Have you ever heard of the Sales Continuum? Do you know when a customer is truly sold? There are four stages to the Sales Continuum: you tell them, you sell them, they tell you and they sell you. Hitting each of these stages during the sales process can help you to close the deal, increase your sales success and lock in return customers.
The ‘You Tell Them’ Stage
On the far left hand side, you’ve got the You Tell Them Stage. This is where you are communicating your value proposition. Here is a dry run of the goods and services you have to offer — but there’s no passion. Remember, enthusiasm sells.
The ‘You Sell Them’ Stage
Going left to right, next on the continuum is the You Sell Them Stage. This is a tad better than the You Tell Them Stage. Now you are expressing your value proposition with passion and emotion, and the connection with the customer has improved.
The ‘They Tell You’ Stage
Continuing left to right, after the You Tell Them and the You Sell Them Stages, is the They Tell You Stage. This is good stage to be in, as the customer understands your position enough to be communicating it back to you.
The ‘They Sell You’ Stage
And finally, on the far right of The Sales Continuum is the They Sell You Stage. This is nirvana when it comes to customer acceptance. It is the point where the customer is drinking the Kool-Aid to such a degree that they are selling you on your goods or services. THEY are passionate about it. And chances are they are not only selling you BUT they are likely selling it to others. This is the raving fan stage.
When you get your customers to the point where they are selling you on your own stuff — WOW, that is exciting. That is when you know that they are indeed sold.
How can you be sure to ride out the entire sales continuum? Get passionate about what you are offering!
Rule #1 in sales is You Gotta Drink the Kool-Aid. If you are not passionate about your offering then how in the world is the customer going to get excited about it? Get passionate, and get your customer passionate.
Where are you on the Sales Continuum? Do you and your sales team have solution selling techniques down? Do you have the sales training and the passion to consistently overachieve and grow the business? No matter what you do, remember – Passion, Process & Execution. This is your path through the entire sales continuum and your road to sales success.