019s offering a solution the customer could use. If you\u2019re a real estate agent selling a house and your customers are an older, retired couple, you won\u2019t take them to see a house with many bedrooms, several flights of stairs to climb, and a huge yard to keep up\u2014nor will you show them around a trendy loft in a busy part of town. The presentation should be tailored to the customer, explaining how the product meets that person or company\u2019s needs. It might involve a tour (as in this real estate example), a product demonstration, videos, PowerPoint presentations, or letting the customer actually look at or interact with the product. At this point, the customer is using the information that is being shared as part of his evaluation of possible solutions.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Step 5: Handling Objections<\/h2>\r\nAfter you\u2019ve made your sales presentation, it\u2019s natural for your customer to have some hesitations or concerns called objections<\/span><\/span>. Good salespeople look at objections as opportunities<\/em> to further understand and respond to customers\u2019 needs.[footnote]William C. Moncreif and Greg W. Marshall, \u201cThe Evolution of the Seven Steps,\u201d Industrial Marketing Management<\/em> 34, no. 1 (2005): 14, 15.[\/footnote]<\/span> For instance, maybe you\u2019re trying to convince a friend to come camping with you.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019d like to go\u201d your friend says, \u201cbut I\u2019ve got a big project I need to finish at work, and I was planning to spend some time at the office this weekend.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s no problem,\u201d you tell him. \u201cI\u2019m free next weekend, too. Why don\u2019t we plan to go then, once your project\u2019s out of the way?\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Step 6: Closing the Sale<\/h2>\r\nEventually, if your customer is convinced your product will meet her needs, you close<\/span><\/span> by agreeing on the terms of the sale and finishing up the transaction.[footnote]Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling<\/em> (Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2003), 166.[\/footnote]<\/span> This is the point where the potential gym member signs her membership agreement, the restaurant owner decides to purchase the ovens, or your friend says, \u201cSure, let\u2019s go camping next weekend!\u201d Sometimes a salesperson has to make several trial closes<\/span><\/span> during a sales call, addressing further objections before the customer is ready to buy.[footnote]Dave Dolak, \u201cSales and Personal Selling,\u201d http:\/\/www.davedolak.com\/psell.htm<\/a> (accessed June 10, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span> It may turn out, even at this stage in the process, that the product doesn\u2019t actually meet the customer\u2019s needs. The important\u2014and sometimes challenging\u2014part of closing is that the seller has to actually ask<\/em> if the potential customer is willing to make the purchase.[footnote]William C. Moncreif and Greg W. Marshall, \u201cThe Evolution of the Seven Steps,\u201d Industrial Marketing Management<\/em> 34, no. 1 (2005): 14, 15.[\/footnote]<\/span> When the close is successful, this step clearly aligns with the purchase step in the buying process.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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      Step 7: Following Up<\/h2>\r\nOK, so you\u2019ve completed a landscaping job for your customer or sold him a car or installed the software that meets his needs. While it might seem like you\u2019ve accomplished your goal, the customer relationship has only begun. The follow-up<\/span><\/span> is an important part of assuring customer satisfaction, retaining customers, and prospecting for new customers. This might mean sending a thank-you note, calling the customer to make sure a product was received in satisfactory condition, or checking in to make sure a service is meeting the customer\u2019s expectations. This is the follow-up e-mail you get from Netflix every time you return a movie by mail. It\u2019s Amazon\u2019s invitation to \u201crate your transaction\u201d after you receive your Amazon order. Follow-up also includes logistical details like signing contracts, setting up delivery or installation dates, and drawing up a timeline. From the buyer\u2019s perspective, the follow-up is the implementation step in the buying process. Good follow-up helps ensure additional sales, customer referrals, and positive reviews[footnote]Dave Dolak, \u201cSales and Personal Selling,\u201d http:\/\/www.davedolak.com\/psell.htm<\/a> (accessed June 10, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span> and actually leads you back to the first step in the selling process because it provides the opportunity to learn about new needs for this customer or new customers through referrals.\r\n
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      Key Takeaways<\/h3>\r\n