The Seven Step Sales Process For IT Solutions and Managed Services
- Indentify the client's problems
- Develop a specific value proposition
- Demonstrate how the solution will fit
- Ask for the order
- Preparation
- Warm-Up
- Qualifying
- Presentation
- Overcomming Objections
- Closing
- Follow-Up
A successful sales process provides the framework for continuous improvement and growth. While simply executing the steps of the sales process will not ensure success, it will allow for more consistent results and the ability to forcast growth and scalibility. The Seven Step Sales Process works more effectively when combined with consistent practice of sales skills through role-playing each phase of a sales engagement. Sales professionals who practice regularly are more able to navigate a client from introduction all the way through earning commitment by reducing risk and positioning their value proposition according to prospects' clients' specific needs.
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Step 1 of the 7-Step Sales Process: Strategic Preparation
Before any successful sales engagement can begin, there are many important pieces of information that can be gathered before any client interaction takes place. The preparation phase is the first step in the seven step sales process and requires a client-centric mentality. Strategic preparation; when conducted properly, will allow the Sales Professional to gather the necessary information to conduct a valuable Warm Up (Step 2 of the Seven Step Sales Process) and instill a sense of professionalism during the first client appointment and increase the chances of building customer rapport.
There are numerous methodologies in the area of strategic preparation. Keeping prospects’ challenges and issues in mind, instead of the solutions that the Sales Professional is interested in selling is the first paradigm shift that needs occur and is the underlying foundation for successful strategic preparation. This shift in approach and mentality will set the stage for searching for valuable information that can be used to bond with prospects and connect proposed solutions to more specific pain points that they may find valuable.
Examples of the tactical execution of Strategic Preparation by a Sales Professional include:
- Entering a Prospects’ name and company name into an Internet search engine and researching any recent news or social media affiliations. This tactic will allow the Sales Professional to get a better understanding of what activities or organizations the Prospect and their organization may be involved in.
- Researching the Prospect Company’s website. In the “About us” or “History” section of the website there may be valuable information that could give clues about the core value system of the company. The Website may also provide information on multiple locations and the names of the Decision Maker(s).
- Researching the Prospect’s Vertical for any recent news or new or existing Regulatory or Compliance requirements. The Sales Professional should also research any specific line of business applications or business processes used by the Prospect to determine potential pain points that can be used for discussion to build a perception of competence in understanding the Prospect's business. This strategy will open the door for The Sales Professional to ask more valuable questions later in the Qualifying Phase (Step 3 of the Seven Step Sales Process).
- Create a repository of the Prospect’s potential business challenges (Issues) and at least 10 Implications for each of these issues on other areas of their business. This will allow the Sales Professional to ask deeper questions during the Qualifying Step of the Sales process and escalate the sense of urgency for the Prospect to make a buying decision by increasing the number of reasons a Prospect would want to move forward with the proposed solution.
Strategic preparation is the first crucial step in creating distinction and separation from a Sales Person and a Sales Professional. This step will allow the Sales Professional to develop a Trusted Advisor relationship with their Prospects and Clients. While Strategic Preparation alone will not Close a Prospect, it will provide the foundation for and increase the chances of conducting a successful sales engagement.
- See more at: http://blog.mspu.us/step-of-step-sales-process-strategic-preparation/#sthash.EmCRUCfZ.dpuf
There are numerous methodologies in the area of strategic preparation. Keeping prospects’ challenges and issues in mind, instead of the solutions that the Sales Professional is interested in selling is the first paradigm shift that needs occur and is the underlying foundation for successful strategic preparation. This shift in approach and mentality will set the stage for searching for valuable information that can be used to bond with prospects and connect proposed solutions to more specific pain points that they may find valuable.
Examples of the tactical execution of Strategic Preparation by a Sales Professional include:
- Entering a Prospects’ name and company name into an Internet search engine and researching any recent news or social media affiliations. This tactic will allow the Sales Professional to get a better understanding of what activities or organizations the Prospect and their organization may be involved in.
- Researching the Prospect Company’s website. In the “About us” or “History” section of the website there may be valuable information that could give clues about the core value system of the company. The Website may also provide information on multiple locations and the names of the Decision Maker(s).
- Researching the Prospect’s Vertical for any recent news or new or existing Regulatory or Compliance requirements. The Sales Professional should also research any specific line of business applications or business processes used by the Prospect to determine potential pain points that can be used for discussion to build a perception of competence in understanding the Prospect's business. This strategy will open the door for The Sales Professional to ask more valuable questions later in the Qualifying Phase (Step 3 of the Seven Step Sales Process).
