The Structure of a Good Sales Conversation

Most sales conversations don't get stuck on content, but on sequence. The salesperson knows everything about their product and nothing about when to mention it. They pitch too early, only to realise it three conversations later.

A good conversation has a backbone. Six steps that the client will go through anyway before making a decision.

#1. Direction: What is this about?

You don't open with your product, but with a framework. Why this conversation, and what the client will gain from it. Without direction, the client doesn't know what to listen for, and everything you say falls flat.

#2. Diagnosis: Is this the real problem?

Here you do the work most salespeople skip. You ask questions until you have a sharp understanding of the problem, often sharper than the client had themselves. Not to sell, but to understand. This is the most important phase, and the shortest in most conversations.

#3. Impact: What does it cost to do nothing?

A problem that doesn't hurt won't be solved. In this phase, you make the costs of the current situation tangible. In euros, in time, in risk. This creates the urgency that will later support your price.

#4. Value: What is the right direction?

Only now does your solution come into play, and only the part that aligns with what you've gathered. Not a complete catalogue, but the direction that fits this specific problem. Your value now sticks, because there's a diagnosis and an impact to hang it on.

#5. Commitment: Are we really going to do this?

Here you test whether the client is ready, instead of forcing it. Doubt that arises here is not an objection but a signal that an earlier phase was not completed. In that case, go back, not forward.

#6. Rhythm: How will it proceed?

A 'yes' without a follow-up appointment is half a 'yes'. In this phase, you set the concrete next step, with a date. Otherwise, the decision will get lost in the busyness of everyday life.

#Why the sequence determines everything

Each phase builds on the previous one. If you skip the diagnosis, your value lands nowhere. If you skip the impact, your price is too high. The problem is rarely where it becomes visible, but in a step you skipped earlier.

#What you gain from this

You don't need to learn new tricks. You just need to follow the sequence, and not jump to the part you like best: your solution.

Want to see where you're skipping a step in your own conversations? Analyse your first conversation for free.