In sales, like most professions, success is 90 percent planning the work, and 10 percent working the plan. You need to make sure that you understand who the ideal customers are—and who are not. You need to ensure that you select your customers, not settle on them, if you are going to sell compensated value—that is, provide more measurable dollar benefits than competitors or the cost of doing nothing (status quo is often a salesperson's biggest competitor)—and receive your expected profit margins for doing so. The five perspectives, or viewpoints, from which a salesperson views opportunities are illustrated in Exhibit I-4.
Exhibit I-4: The five viewpoints of the MeasureMax selling system.
An overview of the four selling phases of the MeasureMax system used to sell compensated value is illustrated in Exhibit I-5 on page 8.
MP 1: Spark Interest ( sales person viewed as a customer expert on initial contact)
Step 1: Research and Membership (salesperson confirms valid business reasons exist for contacting customer)
Step 2: Take Your Pick (customer selects a potential goal[s] he or she is interested in achieving from the ones you suggested)
Step 3: Track Record (salesperson documents success from same industry on goods that were for sale previously)
MPC 1: Interest Confirmed (customer agrees to meet to determine ability to achieve goals)
MP 2: Measure Potential (salesperson helps customer gauge ability to achieve his or her stated goal[s])
Step 1: Market Focus (salesperson reinforces industry expertise and knowledge)
Step 2: Purpose and Goals (salesperson reinforces that meeting is to help customer determine ability to achieve stated goals)
Step 3: Eliminate Unknowns (salesperson's questioning helps customer provide measurable purchasing information)
Step 4: Yellow Light (salesperson summarizes the measurable purchasing criteria required to achieve the customer's stated goal[s])
MPC 2: Potential Confirmed (customer agrees goals are worth pursuing)
MP 3: Cement Solution: (salesperson connects solution to customer's goals)
Taken from the science of sales success book.
