Sales processes have evolved through the years, but none more so than with the advent of the Internet. It has turned the flow of information between sellers and buyers upside down. Gone are the days when sales people controlled the conversation and exchange of information. Almost every major online technology deployed in the last twenty years has helped to put buyers in charge of at least two-thirds of the buying journey. Access to websites, content, social media, search engines, and informational databases are now just keystrokes away. Today’s buyers self-educate, and therefore today’s sales teams need to have a new set of skills to navigate the last third of the buying process in order to close deals faster.

John Asher is someone who recognized that shift twenty years ago, and in doing so created the “Top Ten Selling Skills of Elite Salespeople.” He took the accumulated wisdom of the industry’s top sales training programs, along with over 300 best-selling books on sales, and identified the ten steps used by the top 4% of sales people who sell 94% of the new business in the U.S. He then presented them in the order in which they are used.

Spin forward to 2018, and John’s company – Asher Strategies – has delivered this proven process to over 2,500 companies and 80,000 sales people. He is also a Communica strategic partner, and together we help clients transform their end-to-end marketing and sales funnel. Because almost every client’s funnel begins with a buying journey that starts online (either to solve a pain point or seek a benefit) and ends with a closed-won deal by a sales person, connecting the two into a single, seamless process is the best way to maximize revenue. In addition, it gives our clients an advantage over any competitor that is still competing in the past.

“One of the things that makes us unique is that we can address a client’s marketing and sales goals in a single stroke, “said John Edwards at Communica. “We know that a tightly interconnected process can deliver maximum impact, and our close partnership with Asher Strategies gives both organizations the skills and expertise to make that happen. We can optimize the entire buying journey for our clients, from interest to inquiry to close.”

“When today’s buyer is handed off to a sales person, we know that branding, content, technology, and platforms is what gets them there,” stated John Asher, CEO at Asher Strategies. “And that’s what makes our partnership with Communica so great. Once a qualified lead is handed off to a sales person, the human element comes into play. This stage requires a keen understanding of how to engage buyers during the selling part of the process. For example, we know from neuroscience that buyers will decide based on emotion and justify using logic. However, too many companies take the exact opposite approach, inundating prospects with their facts and figures. What we’ve found is that when you connect the right way to market with the right way to sell, you close deals faster.”

On a related note, we would like to congratulate John on his best-selling new book, “Close Deals Faster” which sold out on Amazon on its first day and is already among the top 7% of all business books sold on Amazon. It has made the Hudson bookstore’s best seller list and is already a winner of the 2018 International Book Award in the Business Sales category. It was also just nominated to the American Book Fest’s list for their 2018 Best Book Award. Congratulations, John.
If you are looking to align your marketing and sales process with today’s buyers, contact your Communica account executive today to get started.