Do you think getting sales is hard? Are you among those marketers that try out several sale methodologies to grow businesses faster but reap very little out of them?
Well, we feel it’s easy to make sales and generate revenue. But getting sales consistently is an uphill task. We know what you’re asking us, ‘then how do I generate leads and sales consistently and grow my business quickly?’
You need a sales system in place- sales methodologies that generate sales on autopilot. Once you have a proven sales system, you can predict your sales and turn uncertain situations into a guaranteed success.
How do you know which sales methodology works best for you? There are plenty out there. What works for one business may not work for others. So, you need to experiment and optimise.
To start with, here are 7 sales methodologies that can help your business grow faster.
#1. SPIN Method
The SPIN selling method was introduced by Neil Rackham and he published a book on the same. If you are into sales and marketing, we highly recommend you to check this book.
After analysing 35,000 sales calls over 12 years, Neil reveals everything you need to know about selling.
Here is the SPIN method:
Situation
In this phase, you understand your buyer and acknowledge their current situation. This will help you to take the sales call in the right direction. Let your prospect know that you understand their current situation.
Problem
Ask questions in such a way that your prospects reveal their pain points. When they tell their problems themselves, they feel emotional. People buy emotions, not products.
Implication
Now it’s time to agitate the problem. Your audience needs a solution to a problem because that problem impacts their life. This will create a desire to buy your product or service. A simple question you need to ask your prospect is “What happens if you don’t find the solution for your problem?”
Need
At this point, the prospect should understand the need for your offering. You should start selling your product from here, explain the benefits and persuade them to take action. Bingo, you made a sale!
The 30-year-old SPIN method is still relevant with digital marketing trends catching on and it’s proven to work. Test it out and be amazed by the results!
#2. Value-Based Selling
Sell the benefits, not products. Value-based selling is one of the best selling methodologies that helps you get more customers without being salesy. In this selling model, you add value upfront and build trust, then transactions happen.
Price is something people pay to buy your product or service, value is something they get in return. If they get more than just the product/service, that’s value-based selling. To rephrase, you need to give more so that your prospects feel they’re paying less.
You can check out this blog post to discover the key principles of value-based selling.
#3. Solution selling
It’s all about the solution i.e. the prospect and their problems. For example, IT companies offer customised technical solutions like cloud services and support management to their clients.
In this case, the solution is crafted based on the biggest pain point faced by the client. To know the biggest pain points faced by your customers, you need to revisit your sales record. Find out what had triggered your customers to buy your product or service in the first place.
Once your prospect knows the optimal outcome they are going to want to get the solution from you. This makes it super easy to close the deal.
#4. Sandler Selling System
The Sandler Selling System is one of the oldest selling methodologies and the best part is it still works in 2020. You need to build a strong rapport and qualify your prospects. Qualified leads convert easily and you can close the deal quickly.
The Sandler Selling System is a 3-step process:
1. Build relationships – You can start by building a strong relationship and know what your prospects want. Gain their trust and knock off their objections.
2. Qualify your prospect – First, figure if the prospects you are targeting are the right fit for your product or service. Then start selling. Know their budget restrictions beforehand.
3. Close the deal – Now that you have qualified leads that have strong chances of becoming your customers, focus on their pain points and explain the optimal outcome they are going to get from your offering.
#5. Inbound Selling
Marketing and sales are inextricably intertwined and you can’t just rely on one. The more marketing you do, the more prospects you get. More prospects lead to more sales.
Inbound selling is another sales method that you can use to get inbound sales rather than chasing after prospects. This is a 2-step process that can potentially grow your business quickly if done right.
Step 1: You do strong marketing to get more prospects into your sales funnel. It would be great if you nurture the leads and qualify them.
Step 2: With qualified prospects in hand, your sales team can explain the benefits your prospect will receive from your product/service. Sales reps have a better chance of closing qualified prospects.
In this method, your sales rep actually behaves as a consultant who helps the prospect rather than having to sell to them. This gives the prospect a sense of being guided to a better life and the emotion circles back to them buying from you.
#6. Challenger Sales Model
Potential customers have already gained much information before starting to interact with you. They have preconceived ideas about your product. This makes things difficult for sales reps and objection handling may become a daunting task.
You can challenge your customers by breaking their limiting beliefs. Disrupt their current thinking and provide a new perspective. Asking questions and making a strong statement is the best way to break these beliefs of your prospect. By using this model, your sales rep takes complete control of the conversation.
Yet another way to knock off objections cleverly is to include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections in your product or landing page. This lets your prospect know that you are concerned about their queries and have taken the effort to think ahead of them.
#7. Target Account Selling
Instead of chasing countless opportunities, your sales rep can focus on a few accounts and sell your product or service to them. So, the only job of the sales rep is to build stronger relationships with few prospects and nurture them until they convert.
The marketing team can focus on running powerful campaigns and nurturing prospects. This also arms the sales team with strong sales collateral. The sales team will enhance the relationship quality and get to know the prospect’s needs and wants. To know more about how to effectively run lead nurturing campaigns, click here.
In Conclusion
When it comes to the sales methodologies, there is no one best pick. That’s because what works for us may or may not work for you. So, be brave and test out one or two sales methodologies. Find out what works best for you and your business.
You can’t stick with one method for a long time. As time changes, customer buying patterns change. Invest your time and resources to learn these methodologies and create a solid system that makes your business super successful.
