Sales: The Three Kinds of Sale

Fundamentally, when selling something to a customer, all sales fall in to one of the following three categories:

Also known as “quote and hope”. Somehow you find out that someone somewhere needs something that sounds like something you can offer. You don’t know if the customer’s needs are really met, nor do you know if other companies are bidding against you. In other words, this is a potential sale with a poorly qualified Prospect and is therefore a long-shot. See "The Sales Process".

If you don’t work with formal quotes, perhaps you are thinking this doesn’t apply to you. I would argue that the vast majority of web-surfers fall in to this category. Although they may find you, unless you have an exceptional website, odds are good that they are not a properly qualified potential sale. Again, take a look at "The Sales Process".

In a Design Bid, the customer knows you and you know the customer. In other words, there has been direct contact between you. The customer’s needs have been defined. You have probably presented the capabilities of your product. There may well be competitors bidding against you, but you know who they are.

This is where most salespeople should be spending their time. To establish a proper Design Bid, you need "The Five Keys" and a really good Sales Process.

The best kind of sale: a repeat customer. You already have a relationship with the customer, they understand your product and come back for more. As a sales person, you do not need to educate this customer about your company or your product. You also have already established some kind of rapport with the customer. All of these factors significantly shorten the time needed to make a sale. Less time means less effort and a lower cost of sales. Or if you prefer, it’s easy money compared to any other kind of sale you might try and make. That’s why any good salesperson treats existing customers as a valuable commodity.

See "The Cost of Sales".