Let’s take a quick look at the five steps of Penetration Selling, starting with the fifth and last step and working backwards.

The seller wants to “Close” the sale. But, before he can convince the prospect about the product (or service), the salesperson usually needs to make a proper presentation of the product, a presentation through which the prospect comes to regard the product as being of at least as much value as the price. you want. you are asked to pay for it. But before the salesperson can adequately demonstrate how their product has enough value for this specific prospect, the salesperson had better learn what this particular prospect will find of particular value in their product.

In order for the salesperson to discover what the prospect is most likely to find valuable about the product, the salesperson must penetrate the private world of the prospect’s emotions and thoughts, relative to the salesperson’s product. In penetration sales, this discovery step is called “Qualification.” Until the salesperson has a clear understanding of the prospect’s feelings and thoughts regarding his product, it is somewhat risky for the prospect to make his case.

For example, it would be very helpful to know that the potential customer’s favorite color is blue and that he hates forest green, before you waste a lot of the prospect’s and your own time trying to interest the potential customer in a product that is available only at green Forest.

For example, if a purchase decision requires both the wife and the husband, it would be extremely helpful for the salesperson to discover that factor before developing their best wife-only presentation.

The number one barrier that must be crossed during the qualifying step of the sale is a lack of understanding of the key motivations a prospect has for possibly purchasing one of the seller’s products or services. And the key tool to penetrate this barrier is: Ask the right questions.

In Penetration Selling, when enough key questions are asked and answered before the presentation begins, the presentation tends to be highly relevant and the probability of closing that sale tends to increase markedly.

Peering into a prospect’s world, to uncover the prospect’s key motivation for potentially purchasing the salesperson’s product, is one of the most powerful steps a salesperson can take during the sales process, and, in fact, is the heart and soul of the salesperson. soul of the Penetration Selling system.

(c) 2007, Harry Frisch, STI Publishing. All rights reserved. Penetration Selling is a trademark owned by STI Publishing.