Welcome to the Intro to SMART Selling module of The SMART Sales System. This is a full sales methodology that is very focused on providing clarity for what to do and say when prospecting, performing cold outreach, and meeting with prospects and potential customers. This series of videos aligns with the book titled The SMART Sales System – SELL SMARTER, NOT HARDER.

Here are the individual modules that make up the sales training program:

Module 1: Introduction to SMART
Module 2: Value Proposition
Module 3: Pain Points
Module 4: Questions
Module 5: Sales Process
Module 6: Cold Calling
Module 7: Cold Emailing
Module 8: Voicemail
Module 9: Cold Outreach
Module 10: Objections
Module 11: Gatekeepers
Module 12: Qualifying
Module 13: Appointments
Module 14: Presentations
Module 15: Closing
Module 16: Social Selling
Module 17: Mindset

 

What is SMART?

SMART is actually an acronym and stands for Sales Messaging and Response Tactics. We believe the best sales tool for a salesperson is the words they say. That is why our approach starts with and is all around helping salespeople to create the most powerful and attention-grabbing sales message.

 

What is a Sales Message?

But it is important to explain what we mean by sales message, because we use this term a lot. When we say sales message, we are not referring to your sales script. What we are referring to is the set of key things you say and ask for your product or service.

A good analogy to explain this is that you probably can picture how politicians have a message they use while campaigning. These are the core beliefs they hold and what they will do if they are elected. They will repeat these points again and again throughout the campaign. Everything they say will be derived from this message. What they say in debates, speeches, and interviews will all tie back to their message. And the stronger the message, the more effective they will be at motivating people to follow them.

 

The Message is the Foundation

The SMART Sales System brings that same concept and structure to salespeople by helping them to create the most optimum sales message for the product or service they sell. And the message is actually the foundation that everything is built on.

Once you have the sales message in place, it is very easy to know what to say and ask because all of the talking points and questions can be used for our cold call scripts, meeting outline, email messages, voicemail scripts, objection responses, presentations, and more. Just like how a politician just repeats all of the policies in their message, a salesperson can just repeat all of the points and questions in their sales message when they are selling.

And once you have tools in place to organize and simplify what you are communicating, we can go to the next level and incorporate a methodology of tips and tactics for what is best to do in all of the situations you find yourself in.

This three-level model is actually how The SMART Sales System is structured, as we first start by helping you to create the most optimum sales message for your product or service. We then show you how to use your message to create a whole library of sales scripts, emails, and sales tools. And from there, we provide training for each of the different areas of selling you will find yourself in.

 

Product-Focused Sales Message

Whether they realize it or not, most salespeople are already using a sales message and using this model. But what they are doing is using what we refer to as a product-focused sales message.

This is where the message is composed primarily of product and company details. This means that when they reach out and are communicating with prospects, they primarily talk about their product and company. And whether that is talking on the phone or in emails, it looks something like this:

This is who I am.
This is the company I am with.
This is the product I sell.
Do you need what I sell?
Can we schedule a meeting to discuss what I sell?

Which you might look at and think is a logical approach, because if you have a product to sell, you should go out and talk about your product. But there are many reasons this is not an optimum way to communicate when performing cold outreach:

  • All about me
  • Focuses on the salesperson’s interests
  • Prospects get sold to a lot
  • Sounds like a salesperson
  • Prospects are likely not in buying mode
  • More objections and rejection
  • Missed opportunities
  • Fewer leads generated and fewer closed deals

When you add all of that up, you end up with an approach that is not only less likely to succeed, but one where selling will actually feel more difficult. This is the type of approach where the salesperson feels like they are bothering prospects and constantly chasing with their calls and emails.

 

Prospect-Focused Sales Message

What we recommend is flipping around the sales message and instead of being about the product, make it about the prospect.

  • More about the prospect
  • Focuses on the prospect’s interests
  • Create more rapport
  • Sounds less like a salesperson (more like a business person, consultant, advisor)
  • Fewer objections and less rejection
  • Focus more on the next step in the sales process (sell the conversation)
  • Establish more conversations
  • Generate more leads and closed deals

With this approach, not only are you better positioned for success, but selling will actually feel easier and more fun.

As we move forward with teaching you The SMART Sales System, everything we discuss will be based on this prospect-focused approach. We will first show you how to create a prospect-focused sales message for your product or service. And from there, we will discuss tips and tactics for all of the different situations you will find yourself in. And all of those will be built on and utilize this prospect-focused approach.