Hello Everyone!
I hope you are staying warm during these winter months and I am helping you improve your understanding of the sales process. It took me over 7 years to really understand it. So if you have questions or even to bounce ideas, I am here for you.
Today we are focusing on the next step after you have gotten the potential customer to say “yes” and now most people will stop right there or even run out of the location making the Heisman pose forgetting to get the signature which is the most important part. You are picturing that pose aren’t you 😊
After you get the potential customer to now become a customer, you need to confirm the sale with the person and discuss the next steps. Psychologically when someone makes the decision to buy they get a little sweaty and adrenaline spikes. Then all sorts of thoughts go through their head about maybe I just made a mistake. It has been called “Buyer’s Remorse”, and chances are you have gone through it as well. Especially on large purchases.
I have seen sales people at dealers come right out and tell the new customer that they will have this feeling to reaffirm them that it is okay, and they understand. Then the sales person follows up their statement by saying you made the right decision. They are confirming and reaffirming the customer of their decision to buy.
People tend to look for others to reaffirm that they made the correct decision and by default the person nearest to them is the one they start trusting most. By confirming the sale and reaffirming the decision to purchase the person starts to feel at ease and can move forward.
To do that I have always been the proponent to confirm the sale and then discuss the next steps to take such as delivery date, a follow up discussion on another topic, dates to help set up marketing materials, so on and so forth. By doing that you are taking the customer through the process and helping them move forward.
Too many sales people get the sale and walk away never to be heard from again. That is bad sales and it annoys me to no end. By doing so and not helping the customer move forward the sales person is only hurting themselves. Usually the sales person does not see any reoccurring sales turns and can end up picking up the goods sold to move somewhere else. In worst cases even damaging their credibility as a salesperson that can spread quickly through their industries. No one wants to be known for that statistic.
In closing of this step think back so some of the past sales and notice where you have done this without consciously knowing you have confirmed the sale and moved the customer along to the next steps. Most likely they are one of you better customers.
One last step to go and you guys know all I know to the sales process. In later blogs I will go more in depth if you wish and really break down the steps. Let me know you thoughts at info@kevinsidebottom.com
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
Sales and Leadership Enterprises