Success for a salesperson (in sales) depends upon your ability to integrate knowledge about your prospect and your products with skills in sales process and influence. You need to cover all four bases – leave any base uncovered and your success is at risk. The dilemma is that most companies leave one or more bases open or poorly covered and so their conversion ratio is at risk. Do you have all you bases covered?

What are the Four Bases in Sales?

In Figure 1 you see four circles that intersect. We use this diagram to help people understand the transaction that occurs between a buyer and a seller. In order for a successful sale to occur, the seller needs to have and integrate all four circles.

She needs knowledge of the buyer’s industry and the buyer’s business and how the buyer operates with and without her product. She needs knowledge of what products in her offering match with the buyer situation and needs. Superior sellers are able to integrate their company and product capability knowledge with their knowledge of their buyer’s situation. And from this they identify the relevant benefits their product offers and the value it delivers to their prospect.

Figure 1 – The Integration of Knowledge and Skills

The bottom two circles keep the buyer in the equation. And they introduce the sales process and the communication and influence skills that must be integrated with your situation and company knowledge for sales success.

It is important to have a sales process. It provides a road map that tells your where you are on your journey with your prospect and so where to go or what to do next. For the moment let’s assume that we are talking about a customer centric sales process, one where the skills are to strategically respond to the buyer’s purchase decision process. Our sales process tells us what to do and when to do it but rarely will it provide detail on how to do it. That’s where the people skills come into play. People buy from people. Superior sellers have communication and relationship building skills.

So What?

You can see how each element is integrated with and dependent upon the others in order for sales success. And in my experience it will mean if you look carefully at your sales organisation you will find one or more bases exposed or not integrated with the rest. Check your system. Do you have integrated product training, competitor training (or a knowledge base), customer centric sales process training, and communications skills training?

What makes communication skills so important? Effective sales people actively listen, they establish sincerity early in the sales call, and they establish a high level of confidence with their buyer. Communication skills establish trust. To get buyer situation knowledge sellers need to ask questions, elicit buyer needs and uncover buyer decision making criteria. And the right to question is preceded by trust. And with effective skills you can be building rapport and trust in under one minute. Are your people asking all the questions – do they qualify budget every time?

What makes influence skills so important? People buy from people who can create visions for them. Salespeople who help buyers see, hear, and feel themselves enjoying the benefits of the seller’s product have more success. Successful sellers help the buyer to see herself actually using the product in a specific situation. How you do this depends upon your client and their thinking processes - again with the skills acuity and sensory specific language patterns this is an easy task.

Which of Your Bases Are Uncovered?

What is your situation? Which of your bases are uncovered – or not integrated? And do you know what it is costing you? Based on my experience with clients it could be costing you a conversion ratio that it at least 20% lower than it could be. So, what are you doing about it?

[Back to Archive]

Geoff Wade is the Sales & Marketing Director of Onirik Pty Ltd. Onirik is a team of professionals who focus on business value and measurable outcomes, as the reason for our clients to listen to Onirik. Onirik, together with their partner Brava, helps their clients get fast and lasting quantum leap improvements in revenue and margins. Onirik conducts research in selling skills, management, coaching, motivational leadership, the psychology of persuasion, effective business processes, and negotiation. They help clients implement the practical applications of the research and of NLP in sales, service, and management.

Phone: +61 (2) 9004 7810

Email: geoff.wade@onirik.com.au

www.onirik.com.au