- Create a repository of the Prospect’s potential business challenges (Issues) and at least 10 Implications for each of these issues on other areas of their business. This will allow the Sales Professional to ask deeper questions during the Qualifying Step of the Sales process and escalate the sense of urgency for the Prospect to make a buying decision by increasing the number of reasons a Prospect would want to move forward with the proposed solution.
Step 2 of the IT Solutions and Managed Services Sales Process: The Warm-Up
The following are a series of actions that a Sales Professional should conduct to ensure a successful Warm – Up:
- Use information gathered in the Strategic Preparation phase (Step 1) of the sales engagement. The Sales Professional will be able to find common ground on topics that matter to the Prospect Vertical in question by researching industry-specific business websites and current events. This tactic will create a repository of Status/Diagnostic Questions (to be covered in an upcoming post).
- Research the name of the Prospect, their organization and its stakeholders via the web for any relevant news or topics of discussion. The Sales Professional could find valuable information that may be used as talking points, such as industry affiliations or current or newsworthy events.
- During the sales engagement, the Sales Professional should observe and take note of any pictures or other such memorabilia in the Prospect’s office that may be used as talking points. This tactic will allow the Prospect to divulge any information pertaining to topics that they may be interested in outside of the workplace.
- The Sales Professional should also take note of their Prospect’s body language, tone and demeanor during the sales engagement. This will provide behavioral clues and allow the Sales Professional to determine as to where the Prospect may fit into the DISC behavioral profile. Once the Sales Professional has a good grasp of where the Prospect may be positioned from a DISC perspective, they will be able to begin communication in a more effective manner. (Note that DISC consultation should only be conducted by a DISC Certified Behavioral Specialist).
Below are some examples of Personal and Business Warm-Up questions:
Personal Warm-Up Questions:
- “What are your interests outside of work?”
- “How much time do you usually have to do those types of things?”
- “When was the last time you were able to take a vacation, and what did you do?”
- “Are you involved in any charitable activities?”
- “What would your ideal Client look like?”
- “How did you start this business?”
- “What led you to get into this type of business? “
- “What is your favorite part about what you do?”
- “Did you start in this position or did you move from another?”
For more training on improving sales techniques and velocity, and all aspects of running your successful IT Managed Services and Solution Provider business, please visit our Managed Services Training page here. Stay tuned for more great education from MSP University’s Education and Training department.
Step 3 of the IT Solutions and Managed Services Sales Process: Qualifying
The Sales Professional must discover who the decision makers are and why would they would want or need the Sales Professional’s services. The most effective method for uncovering what the prospect is interested in is by asking questions centered on their business strategy and the priority of their strategic goals. The Sales Professional should position questions around the following Business Generalities:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Operations
- Financials
Implication Questions are questions that connect the effects of the business issues to the specific areas within the four stated business generalities. For example: “Since you mentioned that backing up your crucial data is important to your business strategy for this year, how would not having access to critical client data affect your ability to generate new sales?”
The Sales Professional should always take a Business Needs Analysis document that will help them gather and document the information needed to properly qualify the sale. It is important to note that the Business Needs Analysis should not dictate the pace of the conversation, but rather support the natural flow of the discussion. It is crucial that the Sales Professional remain engaged in a logical conversational tone throughout the Qualifying process. The Sales Professional should utilize 3 different versions of the Business Needs Analysis – one for the Business Owner, one for end users, and one for the “unofficial IT person” in the prospect’s organization (if appropriate). Along with documenting end user-focused data and issues, using the End User Business Needs Analysis will also provide an opportunity for the Sales Professional to “Warm-Up” the rest of the staff and create internal advocates that can also increase the sense of urgency within the sales process.
Ultimately, the Sales Professional’s responsibility throughout the Qualifying phase of the Seven Step Sales Process for IT solutions or Managed Services is to create a bond with the Prospect so as to deepen their relationship and elevate the value of any proposed services or solutions. When the Sales Professional masters the ability to govern the dynamics of the discussion without losing control of the conversation or making the Prospect feel uncomfortable, this will allow for more candid responses to their questions throughout the engagement. This will enable the Sales Professional to deliver a more powerful presentation by clearly aligning the proposed features and benefits of their proposed services or solutions to the Prospect’s stated and newly uncovered needs.
Step 4 of the IT Solutions and Managed Services 7 Step Sales Process: The Sales Presentation
The Presentation is the fourth step of the 7 Step Sales Process. This step focuses on the Presentation of the solution to the potential prospect and usually occurs during the second visit with the prospect. The Second Appointment should occur with all decision makers present and no later than 7 days from the date of the first appointment. Before presenting the solution to the prospect, the Sales Professional should try to reduce any tension in the room as quickly as possible with a few minutes of “Warm Up during this second visit, since the prospect will be anticipating a pricing discussion. Successful execution of the Presentation can help the prospect understand how their specific business issues and pain points will be addressed through the proposed solution and can prevent most objections.
