Closing your next sales deal can be as easy as eight steps! In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the founder and owner of Closers.io, Cole Gordon, to discuss his eight-step process to close every deal you have (or at least come close.)  Cole’s beginning sales experience was not what he expected: Cole’s original sales team was exceptional. However, their end-of-sale closing conversations were not what he expected. He realized that every sale depends on meeting the beliefs of the buyer before you pitch them on the deal, and they'll create an objection-less close themselves. Cole's eight-step plan is based on the relief ladder concept but applied specifically to sales.  Step 1: Pain There are two problems: actual pains and unfulfilled desires. The prospect might not have pain, but there’s a gap between where they are now and where they want to be. Establish the pain; because all sales are conducted based on solving a problem. The following six steps are all predicated on the initial determinant of pain.  Step 2: Doubt The prospect must believe there’s an inability to fix the problem or that the product or service will make the solution happen more efficiently. To establish doubt, make the buyer believe your route is more efficient or profitable than if they were to handle it themself. Step 3: Cost Anything that results in a delay of a decision is likely because of cost. The buyer should believe that staying where they are now is less profitable than purchasing your product or service. Step 4: Desire Fixing the problem will yield a payoff, and you can only get through these steps if you’re aware of the problem. It’s not enough to understand the surface desire - the seller should know the vision and goal beyond the sales goal. Step 5: Support Stakeholders around the decision should support solving the problem. This doesn’t necessarily mean they need to support you at this stage, but they should at least support investing in fixing the problem. Step 6: Money The buyer must have the physical resources to fix the problem.  If the buyer doesn’t have the budget to pay for your solution, they just aren’t a viable prospect. Step 7: Willingness Once you’re established that a prospect has the finances to purchase your solution, determine that they’re willing to allocate that amount to acquire your solution. Even if a prospect has the money, they might not consider the problem enough of an issue to warrant spending a certain amount of money on it. Step 8: Trust Trust in the company is important, but rust in the methodology is even more important. You must be able to explain your solution and why your solution will work for them. If they’ve used a similar method in the past (but to no avail), you must be able to identify why that didn’t work, and how your methodology is different. Once you’ve educated the prospect on a differentiator, you’re going to solidify the trust and encourage the prospect to work with you. Cole’s major takeaway? There are two parts to winning a sale: optimizing your energy and optimizing the mechanics. If you can master both aspects of the sale, you’ll be ready to win. To see more of what Cole does, visit his company website at Closers.io. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skip