Sales frameworks are a key stepping stone to building better relationships with customers. Maybe this person does have something of value to bring to your business. Ultimately, however, sales scripts will time and time again fall short of creating a personal and emotional connection. And there's no better way to establish an emotional connection than by implementing a sales framework to close deals. They are the scientific building blocks which give sales reps the freedom to leverage their strongest personal traits, build genuine relationships and master the art of closing deals. They allow sales reps to be authentic and build up a rapport with a prospect during the conversation, which is crucial. Word-for-word scripts don't leave any room for personalizing a solution to solve a prospect's problems. Here's an example of a framework a company could use to provide standardized, guided steps for pitching a prospect on a first call: Step 1: The problem (80 percent of first call) Identify the prospect's problem. Step 3: The Solution (5 percent of first call) Pitch the next step in solving the solution (i.e. the next, more in-depth call) As this example shows, a framework requires a sales rep to have a strong, working knowledge of the company's core principles, vision, products and team mentality, which are communicated to the prospect during the pitch. Sales frameworks do just that, while enabling salespeople to facilitate personal connection in a way that best fits with their personality.
Sales frameworks are a key stepping stone to building better relationships with customers.
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We’ve all been there: Your phone rings. You pick it up. Before you even utter “Hello?” you’re bombarded with a pitch. “It’s your lucky day, because … ” You’re hearing about a special discount. The person on the other end is talking fast and with confidence, but you can tell he has no interest whatsoever in what you actually need.
Perhaps you ask a question. Suddenly the call feels even more stilted, because the answer you’re given has nothing to do with what you actually asked. Maybe this person does have something of value to bring to your business. But, it’s painfully clear that you were just the next faceless name on a list of a thousand names. A drop in a bucket. You hang up the phone. Maybe the next person that calls is actually interested in what you need.
Using a sales script is a conventional way for a business to scale a branded sales approach. It may allow a business to execute a sale with those who don’t notice or don’t care that it’s using a script. Ultimately, however, sales scripts will time and time again fall short of creating a personal and emotional connection.
The value lost in doing so cannot be understated. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as highly satisfied ones. They buy more products and services, exhibit less price sensitivity and are more likely to recommend a business to others.
In other words, creating an emotional connection is the secret formula to not only making the initial sale, but also beginning a lasting relationship with a customer that will yield unexpected dividends. And there’s no better way to establish an emotional connection than by implementing a sales framework to close deals.
Frameworks: the science which enables the art
Frameworks have long been used in other facets of business to great effect. They’re commonly used by developers when building new programs or applications. They provide guidance while still enabling a level of creative freedom, often resulting in efficiently built and intuitively run digital platforms.
In the context of sales, frameworks are step-by-step guidelines for sales reps on how to structure a pitch. They are the scientific building blocks which give sales reps the freedom to leverage their strongest personal traits, build genuine relationships and master the art of closing deals. They allow sales reps to be authentic and build up a rapport with a prospect during the conversation, which is crucial.
In turn, organizations can overcome some of the major issues facing their sales teams today. Consider, for example, that in a survey of 1,289 salespeople by The Miller Heiman Group and CSO Insights only 53 percent of respondents made their quotas in 2017. Not to mention the challenge it is to hire quality salespeople in the first…
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