Great salespeople understand that their success or failure is based on their ability to get to the next step in the sales process as a goal of each interaction.
Focusing on the “desired end state” of the opportunity as a goal of each meeting keeps a discipline in place to always focus on forward progress. That progress is dependent upon the prospect granting you the next step in the process. Great salespeople know that they must earn the next step through their focus on the prospect’s needs and how they are uniquely positioned to address them.
For each stage of the sales process, keep in mind what needs to be done to get the prospect from their current stage (interested, qualified, forecasted) to the next stage. More likely than not, that is not to closed customer, so design the pitch and conclusion to get a commitment to the next stage.
This could be expanding the audience, agreement that the offering addresses the problem, progressing to a pilot or another type of increased commitment. Even simply agreeing to what the purchase criteria are upfront and agreeing that if you satisfy all of the criteria then you move to contract negotiations can be a very effective technique to drive to the next step and an ultimate decision.
It is essential to understand how your sales pitch and supporting materials are shared and used within an organization even after the meeting. Often, the decision-making can happen without the involvement of the sales professional present, so having the right content that can stand on its own is crucial.
A strong sales playbook with the most effective content mapped to each sales stage guides this process and sets you up to successfully earn the next step in the sales process.
