Therefore, it is vitally important for every business to find such types of sales techniques (based on its market, products, different types of sales leads (cold, warm, hot), industry position, etc.) that will work best for its unique selling environment. So, let’s review the most successful sales techniques that help sales representatives to adopt more structured approach and focus on the right steps for closing more deals.
1. SPIN selling. This type of sales is based on the insightful questions which should be asked to identify customer’s pain points and challenges and build a stronger relationship between a buyer and a seller. It stands for:
- Situation. The aim of this stage is to understand prospect’s industry, company size, current pain points, etc. Once sales reps understand customer’s current situation, they will have a far better idea of the scope of their problem.
- Problem. At this stage salesperson should bring the prospect into an awareness that there is a problem that should be solved. By asking questions about the issues, reps will gently but, at the same time, firmly drive the sales forward.
- Implication. Challenge a customer by asking about the consequences and possible negative outcomes of leaving the problem unsolved.
- Need-payoff. Try to find out what prospect’s hopes to achieve and then prompt them to consider how the situation could change if the issues were solved.
Thus, instead of telling the prospect why they need to purchase a product or service, the goal of SPIN selling is to guide them to this realization on their own.
2. MEDDIC. This type of sales strategies gives the possibility for sales reps to focus on obtaining useful information in order to qualify and secure the deal.
- Metrics. Sales reps should understand what the economic impact of the solution is on the prospect’s business.
- Economic buyer. Get to know who has responsibility and control the appropriate budget.
- Decision criteria. Discover what criteria the prospect uses to make a decision.
- Decision process. Understand what process the customer typically follows to make a decision.
- Identifying pain. Find out what is the trigger event, financial consequences of the issue and why the prospect needs the product or solution.
- Champion. Find a person in customer’s organization willing to advocate for your solution.
This approach gives a clear understanding of each stage of the deals and how to create a detailed closing plan.
3. Challenger sale. This concept is based on one type of sales representatives - a challenger, who is considered to be the most successful and effective by far. Such sales reps “challenge” their clients rather than simply pointing to their needs and offering a solution. They “teach” prospect how to avoid pitfalls within their industry, “tailor” their conversation to each decision maker they talk to and “assert control” over the sales and not being afraid to push back on clients to achieve their goals. This type of sale has proven to be quite a successful strategy and is very popular among highly technical companies (e.g., software companies) with large sales forces.
Every business needs a sales methodology that best represents its product, market, values and goals. However, just implementing a certain methodology will not bring you desirable results and success. Therefore, each of the above-mentioned strategies requires sufficient training. By combining a constant improvement of professional skills and knowing which steps to take at certain stage of pipeline, sale representatives will undoubtedly close more deals and increase company’s revenue.
