Sales 101 for Creatives: Education, Active Buying, and Closing

This is the first article in a series called “Sales for Creatives” aimed at helping industry professionals understand sales basics and use it to land the business they want.

Sales 101: Education, Active Buying and Closing

A good friend of mine likes to say, “Nothing happens until somebody sells something.” He’s a salesman for a living, so he’s somewhat biased, but the hard truth is that for every agency, freelancer or consultant, sales are necessary if we are going to create.

Sales: Changing the Status Quo

Sales isn’t just about numbers and money, it can also be about changing people’s perspective, pitching new concepts and influencing change. Sales is about moving people from one way of thinking (their current status quo) to another method that you believe will make their lives better.

Understanding this can help a creative designer/consultant/provider anticipate what a person needs to know, what benefits they need to justify to make a change and how to implement the new idea to adopt it. For example:

Agency: Company pitch for a new publications app
Consultant: Offering training for skills and workflow processes
Designer: Showing concept alternatives

Phase 1: Education
Identifying The Problem and Providing Information

We’ve all heard the famous saying “They don’t know, what they don’t know,” well the focus of Phase 1 is all about providing information and education so they do know. A responsible business person makes a decision by first doing a little research, it’s why Google became the juggernaut it is. They helped people search and find information easily.

A client has a pain. Whether is disjointed materials on various platforms, long internal design processes that wastes time, or a tired look that isn’t getting them the attention they want, the client needs something fixed. They may not know there is an alternative but they do understand that they are tired and the old way isn’t really working. Your job is to understand that and provide information to help them get answers. Once they know they have a problem they can move to Phase 2 to start finding the solution that fits for them.

Education vehicles: Articles, videos and demos. Website or Behance profile, posted articles and information on social media channels, conference and trade show exhibiting, blog articles, publications and white papers.

Phase 2: Active Buying
Giving Them What They Need to Make a Good Decision

In the second phase, the client now knows there is a better way, they have realized that they need to change something and they will now move to the “active buying phase.” They want lists of benefits and features to weigh, pricing lists to compare plans and budget, statistics and case studies to support and justify their decision. Remember adopting a new product, process or changing something like their brand comes at a cost of time and money.

You need to give them the supporting materials and information to help them feel confident that they are making an educated decision that works for them. It’s also important to note that in this phase it pays to know your competition. The better you know what’s out there and how you are different, the better you can position what you are offering or proposing against the others.

Active buying vehicles: Presentations/portfolios, demos and samples, online videos, information material downloads, process outlines, rate/pricing breakdowns and calculators, maintenance package options and added value offerings.

Phase 3: Closing
Making it easy to do business with you

The client has done their due diligence, they know what they want to buy and will now move into the decision making phase, for you this is the “closing phase.” Time to follow-through and provide them with an experience that is as painless as possible. You may have given them a proposal while they were actively looking for options, so now the goal is to have them sign a contract and commit.

You can do that by making sure they know your key differentiators and unique strengths so that they aren’t basing their decision solely on price. Ensure your proposal covers all the bases, your process and payments are clear and your contract is as simple to navigate as possible. A consistent brand and strong communication throughout the experience will reinforce professionalism.

Closing vehicles: Proposals and estimate packages (including RFP/RFQs), branded company stationery, invoices and PDFs, online ordering capabilities, surveys and feedback vehicles.

Follow-Up: Knock it out of the park

Once the contract is signed it’s your time to shine. Making sure clear communication on the project progress, deadlines and deliveries are communicated will ensure you retain clients through strong customer service. Once the project is complete, use the opportunity to follow-up and ask them for feedback on their experience. If anything went wrong this is your opportunity to buy back a little faith by being proactive, if all went well ask them for a recommendation so the next person who needs you will have that endorsement and the cycle starts all over again.