In today’s competitive selling environment, having a consistent, repeatable sales process is critical for driving revenue growth. That’s why many leading sales organizations are turning to The Brooks Group’s IMPACT Selling to equip their teams with proven selling skills that get measurable results.
Over the past 45 years, one million sales professionals worldwide have learned the IMPACT Selling sales process.
What Is IMPACT Selling?
IMPACT is a straightforward acronym representing the core stages of the sales process: Investigate, Meet, Probe, Apply, Convince, Tie-It-Up. This sequence guides sales professionals through strategic milestones while providing techniques to navigate each buyer interaction with confidence.
Companies that use IMPACT Selling see remarkable sales performance improvements such as:
- Increased sales revenue
- Shortened sales cycles
- Better buyer communications and stronger relationships
- Improved ability to negotiate and protect margins
- Higher conversion rates
- Seamless application to real-world selling
A Brief History of IMPACT Selling
The Brooks Group was founded in 1977 by William “Bill” Brooks in Greensboro, North Carolina. An entrepreneur, speaker, author, and former football coach, Brooks developed the IMPACT Selling training program that has become the cornerstone of the company’s services.
Bill is credited with saying that sales is driven by three things: job skills, sales skills, and personal skills.
(Job Skills + Sales Skills) x Personal Skills = Sales Success
Job skills include product knowledge, industry and market understanding, and proficiency with technology. Many companies think they can give their people just this information and call it “sales training.” But product knowledge alone does not guarantee sales success.
Sellers also need consultative sales skills such as prospecting, positioning, pre-call planning, questioning, understanding customer needs and wants, adding value, building trust, negotiating, and closing.
Personal skills are the multiplier in sales. A salesperson with strong personal skills is a self-starter who is results-oriented, demonstrates empathy and emotional intelligence, actively listens, handles rejection well, and has the determination to stick to a sequential selling system. These personal skills cannot be overestimated.
These three types of skills are the foundation of effective sales training developed by Bill Brooks.
Based on a Consultative Sales Methodology
At its core, IMPACT Selling uses a consultative sales strategy to empower sales professionals to win more deals.
The program teaches probing questioning skills to deeply understand customers’ needs and challenges up-front. Sellers apply this knowledge to present the best product solution and overcome objections. The process culminates in negotiating a mutually beneficial close while laying the groundwork for future sales.
The IMPACT sales training program begins with a sales assessment of each participant to understand their behavioral patterns, communication styles, and decision-making processes. The Brooks Talent Index® assessment reveals individual preferences and gives sales leaders a valuable tool for managing, coaching, and developing their team as a whole.
A Proven Sales Process
Over two days, IMPACT training program participants become proficient at skills such as qualifying opportunities faster, becoming a trusted advisor through advanced questioning, identifying and adapting to buying styles, presenting value over price, building loyalty, and more.
Unlike theoretical training, IMPACT is laser-focused on immediately applicable tools and techniques field-tested by top sales performers. Through instructor-led sessions, role-plays, assessments, and more, sales teams walk away with approaches they can apply right away.
Equipping Sellers for Any Situation
IMPACT teaches sales teams how to succeed in every selling scenario, economy, or market. Bill Brooks was able to give salespeople the success they were looking for because his training program focuses on building personal skills and sales skills that give sellers both foundational capabilities and a repeatable sales process.
“The secret to selling is never in the selling, it’s in the prospecting.” — Bill Brooks
In 1995, while writing “You’re Working Too Hard to Make the Sale,” Brooks and his co-author Tom Travisano reviewed more than 12,000 face-to-face sales interviews. They found that a salesperson following a consistent sales process has a 93% chance of closing the sale. Without a process, success drops to 42%.
The question for sales leaders is: Are your salespeople “winging it?”
Finding Qualified Prospects
IMPACT Selling creates a paradigm shift in the way salespeople think. Sales professionals trained on IMPACT Selling learn to focus on finding and understanding their customers instead of rushing to the close.
They realize they can be much more effective by qualifying high-potential prospects and allowing them to explain in their own words what they want to buy. This is done by asking the right people the right questions at the right time.
A closed deal begins with qualifying if a prospect has these five key characteristics:
- Awareness of need
- Authority and ability to buy
- Sense of urgency
- Trust in you and your organization
- Willingness to listen
Interestingly enough, Brooks and Travisano found the average sales presentation consists of six to eight features or benefits. Twenty-four hours later, the average prospect remembers only one of them.
- In 39% of the cases, they remember it incorrectly
- In 49% of the cases, they remember something that wasn’t brought up at all
Your Sales Success Is Our Life’s Work
Bill Brooks’ vision is the legacy we here at The Brooks Group strive to advance. Like Bill, we firmly believe selling skills can be taught, and we help sales professionals enjoy the success he knew they could achieve.
Sales training equips your team to control the sales process from start to finish. Whether you have a team of seasoned pros or new talent in need of guidance, IMPACT Selling provides the foundation for consistent selling performance across your entire sales organization.
See how our award-winning IMPACT sales process training programs improve sales performance.
