The first level of our CLOSE model is consistency. The biggest cause of a lack of sales I see with clients time and time again is a lack of consistency. There needs to be consistency in your sales process from the way you onboard clients right through to the way you deliver your product or service. 

I use a sales process that I have developed over the years in both my business and during my time in corporate sales. I call it the RAPID sales model and it’s used to create consistency in your sales cycle: 

● Relationships 

● Ask 

● Present 

● Identify 

● Decision 

 

The first step in creating consistency in your sales is building relationships with people in your sales cycle. Not all customers are going to be ready to buy as soon as they find your business, so it’s important to nurture those early relationships so you are the brand that comes to mind when they are ready. 

Think about getting married. You don’t meet someone and ask them to marry you on the first date. You build up a relationship by going on dates, taking trips, meeting the family, and eventually, when you’re ready, you propose. 

You need to build that same level of trust with your potential customers so they feel comfortable making a purchase with you when they’re ready. 

Ask 

Are you asking the right questions to delve into the fears and frustrations of your customers? Do you understand the problems they are trying to solve? By asking the right questions, you’ll know how to serve them with the right solution. 

By asking the right questions, you can help take your customers from a place of pain to a place of pleasure and happiness - a key part of driving consistent sales. 

 

How are you presenting the solution? Your product or service might the best in the world but if you’re not presenting it as the right solution to your audience’s problem, they won’t buy. 

This also comes back to knowing your ideal customer and how they want to digest information. Whether it’s a PowerPoint presentation in a consultation, an article on your website, or an actual presentation at an exhibition - understand how to present your solution in a way that gets your audience interested. 

 

When presenting your offer to your customer, give them three different options to choose from - silver, gold, and platinum. This is a low-cost offer, your actual service, and a high-end option. 

Customers like to have a choice in the services or products they buy, and most will choose the middle option anyway. So, identify three different variations of your service and package them into different options for your customers to choose from. You’ll be surprised how this quick tweak can boost sales. 

 

Finally, you need to nudge potential customers to make that final purchase decision. James Muir wrote a brilliant book called The Perfect Close in which he talks about getting your customers to the next step. All you need to do is ask if your customer is ready to move on to the next step, if it’s a yes, you’ve made a sale. If not, then you ask when a good next step for them would be. 

By asking them directly, you know exactly where they are in the buying cycle and you help them make a decision to progress forward, whether that’s to make a purchase or simply to become more familiar with your brand. 

Either way, eventually, you help them say yes to that final decision of making a purchase. 

 

 

The second level of the CLOSE acronym is literature. What literature have you got to back up your sales? This could be case studies, company information, testimonials, product demos, etc. 

Compile as much literature as possible to prove to your prospects that your product or service is the best choice. 

The more evidence you can provide, the easier it is to take away the hesitation potential customers have about investing in your product or service. 

When putting together literature or content, make it varied- from a detailed specification to website content and sales tools, your business should have all the information customers need to get over the hurdles that prevent them from making a buying decision. 

The key reason many buyers are hesitant to buy from a vendor is a lack of information. During the research stage of the buyer cycle, they’ll want to consume as much information as possible to feel comfortable they’ve made the right decision choosing your business. 

If you’re lacking sales, think about the literature you have available for clients - is it enough to push them towards a purchase, or are they still left with questions unanswered? 

 

 

The next level of the CLOSE model is output. By this, I mean measuring metrics from your sales team to understand your current sales. How many appointments with prospects do you have each month? How many follow-up appointments? What targets are being met? 

If you’re not measuring your sales targets and monitoring results, your sales team will begin to fall short of your monthly targets. 

It’s crucial to set sales standards and ensure they are continuously met through measuring output at least once a month. When your sales reps know they are expected to hit targets and will be attending monthly sales meetings, your standards will get met and your sales will improve. 

If you’ve given your sales team the right training and tools to reach their targets but the expected output still isn’t being met, it’s time to involve your HR department and decide if team members are the right fit. 

Are your sales stagnating because you don’t have the right salespeople on your team? This is something you’ll need to review and decide as the leader. 

 

 

The fourth letter of the CLOSE model is S which stands for salespeople. As you expand your business and sales become more consistent, you’ll need to bring in the right salespeople who bring in more business and close more deals. 

As the owner and leader of the business, you shouldn’t be the one closing deals. You should have a team of highly qualified salespeople to outsource to so your business can expand. 

They say that salespeople are like cats - difficult to train. But if you make a cat hungry and put food down, it will come running. It’s the same for your salespeople. Give them good incentives to learn your sales strategy and hit targets and they will perform consistently well. 

Every sales team is different, but find out what makes your tick, what they’re hungry for, and use that as an incentive to drive better communication, better teamwork, and better output. 

When hiring new sales team members, make it clear you’re looking for the best customer results, not their own results. Your team should be focused on what is best for your customers, not reaching arbitrary targets at all costs. Too many salespeople sell any solution to any customer for the sake of better sales numbers. Your incentives should help your sales team find the right solutions for the right customers every time. 

Potential customers will immediately be put off by pushy salespeople and can tell from a mile away if they’re being sold the wrong solution. We’re not looking for slick salespeople that sell snake oil, we’re looking for people who believe in your products and are focused on helping your customers. This is the kind of team that will improve your sales numbers long term. 

 

 

The final stage of the sales sector is hiring a sales director to oversee your sales process. This person needs to be an energiser - they’ll energise your team and motivate them to reach their sales goals. They’ll get them excited about each of your services and products and keep them positive about selling, even when they are used to hearing no from prospects. 

I’ve seen it in my own business - salespeople need a positive sales director to turn to when they feel stuck in their role. They become the coach that help team members believe they can hit their targets and improve in their roles. 

With a team of passionate salespeople and the right energiser at the top, you’ll get amazing results. 

Summing Up the Bright Seven Sector Model 

If you’ve gone through each sector of the Bright Model, you might be feeling slightly overwhelmed with the amount of information we’ve covered. Over the last seven guides, I’ve walked through the crucial sectors of your business and each one has valuable steps you need to take to make improvements to every facet of your business. 

To put the knowledge into practice, start at the beginning and implement small, strategic changes to help your business grow. You won’t transform your business overnight, but you can follow the steps to see drastic changes over the coming months. 

If you want to implement change faster and see growth that much quicker, I’m here to help. I’ve worked with countless clients to implement the strategies I’ve talked about here, tailored to their business needs. 

I’ll work with you to assess your current business position and help you implement the most significant changes to help your business grow and become sustainable long-term. Get in touch today to find out if my coaching services are the right fit for your business.