During the Presentation phase of the 7 Step Sales Process, the Sales Professional should follow a basic three step process when presenting the proposed solution. The three fundamental parts to any presentation of a solution should be:
The PowerPoint presentation should generally consist of no more than 12 slides and not be overly wordy or technical. The slides should be a combination of bullet points and images that correspond to the information presented. As the Sales Professional is moving from slide to slide, they should incorporate a short story or analogy with each slide that relates to the information provided. For example, if the proposed solution is an “all you can eat” flat rate model, such as Managed Services, the Sales Professional can begin the slide by describing an all-inclusive vacation – where the vacationers pay one fee which includes everything, reducing incidental, nuisance costs and providing the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that everything is covered. The Sales Professional should also take note that while they will be doing the majority of the talking during this part of the sales process, they should allow the prospect to interact in the story when possible (allowing them to share a story relating to an all-inclusive vacation before the Sales Professional begins their story, for instance). The use of story-telling will allow the prospect to visualize the information that is to come.
After the story or analogy helps “set the stage” for the slide, the Sales Professional should still tie in relevant bullet points on the slide that correspond to the prospect’s specific needs that were discussed in the first meeting. For example, if one of the business issues discussed in the first meeting was the pain of unexpected IT costs, and if the proposed solution was an “all you can eat” flat rate IT maintenance plan, then the Sales Professional might spend the majority of their time on that slide and its corresponding bullet point. Not every bullet point on every slide needs to be covered, only those that relate to the prospect’s specified needs. The Sales Professional should also make it a habit to confirm the prospect’s understanding of the information presented on each slide before moving forward. Tie-down questions such as “does this make sense?” are commonly used before transitioning to the next slide.
After the PowerPoint slides have been presented to the client and the value proposition has been successfully conveyed, the Sales Professional should provide a visual depiction of any infrastructure changes that need to take place, as outlined in the proposal. The proposal should be written as simply and clearly as possible and include before and after network drawings or other such images that clearly and easily illustrates changes to the environment. The Sales Professional should not include pricing anywhere in the body of the proposal itself, as it should simply serve as a visual aid or tool to help the prospect visualize changes (a concise quote as an addendum to the proposal is employed to reflect pricing for the solution, which is only revealed during the Close – step 6 of the 7 Step Sales Process). After confirming the prospect understands the proposed changes, the Sales Professional should proceed to the Cost Savings/ROI analysis presentation.
The Cost Savings/ROI analysis should provide the data to strengthen the prospect’s emotional buying decision. At this point in the process the prospect’s curiosity around the proposed cost should be very high. The prospect should be thinking “This is perfect for me, but it sounds like it will be very expensive”. The Cost Savings/ROI calculation tool should either be an Excel spreadsheet or a purpose-built calculator that can be adjusted if necessary during the demonstration. This tool should be able to take into account hard costs such as existing IT maintenance and other costs, and allow for the incorporation of soft costs such as downtime or existing unacceptable production time that will be improved through the proposed solution. The goal for the Sales Professional should be to get the client to agree to the sum of both soft and hard costs, so that when the proposed investment amount is inserted to the equation during the Close, a yearly savings can be computed. In many cases the Sales Professional will encounter a few minor objections after the solution’s proposed cost is laid out. These objections can be easily overcome if the Sales Professional adequately positioned the value and cost savings analysis with the qualified prospect.
To ensure that the information presented to the prospect about the solution is properly received, the Sales Professional should always practice their presentations so that they can easily adjust them to align with any prospect’s personality type. The Sales Professional’s duty during this phase of the sales process should be to clearly and effectively communicate to the prospect a full and complete understanding of what the proposed solution is and how it addresses their specific needs. To achieve this, the Sales Professional must be able to interpret their prospect’s body language and verbal communication style to determine if they like to talk and not be rushed during the presentation, or whether they are a “cut to the chase” personality type, where idle banter is looked down upon in favor of facts and figures for a quick decision-making process. The Sales Professional should employ the following strategies to ensure the highest probability of a close after the Presentation:
During the Presentation phase of the 7 Step Sales Process, the Sales Professional should follow a basic three step process when presenting the proposed solution. The three fundamental parts to any presentation of a solution should be:
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Proposal Presentation
- Cost Savings Analysis/ROI Analysis Presentation
The PowerPoint presentation should generally consist of no more than 12 slides and not be overly wordy or technical. The slides should be a combination of bullet points and images that correspond to the information presented. As the Sales Professional is moving from slide to slide, they should incorporate a short story or analogy with each slide that relates to the information provided. For example, if the proposed solution is an “all you can eat” flat rate model, such as Managed Services, the Sales Professional can begin the slide by describing an all-inclusive vacation – where the vacationers pay one fee which includes everything, reducing incidental, nuisance costs and providing the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that everything is covered. The Sales Professional should also take note that while they will be doing the majority of the talking during this part of the sales process, they should allow the prospect to interact in the story when possible (allowing them to share a story relating to an all-inclusive vacation before the Sales Professional begins their story, for instance). The use of story-telling will allow the prospect to visualize the information that is to come.
