Discover how the upfront contract fits into the sales process and why it is essential for successful interactions with prospects and clients. Mastering this step can help you ensure that both you and your clients are on the same page and moving forward effectively.
Step two in the Sandler Selling System is about establishing roles and ground rules to create a comfortable environment. It is the time to sit down and discuss what it is that the salesperson and prospect are working towards and what it is that needs to be covered. The three vitals parts to an upfront contract are time, agenda and outcomes. Following these three components will ensure that both the salesperson and prospect are on the same page and are making great use of each other's time.
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Video Transcript
The upfront contract in the selling system is the time when you sit down with your prospect or client and figure out what we want to cover and what we’ll be working towards. So, the three parts of an upfront contract are time, agenda, and outcomes.
So time. How much time are we going to spend together? When are we meeting or having that conversation? Agenda.
What's important to your prospect or client to cover and figure out? What's important for you to figure out? What questions do you want answered? And finally, outcomes.
What decisions need to be made by the end of this to determine [whether or not] we take a next step? What do those next steps look like?
A lot of times, we've been sold to, and we've had those people who just show up and dump. They just tell us everything great they can do, all the stuff that they can do to help us, but it's not relevant. It's not the things that we want to get answered or the things that are most important.
By doing this, we get on the same page with them right away, and we can make sure we're covering what's important so they feel like this is a great use of their time and that we've really helped them in the way they need. Being on the same page makes it much easier and much more comfortable for your prospect or client.
Salespeople tend to skip the upfront contract step because they get very excited about talking to the prospect or client. You'll know this step is being skipped if these things happen: You don't know when you're going to have the conversation next with the prospect or client, or there's a misunderstanding about the outcomes or the next steps.
You're thinking, hey. We're going to go down this path. They're thinking, no, I thought we were going down this path. And you'll end up with wires being crossed, unsure if you’re helping them.
Selling is really just a series of small agreements, and you can agree to take the next step together or agree not to. But the upfront contract gives you the gateway to do that.
