Today we're gonna talk sales process. Hi, how are you? I'm glad you're here. I'm gonna jump right on in. So one of the things I hear from people all the time is that, you know, they're talking to people about what they do they have people who seem interested in somewhere along the way, interest turns into like, crickets. Right? People are like, Oh, that sounds really interesting. And then there's no carry through, or they have a sales call. 

And this is the one I think people get more frustrated by, they have a sales call, and they think they get to the end, and like, it's a little squishy, and they're not sure what to do. And it's like, oh, well, that's not the way I wanted to do that, or that didn't go to plan or even worse, you have a sales call, and a goes to plan and you're like, that went really well. And then nothing. Right. So today, what I want to talk about is where I think that gets hung up. And what to do about it. And I do think part of where it all gets hung up for us is in the idea that sale sales process is something that happens to two people and only one of them we have control over right. 

So when you're in a sales conversation with another human being part of the trouble is that there's another human being, and we don't control them, they are going to say and do things that are different than the script we have laid out in our heads, or in the script, we've been taught to lay out like I know, in really early in the process of learning to do sales calls, I have worked with a coach on it. And she was like, here's the order that you do things in, here's how it goes. And what would happen. And as I wouldn't be following my little plan, and then something weird would happen, they would say something. And I would be like, well, but now how do I do the next step. And I would be whacked out about it. Because i  It would all kind of fall apart because I didn't know what to do next. Or I knew what to do next. But it was like off process. And it didn't know what to do with all these unexpected things. And that's the thing about adding humans into our process. They do unexpected things. And that's to be expected. That's the problem. 

So what I have realized over the years is that for me, selling is a shared process. I don't have to say to someone, it's not explicitly shared, right? It's a implicit it's sort of underneath the surface. I don't say to them, okay. You know, I'm gonna say this. Now you say that. Although there are times where I'm like, right, here are the three things we're going to do. Here's how we're going to go through this call. And at the end, we're going to make a decision. Like, I've definitely done that I do that a fair amount with people even still, I'll say to them, Hey, in this call, today, we're going to talk about what you're struggling with and why we're here we're going to talk about how I might be able to help and then we'll decide if this fits for you. 

Like I give people sort of the broad outline of how it's going to go. But then underneath that process. So that's actually the first step and what I think is creating a shared process, because I need to be upfront with the person I'm talking to about what exactly I'm sharing, right what the process is. Because anytime you get on a sales call with somebody, you don't know what to expect. You don't know what they're going to say how they're going to do it, and what it's going to feel like so saying to somebody like this is how I usually do these brings them a little bit of comfort and safety, to be like, Okay, I know what's coming. The other part though, the thing that I really think is key to making a shared process is, it's like a basketball game. 

So in a shared sales process, in a process, where I am just as concerned about going through the steps I need to go to help through to help them as I am about what they are doing in them getting what they need, in that shared sales process. It's almost like playing catch. Think of it this way. So my job is to throw them a ball, ask a question. And then they respond. Based on their response, you know how they caught the ball. I'll throw the ball a little differently next time, right? If you're playing catch with a little kid, you know this, if you throw a ball at them, and their hands are over their head, and you're like throwing it at their toes, they're never gonna figure it out. 

So the next time you throw the ball, you change sort of where you throw it to you throw it a little higher, a little lower, so it can be catchable for them. This is the same kind of thing. So my job as a salesperson is to know you know how I'm going to throw the ball. I'm going to throw a beach ball and I'm going to throw it gently see what comes back and then And based on what comes back, I'm going to throw the ball again, maybe I'll throw it a little harder, maybe I'll throw it a little softer. Maybe it's a slightly different kind of ball. It's something a little more direct or a little less direct, depending on the response. And they'll respond back again. But here's the thing that I don't do. I don't just keep throwing balls at them. 

