Nice to meet you. Wanna get married?

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Anyone accepting a first-date proposal of marriage is even crazier than the one making the proposal. And yet, countless sales professionals look for that kind of instant result everyday by asking for business on a first call.

Asking for business too soon is like starting a car and immediately throwing it into fourth gear. You're not going far. At least, you won't go smoothly. Jumping gears not only crosses the line the line from selling into peddling, but creates oppositional forces  making a successful sale more difficult.

Taking care to match the torque conversation with propulsion of alignment isn't just an important part of the Four Speed Selling process, it IS the process.

You don't start driving in fourth gear.

You don't start selling with conversion.

If sales people have a common failing, it's lack of know-where; sense of direction is lost in front of a prospect. That's when PRNDL selling takes over: Prospect Really Needs Directed Leverage. It's old school and kicks in just like an automatic transmission. Get an objection, overcome it; pump the closed-ended questioning. Close the deal. If that's how you prefer to sell, you won't like Four Speed Selling.

Traditional selling is confrontational. Four Speed Selling is conversational. Easy as that may sound, it's not automatic: Four Speed Selling requires driver involvement. By uncovering concerns that, once addressed, solidify a longer-term sense of connection, you cover more distance on a better road  because you're focused longer-term than any one deal on the table.

Generating oppositional forces

On the road to a sale, you're either headed in the same direction with your prospect, or you're not. In that sense, every business relationship is cooperative or oppositional. Are you working to a common end? Or, are you working more to your own benefit than that of the prospect? Beware these Opposition Generators:

1. Lack of connection: When is the last time you made a significant purchase from a stranger? People do business with people (and brands) they know and trust. Creating that connection is what first gear is all about.
2. Lack of uncovery: When you show up on a sale with a presentation that was created without prior uncovery, you're setting out on an uphill drive. The grade increases as opposition rises. Unless you're a gifted guesser, you can't adequately match a solution to a client need without first asking questions.
3. Lack of language: What choices of words are right with your prospect? Are they T-types who want facts and action? Or, are they P-types who want the zen-deep understanding of the universe in all you present. Third gear corrects language for the specific prospect. Speak their language or shut up.
4. Lack of horsepower: This is actually the first opposition generator, but often doesn't show up till the end. Most sellers so believe in the possibility of a deal, they fail to align at the very start. I love my SUV, but I won't line up at an NHRA starting line against a top-fuel dragster. We're a mismatch. There's no more insidious opposition than lack of resources. Prospects will lie to protect their pride because it's easier than admitting there's not enough money.

Each gear in Four Speed Selling addresses these basic sources of opposition. Running through them in order saves you time in the long run because each ensures you're on the road with someone who can go the distance.

There has to be an easier way

Some may scoff and say this is hard work. They're right. It's easier to sell the automatic old-school way. It's also harder. Because the old way is sprint-centric: Get a sale, get a sale, get a sale. It's a dirt road of immediate gratification demanding more and more effort to keep the wheels turning.

Four Speed Seling diminishes oppositional forces, focusing instead on creating a cooperative alignment of needs and solutions. Become a proficient Four Speed Seller and clients will practically lead you through the four conversations to conversion. There is an easier way. This is it.