Einstein-inspired: How to massively ease complex sales processes

“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.” Albert Einstein

Some weeks ago there was a decision to be made about my new leasing car.

The sales person at the local car dealer was a friendly and motivated person. Attentively he listened to what my needs and preferences were and started out hunting matching options.

That was great.

One and a half weeks later I was literally drowned in proposals and elaborate descriptions of what each of the options would have to offer.

That wasn’t so great.

For some reason ;), I wasn’t motivated to wade through 17 pages of info per option (there were 5 or more options!) so I had to call him twice and enquire whether he could quite just explain to me the pros and cons of each version.

He did quite a good job at that – but it left me wondering:

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Why hadn’t he used his already existing arguments to create a better sales process? Well, I couldn’t help but offer him some free sales consulting. 😉

My suggestion for him was to create a simple XLS or PPT chart:

• displaying the main options,
• their pros and cons,
• the differences concerning the conditions as well
• as a mark up which version he would recommend.

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Let’s place a bet:

Based on such a sales sheet he wouldn’t need two lengthy phone calls, right?

(think “valuable process time”)

Even though that might sound too simplistic, just think about how much complexity this method can remove from the sales process. It has been thoroughly proven that too much choice and as well as too much complexity propels you (or rather your customer or client) out of the otherwise well-functioning sales process – and you wouldn’t want to risk that, right?

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If in doubt, create your sales offer for any complex sale structured like this:

• Highlight three main options,
• Create options on three levels:  small / medium / big
• Give just as much info as needed by the buyer to him/her to make an easy decision that feels good.

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This tactic is especially helpful whenever you can’t avoid lengthy contracts in the background (such as is the case with a car leasing). Create a summary sheet highlighting the main contents and aspects of the treaty and you’ll find that your client will reach a much quicker decision.

For some balance let’s add some limits to that, ok?

Einstein also stated:

“Make things simple – but not more simple than that.”

Of course, the content of the summarised material must still be ‘true’ in the sense that you don’t manipulate the perception in a way that would cause the client to miss out on some relevant condition. Like any other sustainable sales technique, this is about building trust, not destroying it. 🙂

Over to you and your experience:

Which methods do you use to ease your sales process?

Which efficiency tweaks would you recommend?

Which techniques seem to work, yet cause a lot (too much?) of effort in the process?