After the story or analogy helps “set the stage” for the slide, the Sales Professional should still tie in relevant bullet points on the slide that correspond to the prospect’s specific needs that were discussed in the first meeting. For example, if one of the business issues discussed in the first meeting was the pain of unexpected IT costs, and if the proposed solution was an “all you can eat” flat rate IT maintenance plan, then the Sales Professional might spend the majority of their time on that slide and its corresponding bullet point. Not every bullet point on every slide needs to be covered, only those that relate to the prospect’s specified needs. The Sales Professional should also make it a habit to confirm the prospect’s understanding of the information presented on each slide before moving forward. Tie-down questions such as “does this make sense?” are commonly used before transitioning to the next slide.
After the PowerPoint slides have been presented to the client and the value proposition has been successfully conveyed, the Sales Professional should provide a visual depiction of any infrastructure changes that need to take place, as outlined in the proposal. The proposal should be written as simply and clearly as possible and include before and after network drawings or other such images that clearly and easily illustrates changes to the environment. The Sales Professional should not include pricing anywhere in the body of the proposal itself, as it should simply serve as a visual aid or tool to help the prospect visualize changes (a concise quote as an addendum to the proposal is employed to reflect pricing for the solution, which is only revealed during the Close – step 6 of the 7 Step Sales Process). After confirming the prospect understands the proposed changes, the Sales Professional should proceed to the Cost Savings/ROI analysis presentation.
The Cost Savings/ROI analysis should provide the data to strengthen the prospect’s emotional buying decision. At this point in the process the prospect’s curiosity around the proposed cost should be very high. The prospect should be thinking “This is perfect for me, but it sounds like it will be very expensive”. The Cost Savings/ROI calculation tool should either be an Excel spreadsheet or a purpose-built calculator that can be adjusted if necessary during the demonstration. This tool should be able to take into account hard costs such as existing IT maintenance and other costs, and allow for the incorporation of soft costs such as downtime or existing unacceptable production time that will be improved through the proposed solution. The goal for the Sales Professional should be to get the client to agree to the sum of both soft and hard costs, so that when the proposed investment amount is inserted to the equation during the Close, a yearly savings can be computed. In many cases the Sales Professional will encounter a few minor objections after the solution’s proposed cost is laid out. These objections can be easily overcome if the Sales Professional adequately positioned the value and cost savings analysis with the qualified prospect.
To ensure that the information presented to the prospect about the solution is properly received, the Sales Professional should always practice their presentations so that they can easily adjust them to align with any prospect’s personality type. The Sales Professional’s duty during this phase of the sales process should be to clearly and effectively communicate to the prospect a full and complete understanding of what the proposed solution is and how it addresses their specific needs. To achieve this, the Sales Professional must be able to interpret their prospect’s body language and verbal communication style to determine if they like to talk and not be rushed during the presentation, or whether they are a “cut to the chase” personality type, where idle banter is looked down upon in favor of facts and figures for a quick decision-making process. The Sales Professional should employ the following strategies to ensure the highest probability of a close after the Presentation:
- Before presenting, ensure all decision makers are present
- Arrive on time and in professional attire (suit and tie)
- “Warm-Up” the prospect before presenting the information
- Keep the conversation as simple as possible (the less technical the better) to ensure complete comprehension in the prospect
- NEVER email the Proposal and Cost Savings Analysis to the prospect – these must be presented in person
- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
The 5th Step in the 7 Step Sales Process for IT Solutions and Managed Services – Overcoming Objections
Overcoming Objections is the fifth step of the 7-Step Sales Process and usually takes place after the Presentation of the proposed services, proposal and cost savings analysis; although the process for overcoming objections should be executed by the Sales Professional any time an objection is presented. Proper execution of the previous four steps in the sales process should minimize the number of objections the prospect would voice at this stage in the sales process.
Objections are typically a misunderstanding on the part of the prospect caused by a lack of information. In many cases objections are created by the Sales Professional’s inability to properly communicate the value proposition of their offering to the prospect. When confronted with an objection, untrained Sales Professionals rely on techniques such as firing off pre-scripted rebuttals or restating the features and benefits of their solutions without taking the time to properly discover what the prospect’s true objection is.
