Even experienced sales professionals can drift from proven principles. Learn a simple, repeatable process to refocus on customers, maximize efficiency, and grow revenue.
By Jim Poggi
We have all been to sales training conferences or received sales process coaching from our managers and peers, and most of us have read a sales text or two. But how often do we wake up on Monday and make sure we are following the steps we’ve learned? Are we staying true to the principles that made us successful? Are we making sure every customer feels special? Do we ask for referrals from our satisfied customers?
In the rush to follow up on customer questions, get reports back to those who asked for them, check for back orders and set up travel time with key suppliers, it’s rare that we stop to look at the big picture and asked ourselves: “Am I really following the best sales processes? Can I follow a better process to be more efficient? Am I providing the most value to my customers and getting the most out of my sales territory?”
If we are honest, I doubt we spend enough time reevaluating our sales process and customer expectations to be more successful. It is true that daily life offers any number of distractions, but in my experience, it is also a bit uncomfortable to realize how far off base we have sometimes drifted and to deliberately pull ourselves back and analyze what we need to do rather than what we are doing.
I intend to help you hit the “reset button” and review the sales process you should be using to get back on track. Sometimes all it takes is a little nudge to realign. Consider this column that little nudge.
A tried-and-true process
Depending on how you were trained as a sales professional and the type of coaching you’ve received in your career, it is likely that you have been exposed to a myriad of sales processes. Some work pretty well and others seem like a good idea until you put them in practice in real life.
I plan to share a simple sales process that has worked well for me in many situations, whether I was pursuing a capital sale or trying to sell a strong suite of lab consumables to round out an outstanding customer POL lab. Like the best products, the best practices tend to be simple and easily repeatable.
Let’s review my favorite sales process together. Give me a few minutes today, consider how you can implement this process in your territory and give it a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how well it works and how well it can insulate you from some of the daily distractions so you’re zeroed in on what you need to do rather than trying to solve and control every distraction that comes your way. I will focus on lab examples, but this process works well for other equipment and medical surgical products.
Before we review the sales process, the first thing we need to do is understand the role of distractions in our professional lives and how we manage them. I was always guilty of trying to answer every text and email almost immediately, solve every problem before sunset and own every issue in my territory. Are you this kind of sales professional?
If you are, take the advice it took me years to accept and follow – stop. Always focus on the customer, but as you do, ask yourself some important questions:
- Is this situation truly urgent, or is it just a new request?
- If it is urgent, am I in the best position to solve it? Can I delegate it to someone more likely to be able to solve it quickly and correctly?
- I often found myself taking on product availability issues that customer service was far better equipped to handle than I was.
- What is the right timing for a solution? Is it really today?
- My most trusted coach advised me several times: “Know which problems will solve themselves if you let them sit for a day or two.” Difficult advice for many of us to follow but, trust me, it works. Never ignore a serious customer issue, but know which ones need immediate action and which do not. This requires practice and confidence, but it’s a cornerstone of being a customer champion and an efficient sales professional.
Now, let’s look at the sales process.
Step No. 1: Identify the customer
If you have a new territory, this one may seem overwhelming. If you have an established territory, you may be tempted to think you have already done that successfully. Give it a chance. There are a couple levels to identifying the customer.
Level 1: Customer Acquisition – Is this a customer I can successfully service, and one I want in my territory? Do my products meet their needs? Are they part of a larger purchasing organization I have access to (and maybe even preferred status)? Can I get access to the decision makers? What are the barriers to entry for this customer and can I overcome them? Do they have a view of in-office lab testing I can leverage or turn around? What is their experience with my company? Do I know someone who can give me a warm introduction to them?
Sometimes the competition has put up formidable barriers and sometimes there is a relationship you just cannot displace now. Knowing that can save you a lot of time.
Level 2: Selling More to an Established Customer – Who are the customers that are candidates for the lab (or other) products I am being asked to focus on now? Is their practice size and CLIA status appropriate? Do they have the right patient mix? Are they using a competitive product or would this product solution be new to them? Does my focus product give me real world advantages I can communicate with the customer?
Step No. 2: Qualify the customer
It’s time for that next customer meeting. Be sure to start by asking questions, not flooding the customer with information.
If it is a new customer, get the basics. What do they expect from their distributors? Who makes the decision? When was the last time they added a new distributor or stopped doing business with an old one? Why? If for lab, learn their CLIA status, get to know the folks in the lab, see what they are using and ask about their satisfaction level. They will be able to answer questions about clinical and workflow value.
Focus there but understand that to get answers they will need to trust you. This is unlikely to happen in a single call unless they have a serious problem that needs an immediate solution. With this understanding, I would then try to find an entry point for my specific product. Understand whether there is a specific need you can solve. Is it economic, product availability or product quality?
Knowing that will help you gear your discussion to a solution they are more likely to accept. “If I could show you how we could provide a larger product portfolio geared to your needs, would you give me a first step to try me for a product or two?” Customer qualification goes hand in hand with relationship development.
