1. Bonding & Rapport/Pattern Interrupt 

Your job as a sales professional is to make the prospect comfortable with you by NOT sounding like a slick salesperson. You will need to lower the "Defense Wall" between you and your prospect.

2. Up-Front Contracts - Setting Ground Rules 

A mutual agreement between the salesperson and the prospect, or client, as to what will take place during a current or subsequent contact, whether in person or by phone. "Begin with the end in mind."

Five Elements of an Up-Front Contract

• The Time and Agenda
• The Role of the Prospect...
• The Role of the Salesperson.
• The Outcome - Yes/No or a Firm Future Commitment (FFC)
• Biggest Concern

3. Pain 

Pain is defined as the personal, compelling, emotional reasons to buy. People buy to eithher move away from pain or move towards pleasure: either way, it is based on emotion. 

As sales professionals we need to help the prospect discover what all the issues are, why they are happening, and the impact of not implementing a solution. After finding the pain we need to get the prospect's commitment to fix it now.

4. Budget/Investment 

Is the prospect willing and able to make the necessary investment to cure their pain? Both you and the prospect know how much the pain is costing them. The prospect must also be willing to de-invest from their current situation.

5. Decision 

Elements the sales professional must uncover in determining the prospect's decision- making process:

• Who... is involved in the process?
• What.... specifically are the steps?
• Where... is the decision made?
• When... are they planning to make the decision?
• How.... do they actually make the final decision?
• Who else.... will or should be involved?

6. Fulfillment 

The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate to the prospect how your product or service "fulfills" their needs - the pains previously discovered - and obtain a decision. Discuss only the features and benefits of your offering that cures the prospect's pain and NOTHING ELSE.

7. Post-Sell

The purpose of the Post-Sell Step is to deal with any potential "buyer's remorse," plant the seeds for additional business, and start the referral process.

• Buyer's Remorse - We need to re-confirm the next steps before we end the call.
• Referrals - We need to begin the process of setting up the client to ask for referrals.
• Strategic Account Management - We need to put a system in place to keep our clients happy and grow the account.

A Sales Process defines how a company allocated resources from the beginning to the end of a sale as they interact with a prospect or client. A Sales Methodology helps salespeople move morre effectively through each step in the sales process.