Apparently May was ‘launch a new coaching program online’ month. Launch guru Dave Navarro wrote about some negative reactions to the flurry of program launches which left some folks feeling assaulted. Dave shares some thoughts from his side of the table; he’s the expert and I’ll stay out of that.
Instead, I’ll get into this: would everybody please stop looking for a magic process, and understand that it’s all about outcomes?
We all want a machine where we drop in $20 bills and crank a handle that turns them into $100 bills. It doesn’t exist. There is no machine to make money in sales. Selling is not about processes.
Yes folks, you read that right: selling ain’t about process.
I know, you’ve read about NEADs, and the steps you go through and in what order and you know you’re supposed to have systems in place.
Here’s the secret: each of those is an outcome, not a process. Following the process without focusing on the right outcome is worthless. Focus on the outcome, and the right process for this single instance will become self-evident.
Sure, you should know what your client is doing now. That’s an outcome; you knowing what they’re doing now. It’s not a process. As long as you ethically and effectively gather this information, it doesn’t matter what ‘process’ you use.
What do they enjoy about the current solution? Yup; it’s an outcome.
What do they want to alter? Again, outcome, not process. But great googlymooglies; what would happen if you found this out before you found out what they enjoy? Is the process broken? Nonsense!
Your desired outcome is to know whether they have a need which you can fill, and whether you and they feel you’re the right one to fill it.
And it does not matter one whit what process you use to reach that outcome, as long as you do it within ethical and reasonable bounds. It will, however, be infinitely more successful if the process you choose in each individual case is comfortable for you and the folks you’re dealing with.
That’s also why copying someone else’s ‘process’ (like all those launch folks have done) or, in fact, why blindly repeating your own process, is short-sighted and lazy.
That’s not a recipe for success in sales.
**This post brought to you by Joel D Canfield, Business Heretic
