Bonding and Rapport

Objective:

• Establish trust and a strong connection with the prospect.

Steps:

• Genuine Interest: Show genuine interest in the prospect’s personal and professional life. Ask open-ended questions about their background, interests, and challenges.
• Active Listening: Listen more than you talk. Reflect back what you hear to demonstrate understanding and empathy.
• Matching and Mirroring: Subtly mimic the prospect’s body language and speech patterns to create a sense of familiarity and comfort.
• Small Talk: Start with light, non-business-related conversation to break the ice and ease into the relationship-building process.

Example:

• Ask about their recent successes or challenges, both personally and professionally. Use this information to find common ground and build rapport.

Upfront Contract

Objective:

• Set clear expectations and agreements for the sales conversation.

Steps:

• Define Agenda: Clearly outline what you intend to cover in the meeting. For example, “Today, I’d like to discuss your current challenges and see if we might be able to help.”
• Confirm Time Frame: Agree on the duration of the meeting. “Does a 30-minute conversation work for you?”
• Establish Mutual Goals: Make sure both parties are aligned on the goals of the meeting. “By the end of our conversation, we should both know if it makes sense to move forward.”
• Permission to Ask Questions: Ensure you have the prospect’s consent to ask probing questions. “Is it okay if I ask you some detailed questions about your current situation?”

Example: 

"I appreciate you taking some time and showing interest in what we do. The primary goal of this call is to learn a little about you and your course, what you’re trying to accomplish to see if we'd be a good fit for your program.

So, throughout the call, I'll be asking you some questions, and naturally I'm sure you'll have some for me as well. In some cases, we might determine that we might be a fit for your needs, and in some cases, we might not be, as each and every course has different needs...

Typically, by the end of the call, we should be able to next steps if any. How does that sound?"

Pain Point Identification

Objective:

• Uncover the prospect’s core problems and needs.

Steps:

• Ask Open-Ended Questions: Use questions that encourage detailed responses. “Can you tell me about the biggest challenges you’re facing with your current solution?”
• Explore Implications: Understand the broader impact of these challenges. “How is this affecting your students’ performance and overall satisfaction?”
• Use the Pain Funnel: Gradually narrow down from general to specific pain points using the “DECAF” acronym (Details, Elapsed Time, Costs/Business Impact, Actions, Feelings/Personal Impact).
• Emotional Connection: Help the prospect articulate their emotional response to these pain points. “How frustrating has this been for you and your team?”

The "Pain Funnel"

Budget

Objective:

• Understand the financial constraints and budgetary expectations of the prospect. It is vital that once pain points are properly discovered, that you get an understanding of their starting point on pricing expectations.

Steps:

• Direct Inquiry: Ask straightforward questions about their expectations "Is there a price you have in mind for what this should cost students?"
• Challenge: If their perceived price is low ($25-$50 per student) ask questions testing how they arrived at this number.
  • How did you arrive at this number?
  • Is this number a strict mandate from the top?

• Educate while building credibility: Take the time to explain we work with over 850 Institutions and discuss the average price of our solution top to bottom ($175 on average)

  Validate that students often are more than willing to purchase these materials because it allows them the freedom of doing their labs from home which off sets the costs typically incurred (Gas, Parking, childcare etc.)

• Explore Flexibility: Talk about how Science Interactive's Hybrid solution allows us to get creative in finding a pricing structure to suit the needs of all courses.

Decision-Making Process

Objective:

• Identify who is involved in the decision-making process and understand their criteria.

Steps:

• Identify Stakeholders: Ask about who else needs to be involved in the decision. “Who else on your team will be involved in choosing a lab kit provider?”
• Understand Decision Criteria: Learn what factors are most important in their decision. “What criteria will you use to evaluate different lab kit providers?”
• Timeline: Determine their timeline for making a decision. “When do you need to have a new provider in place?”
• Approval Process: Understand the steps required for final approval. “Can you walk me through the approval process for purchasing educational materials?”

Example:

• “Who besides yourself will be involved in the decision-making process for selecting a new lab kit provider? What factors will be most important in your evaluation?”

Fulfillment/Demo

Objective:

• Present your solution and demonstrate how it meets the prospect’s needs.

Steps:

• Tailored Presentation: Customize your demo to address the specific pain points and criteria identified earlier. “Based on our discussion, I’d like to show you how our lab kits can solve the issues you mentioned.”
• Interactive Demo: Engage the prospect during the demo by encouraging questions and feedback. “Let me show you how our kits work in practice. Feel free to ask any questions as we go.”
• Proof of Concept: Provide evidence, such as case studies or testimonials, that your solution works. “Here’s how another institution, similar to yours, benefited from our lab kits.”
• Provide Pricing: If a lab alignment has been done and a quote has been prepared, present pricing clearly in the pitch deck.
• Next Steps: Clearly outline the next steps if the prospect is interested. “If this looks like a good fit, the next step would be to finalize the details and set up a pilot program.”

Example:

• “I’d like to show you how our lab kits can address the issues you’ve been facing. Here’s a demo of our platform in action. Does this solve the problems we discussed?”

Post-Sell

Objective:

• Ensure continued satisfaction and address any potential concerns after the sale.

Steps:

• Follow-Up: Schedule regular check-ins to ensure everything is going smoothly. “I’ll check in with you next week to see how things are going with the new kits.”
• Address Concerns: Be proactive in addressing any issues that arise. “If you encounter any problems, please let me know immediately so we can resolve them.”
• Gather Feedback: Ask for feedback to improve future interactions and offerings. “How are the kits working out for your students? Any suggestions for improvement?”
• Reinforce Value: Remind the client of the benefits they’re experiencing. “I’m glad to hear the kits are helping your students perform better in their labs.”

Example:

• “I’ll follow up with you next week to make sure everything is going well with the new lab kits. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.”