One of the most mysterious parts of the sales process is The Approach. It’s comparable to the headline when writing sales copy or a blog post.
The approach is the simplest ( you know I like simple ) and easiest way to get the sales process moving forward, yet it’s little studied by those who sell for a living.
It’s also the first place you can lose your prospects attention … and the sale, so you absolutely must master the approach and learn which mistakes you cannot make.
Experts agree that the approach, which lasts about 3 to 10 seconds, is accountable for approximately 75% of the selling process. Just like the headline of a great piece of sales copy, a newspaper story or a blog post, you have to attract the attention of your prospect immediately … or lose them forever.
In other words, you have the first 3 to 10 seconds after stepping up to bat to hit a home run or strike out. Success or failure is a thin line and unless you study the sales approach and refine yours, you’ll be batting blindfolded.
Now that we know just how important this part of the sales process is, we need to find some simple ( there’s that word again ) and invariable rules that we can use to make sure we have a better chance at success and fewer opportunities for failure.
I’m sure I can come up with 25 to 50 stories about sales approaches over the next few weeks, so stay tuned to this mecca of sales info for further updates.
The image above is from a book by Hal Becker. He’s a master of sales approaches and all the other parts of the sales process and I highly recommend all his books, of which I own 5 or 6.
I met him a year ago and his works have inspired me greatly. His books are available at Amazon or on his website.
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3-10 seconds or 50 words… that’s all most people will give you, so make em count.