“Nothing happens till somebody sells something.” ~ Zig Ziglar, Sales Guru
This brief article is excerpted from a weekly ezine (“Monday Morning Muse”) offered by The Coaching Corporation. Each Muse has been prepared under the guidance of Inga Estes, president of The Coaching Corporation.
The process of “selling” (whether internal or external, personal or professional) goes on around us all the time. For those of us who don’t consider ourselves to be salespeople, we might want to reconsider. Whether we’re working to get our direct
reports to deliver on schedule, getting our five-year-old to bed on time, generating “buy-in” for a new idea in our organization, or planning a dinner out, we’re constantly pitching or selling something to someone. Given that, we’ll either do it well or we’ll do it poorly.
Here are four basic sales steps for the sales person in all of us, and they apply whether you’re concerned with “internal, informal” sales or “external, professional” selling:
1. Qualifying Step: Ascertain whether or not you should spend time working with this person or organization and whether or not you’re speaking to the right person.
2. Create Interest: Considering the other person, appeal to why he or she should talk with you.
3. Ask Questions and Listen Intently: Ask, what does the other person really want and need? Effective questions allow you to conduct a great “needs analysis.”
4. Propose a Solution: If you can solve this person’s “problem,” ask for commitment and expect to “close” the sale. If you can’t solve this person’s “problem” seek another to commit to your idea or plan.
Make something happen this week: sell something!