- Acquire a toolkit of powerful consultative sales skills
- Understand how to motivate customers to buy from you
- Master techniques for successfully closing the sale
Overview
This programme provides an opportunity for experienced sales people to (a) refresh themselves on the basic sales skills and (b) look in-depth at some of the influencing techniques that expert sales people use to get outstanding results. The programme is based on applying Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques to the Consultative Sales process. It covers how to structure a sales meeting and also the influencing strategies that top sales people use to make those sales meetings run smoothly. The training places particular emphasis on identifying the factors that affect customer buying decisions and how to influence these factors favourably.
Learning objectives
By attending this highly interactive two-day course you will:
- Gain insights into the ‘golden rules’ of consultative selling
- Increase your ability to get to the heart of the customer’s requirements
- Learn a powerful seven-step method for managing a face-to-face sales meeting
- Develop methods for handling objections
- Acquire a technique for making a positive impression
Who should attend?
Sales people with more than one year’s experience who wish to develop their Consultative Selling Skills to a more advanced level.
Day 1
The psychology of selling
The thoughts and attitudes that go on inside the sales person’s head (their state of mind) are crucial to good performance. Here we consider the positive beliefs held by expert sales people. We review the mindset that is associated with efficient and effective selling skills.
- Examining your current beliefs
- Reviewing expert beliefs
- Making changes that you feel are appropriate for you
Pairs exercise: applying the Affirmation Technique
Day 1 (cont)
Explaining Value
How to describe your products in an engaging and compelling manner.
- The Curse of Knowledge
- Value propositions
- Sales Stories
- Benefits Presentations
- Milestone Plans
Pairs exercise: developing Sales Stories
Day 1 (cont)
Effective questioning strategies
Logical Levels Diagrams
This set of tools is concerned with asking high-quality questions that map out precisely the customer or prospect’s needs and requirements:
- The Logical Levels Concept
- Moving up Logical Levels
- Moving down Logical Levels
- Softeners
Pairs exercise: conducting Logical Levels Interviews
Day 1 (cont)
Making a positive first impression
People buy from people they like and trust. And a big part of getting that 'trust' is to be able to make both, a positive first impression, and an on-going positive 'second impression'.
- Developing Self-Confidence with the Acceptance Prophecy
- Use of Body Language
- Credibility Statements
- Dress for Success
Exercise: practising making a positive first impression
The Rapport Sales System™
An initial overview of the Rapport Sales System™, which is a highly efficient process for facilitating a consultative sales meeting. The method includes; identifying needs, building the motivation to act and getting a commitment to take action.
Exercise: sales role plays
Day 1 (cont)
Sales skills
and Yes Sets
The ability to influence and persuade is the key competency of expert sales people. This includes the ability to build a history of agreement into a conversation (a skill known as developing 'Yes Sets'.) Here we cover five key skills. Mastery of this skills toolbox, which is based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) concepts, allows the sales professional to conduct face-to-face meetings with elegance and precision.
- Matching and Leading Values
- Summarising
- Reframing
- Behaviour labelling
- Conditional close
Pairs exercise: using the sales skills
Day 2
Understanding the Sales Cycle
Understanding the steps involving in wining business (i.e. defining the Sales Pipeline) and learning how to set sales goals in line with those 'Pipeline' stages.
- Defining the Sales Pipeline
- Relationship Analysis
- Conducting Research
- Setting Meeting Goals
Group exercise: improving our planning process
Day 2 (cont)
Making a connection with the prospect
Looking in-depth at the first two stages in the Rapport Sales Call Method™. This involves setting clear goals, establishing an initial connection and finding out some background information.
- Rapport building
- Analyse the background and mapping the stakeholders
Pairs exercise: understanding the sales qualification process
Identifying and developing the need
Working with logical levels diagrams to identify customer needs and then to build the prospect’s motivation to act to resolve those needs.
- Problem identification
- Probe for needs
- Quantifying the financial implications of the need
Pairs exercise: finding the opportunity
Day 2 (cont)
Finding the buying strategy
Identifying the sequence that the prospect uses to choose between possible providers.
- Opening up the buying strategy
Pairs exercise: discovering buying strategies
Presenting a solution
The last two stages of the Rapport system cover presenting a solution to the prospect’s needs and asking for a commitment to move forward.
- Recall (the need) and match (with solution)
- Features, advantages and benefits chains
- Overcoming any final resistance
- Understanding closing techniques
Pairs exercise: developing Features, Advantages and Benefits Chains
Day 2 (cont)
Case studies
The use of role-plays to practise moving through all seven stages of the Rapport Sales Call Method™ in one session.
Group exercise: role-plays
Disturbance techniques
Methods for getting the attention of busy, harassed (or complacent) customers.
- Leading Questions
- Success Stories
- Horror Stories
- Tickler Presentations
Pairs exercise: writing a Horror Story
Day 2 (cont)
Dealing with resistance
Using assertive tools combined with NLP techniques to explore and overcome obstacles that may be put up by a customer when discussing a particular topic or issue.
- Pointers Questions
- Truth Test Question
- Three Step Assertive Technique
- Feel/Felt/Found Technique
- Use of Metaphor
Pairs exercise: using the Three-Step Technique
Pairs exercise: using the Feel/Felt/Found Technique
Customisation
All our programmes are run on an in-house basis and (where appropriate) we conduct interviews and facilitate focus groups to gather information with which to write bespoke case studies that precisely reflect the culture and work environment of the participants.
Feedback
Feedback is based upon peer review using a Boulden assessment checklist. Completing the assessment checklists is not only valuable to the people involved in a given case study, it also helps those completing them to gain an in-depth understanding of the building blocks that make up an excellent sales meeting.
Course structure
There is an option of following the workshop with a three month long Action Learning project to link the lessons from the training back into the workplace. If this option is selected there is a closure workshop at the end of the project phase where delegates present how they have applied the techniques learned on the course into their daily work routines.
Remote Training
All of our workshops can be delivered as Remote Training via e-learning modules plus Zoom based virtual workshops. Please see our Virtual Training page for more information.