There is a four step process for overcoming objections:
1. Identify the Objection
2. Acknowledge the Objection
3. Qualify the Objection
4. Clarify the Objection
The first step in overcoming an objection is to identify the type of objection you are dealing with. There are three types of objections; Minor, Major, and Conditional. Minor objections can be overcome during the sales visit, as they are typically a misunderstanding of the information that has been presented. For example, when a client states, “I want to think about it”, that is usually a Minor Objection which can be overcome by executing the four step process mentioned above. A Major Objection is one that can be overcome, but typically not during that particular visit. An example of a Major Objection is when the Sales Professional attempts to close the sale and the prospect says, “I have to consult with my partner before I commit.” This is usually a reflection of poor qualifying by the Sales Professional in Step 3 of the 7-Step Sales Process; and while this objection can be overcome, it will require an additional client visit with both decision makers. The third and final type of objection is the Conditional Objection – a requirement for doing business which cannot be overcome. An example of a Conditional Objection is if the Sales Professional were to present a solution to a Medical Institution that does not meet their HIPAA compliance requirements.
Once an objection has been identified as a Minor Objection, the Sales Professional must quickly acknowledge the objection. This step is critical in overcoming objections, and accomplishes two key goals by the Sales Professional simply repeating the prospect’s objection to them. The first and most important goal that is achieved via this technique is to confirm that the Sales Professional is listening carefully to the prospect. Next, the Sales Professional can process the information that was given and allow time to formulate follow up questions to qualify and clarify the objection.
The third step in Overcoming Objections is to qualify the objection given. This step allows the Sales Professional to use a series of funneling questions to clearly identify what the misunderstanding or lack of information is. A common example of a Sales Professional qualifying an objection is demonstrated clearly in overcoming the “I want to think about it” objection. “I want to think about it” is still very vague. The Sales Professional must identify exactly what the prospect needs to think about. What part of the offering does the prospect need clarification on before they feel comfortable in moving forward with the proposal? For example, if the Sales Professional is proposing a Managed Services offering and is confronted with this objection, they should highlight each and every benefit in their offering to the prospect by asking questions such as, “Is it the 24X7 Help Desk that you would like to think about? (Wait for response)… “is it the Management of all of your Vendors you would like to think about?” (Wait for response)… “Mr./Ms. prospect, it sounds like these were all things you said you needed? Let’s be candid – is it the Investment amount you would like to think about?”. In most cases, this particular objection is centered on the investment amount of the offering. After going through this exercise with the prospect, the Sales Professional has cleared up the vague objection and come to a focused point that can now be overcome.
This leads to the fourth and final step in overcoming objections – Clarifying the Objection, which is conducted by simply revisiting the ROI/Cost Savings Analysis and expounding the miscommunication that occurred during that phase of the sales presentation. After the objection has been clarified, the Sales Professional will simply ask for permission to move forward and attempt to close the opportunity.
The Sales Professional should always bear in mind the root cause of any objection is simply based on business owners’ innate fear of making a bad decision. Especially when it comes to situations dealing with price, the prospect is weighing the value of the solution to other available options.
The three options that all prospects weigh during the decision making process are:
• Doing nothing
• Attempting to fix the issue themselves
• Going with your competition
Most successful Sales Professionals tackle these options with the prospect and help them weigh the pros and cons of each option openly and honestly. When the Sales Professional helps the prospect through these three alternatives correctly, they build deep credibility in the mind of the prospect and increase sales velocity. For some prospects, not taking the proposed offering or option could be the most expensive decision when compared to the aforementioned alternatives. Sales Professionals develop a true Trusted Advisor relationship with prospects by connecting their specific emotional buying decisions to clearly illustrated logic.
Objections are typically a misunderstanding on the part of the prospect caused by a lack of information. In many cases objections are created by the Sales Professional’s inability to properly communicate the value proposition of their offering to the prospect. When confronted with an objection, untrained Sales Professionals rely on techniques such as firing off pre-scripted rebuttals or restating the features and benefits of their solutions without taking the time to properly discover what the prospect’s true objection is.
There is a four step process for overcoming objections:
1. Identify the Objection
2. Acknowledge the Objection
3. Qualify the Objection
4. Clarify the Objection
The first step in overcoming an objection is to identify the type of objection you are dealing with. There are three types of objections; Minor, Major, and Conditional. Minor objections can be overcome during the sales visit, as they are typically a misunderstanding of the information that has been presented. For example, when a client states, “I want to think about it”, that is usually a Minor Objection which can be overcome by executing the four step process mentioned above. A Major Objection is one that can be overcome, but typically not during that particular visit. An example of a Major Objection is when the Sales Professional attempts to close the sale and the prospect says, “I have to consult with my partner before I commit.” This is usually a reflection of poor qualifying by the Sales Professional in Step 3 of the 7-Step Sales Process; and while this objection can be overcome, it will require an additional client visit with both decision makers. The third and final type of objection is the Conditional Objection – a requirement for doing business which cannot be overcome. An example of a Conditional Objection is if the Sales Professional were to present a solution to a Medical Institution that does not meet their HIPAA compliance requirements.
