In the simplest terms, there are three stages to any sales process. The bigger the deal gets the more complex becomes each stage, probably breaking down into sub sets. There’s plenty of comment on the different aspects of each stage in this blog but the headline stages are:
- 1 – Qualification
- 2 – Collaboration
- 3 – Negotiation
We could explain how these stages apply in the simplest of sales interactions, but:
To put a lighter touch to a dry subject 
it seems to me Selling is quite like Sex.
Two, or more (?) people go through this sort of mating ritual trying to figure out if and where, there’s a deal and, if so, will it cause them a problem.
The conversation starts with Qualification – is this going anywhere, or is it a flirt. Each asks why is the other interested.
The next stage is Collaboration – working together to find out how it will work for both parties.
And finally Negotiation – we’ve figured out the Why and the How. Lets talk about the Rules.
Tongue in cheek? Well yes – a little. But you’ll probably get the point.
Selling is about us finding a way of doing things together, which achieves our individual objectives with a level of risk each can accommodate.
Apart from selling and sex what else does it sound like?
Answers to Questions You Didn’t Know to Ask
You already know about selling, but maybe managing sales is a different matter. How about an introduction to the philosophies, strategies, and processes used by professional sales managers? That’s what you’ll get from our eBook Succeeding In Sales Management – Preview and Buy Here
Tweet
for Sales Management Insight, Strategies, Tactics, Processes and Tools
Check out our Tutorials at the top of this page and for Successful Sales Management implement these ideas with Front Office Box.
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }