How much does it cost?

My wife sells golf outings for a 36-hole public golf facility. She has many satisfied customers and needs to find new customers to be successful.

It's not uncommon for her to receive a phone call from a prospect who says: "How much does an outing cost?" This is often the moment where the sales process can get derailed.

We are trained to answer questions when asked. There are times when it is better to start asking questions.

When you develop a sales process for your business you have to believe you are in control when you are speaking with a prospect. If you develop a process and are disciplined to follow it you will begin to see dramatic changes.

Let's go back to the "outing cost." Instead of giving an amount, the prospect was asked questions and this information was gathered:

• The prospect has never hosted a golf outing, thus had no perspective of value.
• The person making the call was calling on behalf of their boss (the decision maker) and knew few details of what the boss wanted.  
• The person making the call said that they were instructed to call five golf courses and get the cost.

Substitute the business you are in and you probably recognize the drill. I'm not sure what the odds are of closing this sale when it starts this way, but there's a good chance you will not hear from them again.

Step one in building a sales system: Believe that you can be in control of process. Don't give away cost information without determining if this is a legitimate prospect. Sales is never easy. Handing control to the prospect makes it much harder.

Why does the sales process break down?

If you look for a simple answer to this question you won't find one. Every business is different, and every potential sale is different. Here's a checklist to review each time a prospective sale slips away:

• Who spoke the most during your time with the prospect...you or the prospect?
• Did you establish credibility by asking questions first and gathering information? 
• Were you speaking with the person who can make the decision? 
• Did your prospect have sufficient funds to support the investment in your business? 
• Did your prospect specifically state the reason(s) why they need to have your service now?  

You may not be able to answer these questions because you don't know the answers. You may have answered "no" to some of the questions. "No's" and "I don't knows" serve as a starting point to resurrect your sales process to close more business.

During the past few decades we have seen a major shift in the sales process. The old days were filled with product peddlers, some coming to your front door or calling during dinner. The shift has occurred to a more consultative approach. The company with the best sales process uses a disciplined approach not used by the product peddler. The new approach focuses on qualifying the prospect, and offering solutions only when true "pain" has been uncovered.

The sales process

Where your marketing ends...your sales process begins.

The best definition of marketing that I have heard is "the manner in which you touch prospects prior to purchasing your product or service." Sales process begins when you get face to face with your prospect, or when they go to your website with the intent to purchase.

Let's discuss the face to face scenario. Sitting in front of a prospect does not mean that you have a new customer. Many things need to come together in order for this relationship to progress. What will you do to establish credibility with the prospect?

You can ask questions. You can listen. You can probe for information to make certain that the prospect is qualified to make an investment in you. This first phase has you asking questions, not stating product features and why they should buy. If you sell the brand new 7-series BMW and the person you are speaking with has a credit score of 300 you are wasting your time. You will waste your time when you are tempted to talk too much.

The first step in the sales process is establishing credibility with the buyer. Asking questions and qualifying the prospect addresses your credibility and whether you should dedicate the time. Here's an easier way to put it. Ask them, "why are we talking?" You take control of the discussion while letting them speak. Soon your prospect will let you know if this discussion should go further.

We need more customers!

This mantra is heard from business owners everywhere. Before offering solutions, how about getting answers to these questions...

• How many do you need?
• Why do your current customers buy from you?
• Do you have a "perfect customer" profile?
• Are your current customers a perfect fit for you?
• How would you describe the way you find/attract customers?

Whether it is written on a cocktail napkin or a slab of stone you need to have a sales process. Wing-it is an option, but not a good one. During the next few weeks we will cover the steps that will help you set up a sales process.

Working "on" your business

The focus group example illustrates the value of working "on" your business, not just in it.

If your business expertise is stringing tennis rackets you will eventually get sick of doing that 24/7, especially if your original business plan had you inventing a new synthetic string or targeting China as a viable market. It is easy to get consumed with the day-to-day needs of your customers and forget about the big picture aspirations.

Find an expert or experts. You may need a business coach, marketing expert, CPA or lawyer.

You may not be able to do it alone. Whatever you choose, find time on a consistent basis to step back and take the pulse of your business.

Track your results

There is great excitement in your business when you begin chipping away at the actionable item list that you created from your focus group notes. The actionable item list included ideas that could be implemented immediately and had the potential to have a great impact on your business.

You must track your results.

Let's go back to the restaurant serving breakfast that opened at 8A. Their focus group pointed out that they were losing business with everyone who likes to eat breakfast between 6A and 8A. The restaurant changes hours and now opens at 6A. This increases payroll and utility costs. They must begin tracking their sales during this new two hour window to determine if this was a smart business move. Are they seeing new customers? Does the average sale increase with people that come in earlier? Tracking results is overlooked more often than you would expect.

In my radio sales career I would cold call prospective accounts and often hear the objection "advertising doesn't work." How's that for a profound statement? With further probing I would often find that they did not have any process in place to measure the effectiveness of the advertising they invested in.

Tracking results is necessary in planning your future. It takes discipline, but it is worthwhile. Don't ever get to the point where you say..."I'm not sure if this change we made to our business is working or not." No one will be able to help you when you are in that frame of mind.

Information Overload?

This should not be your reaction after conducting a focus group. Celebrate the fact that you have a quantity of ideas to sort into categories.

The first category should be Actionable Items. The reason you conducted this session was to learn something about your business and take action. When a focus group tells you that you have lost customers because your restaurant that serves breakfast opens at 8A and those questioned want to eat earlier you can adjust the hours to gain more customers. Actionable items tend to jump off the page when you review your focus group notes. Set priorities and get the needed help to implement them.

The next category should be Great Idea...But. This category is for the ideas that make sense, but need one more element to make them actionable. One element could be budget. It may be personnel, or possibly technology. Whatever the element, it means that you will need to address this step before the idea can be used. A personal injury law firm identifies the need to brand themselves with local motorcycle clubs. In order to do so they will need to budget for memberships and event sponsorships in order to maximize the promotional potential.

The last category is for items deemed as Outrageous. This category should not be called Throw Away. Today's outrageous idea may plant a seed for an improvement to your business tomorrow. Keep all ideas on file.