SALTY Sales - A Principled Guide to Successful Sales

In my book The SUPERFANTASTIC Principles, we explore what it means to become a salt of the earth person by exploring the principles of salt. These principles are universal and are applicable in a variety of different scenarios. In this example, let’s explore how you can apply the SUPERFANTASTIC principles in sales. Not only can you apply them, you will become successful with salty sales.

Sales is a noble profession and if done properly will create positive opportunities for another person. The salesperson creates that opportunity for the prospect. It starts with you, but it is not about you when you focus on becoming a successful salesperson.

Start with You – The Salt of the Earth

Let’s start with understanding the Principles Affect and the impact of starting with you. Understand that you have the power to create an environment based on how you operate. What I mean by operate is how you present yourself. Several scientific studies show that each person creates a vibe. This vibe, noted by Hillary Anger Elfenbein, as “our own way of being has an emotional signature.”

Studies show that emotions are contagious. The emotion or vibe you share will be picked up by your prospect. The Principles Affect is your opportunity to influence an opportunity in a positive manner. A great attitude, a positive demeanor will create a vibe, an emotional signature that your prospect will either appreciate, build trust or walk out of your meeting.

Principle Affect

·      Start by recognizing how you present yourself.

·      Conduct a quick check your emotions, attitude and “emotional signature”.

·      Choose to have a positive demeanor even when you don’t feel like it. Act your way into a feeling, don’t feel your way into an action.

When working with your prospect, the steps to truly understand your prospect is to Identify, Investigate, Initiate. Your prospect will share so much information with you if you listen, listen and listen more. Your product or service has opportunity to connect with the information your prospect shares. And then ultimately, you can share your product including the reasons it is better than the competitors and the purpose it will serve for your prospect. Using the Identify, Investigate and Initiate approach will provide structure within your sales process. This will allow you to ultimately create the best outcome for both the prospect and the salesperson.

Identify – the only way to identify what your prospect needs or wants is to listen.

·      Listen to understand what you prospect is sharing.

·      Listen for the why your prospect is looking for you to provide a solution to their need or want.

·      This is the part to determine the purpose for your prospects need and want.

Investigate – the only way to get more information to create a solution is to investigate.

·      After the prospect shares with you what is important, ask more questions.

·      Start connecting what your product or service can do to provide the solution.

·      Interpret how your product or service is different or better than your competition based on the prospects why.

Initiate – the only way to help your prospect is to initiate a solution.

·      Present your solution for your prospect in a positive manner.

·      Connect the customer’s why with your how to present the what.

·      Present how your solution fills the need and want of the prospect.

·      Clarify your product or service so that your prospect will recognize where it fits into their purpose.

For an overall view on the health of your sales success, it is critical to lead yourself. The four principles of salt allow you to explore what it means to lead yourself and find meaningful success. Sales requires work, the right work in order to be successful. Following the principles of salt will provide insight into a proven formula that has stood the test of time and the elements.

Salty Sales Principles

Why salt? Salt is an often overlooked, taken for granted element in the world. For most, it is contained in a little shaker in the middle of a table. However, upon closer inspection there is so much more to salt. The four main characteristics of salt include:

Balance – it keeps balance in the body, oceans and life itself.

Flavor – it is able to enhance flavor where it was not distinguishable before.

Value – historically, it was used as currency.

Preserve – to this day, it is used to keep food from spoiling. It was also historically used to bind contracts between people.

Being a SALTY Salesperson is more than a catchy title, it truly is worth its weight in salt. Following these four principles in your sales will create a time-tested approach to being successful element in the world.

Principle One – KEEP BALANCE

As a salesperson, there are so many influences that can make you feel like your opportunities have been derailed. Keep Balance principle will allow a salesperson to address their environment so that he/she can define their circumstances. When balance falls heavy to one side or the other, it is easy to lose control.

Choose Approach

o  Default – The salesperson in this approach has decided not to take any additional action beyond what is required. This approach is where salesperson will allow or expect the prospects to come to the salesperson. There is little effort made in outreach or follow up. The salesperson will have a mindset of “what can I get from this person”. They will choose the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) mindset. If there are objections, the salesperson will roll over and stop any further attempts to make a sale. This is an accidental salesperson and the salesperson will also complain about not getting sales.

o  Design – The salesperson in this approach has decided to take action to do what it takes to do something for and with the prospect. You will find a WIIFU (what’s in it for us) mindset. Here the salesperson will follow the identify, investigate and initiate method with the prospect. This approach is where the salesperson will actively reach out to prospects. The salesperson will follow up timely and consistently with each and every prospect. Objections are viewed as challenges and opportunities to overcome. This is a purposeful and resourceful salesperson that will celebrate and learn from each circumstance.

Impact of Choice – planting seeds in fertile soil reaps the best yield. The seed is your knowledge of your prospect, knowledge of your product and knowledge of how it creates the solution for your prospect. The fertile soil is your Principles Affect, how you present yourself, your emotional signature, your attitude. It takes both the seed and the soil for a harvest. These two combined will create an opportunity for success.

KEEP BALANCE - QUESTION

What approach (Default or Design) will you adopt today?

It all starts with a choice.

KEEP BALANCE - CHALLENGE

Tell your prospect the approach you have selected.

How will it hurt or help you?

Principle Two – ADD FLAVOR

To defeat the social norms and create a positive environment for the relationship between a salesperson and prospect, it is important use the Add Flavor principle. A salesperson will need to believe in him or herself and the product or service being offered. If there is doubt in either or both, the prospect will feel the vibe or emotional signature of the salesperson and the opportunity is over before it begins.

