Sales Essentials

I AM NOT A SALES EXPERT! BUT THESE GUYS ARE…

SALES IS A JOB WITH LOTS OF STEREOTYPES

Back then, buyers lacked information

WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTO SALES, SINCE WE WERE KIDS

Selling vegetables

Persuading others

Trying to get a job

Influencing others

THE STARTUP WORLD

The ones who build

The ones who sell

…or do both

WHAT TRAITS SHOULD SALESPEOPLE HAVE

Love interaction

Love hearing others

Enjoy problem solving

They are resilient

SOME TIPS TO START WITH

Do your homework

Rehearse

Tailor your pitch Focus on benefits, not features

Talk the customer’s language

Don’t bullshit

THE WEAPONS OF A MODERN SALESPERSON

Streak

MailTester

SPIN SELLING

BY NEIL RACKHAM

THE SPIN SELLING

• It’s all about asking the right questions (mix of open and closed).

• You don’t necessarily have to close the sale from the first interaction. But you have to gradually build your relationship with the customer (book the next meeting, meet with a more senior person, etc).

• Particularly useful for long cycle sales.

SITUATION QUESTIONS

• Collect facts & background data about the customer’s existing situation.

• They are not positively related to sales success.

• They are an essential part of questioning, but they must be used sparingly so as not to bore or irritate the client.

PROBLEM QUESTIONS

• These questions probe for problems, difficulties or dissatisfactions. Each question invites the customer to state implied needs.

• If you can’t solve a problem for your customer, then there’s no basis for a sale.

• They are not positively related to sales success in larger sales.

IMPLICATION QUESTIONS

• These questions are about the effects, consequences or implications of the customer’s problems, previously expressed during the problem questions stage.

• They are strongly linked to success in larger sales.

• The central purpose of Implication Questions is to take a problem that the buyer perceives to be small and build it up into a problem large enough to justify action.

NEED-PAYOFF QUESTIONS

• Ask about the value or usefulness of solving a problem. “Why would you find this solution helpful?”

• Focus the customer’s attention on the solution rather than the problem, creating a positive problem-solving atmosphere.

• They get the customer telling you the benefits, which eventually are the benefits that your product can offer to them!

GAIN COMMITMENT

•Demonstrate capability that your product can solve the customer’s problems.

• Equate the solution to his problem with your product or service.

•Gain commitment from the customer, with the aim to gradually move towards the sale (orders, advances, continuations).

THINGS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE IN MIND

Follow up

Don’t be late

Pick the right time

A service approach

THE MODERN MARKETER IS THE GROWTH HACKER

SALES IS IN OUR NATURE

Sales Essentials

Alexis Alexakis

@AlexAlexakis