For many years now I’ve had a ‘Three Step Sales Model’ that I’ve always admired stored deep in my notes. It was given to me by a friend and mentor at one of my first jobs I had. What’s great about it, is that it has a focus on forward momentum and action — the key to successful sales. And although it is painfully simple, it’s message is valuable and timeless.

So what is it?

Empathy. Ability. Time.

E.A.T

Empathy

Ability

Time

Let’s break it down.

Empathy — When you’re talking to your prospect, listen to their qualms, their bug bears, and identify their use case. Is there a pain point that you feel your product or service could address?

Ability — Can they actually commit? Is it within their power to make a decision and does the cost fit their budget? This is the less emotional side of the conversation.

Time — When can the decision be made and when will there be action? Do they have a timeline that affects when they purchase your service or product?

Each of the above represents a step in the conversation. Generally, this is also the order of the conversation. Next, you should grade your prospect on the three criteria above out of 10. Here’s a little template I jotted down in my journal that could help record these various conversations.

E.A.T Notebook

If they have a score of 26 or more, it gives you a good indication to spend more time committing to closing the deal.

This model is a high-level approach to sales. It’s far too easy to get stuck in the detail of a sales process and its various stages. In my opinion, the best models are the ones that allow the individual to adapt them to their own unique selling style. EAT allows you to do exactly that.

You can learn more about creating a solid sales process in SalesSeek with our complete How-to Guide to Servicing your Sales Process.

There are currently no comments.