This is where I think sales processes go wrong. Because we become so concerned about our steps. We forget they have to throw the ball back. So in in like official sales language in like, if you're reading like MBA books about sales, or you're reading, like really salesy books, about like, the technical parts of selling, these are micro commitments. This is me saying, hey, you know, what do you think, like, why do you do this this way, and then I'm explaining to me back, why they're doing it that way, tells me they're willing to share. So then I might ask them a question about some challenges. And if they tell me their challenges, it tells me again, they're willing to share even a little bit more personally. And then I asked them, maybe what they've done so far to help themselves. And if they tell me that and they tell me what's worked, and not, they're cheering even more deeply, right? I just knocked my hand in my teacup. 

Sorry, I shouldn't have had it in front of me. And, you know, but at a certain point, I have to throw them a really direct ball that often for me is okay. Here's what I think you have going on. It's x, y, and z problem. What do you think? Do you agree? Tell me your thoughts. I say that all the time, I say to people, tell me your thoughts. And they'll say whatever it is, they think this another than throwing me back the ball, but I cannot hop straight from there, to expecting them to, you know, throw a ball at me like a major league pitcher. So in the course of a conversation, I am always paying attention to whether or not they are committing to answering the next question. And then I will say to people, okay, so here's how I think I would be able to help you, because I told them at the beginning, I'm going to ask them a bunch of questions and then get a bunch of information, then I'm gonna tell them how I think I could help. I will say to them, okay, if we were to work together, or here are the things that you know, are apparent to me that are struggles for you, I will put it in my terms, I'll help. I'll clarify it for them. 

And then I'll say to them, so what do you think of this, and I'll let them hold the ball. Because now it is in their court. I can't just like in a typical sales process, you know, the one I was taught is like, get some information about what they're doing and what they want. Get some information about their struggles, get some information about their vision, show them how that you understand their vision better than they do, and then tell them how you can help and close the sale. Like those are the steps. What they forget to tell you is that at every one of those steps, your job is to pause. It makes sure they throw the ball back. And if they don't, then you're not going to follow the next step. You're going to find out what happened to the ball. Right?

 If I say to somebody, okay, so here's what I heard you tell me, here's what I think is going on. Here's what I think the problem is, here's how I can help you. If I say to them, you know, okay, so tell me what you think. And they say, Well, that doesn't seem right to me. Or they say, right, but that's not really what I think the problem is. Or if they say, Well, I guess right? If they if they're not like, oh, right, yes. Agreed. If there's some stickiness, I don't then move on to like and in what do you think about working together? Actually, most of the time, I don't move on to that anyways, most of the time, I'll say to them, you know, they'll tell me what they think about what I shared. It's like, okay, here are the things I think you're struggling with. Here's how I think I could help. What do you think? And they'll tell me, and then I'll say, okay, cool. What questions do you have for me at this point?

I'm going to throw them back the ball very clearly and let them say to me, Okay, talk to me about working with you. Okay, talk to me about what it costs to work with you. Talk to me about whatever. Let's talk about how coaching works together. What would this look like what people will say, but I very clearly want to share the process with them. Because I don't like shepherding people through like it's not we're not shepherding, I don't mind shepherding like, gentle, right? But I don't want to force them through a process. That is where it breaks down. That's where, when we haven't noticed, if they haven't thrown the ball back, things break, right? That's when you get towards the end of a sales call, and you're like, oh, what went wrong here, or someone gets off the call with you, and they never appear again. Because somewhere along the way, the process wasn't being shared. And we didn't notice. Right? That's where things sort of fall apart. So for you, here's the questions.

 First, what is your process right now? And how are you making it? Like, how are you giving people the overview? Second, when you do give them the overview, and as you're talking with them? What is the passing of the ball back and forth look like for you? What does it does it feel like passing a ball back and forth? Or does it feel like you're petting them with beach balls? Because if you're pelting somebody with beach balls, obviously they don't want that no one wants that. And it's really hard to say yes, when you just are being pelted. Right. And we don't mean to be pelting people, it's just kind of how it comes out sometimes, because we're more worried about the process than about sharing it and making it a collaboration with the person across from us. 

