How to Increase Sales?

How to Increase Sales?

Successful sales are, first and foremost, negotiations that follow a defined framework.

It’s important to remember that every client close — whether it’s a payment, a contract, or even just scheduling a meeting — should follow this structure:

1. Establishing contact.
2. Qualifying the client.
3. Uncovering the need pain.
4. Presenting the solution.
5. Closing.
   a. Handling objections.

If you disrupt the sequence, your chances of closing drop dramatically.

Each stage has its own IOR — Ideal Outcome Result, which you need to reach. To do that, at every step of the conversation with the client, you should do what moves you toward the IOR and avoid doing anything that doesn’t.

 

1) Establishing contact with the client

IOR of the first stage — make a connection.
How do you know when this stage is complete?

1. The client understands who you are.
2. You understand who they are.
3. The purpose of the conversation is clear.
4. Rapport has been established.

For example, if someone rushes into your office out of breath, don’t launch straight into your pitch. Give them a moment to collect themselves — offer some water. You can’t sell to someone who hasn’t settled in and isn’t ready to listen. Sales managers often find themselves halfway through a conversation before realizing the person they’re talking to isn’t the decision-maker. Everything discussed up to that point was wasted.

If the client doesn’t understand who they’re talking to or what level of expertise that person brings, the salesperson’s chances of establishing a position of authority drop significantly.

Stop introducing yourself with a script!

At the start of the meeting, tell them about yourself — your experience, why you love what you do, what results and numbers you’ve achieved, how many client meetings you’ve run, how many clients are now satisfied because of your work. Back it up with facts and figures to show you know your field and can genuinely help.

Show empathy and genuinely check in at the start of the conversation:

How was the drive over? Any traffic? Great — let me grab you some snacks and tea, or would you prefer coffee? I’ll also have someone bring over some paper and pens so you can jot down anything important.

Also, during your opening, don’t be afraid to state the purpose of the meeting upfront. We’re all adults here — we know why we’re here. The client knows they didn’t come to have tea with you; they came to make a decision — buy or not buy.

If you make it clear the meeting is a sales conversation, and that it’s one they’ll be glad they had, the dialogue will be constructive, straightforward, honest, and clear to both parties. And when you finally ask, “So, shall we sign the contract?” — it won’t be stressful for either of you, because everyone knew from the start that question was coming.

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For example:

Hello, my name is Alexander. Let me start with a quick introduction. I’ve been selling homes for 12 years and I still love this work and everything about construction — I trained as an architect. I joined this company for a reason: they genuinely respect both timelines and building standards. I’ll also say upfront — this is a sales meeting.

And I love those, because I understand what clients want and I know a huge range of solutions I can offer. Over the years I’ve sold more than 200 homes, 40 of which were premium projects worth over $300,000. The goal today: to make this a great experience for you and help you get a great deal on real estate. That’s the short version of me — now I’d love to hear about you.

After an opening like this, the conversation with the client will be completely different. Likely objections get closed upfront, and they won’t feel the urge to play games or push hard on price.

In response, the client will tell you about themselves, and you’ll learn facts that help you sell. If they don’t, ask directly: “Now tell me a little about yourself.” Whether it’s an in-person meeting or a video call — don’t be afraid to state the purpose of the conversation directly from the start. You’re selling, and the client is ready for that — they agreed to the conversation, after all.

As you move into each next stage, summarize the previous one by stating the outcome. This shows you were listening carefully and understood correctly. Use the notes you’ve taken along the way. Always keep the IOR of each stage in mind and work toward it. A checklist for each stage can be a helpful tool.

At the end of each stage, always state your takeaways: what you’ve learned about the client and their needs.

Sergei, we’ve gotten to know each other a bit, and I can see that you want a home with a great design, built with the right materials and delivered on time. We want more great clients and great projects to our name. Our goals align — I think we can find a deal here, don’t you?

Always make it clear the goal of the conversation is a sale. The client came for that very reason.

 

2) Qualifying the client: are they right for us?

The IOR of this stage is to determine whether it’s worth continuing with this client. The fact is, not every client deserves your time. Sometimes people just call or reach out to gather information, with no intention of buying for another 2–3 years. Or your product simply can’t solve their problem. Or they just don’t have the budget for what you offer.