Once an objection has been identified as a Minor Objection, the Sales Professional must quickly acknowledge the objection. This step is critical in overcoming objections, and accomplishes two key goals by the Sales Professional simply repeating the prospect’s objection to them. The first and most important goal that is achieved via this technique is to confirm that the Sales Professional is listening carefully to the prospect. Next, the Sales Professional can process the information that was given and allow time to formulate follow up questions to qualify and clarify the objection.
The third step in Overcoming Objections is to qualify the objection given. This step allows the Sales Professional to use a series of funneling questions to clearly identify what the misunderstanding or lack of information is. A common example of a Sales Professional qualifying an objection is demonstrated clearly in overcoming the “I want to think about it” objection. “I want to think about it” is still very vague. The Sales Professional must identify exactly what the prospect needs to think about. What part of the offering does the prospect need clarification on before they feel comfortable in moving forward with the proposal? For example, if the Sales Professional is proposing a Managed Services offering and is confronted with this objection, they should highlight each and every benefit in their offering to the prospect by asking questions such as, “Is it the 24X7 Help Desk that you would like to think about? (Wait for response)… “is it the Management of all of your Vendors you would like to think about?” (Wait for response)… “Mr./Ms. prospect, it sounds like these were all things you said you needed? Let’s be candid – is it the Investment amount you would like to think about?”. In most cases, this particular objection is centered on the investment amount of the offering. After going through this exercise with the prospect, the Sales Professional has cleared up the vague objection and come to a focused point that can now be overcome.
This leads to the fourth and final step in overcoming objections – Clarifying the Objection, which is conducted by simply revisiting the ROI/Cost Savings Analysis and expounding the miscommunication that occurred during that phase of the sales presentation. After the objection has been clarified, the Sales Professional will simply ask for permission to move forward and attempt to close the opportunity.
The Sales Professional should always bear in mind the root cause of any objection is simply based on business owners’ innate fear of making a bad decision. Especially when it comes to situations dealing with price, the prospect is weighing the value of the solution to other available options.
The three options that all prospects weigh during the decision making process are:
• Doing nothing
• Attempting to fix the issue themselves
• Going with your competition
Most successful Sales Professionals tackle these options with the prospect and help them weigh the pros and cons of each option openly and honestly. When the Sales Professional helps the prospect through these three alternatives correctly, they build deep credibility in the mind of the prospect and increase sales velocity. For some prospects, not taking the proposed offering or option could be the most expensive decision when compared to the aforementioned alternatives. Sales Professionals develop a true Trusted Advisor relationship with prospects by connecting their specific emotional buying decisions to clearly illustrated logic.
- See more at: http://blog.mspu.us/th-step-step-sales-process-for-solutions-managed-services-overcoming-objections/#sthash.bLS5ekiS.dpuf
The 6th Step in the 7 Step Sales Process for IT Solutions and Managed Services: Closing
Closing is the sixth step of the Seven Step Sales Process for IT Solutions and Managed Services. This step usually occurs after Step 5 – Overcoming Objections, and can be easily defined as the Sales Professional asking for a commitment from the prospect. Sales Professionals sometimes make the mistake of re-explaining the features and benefits of their solution after the prospect is ready to be closed and potentially talking them out of the sale. Most successful Sales Professionals utilize a variety of closing techniques depending on the situation at hand that simply removes the tension from the close and asks for the business.
Many Sales Professionals make the mistake of placing too much importance on the actual close of the sales itself. Closing should be a natural and logical progression after properly qualifying the Prospect and covering the different alternatives (review Step 3: Qualifying) the Prospect has in their buying decision. The Sales Professional should also continue to confidently progress through the close and simply ask for permission to move forward. Another common mistake by new Sales Professionals is to hesitate throughout the sale and cause unnecessary objections. This hesitation typically creates doubt in the mind of the client, which in turn raises their perceived risk of commitment. The Sales Professional should move confidently throughout the sale and use one of the following Closing Techniques immediately after executing the process for Overcoming Objections (See Step 5: Overcoming Objections):
The Sales Professional should always keep in mind that closing is not manipulation. The prospect must have an actual need for the proposed recommendations and it is the duty of the Sales Professional to articulate that need to their potential client. A closing technique should not be attempted if the prospect does not have a clear understanding of the specific benefits being produced by the offering. If there is a true benefit to working with the Sales Professional’s recommendations, utilizing rehearsed and logical closing techniques can spark the motivation necessary to increase the velocity of the sale. The most important thing to remember is that prospects make buying decisions based on emotion and use logic to justify their buying decisions.
