Clear your mind of all previous sales training you may have had. Keep an open mind. I have called my new style technology selling approach the Technology Solution Sales Process (TSSP for short).

It differs from conventional selling theory in a number of ways. Below I have outlined some of the findings - based on scientific research - that disagrees with previously accepted “rules” of selling.

• How you open the sales process is not that important. Often you will read that you need to start with some hard-hitting benefit. This is not necessary according to the research. Therefore, a more natural introductory approach is more appropriate.

• Establishing rapport should take as long as the situation dictates. Conventional sales literature dictates that you should get to know the other person so they feel comfortable dealing with you. Ask about their hobbies, what they enjoy doing, even “How did you get started in your job?” as is often recommended. Yet try doing this when you get an inbound sales call from someone who is short of time. You will just irritate them. The convention is out of date. Prospects need to get the essential answers fast and do not have time to be steered off track by your attempts to establish rapport. You end up not establishing rapport but annoying the caller. Get down to business fast unless the prospect clearly is operating at a much more chatty, friendly pace.

• Closing hard is banned! A lot of high tech sales revolve around a multi-step sales process, where the person you are speaking to is not necessarily the final decision maker or is not prepared to make an immediate decision. The higher the price tag, the more likely they will delay decision making. Being pushy will turn them off. This applies particularly to the business market. They will think, “Listen here, if you think you can hoodwink me into a sale with your trappy sales pitch then you have another thing coming!” The sale should be closed when it seems silly not to make a decision, rather than getting a crowbar out and trying to force the undecided client, who then backs out anyway.

• Presenting every benefit your company offers can lead to objections. At first glance you would think the opposite. How can they be put off when you are giving more benefits? Well, it works like this. You are selling some computer hardware at a slightly higher price than your competitors, but you have bundled in after sales support telephone helpline, free installation service and a discount coupon for future training. You say, “Not only do you get this quality PC hardware, but we have thrown in a helpline, installation service and training discount coupon, all at no extra cost.” You have stated your objections and this seems a good thing to do from the salesman’s perspective. Yet the client says, “I don’t want to pay your higher price just to get helplines and coupons I would never use. Anyway, our own IT guys do all our installations.” You are perplexed because they objected! How dare they! Better to only state benefits that your client has explicitly verbalised as being important. That way they cannot (and will not feel the need to) shoot your benefits down in flames.

• Don’t prematurely present your solution. With an eager sales professional wanting to make a sale, as soon as the client tells you what they are looking for, the temptation is to rush in there and smother them with the benefits of your solution. I suggest you play a more patient game. Hold back, for you need more information and you haven’t had time yet to whip up your clients mindset into a buying frenzy!

Step #2: Discover the Clients Problem

People don’t buy unless they have a need or problem that they want to solve. You need to find out what that is. How else do you know what to sell someone if they haven’t explicitly told you what their problem is? You can’t assume as it is too dangerous and you could lose the sale.

To discover their problem, you need to ask “problem questions.” These types of questions ask about the difficulties, dissatisfactions or problems they are facing with their current situation. This will help you sell them later on as nearly all needs start from dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Here are some typical problem questions:
• Have you had any difficulty learning Access from a book?
• Do you have any problem with the speed of your network?
• Is it hard to find a reliable PC support guy who you can call at short notice?
• Are you having difficulties trying to get your internet connection sorted out?
• Do you find web developers too costly?

Each question is exploring with the client what is a problem and what is not. This gentle probing can help clarify in both the salespersons mind and the client what needs a solution.

Running with our example, the conversation may continue as follows:

You: “Are your current Access skills able to get the job done for you?”

Caller: “No. I’ve already tried and I was stuck early on into starting my database.”

You: “How do you find learning Access from a book?”

Caller: “To be honest, I haven’t tried. But I find them written by people who assume you know all the jargon. I need something that is simple and easy to understand.”

They have verbalised their problems: they want to learn but a) they don’t have enough skills and (b) they find learning from PC books incomprehensible.

Step #3: Discover the Consequences of this Problem

When a client explicitly verbalises a problem, they are not necessarily convinced of the seriousness of the problem so that it justifies taking action. Jumping in with your solution may be too early for them to be motivated enough to act. You need to get them into a state of mind where they feel motivated to act. How do we do this? Easy. Ask them to expand on how the problem is going to affect their situation. In other words, what is the implication of their problem?

You: “How is having no database affecting your invoicing?”

Caller: “I’m doing them by hand at the moment and it is taking me ages. Also, I’m finding they get left behind because I’m so busy and I keep putting it off.”

You: “What effect has that had on your cashflow?”

Caller: “Now I have bad cashflow this month. I’m having to borrow money on a short term overdraft from my bank and it’s getting expensive.”

You: “Has that meant higher banking expenses?”

Caller: “Yes!”

You: “You mentioned you they are time consuming. When do you find the time to do them?”

Caller: “I’m spending time at the weekends doing them.”

You: “How do you feel about working weekends on your invoices?”