·      Attitude – an attitude can make or break a salesperson’s opportunities with a prospect. If a salesperson chooses to share any attitude other than positivity, then the prospect will pick up on the vibe and make a decision before the conversation starts. There will be circumstances, environments, and responses that will be out of the salesperson’s control. What the salesperson can always control is their attitude to all the things. Your outward expression reflects your choice of your Principle Affect, your mindset, and ultimately your balance.

·      Experience – a salesperson will come to their environment with a variety of experiences. The salesperson will develop additional experiences over time. What is critical with experience is learning from it. These lessons come from successes and failures. When a salesperson can process the experiences and use them to make experiences better for a prospect, then it becomes a better circumstance for both.

·      Conviction – if a salesperson does not believe in his or herself, the prospect will feel it. If a salesperson does not believe in the product or service he or she is presenting, the prospect will know it immediately. Conviction is the excitement and understanding that who you are and what you know as a salesperson is best for your prospect. It also is the excitement and understanding that your product or service is best for your prospect. Having conviction with both stirs a belief, reveals a salesperson’s emotional signature with the prospect. This conviction is a strong persuasive factor in sales.

ADD FLAVOR - QUESTION

How will you check your attitude each day, each hour or during a conversation with a prospect?

How will you use your experience to make things better for others?

Do you truly believe in yourself and your product or service?

ADD FLAVOR - CHALLENGE

Have a friend or co-worker (alignment) check your attitude if you get off course.

Examine your experiences in sales, find one that was challenging find the lesson within.

Tell a friend or co-worker how much you believe in yourself and product or service. Speaking it is a step to believing it.

Principle Three – SHARE VALUE

Each salesperson has opportunities to make a difference in a prospect’s world with the Share Value principle. When a salesperson gives to the prospect, the rewards are greater than when simply trying to collect a commission off the prospect. The commission is the result of giving to the prospect. The shared value to a prospect comes in a variety of forms.

·      Transformational – there are typically two types of encounters with a prospect. One is a transactional encounter and the other is a transformation encounter. The transactional encounter is a one and done, nothing more than a simple exchange between prospect and salesperson. The transformational encounter elevates the exchange to include relationship. This relationship can be simple as a smile and a thank you and/or as complex as ongoing communication and support. The transformational encounter created by a salesperson for a prospect is what builds understanding and trust. This is a foundation for success for a salesperson.

·      Awareness – a salesperson needs to be able to recognize a need with their prospect before being asked. If you can decipher or anticipate what your prospect needs, you create value within the sales relationship. Fill the gap between what the prospect asks and what you recognize as helpful to your prospect.

·      Enthusiasm – bringing enthusiasm to your approach is value for the prospects. This can be seen as making the prospect feel important. The salesperson should treat the prospect as valuable and the prospect will respond accordingly.

·      Influencer – a salesperson should influence buying decisions of a prospect in a way that it provides the best problem-solving solution for the prospect. Not for the salesperson’s benefit. Prospects may not understand or recognize the variety of problem-solving opportunities your product or service offer. When a salesperson is able to identify and investigate the prospects needs and wants, then initiating the solution is the salesperson opportunity to influence things to happen for the prospect.

SHARE VALUE - QUESTION

What is one way you can change a transactional encounter into a transformation encounter for your prospect?

How can you create awareness for your prospect’s needs?

What ways can you bring enthusiasm when working with and supporting your prospect?

How can you influence your prospect in a positive manner to best solve their problem?

SHARE VALUE - CHALLENGE

Share with your co-worker how you plan to create transformational encounters with your prospects.

Ask your co-workers to help each other become better aware of prospect needs.

Principle Four – PRESERVE RELATIONSHIP

As a salesperson, a lot of time is spent working with and for a prospect. This investment of time and energy is not a one and done option. The Preserve Relationship principle approach allows a salesperson to maintain the prospect relationship for an extended period. A few simple steps will ensure that the prospect and the salesperson relationship will last through the test of time and the prospects changing needs and wants.

·      Alignments – a salesperson and prospect should create an alignment at the right time at the right place to make the right things happen. When a salesperson works for and with the prospect, the salesperson will be able to fill the need and want and as a result the prospect will earn a commission. This alignment formula is critical in the relationship. If it becomes out of order or parts of the formula changed, the alignment will be broken.

·      Appreciation – the prospect should receive appreciation from the salesperson with each encounter. A thank you from the salesperson relays to the prospect that the salesperson values the relationship, no matter the potential of the sale.

·      Gratitude – a salesperson that feels gratitude for a prospect will build on the relationship. Gratitude is where a salesperson recognizes that sale or no sale each prospect is important and the beginning of a long-term relationship. This mindset will come across in your emotional signature with the prospect. The seed planted no matter the result of an immediate sale creates opportunities to potentially reap later.

PRESERVE RELATIONSHIP – QUESTION

How can you make your prospect feel like you are their alignment?

In what ways can you show appreciation for your prospect?

How you work on your mindset to maintain a gratitude mindset with your prospect?

PRESERVE RELATIONSHIP – CHALLENGE

Share with your co-workers your plan to create an alignment approach with each prospect.

Find a way to include a show of appreciation more than once for each prospect encounter.

Identify what you are grateful for with each prospect today while communicating with the prospect.

Using a principled approach in sales will provide extra opportunities for greater success. A salesperson is the conduit in which a prospect attains a solution to a problem. You are more than a salesperson; you are a problem solver. A SALTY salesperson solves problems and creates positive future opportunities. You are the salt of the earth and it is your opportunity to be SALTY!

The Salty Sales – A Principled Guide to Successful Sales is a practical application of the four principles in The SUPERFANTASTIC Principles book available on Amazon now. More information about “Speaking Life to Success” visit TheGaryGregory.com.

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