Do you struggle with sales conversations? Do you fear coming across as pushy, aggressive, or smarmy? Do you wish sales could just. be. easier?
In Episode 016 of the Epic Business Growth for CPAs podcast, I chat with Nikki Rausch, Your Sales Maven, about the framework she uses – the Selling Staircase – that makes sales conversations easy and effective.
The Selling Staircase framework provides a structure that allows you to figure out where you are inside a sales conversation, which helps you know exactly what to say next.
Skipping a step on the staircase can cause you to risk your clients banging their shins or not wanting to move forward with you.
The Selling Staircase
Instead of a “sales funnel,” Nikki likes to imagine the Selling Staircase to help her own clients decide who is and who isn’t a good client for them. Being able to identify who your best clients are (and who they aren’t) can help you relieve stress, build trust in the clients you do work with and ultimately help you become more successful. So, let’s dive in.
Here are the five steps of the Selling Staircase:
- Introduction: At this step, you are hyper-vigilant about how you interact with potential customers. Watching body language, paying attention to voice quality and ultimately working to make a good impression.
- Creating Curiosity: This step is where your buying signals come up. Pay close attention to the potential client’s interest level and questions.
- Discovery: Take the time you need – do your due diligence – to find out the potential client’s problem, need and biggest struggle.
- Proposal: Only now are you ready to propose ways you are able to help the potential client overcome their struggle or meet their need.
- Close: Now you can issue your close language, discuss any potential objections and receive funds for services or product.
After these five steps, you have a new client.
Applying this structure to your business can help you recognize where you are with each of your potential clients and what you need to work on in order to create more, and better, clients.
I Missed Some Steps Too
After Nikki shared these steps with me for the first time, I realized I was missing two of the five steps – curiosity and closing – which Nikki says are the 2 most commonly missed steps.
Become a Sales Superstar
Sales don’t have to be pushy or slimy – in fact, it should be neither. Nikki believes that when sales are done well and authentically, everyone feels good about it! For the second half of Episode 016, Nikki and I dive into how you can change your mindset about sales in order to sell more and feel better doing it.
Nikki also offers a free but incredibly valuable PDF called Closing the Sale.
Be sure to check out both the podcast episode and PDF – they are free and will help you make more, better sales.
If you’re feeling frustrated with working 50+ hours per week, trading your time for money and still not making as much as you want, be sure to schedule a totally free 15-minute consultation with me. I’d love to help show you how to work less and make more.
