SPRING is here...

With the arrival of Spring often comes a refreshed attitude, one of growth and ambition.

SPRING is an acronym I use in training and coaching the Sales Leaders and Professionals I work with.

Normally it comes out around March time, to inspire teams to go out in search of new, brighter opportunities or to refresh the 'cupboard' of Pipeline Opportunities they have.

As Spring has come early this year, so SPRING has come into my training and coaching early.

S - is for Situation

Take a fresh look at your Clients or Prospect Opportunities.

Take a step-back and refresh your understanding of their business and the situation your Client or Prospect finds themselves in. Forge (prepare) and ask great questions about them, their world, them in their world.

• Ask them 'How are you...?'
• Ask them 'How is business...?

P - is for Pain (or Problem)

Revisit the challenges facing your Clients or Prospects. Remind of the original pain they shared with you when you first met/spoke to them. Forge and ask great questions about the pains their business is experiencing. Get them to talk openly about those pains.

• Remind them 'When we last spoke you said X was a problem...?'
• Ask them to tell you more about that?'
• Ask them to provide specific examples?

R - is for Reason

Explore with them the reasons behind the pain that they are experiencing.

• Ask them why the 'pain' is a pain?
• Ask them how long have you been in pain?
• Ask them what have you tried to do about it?
• Ask them what is working well? and What could be better?

I - is for Impact

Start to dig a little deeper. Take time to understand the situation, the pain, the reasons for pain. Forge great questions and ask them about the real impact of that pain.

• Ask them 'How much the PAIN has cost them or their business? (cost can be Time, Resources, People, Money)
• Ask them how they feel about that?'
• Ask them if they have given up trying to address/solve/resolve the pain?

N - is for Numbers

By now you may have already quantified the cost of pain.

You may have already explored the cost of allowing the pain to continue over a continued period of time.

You may have already worked out the investment required to resolve the pain; together.

If you haven't, you should. Pain without Numbers is not Pain at all, it's just anecdotal symptoms.

G - is for Goals

Agree, together, what the Goals are, moving forward, in partnership.

Work out, together, how you are going to work together.

Set a deadline for a decision.

Set 'mile-markers', working back from the Decision Deadline (D-Day) for the steps you are going to take, moving forward, and who will be involved as you progress.

Agree what a successful conclusion to the Sales/Buying Process is going to be and set Goals for achieving that successful conclusion.

SPRING cleaning is all about 'cleaning out your cupboard' of old, probably dead, oppportunities and filling it with new, fresh, better opportunities.

David Sandler said 'Your value as a Sales Profession is measured more by the amount of information you get, than the information you give'.

Maybe the SPRING acronym will help you forge a strong Pre-Call/Meeting Plan, develop better a questioning approach, that focuses you on helping your clients and prospects buy from you; rather than designing cheap closes that rarely, if ever, work.

Opportunities that are qualified comprehensively, ready to hear your recommended solutions and to move forward to working with you.

For further inspiration on how to have better calls/meetings with Client and Prospects take a look at Sandler and Evernotes Pre-Call Planning Tool;

Or simply give me a call to discuss on 0118 969 1752. Together we can SPRING into action (sorry for the pun).