This process, especially for capital products or new customer acquisition, may take several calls. Know that every new customer has not been waiting breathlessly for you to come to their rescue. You will hear “no” often. Be smart and consider it “not now” and frame your comments to the customer in that fashion. “I understand I may not be able to help you now, but I have provided valuable solutions to other customers in the area. Here is my card. I hope to have you consider me in the future.”
Leave on a positive note and thank them for their time. If you hear “yes,” please sell the meeting with the right lab product manufacturer (or a higher level of management of your company). Get dates and a specific list of deliverables to provide in your next meeting. For every “yes,” be sure to set the stage for the next meeting. This assures access and informs the customer that you care and are prepared to discuss a specific solution.
Step No. 3: Propose a solution
This is the first step where you are likely to need one of your valued lab suppliers. Set up time to review the customers you believe are prospects and develop a tailored solution for each of them. An example I learned the hard way: if you are proposing a lease for new lab capital equipment, come prepared to the next meeting with a solution and your paperwork ready. Do not offer multiple types of leases.
Ask in advance questions like: “for a lease, is monthly cost most important to you”? If so, you have two sensible choices: ask for a downpayment or go for a longer duration lease. I can’t tell you the number of times I accidentally confused the customer by offering too many financial choices. When in doubt, ask what kind of lease they have now and how they like it.
Other than financial acquisition, be sure to understand how they view the three elements of value: financial, workflow and clinical. Before you bring in your lab manufacturer, test for this understanding. Ask how important it is to get results quickly or during the patient visit. Understand clinical value. Ask “what questions about product performance should I have my manufacturer be prepared to answer?”
Probe to make sure your manufacturer gets questions clear enough to provide an actionable answer. “We expect good results” does not get the job done. Ask follow-up questions until you get a better understanding of what “good” is. I also recommend talking to the lab team to ask what is working well with their current solution and what could be better. In a smooth-running practice, the financial buyer’s answers and those of the lab personnel should match. If not, try to understand why not.
Finally, be absolutely sure to know which other solutions they may be considering and why. If you do not know, be prepared for a blind side when you walk into the lab and see a shiny new instrument in use. I have been there and you need to avoid that situation to understand the acquisition landscape.
Step No. 4: Demonstrate the solution
This does not always mean a “roll in” demonstration of lab capital gear. Sometimes, it means providing white papers and references from other users. In can include walking through the instructions for use (IFU). If you go this way, underline the areas of the IFU that answer your customer’s questions. It can mean visiting a customer who already uses the solution you are proposing.
Pro tip: if you go this way be sure to coach your current customer with the prospect’s questions and coach the right answers. If you are planning a roll in demonstration, survey the location with your manufacturer to make sure the location is suitable. Everything from power to ability to have space available makes a roll in demo successful or painfully awkward. I have had both experiences and strongly recommend being sure the site will accommodate the product you want to demonstrate ahead of time. You will be glad you did.
Additionally, never perform a roll in without asking: “If we can demonstrate that the product meets your needs (list key ones) will you be prepared to move forward?” A “no” answer sends you back to understand why not and reevaluate your customer qualifying steps.
Step No. 5: Close the deal
You should already know who is empowered to make the decision, what they like about the product, whether there is budget for the product and the preferred acquisition method. If possible, the decision makers should all be in the meeting or demonstration of the product. I recommend doing multiple trial closes, but smoothly and non-confrontationally.
For example: “now that you have seen the product in action, let me know your thoughts on how it meets the needs you told me were important to you.” Or, “you informed us the product needed to have these characteristics (mention the top ones) to be considered. Have we met these criteria today?” If you have proposed a lease, have one leasing solution with you. You should already have the information you need to know which one is most suitable. Close for a signature. “Shall we move forward and implement the lease so we can prepare for installation and training?”
Leaving paperwork behind is a step to be avoided at all costs. If you do, based on how much information they need to review, be sure to get a commitment to proposal review and a date for you to return to discuss their findings. Let the customer know you are prepared to move forward and repeat the benefits of the solution you believe you have provided.
Ask for their agreement to these benefits to make sure they agree with the value of your solution. Get the date and who you will be speaking with on your follow-up visit.
Ask for a commitment to purchase if their review of the paperwork is successful and they are ready to move forward.
Ask to bring your manufacturer and leasing rep to make sure you can answer any questions they may have and make any needed changes to the proposal on the spot if possible.
Multiple return trips to discuss and modify the proposal indicate a customer who is most likely not going to buy, at least not now. Know when it’s time to suggest pausing the proposal. Be sure to offer that step to close out the process and keep relationships intact.
On paper, the five steps to the sales process look pretty simple. In reality, successfully performing them means relationship development with the customer, an understanding of the right time to offer the solution and patience as you and the customer work to develop the solution. Like any other skill, this one takes practice to master. Performed successfully it will improve your customer satisfaction and help you grow your revenue.