Before I explain about the book: 'Funnel Vision' by Steve Knapp, I want to set the scene.
You know how it goes...
You're on LinkedIn, you get a connection request, and then comes the sales patter.
A generic message, sent to everyone.
This happened on 24th March, and within a month, Steve Knapp and I have built up a great mutual business connection.
How?
Well, read on, dear friend, and all will be revealed...
Steve starts off the book with an insight into Sales Professionals, and why they're considered to have a bad reputation.
Think about 'Only Fools and Horses', where Del is only in it for the 'win-lose' situation. He wins, the buyer loses.
Steve challenges this concept, focusing instead on the outcome being 'win-win' for both.
Then, he guides us effortlessly through how 'sales' fits alongside the marketing strategy, 10 reasons you're not selling, how to build a robust sales strategy, planning for a sales call, networking and implementing the strategy.
These all build the picture up nicely to his ‘pièce de résistance‘: SPANCOP.
My biggest takeaways from Funnel Vision by Steve Knapp:
One of the best Steve Knapp quotes for me was:
"Marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin - and each must reflect the other, like having two hands on the steering wheel, working together to reach their destination!"
Here are some more points I took away:
- 51% of organisations have no formal sales strategy!
- "The sales department isn't the whole company, but the whole company better be the sales department!" Philip Kotler
- Consider very specific customer profiles, in order to target them effectively. Then understand where they look for the information you have to showcase.
- Set meaningful sales targets.
- Create a funnel using the SPANCOP method (Suspect, Prospect, Approach and Analyse, Negotiate, Close, Order and Payment)
- Ask about repeat business.
- Keep in touch with customers post-sale.
- Best day to cold call... Thursdays!
- Have a WOPPA time before the sales call (Why, Objective, Premise, Plan and Anticipate)
- Keep details on each potential customer (in a GDPR friendly solution) with all the details such as best time to contact, how they reacted to the costs, how to move them to the next level of SPANCOP.
In conclusion, if you're in business, you can't afford not to read this book. It's not going to take more than an evening to digest it, but you'll want to refer back to it frequently to keep on track.
Also, don't be tempted to miss any of the steps out that Steve suggests. As he says, there's no magic bullet, you have to change your mindset to put sales at the core of your business, and adhere to the teachings of the book.
But boy, it's worth it!
ORDER TODAY FROM AMAZON Available in paperback and Kindle.