Sales takes an innate talent—some people just excel without having to put forth too much effort. But the same level sales success is attainable for the less gifted, it just requires more discipline. Most people become frustrated with sales because they haven’t yet established that sales is a scientific process with laws and principles.

The first steep is to identify your product’s features and benefits and pinpoint your target demographic. You cannot begin to sell a product until you have done this.

1. Prospect. Most sales people prospect in more than one way—referrals, cold calling, yellow page ads, and online leads.
2. Interview. Meet your prospects. Figure out their personality type, so you can effectively sell to them.
3. Analyze Needs. Discover what they need from you and determine how you will provide that more efficiently than your competition.
4. Present. You prospect’s personality and needs will determine how you present your products to them.
5. Negotiate. Work with them on price. Have many product packages available so that you can offer your services at several price points.
6. Close. Sales should be buyer-centric. Building trust is the best way to close a prospect.
7. Service and follow up. We discuss this quite a bit. Customer service is often the one thing that can really differentiate you from your competition.