9 Critical Sales Key for Success

So many investigators fail in generating revenue through sales because they do not know how to sell. Over the twenty years of helping investigators become profitable, when I talk to them about learning the sales skill set, many tell me they hate sales and are investigators and not salespeople. I understand this. However, you cannot provide your investigative services if you cannot bring new clients in your door. Sure, you will get some work through referrals, but usually not enough to make a good living. Some tell me, "when I opened my business, I never thought I was buying myself a low paying job." But, without being able to sell, this is precisely what they have done. Many investigators have come from law enforcement, other bureaus, or investigative companies and are used to being given cases and working them. Well, as you know, once in your own business, nobody is any longer giving you cases to work. You now have to find the clients who will provide you with cases. Yes, being an entrepreneur is different than working for someone else. It now all falls on your shoulders.

Sales are the lifeblood of every business. Without sales, very little money comes in the door. Either you learn how to sell or hire and teach a qualified salesperson about your services and the benefits of your services and have them do the selling for you. When I teach my clients how to sell, I do not teach them hardcore sales tactics. I teach them how to find the need and fill it. In reality, investigators can become excellent salespeople if they learn to use their fact-finding skills to find the need and fill it instead of trying to sell. Selling is asking the right questions, actively listening so you hear what the prospect's needs instead of thinking about what you want to say next, then demonstrating that you can fill that need, overcoming objections if they have any, asking for the sale, and then being silent until they speak. At the end of the sales process, the first one that talks lose.

In my sales program I will help you:

1. Identify the right prospects and the decision-maker—You are wasting your time and have no opportunity when you are talking to the wrong prospect or not talking to the decision-maker. æIdentifying your prospects and decision-maker is just as crucial as selling itself.
   
   
2. Get through the gatekeeper—the gatekeeper's job is to keep you away from the decision-maker. However, if you know how to win over the gatekeeper, you will get to the decision-maker.
   
   
3. Teach you how to focus on establishing rapport, trust, and credibility with the gatekeeper and decision-maker from the first contact—this is critical to obtain the opportunity to sell.
   
   
4. Write your sales script that helps you develop rapport and ask the right questions, so you can first build rapport and then learn your prospect's needs—this allows you to know which one of your services to talk about that will fill their needs and solve their problem. It does no good to talk about services they don't need.
   
   
5. Identify the benefits of your services so they are part of your script. Benefits are critical because people purchase benefits and not services—many people are not successful in sales because they talk about a list of services and never mention the actual benefits.
   
   
6. Once the sales script is completed, I then role-play with you, so you learn your script, understand why you are saying what you are saying, and feel confident to make the sales calls and present persuasively.
   
   
7. During role-playing, I ask you questions and bring up objections your prospect might ask and bring up to help you learn how to answer these questions and objections effectively—this allows you to answer and quickly put to rest objections when they arise. A significant part of your success is active listening.
   
   
8. Also, during role-playing, I teach you how to ask for the sale—if you don't ask, you don't receive. No matter how good your presentation is or how high the level of trust and credibility you build, there's always a moment of stress or tension at the asking and making of a buying decision. I teach you how to move quickly and professionally through that moment by asking in a confident, professional manner and then wrapping up the sale.
   
   
9. The final thing we work on together is asking for repeat business and referrals—so many forget to do this and leave business lying on the table. Repeat business is precisely what you want. You want them to make you their go-to investigator and give you all their cases. You also want them to open up their book of contact to you. Every prospect knows at least another 300 possible prospects. You are much more likely to get more new business from a referral than a cold call.

As you can see, successful selling requires the right tools and skill set. You already have half of the skillset, and we can develop the tools and teach you the rest of the skill set needed to be the great salesperson necessary to increase your revenue.

Is it time to take your revenue to the next level through sales? If so, please be sure to call the experts at True Perceptions, Inc. at 678-583-0401 or email me directly at diana.garren@trueperceptions.com.