Ethical Sales Process and Techniques for Genuine Sales People

Unlike what you see a lot of sales gurus teach today, sales doesn’t have to be a stressful and high-pressure process. In this article, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned over my last 18 years of selling. It is a stress-free, frictionless, and seamless sales process that you and your salespeople will love because it will help you close more business without any of the added pressure.

From about the age of 15, I’ve sold everything from insurance to alarm systems, credit counseling services, and even software. I’ve also sold all kinds of consulting services and marketing services. What I learned was, the same sales psychology applies no matter what you’re selling.

This sales process doesn’t have to have the used car sales tactics behind it. You don’t have to put pressure on your sales team to be aggressive or to push products or services down people’s throats. Let’s dive into this process that makes things very easy, very simple, and very human, to help you close more deals.

Below is a short breakdown of an ethical sales process, using “The Happy Sales System.”

The Ethical Sales Techniques Using “The Happy Sales System”

You want to approach it in the same way that you would if you were trying to recommend something to a friend. If you knew your friend had a problem, you would ask them a few questions to try to discover what that problem is and why they’re experiencing that problem. Then, you would offer a solution to that problem. The way you would convince them that this is the right thing for them, is to take a certain approach to explaining how to solve their problem and how this particular solution affects that problem. Without wasting any more time, let’s dive right into the process.

Step 1 – Make a Friend

At the beginning of every sales call, the first thing that you want to do is establish a human connection. Number one is always, always, always building rapport. It doesn’t matter if you’re not an extrovert. It doesn’t matter if you lack charisma. No matter who you are, you can find a way to build rapport. It could be something as simple as asking somebody about the weather in the particular location that they’re calling from. It could be something as simple as relating to them about a certain business or industry or time of day or any aspect of being a human. The first thing you want to do is build rapport.

You want to eliminate the transactional nature of the call and build and establish that human connection. This is not something that you necessarily need to have canned responses ready for. This isn’t something that you need to be prepared for. This is just something that you do daily when you’re in an elevator when you’re at a coffee shop, the little small talk that you make, that’s what you want to do at the beginning of every call.

You don’t want to just jump right into the sales process because you’ll be met with cold responses. You want to create a warm environment for the call and you want to establish a personal touch. The rapport-building process can be short, right? It could be a minute long. It could be 10 minutes long. It’s whatever feels natural. Just make sure you establish some type of rapport. Once you do, you want to move on to the stage of the process where you alleviate their anxieties about what comes next.

Step 2 – Alleviate Fear of Uncertainty

Most people don’t like uncertainty. Most people want to know where a call is headed, what direction they’re going in, especially when they’re interacting with somebody new. So the first thing that you want to do after you build rapport is tell them how the call will go. When I’m selling marketing services, I immediately establish that, hey, what I’m going to do now is I’m going to ask you a few questions to learn a little more about you.

Then once I do that, I’ll share with you what I think about what you’re going through and the problems that you’re facing. Once I establish what those problems are and potential solutions for those problems, I’ll tell you a little bit more about us. After that, I’ll share with you the process that you can expect after this call. And so I alleviate the uncertainty of what this call will look like.

I make sure I let them know no curveballs are coming their way. This is exactly what happens next. What this does is this puts your client or your prospect at ease. Once you’ve alleviated their anxieties and put them at ease, then you want to go through the hot button and pain point discovery.

Step 3 – Pain Point/Hot Button Discovery/Needs Analysis

If you’re new to sales, the hot button is the solution that they’re seeking and the specific features or benefits of your service that they’re looking for. The pain point is a specific problem that they’re having in their business or in their life that they’re looking to solve. You want to go through that discovery process. In our line of work, when we’re pitching marketing services, we ask them what triggers this call?

Why are we having this conversation? Are there problems that you’re facing in your business right now that you’re looking to solve? Are there marketing channels that have worked for you in the past? Are there marketing channels that haven’t worked for you in the past? Tell me what’s worked, what’s been successful, what’s failed? Tell me more about your business. I go through the process of learning a little more about them, and this is a very genuine process. This isn’t something where you’re looking for something that you can manipulate them later with.

This is you genuinely trying to assess if they’re a good fit for you, if you actually have value that you could provide to them. That’s what a good sales process is about, establishing value and determining if you can provide value. If you can’t provide value to the prospect, then they are not a good prospect for you. This is where you find that out.

This is not only a hot button and pain point discovery, this is a needs analysis. In the same way where you’re helping your friend, you’ll try to discover if the solution that you have to their problem is actually a good solution before you recommend it. This is what you want to do at this stage of the process. What this also does is it allows the prospect to feel heard.

Most salespeople immediately start their pitch talking about themselves, talking about how amazing they are. What this does instead is put the light on them and says, hey, the focus here is you. I’m here to solve your problems, not to tell you what we offer. I want to know what you need to see if what I have can help you with the problems that you’re facing. At this stage of the process, you’ve already made them feel heard and established a much deeper human connection than any other salesperson would have up to this point.

You’ve established rapport, made that human connection, and alleviated their anxieties about the next step. You made them feel certain about what comes next. They know there’s no curveball coming, so fear is eliminated.

Step 4 – Build Value

Now that you’ve made them feel heard about their problem, you want to build value. The value-building comes by focusing on their problem instead of all your services and why you’re amazing. Focus on how you solve their particular problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling software or a service. In our case, we establish value by showing what we know and how what we know can impact and solve their problem.