Caller: “I hate it! I want to spend more time with my family. I work long enough hours as it is. Having to work weekends aswell is just too much.”

Now the caller is likely to be in a more motivated frame of mind and possibly ready to take action, if a solution can be found at a price they can afford. While the conversation may not go exactly as above, I have tried to provide a realistic example. Judge for yourself whether you agree with me or not.

Here are some typical implication questions:
• Has that meant higher costs?
• Does that ever lead to an overloaded network?
• How often does your network go down?
• What effect does that have on your cashflow?
• Does that create problems with keeping your data secure?

Step #4: Payoff Questions

With your caller motivated to solve their problem, you can now shift the focus to a solution. Payoff questions help the callers convince themselves of the value of your IT solution. They encourage the caller to explain to you why your service will help them solve their problem, which by now should seem like something worth solving. This happens by having them explicitly verbalise the type of solution they think will fit.

Let us continue the example:

You: “You mentioned you hate learning Access from books. How would a one-on-one style Microsoft Access training help?”

Caller: “It would get me up to speed quickly without having to struggle through those books!”

You: “What is it about one-on-one training that you prefer?”

Caller: “I can ask questions when I don’t understand something. It also helps motivate me because I’m not sure I have the discipline to plow through those manuals or help menus on my own.”

The caller is telling you why one-on-one training will help them solve their problem. This is far better than trying to tell them. Remember, if the client says something it is true, if you say it, they can doubt it.

One benefit of going through this process is that the person you are speaking to may not be making the final decision (even if they claim they are). If so, your payoff questioning helps clarify in their mind why your service can help. It is like a mental rehearsal that will come in handy when they have to explain to the decision maker why they need your service. If they can’t convince the boss, they will not get the financial backing required.

Typical payoff questions:
• You mentioned that you have to do a lot of invoices. Wouldn’t a database save you a lot of time if you only had to click a button to print an invoice?

• How would this help you save time/reduce costs/simplify?

• How could you use the time you saved?

• What important projects could you work on if you didn’t spend so much time trying to fix your faulty network?

• If you had someone to call whenever you were stuck on your PC, how would that help you?

Step #5: Tying in Your Solution to Their Needs

No doubt, your technology solution - whether it be training, programming, support, networking or just plain advice – will have a whole host of benefits that you could sell. If you are not sure what they are, you really need to identify them and write them down. This has the habit of crystallising them in your mind and they become more memorable.

For maximum effect, you need to tie your solution, presented as benefits, into their needs. Only tie them into the explicitly verbalised needs or you risk being off base and this can lead to objections. This is important so I will repeat it:

Only tie your benefits into verbalised needs.

Let us be clear what we mean by benefit. A feature is a characteristic or fact about your service e.g. “We provide one-on-one training.” A benefit describes how a feature can help the client e.g. “…this results in faster learning.”

Our example continues…

You: “We provide personal, one-to-one training which most people find the fastest way to learn. The trainer demonstrates and then you copy. You don’t have to refer to manuals or help menus – nothing like that. Then, if they notice you do anything wrong, or you get stuck, they can help you. You can also get immediate answers to those niggling questions that you have always wanted to ask.”

Caller: “That’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

You: “We charge $X per hour, each training session lasting a minimum of 2 hours. This is below the typical market rate for this type of training.”

Caller: “I don’t think I would want more than 2 hours in one stretch. I don’t think I could take it in.”

You: “Are you saying 2 hours about the right amount of time per session for you?”

Caller: “Yes.”

Here, you have presented your solution to the client so it ties in directly with their explicitly verbalised need. This reduces their chance of objecting to your solution, as there is nothing there to object to! You have just stated exactly what the customer is looking for. In reality, you will come across situations where your service is not an exact fit. Don’t worry. You can counter that by giving enough of what they want that you are still a very good option. No product or service is ever perfect. It’s all a matter of degree.

You can see at this stage why an almost natural conclusion is a sale, presuming the price is right. You have demonstrated you know what the caller is looking for, you understand their needs and you can provide the exact solution.

But the sale won’t happen unless you help it happen. Let’s look at the last step: getting commitment.

Step #6: Getting Commitment to Complete the Sale or Maintain Momentum

I recommend ignoring all previous concepts regarding closing the sale. You have a receptive client who now believes you fully understand their concerns. Trying to force them into a sale may antagonise them and undo all the good work you have done so far.

You have three more things to do:
1. Check that you have covered all their key concerns
2. Summarize the benefits
3. Propose a commitment

Our example may proceed as follows:

You: “I think I have covered all your main points. Can you tell me if I have missed anything out or is there anything else I can cover in more detail for you?” (Checking key concerns are covered)

Caller: “You haven’t told me when you are available. I can only make it during school hours as I have to take the children to school and pick them up at 3pm.”

You: “I have appointments anytime between 9am to 6.30pm so that should not be a problem. Was there anything else?”

Caller: “No, that’s it.”

