I am taking a Daniel Pink definition of sales, ” Anything we do to move someone from one position to another” so we are all in sales. We are in sales in our relationships, in our employment, in our faith, through our ideas, in our conversation.
If you want to move someone there are 5 general phases.
- Lead Generation – Go where the potential customers for your idea might be, online or face-to-face.
- Engagement – enter into a conversation with one (or more). Ask questions, be curious, be courteous.
- Competition – recognize that there are others trying to move this person to a different product or idea. Why is your idea compelling? Make sure you state the advantage – don’t assume, it is understood.
- Scaling – Practice makes permanent. Learn from each encounter; learn to build rapport, listen with curiousity, share your value, and then refine and do it again.
- Close – The ‘sale’ doesn’t happen until the order is taken. When you are moving someone from one philosophical position to another- ” Do you agree?” is a good test close. If you are trying to move someone to a different behaviour, a commitment might be enough but I like to layer in an accountability check. ” Will you let me know when you have …” or ” Can I call you tomorrow to check on your progress”
Helping people see the world a new way, try a new thing or but a new thing is a process that takes practice.
B
Make It Your Problem 