5 Ways How To Sell To The Right People | Selling Skills Sales Training

A common mistake salespeople make is failing to recognize the level at which they should be selling. There are five possible levels where you can direct your energy and time in the sales process:

1. The product or service level. This is where the sales person focuses primarily on the price or features of the product or service and defines the product as a commodity. The salesperson’s typical approach in this phase is to lower the price due to a prospect’s price resistance or competitive pressure.

2. The transaction level. This is where the salesperson sees the sales process in traditional terms: prospecting, presentation, overcoming objections, and closing the sale. In most cases, this approach still tends to focus on the process rather than the customer.

3. The solution level. This is where the salesperson brings a solution to the prospect or customer for their specific problem or need. Although this is better than selling at the transaction level, it still focuses on the relationship between the customer’s needs and the features and benefits of the product or service.

4.The relationship level. Now we are getting more long-term-customer focused. Selling at this level requires patience, research, knowledge of the customer’s short- and long-term agendas, time, effort, and a willingness to walk away from those sales where there is not a clear win-win outcome.

5.The stakeholder or shared level. Very few salespeople sell at this level. This is where, if your customer loses in any way, either directly or indirectly related to your product or service, you also lose.

Turn It Around

See effective selling not as a transaction, but as a process of building relationships.