We've all heard this phrase in business—"Everyone is in sales." It's through selling that we help others buy in on our project and help each other reach our goals. That's because, regardless of what you're looking to achieve, you're going to have to sell someone on at least some portion of it at some point. You might as well learn how to sell effectively.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share insights into a sales methodology known as Track Selling. Using these seven steps, you'll achieve agreement throughout so both the seller and the buyer are comfortable and always get their needs met. Once you learn the steps, you'll know exactly what to do in any situation whether you're selling yourself, a product, a service or an idea.

1. Approach: A prospect's first impression of you is critical. Is she comfortable with you? Do you seem to have her best interests at heart? People buy from you because they like you. Reinforce this feeling with friendliness and sincerity to open the sale and begin the relationship in a positive way.

2. Qualification: This is the information-gathering period. You will decide if the prospect is right for your product, service or idea by asking open-ended questions to uncover her needs or any potential problems or concerns she may have. By listening, you will show her that you respect her, are honest and are interested in the things that are important to her.

3. Agreement on need: Next, you will summarize the information you gathered in the previous steps to clarify the facts and demonstrate your understanding of her unique needs. Showing that you understand is critical because people will buy from you not because they understand what you're selling but because you understand them.

4. Sell the company: Whether you're representing a company or yourself, in order to build trust in your sales relationship, your prospect should be well aware of your history and your track record. Remind her of your past successes so she can feel safe and confident about buying from you.

5. Fill the need: Present evidence that shows the effectiveness of your product, service or idea by showing your prospect how it fills her needs. Understand that this person's most pressing question is: "What will it do for me?"

6. Act of commitment: Once you've eliminated all doubt, this is the time to ask for a commitment. Don't apply pressure—just remind her of the things you discussed such as: She likes and trusts you, she has certain problems that your idea/product/service solves, and you have a solid performance history so you are a trustworthy individual. Finally, the wording for your close is simple: "If I can deliver the idea/product/service we discussed in the time frame (state the delivery date) and at the price (restate the price) we agreed on, can you think of any reason why we shouldn't move forward with this?"

7. Cement the sale: In this final step you'll "cement" in your prospect's mind the logical reason for her purchase, such as how ideally it fits her needs. You never want a prospect or client to regret that she trusted you, so this is also the point at which you should commit to a time to follow up. Always keep her updated on your progress and delivery schedule. Ongoing communication is the key to keeping your new sale sold.

As long as you use the steps in order, you can be creative, using them in any situation, with any type of person. Most importantly, each step allows you to focus on creating a win-win situation for both you and your prospect, using persuasion, not pressure.

Source: Roy Chitwood is an author, trainer and consultant in sales and sales management, and is president of Max Sacks International, Seattle.