When I began my career, one of my first objectives was to build my skills in professional selling. I enrolled in a 12-week course that broke the sales process into five steps that contained 23 fundamentals. Soon after I began the training, I asked myself, “Why do they just teach the sales process to salespeople? Why not everyone?” What I discovered was that learning the fundamentals of the sales process not only helps our success in selling, it also positively affects our personal lives with friends, children, and partners. Allow me to illustrate by giving a simple overview of the 5 steps of selling:
Step #1: Generate rapport. We begin in a friendly way that results in the prospect viewing us favorably. This enables us to generate a willingness to have a conversation.
Step #2: Show genuine interest. That’s fine that we are a nice person. Our next step is to understand the other person, their situation, and what they need. We do this by asking good questions, listening to the answers, and affirming that we have heard correctly.
Step #3: Present the solution. Now that we know what someone needs and why it is important to them, we can recommend a solution that appeals to their interest.
Step #4: Secure commitment. Once we have agreed on the solution, we ask for their commitment.
Step #5: Act. Now that we are committed, we take action!
OK. Now imagine you needed to have a serious conversation with your teenager. Wouldn’t this process apply? My recommendation: Learn the sales process (but don’t tell them you are not in selling)
