I want you to imagine a business networking group that you’re a part of. This can be fictional or true. And this group has provided a lot of quality referrals for you in the past. It’s just an excellent business networking group. Now, imagine that when you go to the meetings, there’s usually a routine and order of things. There’s a specific and repeatable way that things are done every time you go, in order to foster greater referrals.
What if one day, instead of starting the meeting normally, the leader of the group stands up and says, “We don’t really have any agenda for today. Just do whatever you want for the next hour.” I bet it’d be a little confusing, for starters. It might be interesting and fun for one time. But what if that happens every single meeting? The group would slowly fall apart, and while there might be some value just to meeting certain people and talking without any structure, the group as a whole would be far less productive. So this group you once had lots of referrals in, lots of good business, would turn into a waste of time.
The point is this: when we look at the way we do sales, sometimes we go about it without any sort of process, without any sort of specific and repeatable framework. We oftentimes “wing it,” and by doing so we completely and utterly miss out on a great opportunity to generate more business.
Previously, we talked about the three elements of being awesome at sales, which are mindset, process and product knowledge. Today we’re going to look at a sales process that works especially well for the small business community. It’s called the BASS selling process.
BASS is an acronym which stands for:
B – Build a relationship with your prospective client.
A – Ask great questions. Selling isn’t about you. It’s about delving into your prospect. Ask questions that’ll allow you to understand them on a deeper level.
S – Solve a need and provide a solution.
S – Secure the next step. What the “next step” is depends on many factors. How long is your sales cycle? What is your process? Are you offering a lower or higher priced item? Are you going to be asking for the business right then and there, or will there be an intermediate step, such as scheduling a second appointment with your prospect? Basically, what is the next part of your particular sales process?
Now, this is just an overview of the BASS model. Think about which step(s) you are good at, and which area(s) you need more practice in. In future posts, we’ll dig deeper into this. In the meantime, go ahead and think this through. Take action, have fun, and make it happen.