Many Sales Professionals make the mistake of placing too much importance on the actual close of the sales itself. Closing should be a natural and logical progression after properly qualifying the Prospect and covering the different alternatives (review Step 3: Qualifying) the Prospect has in their buying decision. The Sales Professional should also continue to confidently progress through the close and simply ask for permission to move forward. Another common mistake by new Sales Professionals is to hesitate throughout the sale and cause unnecessary objections. This hesitation typically creates doubt in the mind of the client, which in turn raises their perceived risk of commitment. The Sales Professional should move confidently throughout the sale and use one of the following Closing Techniques immediately after executing the process for Overcoming Objections (See Step 5: Overcoming Objections):
- The Alternate Advance Close – “Mrs. Prospect, would you like to get started immediately or the following Tuesday?” - Provides the prospect two options that both work for the Sales Professional.
- The Uncomfortable Silence Close – “Mr. Prospect, does it make sense to move forward and get started?” (remain silent and wait for a response) – This close is one of the oldest and most effective closing techniques utilized in the Sales Process. It should be used on every prospect, as it allows an opportunity for the prospect to come up with potential objections. The Sales Professional should remember one important rule; “the first one to speak….loses”.
- The Sharp Angle Close – “Mr. Prospect, if I can get you the exact address and location of where your remote data will be replicated to once it is backed up, are we okay to move forward?” – This should be used on any prospect that is caught up on insignificant details that has them lose sight of the big picture.
- The “I Want To Think About It” Close – “What is it about the service that you want to think about? Is it the Remote Monitoring? Okay, would it happen to be the Vendor Management aspect of our service? Is it the Online Back‐Up Solution? Be candid with me, is it the investment amount associated with getting this service started?” – This close uses the process of elimination to see which aspect of the service the prospect is objecting to. Most of the time the prospects are objecting to the investment amount and this will allow the Sales Professional to reinforce the benefits of the solution and address the misunderstanding in the numbers associated with the ROI/Cost Savings Analysis.
- The Cheaper Somewhere Else Close – “Mr. Prospect, I understand how you feel about the investment. In fact, you’re right; you can get these services for less somewhere else. You know, in my experience I’ve found that companies typically get involved with services based on three merits – lowest price, best service, and highest quality. Unfortunately, in most cases there aren’t many companies that are able to deliver all three of those merits at the same time, wouldn’t you agree? (wait for response) Most people are usually only able to take advantage of services with two out of those three merits and have to compromise on one. Just out of curiosity, which of the three would you be most willing to compromise – the best service, the highest quality, or price…?” – This Close is designed to reset proper expectations in the mind of the prospect. Typically when they object to price, their real question is related to how the proposed solution compares to available alternatives. Sometimes not going with the Sales Professional’s recommendations could be more expensive than going with a “cheaper” alternative.
- The Reduction to the Ridiculous Close – “So Mrs. Prospect, wouldn’t you agree that the 24×7 network monitoring, unlimited help desk, managing all of your vendors, backing up your critical data and saving you $30,000 every year is worth the meager $14.40 per hour? From our discussions with your HR director it seems you pay your Receptionist more, correct?” – This close is designed to take a large number and reduce to a more palatable amount for the prospect. This technique is extremely successful in selling services by squarely comparing a relatively large amount of valuable services and team of experts to deliver them against the cost of one full time employee.
The Sales Professional should always keep in mind that closing is not manipulation. The prospect must have an actual need for the proposed recommendations and it is the duty of the Sales Professional to articulate that need to their potential client. A closing technique should not be attempted if the prospect does not have a clear understanding of the specific benefits being produced by the offering. If there is a true benefit to working with the Sales Professional’s recommendations, utilizing rehearsed and logical closing techniques can spark the motivation necessary to increase the velocity of the sale. The most important thing to remember is that prospects make buying decisions based on emotion and use logic to justify their buying decisions.
- See more at: http://blog.mspu.us/th-step-step-sales-process-for-solutions-managed-services-closing/#sthash.o4AalkDF.dpuf
The Final Step in the 7 Step Sales Process for IT Solutions and Managed Services: Follow-Up
Follow-up is the final step of the Seven Step Sales Process. Whether they are selling IT solutions or Managed Services, proper follow-up is a simple activity that many sales professionals overlook, and as a result fail to realize the benefits of this important step. While the concept of following up on sales opportunities should be a standard and automatic function for the Sales Professional, from the perspective of the 7 Step Sales Process, the follow-up occurs after the Prospect has signed an agreement or purchased a solution. While this is the easiest step of the sales process, many Sales Professionals miss cross-selling opportunities with existing clients due to a lack of proper follow-up.