At this stage, I focus on the marketing services I provide and share some marketing tactics specific to how they can scale, and share strategies that they can implement within different marketing channels to help them scale their business.

If you’re in the service industry, this is like a “try me” button. If you’ve seen kids’ toys with a button that shows how the toy works, it’s the same concept in the service industry when you share your knowledge. Your knowledge shows the prospect what you’re capable of. If you’re selling a product, focus on the features and benefits that are directly related to their hot buttons and the pain points discovered in the needs analysis.

This allows you to demonstrate what you know while keeping the focus on the prospect. You’ve spent most of the call focusing on their needs, so you have room to focus on yourself now. Show them how you can solve their problem, and then stop for questions. Make sure they’re not confused and provide clarity on any questions they may have.

Step 5 – Build Trust

Once you’ve answered their questions, it’s time to establish trust. Now, you get to talk about yourself. Instead of doing it at the beginning of the call, do this at the end. After building value and hearing their problems, now you explain why your information is backed by data. Share how long you’ve been in business, the number of customers you’ve served, and the types of customers you serve. This is your time to flex your expertise a little.

Give them an elevator pitch of what you do and why you’re amazing at it. Highlight what makes you different. After that, stop for questions and then outline the road ahead. Don’t get off the call without them knowing what happens next. Explain the process, such as sending a proposal and following up, and paint a picture of what it looks like to work with you or use your product.

Step 6 – Paint the Picture of the Road Ahead

Explain the next steps clearly. Whether it’s sending a proposal or outlining the process of working with you, make sure the prospect understands what to expect. This transparency alleviates anxiety and provides a clear path forward, reinforcing their trust in you.

Summary of the Ethical Sales Process

To sum up, the ethical sales process involves:

Ethical selling is about creating a seamless and positive experience for the prospect, ensuring that their needs are met in a genuine and transparent manner. By following these steps, you can build a strong foundation of trust and value, leading to successful and long-lasting client relationships.

1. Building Rapport:

Initiate with friendly, non-sales-oriented conversation.
Find common ground and show genuine interest in the prospect’s life and business.
Use this time to gather initial insights and set a positive tone for the call.

2. Alleviating Anxiety:

Clearly outline the call’s agenda to set expectations.
Explain the steps of the call, including questions, discussion, and next steps.
Ensure the prospect knows there will be no surprises or high-pressure tactics.

3. Needs Analysis:

Conduct a thorough discovery process by asking open-ended questions.
Identify the prospect’s pain points, challenges, and goals.
Listen actively and empathetically to understand their unique situation.
Validate their concerns and summarize what you’ve learned to show understanding.

4. Building Value:

Present your solution in the context of their specific problems.
Highlight relevant features and benefits that directly address their needs.
Use examples, case studies, or success stories to illustrate your points.
Provide a “try me” experience by sharing actionable insights or small demonstrations of your capability.

5. Establishing Trust:

Share your credentials, experience, and relevant success stories.
Provide evidence of your effectiveness through testimonials, awards, or data.
Emphasize what makes your approach unique and tailored to their needs.
Reinforce your commitment to their success and satisfaction.

6. Outlining the Road Ahead:

Clearly explain the next steps and what the prospect can expect.
Detail timelines, deliverables, and any support they will receive.
Provide a clear picture of the onboarding process and ongoing engagement.
Ensure they understand how you will continue to add value and support them.

By following this ethical sales process, you ensure that each interaction is genuine, transparent, and focused on providing real value. This approach not only helps in closing deals but also in building long-term, trusting relationships with your clients.

Ethical selling is about providing genuine value and helping prospects make decisions that benefit them. By following a methodical approach that caters to the human subconscious, you can create a simple and easy path for prospects to recognize the value of doing business with you. For more insights, read “The Happy Sales System” and learn how to close more deals with a stress-free sales process designed for genuine human beings.

Bonus Tips

Enthusiasm: Maintain high energy and a positive attitude throughout the sales call. Enthusiasm is contagious and can significantly impact the outcome.
Minimize Pressure: Never let the prospect feel pressured to speak. Guide the conversation with questions and transitions to keep it flowing smoothly.

Bonus Tip: Enthusiasm

Always have enthusiasm during the sales call. High energy and a positive attitude can significantly impact the outcome, especially in phone sales. Smile and use everything at your disposal to express high energy and infect your prospect with a positive attitude.

Bonus Tip: Pressure to Speak

Never let the prospect feel pressured to speak. End every statement with a question or a transition to progress the sale. Always move the conversation forward and never let the pressure be on them.

A bit of Psychology, and a lot of Empathy

some argue that sales is all about psychology, manipulation, high pressure, and getting customers to pull out their credit cards immediately. Neither of these extreme views is accurate.

Sales is about taking a systematic approach to establishing and demonstrating value to the prospect. Yes, psychology plays a role, and yes, there must be a process. You need to cater to the human subconscious, which is often resistant to change. People are naturally averse to change and reluctant to part with their resources, even if it’s ultimately beneficial for them.

Therefore, you have to be creative and ensure that you present your value simply and compellingly. This isn’t about manipulation; it’s about helping people overcome their subconscious barriers and make decisions that will improve their lives. You practice this in everyday life, but it is especially crucial in business.

If you genuinely believe you can provide value, you need to follow a specific sales process that addresses the human subconscious and helps people make positive changes.

For more detailed guidance, read “The Happy Sales System” to learn how to close more deals with a stress-free sales process designed for genuine human beings.