As I stated in yesterdays post, sales is simple. It comprises of 3 things.

-Access
-Influence
-Delivery

Get all three of these right and you’ll be quite successful.

Access is the first one and in my opinion is the most complex and most difficult. It’s like the velvet rope at a club. Some people walk right up and are allowed in, while others have to work really hard to get in. Some people get in just by hanging around long enough and others never get past the doorman.

Getting access to your buyer, your customer is critical. The chase starts and finishes with access. No access, no sale. Access is the ability to get the attention and engagement from your buyer. Access is permission; permission to meet, permission to “interrupt” in the form of a T.V. or radio commercial, and not change the channel. Access is permission to request information, to share information and to make suggestions. Access is permission to engage.

Great sales people and marketers understand the importance of engagement and permission. Great sales people gain access through trust. They listen. They understand. Gaining access is making an effective cold call. It is offering a free service. It’s providing a free trial. It’s getting a referral from a satisfied customer. It’s an on the mark marketing campaign. It’s providing a prospect information no one else has. It’s about giving without asking. It’s about knowledge. It’s understanding it’s about your customer and not YOU!

Gaining access is a subtle and delicate art. Being good at gaining access sets everything else in motion, the better at it you are the more success you will have.

Which side of the velvet rope do you spend most of your time?