The first and most important step to a powerful follow-up is to track and keep all client information updated and current in the organization’s CRM (Client Relationship Management) or PSA (Professional Services Automation) solution. Using these tools to manage sales opportunities allows the sales professional to schedule and execute on specific time-sensitive tasks governed by their specific sales processes.
Some specific dates all Sales Professionals should keep in mind and take action to recognize for the client are:
But celebratory and congratulatory activities are not the only activities included in proper and correct follow-up. A good example of this type of strategic follow-up includes the sales professional’s regular business reviews with their clients. Depending upon the length of the relationship, these may occur on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis.
The intent of a standardized, consistent follow-up procedure is to continue to earn and hold client mindshare longer while maintaining a strong brand promise.
Some examples of tools available to help automate the follow-up process include solutions such as Kutenda, Constant Contact and ExpressCopy. The use of automated tools and services such as these allow the calendaring, alerting and scheduling of follow-up activities in advance allows the Sales Professional to focus on the more labor and time-consuming aspects of executing the sales process and ensures that consistent mindshare is garnered. In fact, it is a good idea for the sales professional to gather the dates of these significant events during the client on-boarding process and configure their tools to alert on and/or execute specific follow-up activities as appropriate, ensuring consistency in basic follow-up execution. The Sales Professional should keep in mind that executing a consistent follow-up process correctly with their clients can lead to opportunities to receive targeted referrals from these satisfied clients.
Genuine appreciation for clients and their business is the foundation for the entire relationship moving forward. The demonstration of the Sales Professional’s appreciation for their clients is typically reciprocated via consistent referrals. If the Sales Professional is doing a good job of consistently reaching out to their clients on a regular basis, the foundation that was built on professionalism and consultative business advice during the sales process will be solidified. This greatly reduces the client’s desire and/or need to seek out a different relationship. Sales Professionals should work hard at not letting the easiest and most overlooked part of the sales process get in the way of diminishing the hard work and credibility that they have developed during the execution of the Seven Step Sales Process.
- See more at: http://blog.mspu.us/final-step-step-sales-process-for-solutions-managed-services-followup/#sthash.xQ50xP3F.dpuf
The first and most important step to a powerful follow-up is to track and keep all client information updated and current in the organization’s CRM (Client Relationship Management) or PSA (Professional Services Automation) solution. Using these tools to manage sales opportunities allows the sales professional to schedule and execute on specific time-sensitive tasks governed by their specific sales processes.
Some specific dates all Sales Professionals should keep in mind and take action to recognize for the client are:
- The anniversary date of the client’s Go-Live
- Birthdays
- Holidays
- Other event dates specifically significant to the client such as business anniversaries, births, weddings and newsworthy business events
But celebratory and congratulatory activities are not the only activities included in proper and correct follow-up. A good example of this type of strategic follow-up includes the sales professional’s regular business reviews with their clients. Depending upon the length of the relationship, these may occur on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis.
The intent of a standardized, consistent follow-up procedure is to continue to earn and hold client mindshare longer while maintaining a strong brand promise.
Some examples of tools available to help automate the follow-up process include solutions such as Kutenda, Constant Contact and ExpressCopy. The use of automated tools and services such as these allow the calendaring, alerting and scheduling of follow-up activities in advance allows the Sales Professional to focus on the more labor and time-consuming aspects of executing the sales process and ensures that consistent mindshare is garnered. In fact, it is a good idea for the sales professional to gather the dates of these significant events during the client on-boarding process and configure their tools to alert on and/or execute specific follow-up activities as appropriate, ensuring consistency in basic follow-up execution. The Sales Professional should keep in mind that executing a consistent follow-up process correctly with their clients can lead to opportunities to receive targeted referrals from these satisfied clients.
Genuine appreciation for clients and their business is the foundation for the entire relationship moving forward. The demonstration of the Sales Professional’s appreciation for their clients is typically reciprocated via consistent referrals. If the Sales Professional is doing a good job of consistently reaching out to their clients on a regular basis, the foundation that was built on professionalism and consultative business advice during the sales process will be solidified. This greatly reduces the client’s desire and/or need to seek out a different relationship. Sales Professionals should work hard at not letting the easiest and most overlooked part of the sales process get in the way of diminishing the hard work and credibility that they have developed during the execution of the Seven Step Sales Process.
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