An ILLUMINATION on Selling in the Digital World — How to Close a Deal Before Closing a Deal?
It’s true. In the Digital Age — We can.
We can close the client before the client meeting.
We can close the client before uttering a single word in the client call.
This is known as pre-selling.
I am a huge fan of pre-selling. I can see how important that is in the Digital World and before we get into the details, it is important to distinguish Sales in the Physical World vis-à-vis Sales in the Digital World.
Sales in the Physical World typically require a direct touch point through voice or face.
A meet-up, a call-up and working through that toughest initial 7 seconds in order to get a shot at presenting the product or service is typical in the Physical World. That is personally and professionally an uphill battle for me and most sales professionals. I have to say that closing rates via physical touch points aren’t usually spectacular.
Sales in the Digital World is remarkably different.
We get to push our information out way before the direct touch point happens. In fact, it allows our prospects to already be excited about our product or service at the beginning of the call, and they probably want to buy it before we even get talk about the features, benefits and limited time only offer.
That is the power of pre-selling.
The big mistake any sales professional can make is to have deadly assumptions driving their behaviours. One of those I can think of is the following: -
The Sales Close happens at the end of the presentation. Or conversation. Or Negotiation. Wrong.
While the word “closing” suggests an action at the end of an activity, it does not necessarily mean that it has to be at the end of the activity. This is in parallel with a stock market trading strategy known as a “short”. To “short” a stock is to sell first, then buy it back.
Typically, that refers to selling at a current day high price and then buying it back at a foreseeable lower price point in the future.
A definite real sales close happens way before the sale in the Digital World. This means before the deal is done before getting onto the phone or before the first prospect meeting. It happens the moment they receive our first email, digital brochure or newsletter.
When our content marketing and copy communicates the meaning for purchase, it will mentally prepare the prospect’s mind. They are more likely to buy or visit our website for more information.
In a way, clarity in advance brings purchase.
That is what I mean by pre-selling.
Then it begets the next question.
Is pre-selling worthy of our time?
The Business Case for Pre-selling.
We can create a service.
We can manufacture a product.
The ultimate frustration comes when no one buys it.
That is a fact of life.
With pre-selling, it doesn’t have to be a terrifying ordeal trying to sell something. What we need is a platform to showcase what we have, our expertise, opinions and then some.
First off.
We don’t have to be an expert or a successful entrepreneur to pre-sell our product and service. Pre-selling will accelerate the sales process.
Does that mean we close faster?
If so, how do we do it?
Through establishing trust.
The sales close already happens when our prospect receives their first email newsletter or social media posts as a result of following us. So, when they receive our emails, updates or newsletters, the trust is already built between our company and our prospect.
In fact, it is precisely because of trust that they open our emails and read our social media posts without thrashing it or scrolling past.
Thus, when they do need to make a buying decision now or into the future, or when they’re reflecting on a possible business / household need, they will think about us and our company.
We have to give our prospects a visual imagery how our products and service will impact their lives from today onwards.
In that sense, pre-selling kick start the sales process.
Trust, like Love, is build over time through consistent exposure.
When the prospects are ready to make a decision, they’re more than 50% sold. There’s no need to hard sell, cold call, perform endless presentation pitches or mind-numbing Proof-of-Concepts.
Effective implementation of pre-selling techniques lubricates the sales funnel to enable a friction-less Sell-to-Purchase customer experience.
Pre-selling in Action.
Let’s assume a young start-up with limited capital for deployment.
Or a Solopreneur with shallow pockets.
How would they get to the market and siphon attention from their competitors to their products and services?
It has to do with strategy.
Imagine that: -
- They have a brilliant website.
- They have hundreds of articles.
- They have hundreds of featured and well scripted case studies.
- They demonstrate before and after results through generating more revenue for their clients.
- They’re active on social media.
- They utilise a YouTube channel to educate and market their products, services, company values.
- They have a Linkedin profile comprising of multiple recommendations and Thought Leadership articles.
- They have well edited videos on Instagram and Tik-Tok showcasing happy customers.
The list goes on and most importantly, social justification and affirmation is the thing prospects will be looking for.
Pre-selling provides that and also gives space for people to think, mull over and discuss — with their partner or other family members.
All without our personal involvement in meetings or calls.
Value-in-Advance
Pre-selling is about Value-in-Advance.
When a prospect goes to our (or any) website to read an article that relates to their problem, they most likely be interested to contact us. By the time we pick the call, the prospect would’ve been closed.
In fact, the sales close happen even before the phone call. That is because, they have decided that we are the right persons for the job and thus they called. Assume that they are going through the “Request a Demonstration” page and they see more testimonials or success stories? The prospect would’ve gained more trust.
Bit by bit, page by page, content by content.
This is a deliberate sales funnel strategy.
That is pre-selling.
So, the more value we add up-front, the easier it is to close.
This is a logical departure from having the intent buy first before I tell you more.
This is about telling you more first so you can increase that intention to buy.
Pre-selling Overcomes Objections Ahead of Time.
Let’s say we are the prospect instead of the seller.
As a prospect, when we see the button that says, “book a call” / “schedule an appointment”, what whizzes past our mind?
Using myself as an example, I would postulate that any prospect would be thinking of the following: -
- I need to do more research.
- I need to think about it.
- How does this product or service increase my revenue?
- Are these strategies market tested and proven to work?
- Is this person a professional in this area of specialisation?
The prospect would rather spend time thinking in their heads as oppose to listening to us hard-selling or cold-calling. That is a fact.
Given the technology we have today, our customers are one click away from finding the same product for cheaper on Google. We cannot be competing on features, benefits, service, and price.
We have to work on trust and relationships. If trust is absent, objections follow suit.
We should not try to be better than our competitors.
We should endeavour to be different and create our own marketplace.
Thus, instead of overcoming objections one by one during a face-to-face meeting — Use pre-selling to our advantage.
Let that prospect meeting be friction-less and pleasant, one that allows their pen to meet with our paper.
Pre-selling changes the way we evaluate and utilise Sales techniques in the Digital World. It can be complemented with our experience in the Physical World.
In parting, it is important to note these points.
People don’t just buy something.
They buy into pleasure.
They buy out of pain.
And that is exactly why the Sales funnel has to be as friction-less as possible.
That is exactly why we have to have pre-selling as our sales strategy.
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About the Author:
As a Consultant by training, I believe in making the complex simple.
Because simplicity adds value.
Simplicity helps us gain clarity, and clarity helps us to grow.
And if we are not growing, then what’s the point of anything else?
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