3 Ways to Make a Successful Sale
'Sell me this glass of water'
Even those not in a sales role have probably heard this line at least once.
It looks very simple, but when you actually try to answer, the words don't come out easily.
Even if you search for the model answer out of curiosity, everyone just gives their own plausible answer,
and it's hard to be confident that any one of them is the real right answer.
Like this, every sale is a process of finding a 'fluid right answer' that depends on the company, client, product, competitors, stakeholders,
and many other variables and situations.
So then, 'with wrong answers but no right answer,' what principle must we keep for sales like this?
To find out, let's first look at cases of failed sales,
and see how to move toward successful selling without failing.
How to fail at sales 1. Giving a pre-prepared answer instead of answering what was asked
What is a 'pre-prepared answer' — one that's not a reply to what was asked?
Let's look right away with the example below!
<Sales example: 'B2B SaaS → fashion commerce'>
Sales: (Explaining cases where the company's SaaS solution is being used successfully by fashion-commerce companies)
Client: Everything you've explained so far is great, but this time we're planning to expand into a new business in fresh food. How could your solution help with that?
Sales: Yes, I think it can definitely help, but before that, let me first show you use cases from other commerce companies…
Sales: (With slick slides, smoothly explaining successful cases in the 'education and media industries' for 10 minutes)
Client: (Still with the question unresolved) Ah… yes, that was informative.
Did you immediately find the reason the client was dissatisfied with the salesperson's answer?
Yes, it's because the answer wasn't one that could precisely scratch exactly what the client was curious about — a satisfying answer — but rather,
'an answer prepared in advance that could be delivered nicely.'
Since the sales floor is a place where you have to move toward the conclusion of collaboration through accurate, efficient conversation,
it's important to grasp the intent behind the client's question well and give an answer that fits it.
Let me introduce one article worth referencing on this :)
Ringle CEO Lee Seung-hoon, <Interview know-how: answering what was asked>
How to fail at sales 2. Not summarizing the key points along the way
What happens if you don't summarize the key points at intervals during the meeting?
Let's look at the example below.
<Sales example: '5 minutes before the meeting ends'>
Client: So what should we do now? I'm not sure which solution we should buy.
Sales: (Confidently) If you're currently targeting women in their 20s as your target customer group through promotional model 'Kim Min-cheol' on the marketing side, adopting our solution 'G' would be effective!
Client: What? We cast model Kim Min-cheol to target men in their 40s…?
Client: To sum up, we're targeting Kim Min-cheol → men in their 40s / Park Yong-chan → women in their 30s / Kim Su-jeong → women in their 20s, respectively. We're also using promotional models Kim Min-ju, Jo Seong-min, and Jeong Seung-hun.
Sales: Ah, I'd been misunderstanding all this time. Let me reorganize and explain again…
Oh no! The salesperson spent the precious meeting time while misunderstanding the client's situation.
So, did the client explain it wrong, or did the salesperson understand it wrong?
The answer is exactly: 'it doesn't matter who was at fault.'
Most sales meetings involve several people at once exchanging complex conversation.
Even in a 1:1 meeting, you end up talking about countless products and strategies.
To do clear traffic control without misunderstanding amid a hectic conversation,
summarizing the key points each time the conversation on one agenda ends is essential!
How to fail at sales 3. Setting each side's tasks/timeline vaguely after the meeting
Near the end of the meeting, what happens if you don't clearly set each side's future tasks/timeline?
Let's look right away through an example.
<Sales example: just before the meeting ends ~ 2 weeks later>
Client: Today's conversation was enjoyable; let's flesh out how to proceed going forward through written correspondence!
Sales: (With a bright smile) Sure, sounds good — discuss internally and get back to us 🙂
(…a week later…)
Sales: (Via email) By the way, when might we be able to get the internal product-related data and available budget?
Client: Ah yes, we currently have quite a few other agenda items. Is it okay if we send it a week later?
Sales: Ah… sure…
(…2 weeks later…)
Sales: If only I'd received the data a bit earlier, I could do something… When do I send the quote, and when do we sign?
Oh dear… the meeting itself wasn't bad, but the pipeline after the meeting is being delayed!
To prevent this situation, what should the salesperson have done?
If the meeting gave a rough grasp of the customer's needs and the relevant product,
it's important to later organize both sides' tasks and due dates into a clear timeline.
For instance,
1/15 (Mon): Client → Sales: confirm desired product
1/17 (Tue): Sales → Client: request relevant internal data
1/19 (Fri): Client → Sales: send internal data
1/22 (Mon): Sales → Client: send quote, discuss contract
— something like this.
On behalf of a client who has to handle countless agenda items besides the contract with your company,
for the salesperson to proactively present the tasks/purpose/timing is almost essential!
In the end, the great principle of sales?: Treasure your limited time!
What is the biggest characteristic of sales that commonly emerges from the 3 cases above?
It's exactly that the key resource of 'communication time with the client' is extremely limited.
So what I wanted to show you through the cases of failed sales is that,
for sales to succeed (not fail), making the most of the limited communication time with the client is
the most important great principle of all :)
I hope you all practice the ways not to fail at sales well,
and become people who create maximum value within limited resources.
Thank you for reading this long piece!
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