1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:03,200 Let's recap what we've learned so far. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,460 Sales involves everything that you need to do to convert potential customers into 3 00:00:07,460 --> 00:00:11,180 buying ones by getting an agreement or a contract. 4 00:00:11,180 --> 00:00:13,650 There are a few different kinds of sales types, 5 00:00:13,650 --> 00:00:15,680 each with their own process and strategy. 6 00:00:16,750 --> 00:00:22,517 There's B2B, or business to business sales, B2C, business to consumer, 7 00:00:22,517 --> 00:00:27,955 B2G, business to government, and even consumer to consumer, or C2C. 8 00:00:27,955 --> 00:00:33,540 In general, the sales process can be broken down into the following steps. 9 00:00:33,540 --> 00:00:37,230 Prospecting or lead generation, where you make the initial contact with 10 00:00:37,230 --> 00:00:40,920 a potential customer to build a set of leads. 11 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,740 A lead is a person who has indicated in some way, interest in 12 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:49,130 your company's product or service, most often by providing contact information. 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,400 Prospecting is a more immediate process where you engage in 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,420 activities that provide quicker results. 15 00:00:56,420 --> 00:01:00,060 Prospecting works better when you need to fill up your sales pipeline to 16 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:02,145 hit your quarterly goals. 17 00:01:02,145 --> 00:01:03,790 You need a more aggressive strategy. 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,850 You want to focus your efforts on small, identified niches of customers. 19 00:01:09,850 --> 00:01:12,980 And you aren't concerned with brand awareness prior to engagement. 20 00:01:12,980 --> 00:01:18,170 It also works when you're comfortable engaging directly with your customers and 21 00:01:18,170 --> 00:01:21,670 convincing them directly on your value proposition. 22 00:01:21,670 --> 00:01:25,100 It does not matter if you have qualified or warm leads to begin with. 23 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,380 With lead generation on the other hand, 24 00:01:29,380 --> 00:01:33,480 you're primarily going to engage in activities that inform the customer, 25 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,710 increase brand awareness and position your offering at the top of 26 00:01:36,710 --> 00:01:39,450 their minds when they are ready to engage in the sales funnel. 27 00:01:40,530 --> 00:01:45,240 Lead generation works better when, you want to build awareness of your product or 28 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,470 service among your potential customer base before you reach out to them directly. 29 00:01:50,470 --> 00:01:53,630 You're not in a rush to build leads, and can invest time into 30 00:01:53,630 --> 00:01:58,110 activities that establish you as a thought leader, and increase your brand awareness. 31 00:01:59,130 --> 00:02:02,789 You want to invest in a strategy that builds a constant flow of leads. 32 00:02:04,310 --> 00:02:07,540 You want to engage with qualified leads that are warmer. 33 00:02:07,540 --> 00:02:11,480 A qualified lead is someone who has both indicated that they are interested in your 34 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,490 product or service, and who has the ability to make a purchasing decision. 35 00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:21,300 Once you have your leads, your next goal is to qualify these leads. 36 00:02:21,300 --> 00:02:24,840 A qualified lead then is someone who is not only interested, but 37 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,610 has provided further information that allows us to 38 00:02:27,610 --> 00:02:30,010 convert them to paying customers much easier. 39 00:02:31,110 --> 00:02:33,770 Do they have a budget to make a purchase? 40 00:02:33,770 --> 00:02:37,220 Are they a decision maker in the purchasing process? 41 00:02:37,220 --> 00:02:40,480 Do they have a need for your product or service? 42 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,270 And have they specified a time frame during which they can make the purchase? 43 00:02:45,300 --> 00:02:49,320 During this stage you will get in touch with the customer, not to make the sale, 44 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,290 but to gather information about the prospect that you can assess and 45 00:02:53,290 --> 00:02:57,260 analyze to get a better understanding of their wants and needs. 46 00:02:57,260 --> 00:03:01,110 When you have qualified leads and a good understanding of the customer's needs and 47 00:03:01,110 --> 00:03:06,210 wants, you can then make a presentation based on the collection of information. 48 00:03:06,210 --> 00:03:08,730 This is where you sell your product. 49 00:03:08,730 --> 00:03:12,130 During the sales process you'll often come across roadblocks. 50 00:03:12,130 --> 00:03:15,090 Your next step is to listen to customer objections and 51 00:03:15,090 --> 00:03:18,410 respond to them without sounding defensive or pushy. 52 00:03:18,410 --> 00:03:19,700 If you convince them to buy, 53 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:23,410 you get a commitment from the prospect who is now a buyer. 54 00:03:23,410 --> 00:03:24,690 Once you have made the sale, 55 00:03:24,690 --> 00:03:29,070 you follow up with the customer with post-sales services and support. 56 00:03:29,070 --> 00:03:31,890 This is the sales process in a nutshell. 57 00:03:31,890 --> 00:03:35,340 Like entrepreneurship, sales is more of an art. 58 00:03:35,340 --> 00:03:38,040 You can't have a memorized scripted sales call and 59 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,950 expect things to go your way all the time. 60 00:03:40,950 --> 00:03:44,060 What's most important, is your ability to listen and 61 00:03:44,060 --> 00:03:48,030 to modify your sales presentation to highlight aspects of your product or 62 00:03:48,030 --> 00:03:51,580 service that solves actual problems that the customer has.