The document discusses skills and strengths that successful salespeople utilize. It identifies four key skills that salespeople use to translate products and services into customer needs: building connections, knowing stuff, using logic, and closing deals. The document suggests that everyone has a natural strength in one of these areas that they tend to over-rely on. Understanding your own "sales brain" or natural strengths allows you to be more intentional about using all four skills for more sales. It provides examples of how to apply each skill and recommends identifying your strength and using it to translate products into customer needs while also developing the other skills.

1. BUILD CONNECTIONS: Ask questions that “investigate” or
“explore” the customer’s issue
KNOWS STUFF
USE LOGIC: Stick to speaking to the problem the
product/service is solving
CLOSE DEALS: Hands on demos with customers (if
possible), examples/comparisons the customer can
relate to
BUILD CONNECTIONS: Ask questions, gear them towards
the outcome
KNOW STUFF: Pay attention to why people are returning &
what they’re interested in–speak to those points
USE LOGIC: Share experiences that other customers have
had with similar solutions
CLOSES DEALS
BUILD CONNECTIONS: Ask a question to invite the customer
into the conversation
KNOW STUFF: Say what needs to be said, pause, ask
the customer a question about it
USES LOGIC
CLOSE DEALS: Use the recommendation to link
your logic to their problem
Won’t make
small talk
Thinks fast
Positions
the sell
Too fast
Selfish
agenda
Indiscriminate
sales
Goes for
the “yes”
Top salesperson
STRENGTH
HURTS
HELPS
Customers
trust
People-
focused
Does
what’s
right
Feels bad
selling
“Chats”
off
point
Misses
the close
Actively
listens
Is sincere
Gains
credibility
Is the
GO-TO
on the
team
Knows the
answers
Connects to
information
not people
Speaks too
technically
Passion
for info
Solves
problems
Is the
expert
Straightforward
and neutral
How to:
Makes logical
recommendations
End to end,
complete
story
Checklist
mentality
Focuses on
script
Robotic
interactions
Organized
delivery
Is
comprehensive
Speaks
with
structure
Outcome
driven
Overcome
objections
processoutcome
What’s your SALES BRAIN?
KNOWS
STUFF
THE
FOCUSER
THE
CLOSER
THE
NARRATOR
Successful salespeople do one thing really well: they translate their products and services into the needs of customers.
They do this with a simple set of concrete skills: they build connections, know stuff, use logic, and close deals.
Everybody has a natural strength that automatically plays into one of these skills. Typically, we over-rely on this
natural strength and neglect the others. Understanding how your sales brain works is the secret to more sales.
THE
SOCIALIZER
people
CONTACT:
maria@fassforward.com
RESEARCH ADAPTED FROM:
Sales Behavior links to Sales
Success, Cranfield University
School of Management
FIND US: fassforward.com
INFOGRAPHIC PRODUCED BY: fcg Studio
DESIGNERS:
@tarapaluck
@powerfulpoint
@rayvella
© 2014 fassforward Consulting Group
BUILDS CONNECTIONS
KNOW STUFF: Talk to colleagues, ask questions, talk
about products
USE LOGIC: Have two key questions prepared
CLOSE DEALS: Get two key questions answered,
recommend the solution
Use your strength to TRANSLATE
Identify your STRENGTH
product
CLOSES
DEALS
BUILDS
CONNECTIONS
USES
LOGIC
Establishes
rapport
MOVE PEOPLE WITH EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS
fassforward is a Business Transformation Group that works with Sales Leaders to transform how their
people sell. We provide tools that break down complex components in conversations into simple and
efficient competencies which can be improved and aligned to more intentional outcomes. Sales people
will realize they need to have a goal in their conversation. Using this tool, they will work towards that goal
by being aware of the situation and use their natural strengths to navigate the situation successfully.