Sale is just a 'by-product'!

"Once a Salesman, always a Salesman". This statement is as true as the gravity that's pulling you down right now.

We all do Sales, sometimes while convincing the parents to delay the marriage, sometimes justifying it to your boss on why is your decision the best and sometimes negotiating the auto-rickshaw fare with the driver (yes, we do that in India).

A sale has 5 stages:-

- Finding the prospect

- Meeting the prospect

- Showcasing product/services

- Negotiating

- Closure

All of us know about these 5 stages, but the focus is mostly on the last stage, rather than focusing on all the stages equally and aptly. Statistically, if the process is focused on more, the sales triple.

Case:-

One of my friends was not getting any reply from a big prospect. Every time he would go to the client to find him busy. One day he asked him a straight question, "what occupies your time that you can't take this discussion ahead?" Client replied, "competitive analysis". Next day when the client reached office, he saw the competitive analysis email in his inbox. There were 4 other vendors trying to get this business. You won't get any points for guessing who bagged it.

Case in question shows one thing, while all other vendors focused on how to get the client's time and close this deal, the real salesman found out what took most of client's time and shared client's responsibility and hence surprised the client.

Focusing on each stage of the sale, being creative at each step and not getting overwhelmed with the sale's outcome are the keys to a perfect sale. Remember,"A Sale is just a by-product." 

Thank you for reading, you can write back @prateekb11