Relationship Selling - 9 Easy Steps to Closing The Sale

Relationship Selling, or consultative selling as it is often called is simply about building relationships. Relationships are paramount to success in small business today. Without a strong, core relationship with your customer, chances are your business will fail miserably. Following a good guideline when building those relationships and carrying it throughout the entire sales process will help to increase profits, retain customers and almost always guarantee repeat business.

So what is the anatomy of a good sales process in relationship selling?

1. Opening statement - your opening statement is your door into the building. If the door closes, you never enter. It's that simple. It is crucial that you take these few seconds and make the most of them with your customer/prospect. Be cognizant of their time, needs and your ability to resolve their problems with your product/service. Keep them wanting more as you move them through the sales process. In other words, keep the door open.
2. What is your Offer/Product and The Benefits - It's important to remember in this step that this is all about your customer/prospects needs. Keep your finger on the emotional triggers from your initial conversation and remind them of their pain. Help them to understand that you are going to present solutions that will resolve these problems for them as you gradually move into introducing your product/service as that solution.
3. Prove it - It's not enough to tell them you have the answer to their problem and your product is the solution. You need to prove it with real life examples which apply directly to the core of your customer's situation. Do your homework before the meeting and match your product/service with a solution. Make a list of benefits they will receive from using your solution and be sure they align with the problems and key triggers you should have taken note of in your first conversation with them.
4. Special Guarantees/Bonuses - this is always a winner. It is a feature, not a benefit of using your product. A 90 day money back unconditional guarantee takes away RISK. This immediately puts your customer at ease and helps them to move forward without stalling at the prospect of getting "stuck" with something they do not want or cannot use.
5. Price - sometimes a stumbling block but only in your mind. People buy on emotions. This is important to remember. They buy what they want, not what they need. They explain it away with logic later but if you hit the right triggers up front by the time you get to price, they will be ready to sign on the dotted line without blinking an eye. Done correctly, price will not be an issue; done incorrectly it will stop the sales process in its tracks.
6. Call to Action - Ask for the Sale - so many people literally drop the ball at this point. They are afraid to come out and just ask for the sale. You don't get what you don't ask for and sales is the exact same as anything in life. You build up to this point effortlessly and flawlessly and then blow it when it comes time to ask. No excuses, please. Just do it and you will be amazed at the results.
7. Objection Resolutions - As you move along through the process these become easier and easier to handle properly. The important thing to remember with objections - and you will get them - is they are not a bad thing. They are actually a good thing. It means your customer/prospect is giving you permission to continue moving forward. They just need a little more clarity and understanding. This is when all of your hard work and homework come into play. If you learn this and apply it properly, objections will be welcomed instead of dreaded.
8. Call to Action- Close the Sale - Show me the Money! This is it. This is the reason you have started on this journey and hopefully, it will end in a sale and win-win for both you and your customer/prospect. Once again, remind them of their pain/problem and close the deal. Book the appointment/get their information and make the sale. That's it. You're done.
9. Follow-Up - Last but not least. It is imperative that you have a good follow-up system. This is what separates relationship selling from traditional selling. The gold is in the follow-up. Whether it be a phone call, an e-mail, a card (my favorite) in the mail...it doesn't matter as long as you have a good system in place for a 5 day, 14 day, 30 day and on-going follow-up system to be sure your customer/prospect is satisfied and happy.

Following these 9 steps when building those relationships and carrying it throughout the entire sales process will help to increase profits, retain customers and almost always guarantee repeat business.