The Sales Process | Pre-Approach & Approach

This is a continuation of the Sales Process discussion where each stage of the selling process is discussed, dissected and analyzed in order for my students to better appreciate Sales and its many functions.

If you haven't read the first part of this series, please click here: The Sales Process | Prospecting

The second and third phase is called the Pre-approach and Approach. In this lecture, we discussed the importance of a high impact "approach" and how to use it as an opening for your sales pitch.

This is the slide submitted by the second group who presented the other day.

Main Key Points: PRE-APPROACH Stage After determining your prospects, now you are ready to do your pre-approach which involves strategic problem solving skills. What is crucial at this level is the ability of the salesperson to craft a solution for their client's issues or problems.  It all begins with the Sales Call. This stage is very important because if the message is not delivered properly, the chances of proceeding to the next stages of the lifecycle is slim. So your sales call objective must be clear before doing the actual call. What is important for this stage is the ability of the salesperson to move the conversation towards the objectives. Once that is done, then all you need now is an effective sales presentation for them to take on.  in a nutshell, this is a graphical representation of the pre-approach/approach stage before it reaches the point at which you need to develop your sales presentations.  APPROACH Stage
A buyer's reactions to the salesperson in the early minutes of the presentation are critical to a successful sale. Therefore, the first impression you make is critical to success. This involves the right appearance and attitude.  During this stage, you are now able to capture the attention of your customer therefore what you need now is an engaging conversation to extract all the information you need before developing your solution to your client's needs.  The approach categories would involve either of the following:

• Opening with a statement
• Opening with a demonstration
• Opening with a question or questions

At the end of this stage, you will now be able to come up with a list of things you need in order for you to develop your sales pitch. 

What is very important in this stage is your ability to make an impact. First impression last so don't waste it!