So if it is a shared process, then what? How could the process become more shared? And then, you know, what is the closing of the process look like? For me? After they say like, well, tell, tell me what it looks like to work with you. I'll tell them some things. And then I'll say to them again, what are your thoughts? And they'll either say to me, you know, I need to think about this a little bit, or I need to, or they say yes, or they say no, somebody answers something because at the very start of the call, I said to them, we're going to make some sort of decision here. Right? It doesn't have to be a yes or no, it might be a decision to talk again in a week. That's fine. I don't need to I don't need people on my timeline. That's the other place this goes a little tricky, is when we have the expectation that people are going to work on our timeline instead of theirs. 

We set ourselves up for frustration, because I don't control their timeline. I only control mine. But I'm, I'm I'm connected to their timeline, right. So if they say to me, Okay, I'm ready to start, we take the next steps. If they say, I don't think this is right, for me, that's fine, too. And if they say, You know what, I need to think about it a little bit. What I do always do, and I teach this to all my clients is I make sure to have a way to close the loop. I say to them, okay, cool, and happy, you know, take all the time you need, but also, I do want you to be able to come to a decision you really feel good about, I want us to be able to sort of close this conversation in an effective way for you and me, whether it's a yes or no, doesn't matter. I don't care about that. If it's a yes, then great. 

We'll figure out what's next. If it's a no, then I can give you some direction about what you might try next, what are some other options for you? But let's pick a time where we can have that conversation, you know, what works for you? How long do you want to think? So it gives them a process to move forward, it gives them a timeline to work with. And it is still shared, because I say to them, you know, like, and if it needs to change, we'll change it. But let's both give input in there committing into the conversation. So often, you know, and sometimes people still say no, they have on that call, and they say you know what, this isn't right for me right now. That's totally fine. I get to give them some direction.

 But you know what, so often, those people may not work with me, but they'll make referrals later. Or they'll be an advocate, or they'll just have felt really heard in a way that they needed. And if that's a service, I can give them them freaking great. So for me for you today is really about, like how do you make your shared process work better, because here's the thing, if the process is shared, if you are working together during the sales call, if it is collaborative, the natural outcome of that is more yeses is less ghosting, because people are going to feel included in the process. They're going to feel like they are a part of it also, which is a good thing for everybody. And they don't want to disappear off the earth on someone who they feel like included them. Right. I always feel more connected to someone that that makes me a part of the process rather than tries to apply their process to me. 

Like if you're pelting me with the ball and the questions as I go and you're just trying to move me through. I don't feel any good. and you need to come back and tell you I'm not coming to the next call. I mean, I do, because I'm weird like that. But it's not the same kind of tie where as you know, if I feel like we had a really good shared experience, I am much more likely to say like, Hey, here's my question, or, Hey, here's where I'm getting stuck, or, Hey, this isn't gonna work for me, right? So it just builds a stronger connection. Out of that stronger connection comes more effective sales every single time. This is a process I've used for a long time. And as a process, I've taught bunches of clients at this point, it is transformative, because it becomes a conversation instead of applying my process to a human that doesn't want to process a blog to them. 

So if you have questions, reach out, if you want more stuff like this come in to my Facebook group. It's called uncomplicated business for teachers helpers and givers just like this podcast. And if this was really useful to you, please, please, please feel free to share it with people or come to iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast and rate and review and subscribe. When you do those things. It is very helpful for the podcast and getting it into the hands of more people. And really, for me, that is the point of this. It's not even so much a sales tool as a is a tool to be useful in the universe. This is all about being good in the universe for me. And so when you share it with others, we all get to do more good in the universe. From here, if you need me to send an email, come to my website, it's Torpey coaching.com. I'm Sara Torpey coaching and I will see you all in the next episode.