So for non-target clients, politely decline a lengthy dialogue and be honest about why. To make it easier for your team to screen clients, create a client checklist with specific characteristics and criteria: who is our client, and who isn’t.

This lets you filter out the wrong leads at the very first call and focus your energy on those who can actually buy. Ask the client a few questions upfront to determine whether you can help and what you can offer:

Allow me to ask you a couple of quick questions first. I want to understand whether we’ll be able to help you. We typically only make an offer when we’re confident we can deliver what you need.

State the outcome of this stage: what you’ve understood about the client’s company and needs.

Don’t waste time on leads who won’t buy. Get the information you need and be straight with them about whether they’re a good fit. Briefly outline what can be done.

 

3) Uncovering the need pain

People always buy driven by pain. The real reason they’ve come to you is a negative situation from their past. Pain is the root from which the need grows. The need might be for an apartment, but the true pain is: “There are 15 of us crammed into a one-bedroom apartment.”

The need might be a gym membership, but the true pain is: “I’ve put on weight and I’m embarrassed to wear a swimsuit, and summer is right around the corner.”

Pain and need are fundamentally different things. The best salespeople uncover the client’s pain. Share stories from your experience of clients who came to you with similar needs and what the real underlying reasons were. The client may recognize themselves in those stories.

For example, a client might ask for a sales script, but what they really want is enough revenue to buy a new car — because their sales team keeps missing targets. Based on your understanding of the real problem, articulate how you can solve it. Once you’ve tapped into the client’s pain, you can craft a strong presentation and emphasize the benefits that will actually drive their decision.

The IOR of the pain discovery stage is: the client has told you the true reason they need your product — what they’ve lost, missed out on, or stand to lose.

Presenting the company or solution

Sell the client a solution to their problem. People don’t want your product or service — they want a complete solution to their problem. During your presentation, only talk about the qualities of your product that build the client’s confidence that you will actually solve their problem. Don’t say anything that doesn’t contribute to that.

Outline the key stages of your work — what you’ll do and how. Emphasize the product features that will spark excitement, paint a picture of the perfect world where their problem no longer exists.

The IOR of the presentation stage is to bring the client to an insight moment — where they’re nodding actively, listening intently, smiling, and saying: “Yes — this is exactly what I need!”

One more stage — handling objections

Objections can come up at any point in the negotiation — handle them on the spot and keep moving forward. The better you communicate the value of your offer, the fewer objections arise.

Handle them using the “listen, agree, offer a solution” framework. Agree thoughtfully by paraphrasing the client’s words and adding:

I understand you completely — and it’s great that you’re bringing this up. We actually love clients who pay this much attention to this particular point. They tend to be more satisfied with the product than anyone else. And then address their concern with logical arguments.

If you lead by complimenting the question, it removes the defensive edge: “What a great question!” Then build your answer around your strengths: “Since you asked about timelines, you’ll really appreciate just how meticulously we stick to them!”

Or: “I’m glad you asked about pricing! Those who pay attention to price usually appreciate the results they get from us the most.” This might feel like sidestepping, but they’re unlikely to repeat the question to avoid looking awkward.

The final stage — closing
State the timeline and price. Check whether the terms work for the client. If not — ask what specifically doesn’t work. Don’t forget to ask the closing questions.

For example, my personal favorite:
— So, what do you think of the offer overall — do you like it?

If they like it — move to signing the contract. If not — find out what’s wrong, adjust accordingly, and ask again: “And now, how does it feel?”

The IOR of closing is: the client says, “Yes, I’m in. This is exactly what I need.”

Summary

1. Develop empathy. Tune in to your conversation partner and show genuine interest.
2. Prepare your personal story in advance so people take you seriously. Listing your accomplishments creates an aura of expertise and removes any desire to manipulate you. It also helps the other person open up.
3. Verbally summarize the outcome of each stage of the meeting. To confirm a stage is complete, check whether its IOR has been reached.
4. Use real client stories about negative experiences to clearly identify their pain. Once you understand it, you can highlight the exact benefits that will drive this particular person’s decision.
5. Don’t just describe the results of your work — show how it will solve the client’s specific problem.
6. Always ask the closing question, even if you think the client isn’t ready. Better to be wrong and learn from it than to not sell at all. Chances are, you’ll get a quick yes.

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Thank you for reading. I recommend reading this article.