Hi guys, I'm Surabhi Dhir, Senior Client Partner at Publicis Sapient, and today I'm here to answer some questions based on my own experience that have been asked around the web on sales. So the very first one, someone asked on Quora, what are the various steps in sales cycle? So any typical sales cycle in any organization comprises of six steps.
What are some of the sleaziest or unconvincing sales terms that should be removed from the vocabulary of every sales person? Trust me, because I think those are the sleaziest terms because whenever somebody says trust me, my ears go ringing. So that's one. Secondly, I think sales itself should not be called sales. It should be called a people business or a people advisory business or a relationship management business. Because yes, we are in the business of sales. It's like a verb, but it's got more to do with managing trusted relationships. You always buy what you trust. So customers are willing to pay that extra once that trust is established.
Somebody else asked on Quora, what are the best practices for the qualification call in the sales process?
So those are the three best practices. Let's keep going, guys. Some really interesting questions.
Somebody asked on Google this time, what is the best online tool that helps increase sales? Tools don't make sales happen. Tools help us get structured and organized. There are a lot of tools that will help you manage your pipeline, manage the requirements, manage the dollars and cents that we are planning to get through for the firm. But I wouldn't say that a tool really helps increase sales. It's people and trusted advisors who make sales happen.
Some users are asking from Revit, what does it mean to qualify a lead in sales terms and how can one qualify leads better? I think the qualification criteria generally tends to be more broad. It's about the number of countries that you're present in. Have you done this kind of work for the last 10 years? Have you done it specifically in that client segment or sector? Those seem to be the broader rules around qualification. And how can one qualify leads better? I think differentiation in your solution would help you get through the qualification and compete to be among the top two, top three better.
Somebody from Google is asking, what's the difference between marketing and sales? A whole lot of difference between marketing and sales. Marketing is talking about what we do, packaging of what we do. Sales is actually going and demonstrating how we would do it for you. So one is about showcasing and the other one is actually talking about how we will solve it for you. So there's a lot of difference between the two.
My advice to anybody willing to go into sales would be, listen more, talk less, observe more, be patient because sales is not like project management or it's not like delivery where you get to see the benefits in a month, in a week. Sometimes it takes six months to crack a deal. Sometimes it can take six hours. Sometimes it can take 16 months. So you have to be patient. And the number one skill to be successful in sales is that it's a people business and people like to do business only with people they like. If you're not building relationships, if you do not have trust established, you can have the best product, but it's not going off the shelf.