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Step back for a minute, and let’s look at sales. A small business can survive missing a number of important ingredients. But not Sales! There are as many different ways to do sales as there are salespeople! And plenty of knowledgeable opinions – pointing in different directions. Here’s mine.

The Presence Of The Guru
There’s a guru named Robert Middleton, who has a program called Action Plan Marketing which I highly recommend. And he has a powerful model which uses a Baseball diamond as a structure. Simply put, when you get to first base with a client, the client now knows you exist. Second base is understanding – client understands that you offer X benefits, which could have Y importance. A proposal, which probably includes cost, gets you to third base. Closing gets you home – and you score! According to Middleton, the biggest fault in sales (or baseball) is trying to score from first base! Yer out! In baseball, that’s just ignorant. In sales, perhaps the same!

You’ve been taught your A.B.C.s – Always Be Closing! But consider, in this day and age, wouldn’t you want a potential vendor to assist you in looking at your issues in the context of his capability and need? Doesn’t it put you off when he tries to close you before you are anywhere near ready? If you don’t ask, you don’t get. But if you try to close too early, you not only close the door on a productive conversation with your prospective client, you close it on your own opportunity!

In fact, there’s a four-step selling process which can be your guide. It helps the salesperson avoid short-cutting the process out of hurry, anxiety or greed, (some of the more common problems) and it allows the customer to consider the upcoming decision fully and correctly..

Process. We’ll call it SCAN:
1. Situation
2. Challenge
3. Affect
4. Need

Explanation:
Step 1 – Situation: is where you and the prospect have a look at what’s going on for him or her, right now. Example: S/He lost his watch, s/he’s a candidate for a new one. Is there a Situation in his/her business or his life that you two might explore? Well, is it important for him/her to be on time? Many salespeople rush ahead to identify need and fulfill it with their product. Resist the impulse, give your client an opportunity to appraise the situation thoroughly. It can be to your mutual advantage.

Step 2 – Challenge: – when s/he has no watch, what problems, challenges, concerns does that raise? what are the choices before him/her? Buy a watch, not buy a watch? Spend the money, keep the money? In real life, it’s more complex. Ask questions that will help him/her see that this poses a real discomfort and problem. Help the prospect understand the details of the Challenge. Don’t hurry. You’re building a powerful structure for agreement.

Step 3 – Affect: – If s/he doesn’t have a watch, how will that Affect the business? What are the impacts that “not being on time” would have on him/her, on his/her work? Does the value of the Affect overshadow the cost of the watch? You can’t understate the importance of Affect. It’s usually the most important reason to buy.

Step 4 – Need: – At the beginning of this conversation, your prospect might have agreed that he needed a watch, but he’d get around to it sooner or later. Now that he’s been through the first three steps, it’s totally clear to him that not having a watch is a major problem with a very simple solution. He “Needs” a watch, and he shouldn’t wait any longer to handle the problem. This is a powerful, and emotional rather than intellectual motivator. It’s important, however, that your prospect come to this realization because of the questions you ask, not the answers you give. This is vital, because people believe what they say, not what you say! While the “watch” as sales target is a bit trivial, have a look at the steps. Can you see the value they bring to your conversation? Would you be willing to try this structure in your own practice, and see how it works?
 
Remember SCAN – Situation, Challenge, Affect and Need. If you’re willing to work through this simple process, and practice it a bit, you’ll find that it fits almost every selling situation in which you find yourself. You will find that it adds extra dimensions to your selling efforts that can show up in more customers, and happier, better served customers as well.

Both the Middleton Model and the SCAN Model preach the same sermon: don’t rush the close. Personally, in selling my own coaching processes, I usually let the customer ask me “how I work.” It’s critical for my business that my customer understand that he or she is confronting not only opportunity but personal change. That’s not an easy understanding, not easily arrived at. So a rush to judgment frequently interferes with a positive outcome.

You may have a powerful need for short-term results. Consider that this is your need, not your customer’s. If you serve your need rather than his/hers, you may end up all alone. “Getting to yes” often takes time. A trial close can be informative but patience can be equally productive. It may not be your style. But it can be worth exploring.