A Trip Through the Sandler Submarine
When Sandler Sales Institute founder David Sandler was developing his selling system, he chose the imagery of a submarine to communicate his vision. He was inspired by watching movies about World War II: when submarines were attacked, to avoid disaster the crew moved through each compartment, closing the hatch of the previous compartment behind them. The Sandler Selling System requires the same procedure to avoid “disaster”, to move completely through each compartment, or step of the selling system, to arrive “safely” at a successful sale.
Establishing the Relationship is the first phase of the selling system, and the first compartments of the Sandler submarine provide the steps in that phase. In the Bonding & Rapport compartment of the submarine, you, the salesperson, not only develop a positive relationship with you prospect, but do so in a way that assures that you lead the sales process and can effectively communicate with the prospect. When rapport is established, the next compartment to pass through is Up-Front Contracts. This compartment give you confidence that both you and the prospect will understand each step in the process, what will happen during each interaction, and a clear future as you and the prospect move through the sale.
The Qualifying phase of the Sandler Selling System involves the core compartments of Pain, Budget and Decision. Each of the activities has in it an information-gathering component that should result in the prospect describing his/her key criteria for making this buying decision. In the Pain step you uncover 1) the surface problems that the prospect faces; 2) the underlying reasons for these problems; and 3) the personal impacts the prospect experiences as a result of the those problems. A trip through the pain compartment of the submarine concludes with examining the prospect’s commitment to take action.
Moving through the Budget step can now be transformed from the traditional experience of begging for a hint at the price range of the prospect seeing why he/she must give some realistic money guidelines to help the salesperson craft a solution. You shouldn’t exit the budget compartment until you cover other resource commitments, like time, personnel, delivery dates, etc..
When you have closed the hatch on the budget compartment, it’s time to move onto the Decision step. While inside the decision compartment, you will review and complete the who, where and when information for the buying decision, and take the time to understand the how and what issues (the criteria) that the prospect needs in order to make a buying decision. Complete the Qualifying phase by summing up the reasons for doing business, the guidelines for money and resources, and the process the prospect will use to make the decision. Now you are in control, with no hidden agendas, and are in a position to ask, simply, “If all these conditions can be met, is there anything that would prevent our working together on the day the solution is presented?” That means signing contracts, putting down deposits, whatever action “working together” really means.
David Sandler said, “The best presentation you will ever give is the one your prospect will never see.” So what’s next?
Simple: Fulfillment. Begin the trip through the fulfillment compartment by reviewing everyone’s expectations. Check to see if anything has changed that alters the pre-agreement. Ask the prospect to prioritize his or her issues from most important to the least important. Start with the highest need and present your solution. Cover each pain until the prospect, and any other decision makers, are all 100% satisfied. Stop when you are about 2/3 through the list and ask the decision makers to let you know where they stand using a 1 – 10 scale. Your goal is to get your prospect to 10. Then you have the sale! As the prospects, “So, what would you like me to do now?” and expect the answer, “Let’s sign those contracts and get started.”
After closing the hatch on the fulfillment compartment, conclude with Post-Sell. If the prospect’s needs have been compromised or adjusted to fit your solution, stop and verify that these won’t cause “buyer’s remorse,” a cancelled or altered order tomorrow. By directly confronting these issues you leave with a solid order. And don’t forget that now is the best time to ask for referrals and establish an ongoing relationship.
The details and nuances of Sandler techniques provide you with a smooth trip through all compartments of the submarine, giving you the ability to close the hatch on each compartment with the information you need to move forward to the next. All trips through the submarine may not end in a sale, but the trip will never, ever end in a “think it over.”