You: “Ok, great. Well, we have seen how we can provide you with one-to-one training on Microsoft Access so you don’t have to struggle with those awful manuals. We’ve also talked about how you can get immediate feedback to any questions you may have. And we can conduct the training during your school hours without a problem. In fact, there is no reason why you should continue having to work weekends because you can’t get your invoicing done in time, or having to struggle with bad cashflow because you keep putting it off.” (Summarizing the benefits)

Caller: “Yes, when you put it like that it does seem like I should do something about it.”

You: “May I suggest that the logical next step is to set a date for your first appointment, to get you started?” (Proposing a commitment)

Caller: “Let me get my diary.”

The conversation above is not unrealistic. It could happen. Every call will be different and the sequence of events may not be so tightly defined as described above. But if you aim to follow this methodology, it will help your sales grow.

The only way you will be successful in following this process is through pre-sales call practice. Make a list of what you would say for each sales step, write out your benefits and put them all on 3” x 5” cards. Rehearse each card 3 times per day for a couple of weeks. Then, when you get that call, you are more likely to say the right things than if you just leave it to memory. You need to internalise the information so you do it without thinking.

Let me give you one final example of the whole process in action.

Lets say you have just started your computer consultancy and you have no clients. You call asking about my manual on getting clients.

Me: “How long have you been in business and how many clients do you have?” (Identify your situation)

You: “I have only just started so I have no clients!”

Me: “Are you having problems getting enough clients?” (Discovering the clients problem)

You: “Yes, its obviously a big concern because I took the risk of leaving my last job, where I was employed. So I have to make this work.”

Me: “What would happen if you don’t get enough clients fast enough?” (Discover the consequences of the problem)

You: “I wouldn’t be able to support my family or keep up the payments on my mortgage. It would be a disaster!”

Me: “What will having more clients for your business mean to you?” (Payoff question)

You: “It means I don’t have to worry so much about surviving financially and if it really goes well, I can take my partner to our favourite holiday destination – as a treat.”

Me: “How important is it for you to achieve this?” (Payoff question)

You: “Crucial. If I don’t do something about it fast, I might as well give up now!”

See what is happening here? By getting someone to expand on their needs, you are not just uncovering further needs and why they want to consider your service. They are actually motivating themselves by filling their mind with the benefits they will get by solving their problem. This puts them into a much more receptive state to hear a solution.

The important thing to remember is that you are not trying to tell them what they need. You are listening as they sell it to themselves that their solution is important. The more they tell you, the more important it will seem at that point in time.

Using the TSSP approach, you would continue along the following lines:

“This manual is specifically designed to ensure a steady flow of clients. It goes into detail on how to get leads and convert them into sales. This will help your business survive and give you enough cashflow to do the things you wanted to do, like that holiday treat you would like for your partner.” (Tying your service into their needs)

“The price is only $X which I’m sure you will agree is great value when you consider how it could kick-start your business.”

Imagine yourself as that person who wants to treat their partner, who wants to get those sales to survive. You might have just left your job and want to make your own business work, but you fear not getting enough business. You have then told me all this. How would you feel if someone presented in the above manner? Wouldn’t it be more palatable, motivational, attention grabbing? When we are seeking a solution to something, we want to believe the sales pitch. Yet our cynical nature looks for reasons why a solution does not exactly fit our needs. It is a defence mechanism that protects us, and it works too.

What can you object to when someone ties in their product to your exact needs? You don’t start thinking, “I didn’t want that benefit. I don’t want to pay for all those free coupons and installation!” Instead, you feel understood, that the salesperson is listening to what you actually want, rather than what they want to sell you. And since most people sell so badly, your solution will be better received when you use the TSSP approach.

“Is there anything about the manual you want me to go into more detail about?” (Checking for key concerns)

You say no, so I summarize the benefits.

“Ok, lets take stock. This manual can help your business survival by giving you an action plan for getting clients. You can give yourself a head start by tapping into some of the best techniques for marketing, and the latest research on how to sell technology solutions. With some hard work and a bit of luck, you could then take your partner on that holiday you always wanted.” (Summarize the benefits)

You nod in agreement. “That’s what I need!”

Me: “Then could I suggest the most logical next step is for you to purchase the manual and start following the action plan?” (Proposing a commitment)

You: “Ok. Do you take credit card?”

Don’t suddenly expect to close every deal! It is unrealistic. Just keep in mind what I said earlier: business is a percentage game. Just sell slightly better than your competition. Market slightly better than them too. Your market share will expand. You can dominate your local market in your niche if you put your mind to it.

If you do not conclude the sale there and then, it is important that you maintain momentum and go for a different commitment. For example, if someone called you about having a database system designed, at the end of the conversation, see if you can advance one step towards the sale in some way. The caller may say, “Thanks for that. I will tell my manager what you said and get back to you.” You reply, “That’s great. But I tell you what, why don’t I arrange to meet both you and your manager and I can give you a live demonstration of similar projects I have done for our clients. That way you can judge more effectively whether we are a suitable supplier for you.”

Can you see what you have done? If they say yes, you have got your foot in the door. You get to meet the people concerned and your chances of making a sale go right up.

That concludes the steps required in the TSSP.