Discover The 6 Steps to Every Sale

by Stephen James

Published on this site: May 25th , 2005 - See more articles from this month...

When you walk into a retail store, what is the most common question you are asked by the shop assistant?

Is it...”Can I help you?”

I bet it is...and if so, what is your normal response?

Well I’m guessing that most people just turn on the auto pilot and respond...”No thanks, I’m just looking”.

After that brief interaction, some people might choose to buy, and others might just walk out of the store empty handed.

If this is as common as I think it is, imagine the bucket loads of cash that are being lost simply by the failure of the sales assistant to engage the customer in a fact finding conversation.

What if there was a way that you could turn this around, and dramatically improve the conversion of lookers into buyers.

Well, there is a simple 6 step process that can be used by a sales person in almost any selling situation, to engage the customer and have them reaching for their pockets and begging you to take their money.

Let’s take the example of a person walking into a furniture store who is looking for a sofa.

1. The opening statement of the sales person needs to quickly establish rapport by making the customer feel welcome and stimulating their interest in talking to you.
   
   So the sales assistant could say “Hi, have you been here before?”
   
   
2. The sales person then needs to establish what the prospect wants. This should be done through a line of open and closed probing questions.
   
   For example “Welcome to ABC furniture, my name is ..., thanks for visiting us. Is it ok to ask how you found us?”
   
   If the prospect says that they were just passing and saw something in the window, the sales assistant could follow with “I see, what caught your eye?”
   
   Questioning should then continue until you have established the key need that has to be fulfilled.
   
   
3. Once you know your prospect’s needs, you must then spend a few moments telling the prospect about the value of being involved with your company and the reasons why they should deal with you.
   
   The sales assistant could say “We have been in operation for 12 years and we source the highest grade materials from around the country to ensure that our sofas are built for long lasting wear and durability.”
   
   
4. At this point you want to be able to remind the prospect of their problem and show them how you can solve it.
   
   In an earlier part of the conversation, the prospect may have mentioned that they have a growing family and need a larger sofa for everyone to fit.
   
   The sales assistant could add “We find this modular sofa that you are looking at here to be one of our best sellers. It comfortably seats a family of 5 which means that after dinner when you all sit down to watch your favorite television show, the last person to be seated won’t end up on the floor.”
   
   
5. You now need to be prepared to deal with any objections.
   
   To avoid objections, you must thoroughly qualify your customer while establishing need, and the key to this is to ask questions, questions and more questions.
   
   If you have done a good job on the first 4 steps, you shouldn’t have too much trouble overcoming objections.
   
   
6. The final step is to close the sale.
   
   Most people are not good at making decisions so it is the sales person’s job to help the prospect make the decision to purchase.
   
   But what ever you do, you must close when the opportunity presents itself.
   
   There are many ways to close...one way is to use assumptive
   statements.
   
   In the example with our customer looking for a sofa, after reaffirming need established in the qualifying questions, the sales person could start writing up the order and say “For no xtra charge, would you like us to arrange for your sofa to receive a special finish that will help protect it from spills?”

After making this type of assumptive statement, the sales assistant should say nothing further until the prospect responds. The prospect will be logically lead to the conclusion that they should purchase this sofa, and there is a strong likelihood that they will say “YES”.

There it is...the simple 6 step process that can be used in almost any selling situation.

Start training your team to use this selling process in your business and watch your sales skyrocket as more and more prospects are converted to paying customers.

Stephen James specialises in teaching small business owners powerful sales and marketing systems that unlock large amounts of untapped cash within their business for low or zero cost. Be sure to sign up for your FREE access to The Business Club at: http://thebusinessresultscentre.com and utilize the free articles, ebooks and other information that can enhance your marketing!