There are various elements of sales professionals need to be aware of to improve their chances of conversions, opportunities, and reaching crucial quotas.
Although sales is never a one-size-fits-all process, succeeding in a competitive world often requires experts to consider a certain number of pre-set factors, from a customer’s pain points, to how they can present a pitch. Understanding the critical elements of sales prepares a professional for achieving their conversion goals.
How to Identify the Elements of a Sales Process
The elements of a sales process can differ depending on the nature of your sales strategy. Some companies invest extensive time into client research, so they can explore concepts like “account-based” sales and marketing. Other sales teams spend less time qualifying leads, and more time coming up with ways to handle objections and close a deal.
In all circumstances, the elements of a sales process will involve a consideration of each part of the customer journey, including:
Prospecting: Researching a target audience, attracting attention, and qualifying leads through a host of strategies like cold-calling, and landing page creation.
Preparation: Collecting information about the lead, their pain points, existing solutions, goals, and other critical information, such as purchasing budget.
Approach: Reaching the lead through multiple forms of contact, from cold-calling and emails to face-to-face video meetings. Multiple methods of approach may be used.
Presentation: Creating the sales pitch with a focus on the pain points and goals of the specific customer, and presenting that pitch using the right media or platform.
Handling objections: Anticipating and addressing the specific concerns of the customer, and what might prevent them from buying. This will be informed by the research stage.
Closing and following up: Closing the deal and following up with the customer post-purchase to ensure ongoing customer success, loyalty, and opportunities for advocacy.
The Key Elements of a Sales Pitch
The key elements of the sales process are only one piece of the puzzle when a professional is preparing to close a deal. Once you know the elements of a sales strategy, as outlined above, you also need to know the crucial elements of a sales pitch.
Once again, the critical elements of a sales pitch can be difficult to define, because the exact pitch required for your intended audience will differ based on various factors. However, most sales professionals will find themselves focusing on the following core components:
Thorough Research: An effective sales pitch speaks to the specific needs and pain points of your target audience. The only way to present a pitch that resonates with your audience is to do the right amount of research. Conversations with your customers, insights into your CRM data, and conversations with the marketing team can all help to unlock important information that will define which factors the sales pitch should focus on.
Defining the problem: The best sales pitches generally talk less about selling and more about helping, or fixing something. This notion helps sellers to address a problem a customer already knows they have and offer a potential solution. The research you conduct about your target audience will give you an overview of the problems you’re facing, so you can present your pitch as a solution.
Facts and data: In virtually all industries, prospects will be more likely to respond to evidence of your claims. Data, facts, statistics, case studies, and even testimonials from other customers will all help to improve your credibility. The more you can position yourself as a trustworthy authority in your space during the pitch, the better.
Emotion: While data and hard logic play an important role in any successful sales pitch, it’s also important to make compelling points from an emotional perspective. Appeal to your customer’s less logical side by considering their emotions. Address the negative impact the current problem is having on your customer, and make their search for a solution feel more urgent as a result.
Value: Customers need to feel the value of your product or solution outweighs the risk of working with you. A good tactic to close a deal with a sales pitch is to provide some additional value. For instance, many companies start by offering a free trial or demo, or an excellent introductory price to convince their customers it’s worth giving them a shot.
Benefits: A great sales pitch should always focus less on what your business can do, and more on what benefits your customers can access. Let them know exactly what the advantages of working with your company will be. For instance, “With this software, you can reduce IT expenses by 30% a year”.
Remember, the elements of the sales process don’t end with the sales pitch.
A relationship with a customer should extend beyond the sale. Even if you successfully close a deal, it’s important to arrange a time to follow up and check in on the success of your customer. This will boost your chances of turning one-time purchases into loyal clients.
