Course Description

"Noted author Dan Pink famously said, “Salespeople have goals.  Professionals have a process.” 85% of salespeople don’t have a process, but their prospects do.  This training program will put you in the drivers’ seat…our Common Sense Selling process will take you over the top.

If you're sick and tired of missing your sales goals, trying to find better ways to avoid being turned into an "unpaid consultant" by your prospects, tired of missing deals that should have been yours, and constantly being told your price is too high, this course is for you.

This 6-Week Certification Course is for anyone who wants to sell more effectively in today's competitive selling environment.

This course is specifically designed for a more complex selling environment where trust and rapport are key to success, including:

Common Sense Selling has been deployed nationally and Internationally in over 100 industries, including:

  • Biotech & Life sciences
  • Manufacturing & distribution
  • Healthcare
  • Hardware & software
  • Financial Services
  • Commercial Banking
  • Professional services
  • Commercial real estate
  • Insurance

You’ll learn why the traditional “feature & benefit” sales approach has lost its mojo, and how to up your game by becoming a problem solver instead of a product pusher.  Our Common Sense Selling process is straightforward and free of the manipulative  tactics so often employed by salespeople.    

Stop winging it on sales calls.  Our proven sales process will help you learn:

  • How to measurably increase your closing rate while building strong relationships
  • How to avoid the buyer’s capacity for turning you into an “unpaid consultant”
  • Why professionals have a sales process, while amateurs just set goals
  • How to qualify opportunities like a pro and get out of dead deals early
  • What really motivates your prospect to buy (hint – it’s not your sales pitch)
  • How to shorten the sales cycle
  • How to differentiate yourself from the competition by HOW you sell, not by WHAT you sell

You’ll also receive the following:

  • Your personal DISC Behavioral Styles Assessment 
  • Bi-weekly reminders to keep you on track and accelerate your mastery of the process
  • Certification upon completion of the course

If you're ready to take your sales to the next level, let's get started.

Jim Dunn & John Schumann

The creators of the Common Sense Selling® process are two not-so-common sales professionals and trainers, Jim Dunn and John Schumann. They saw the lack of results and frustration that most salespeople experienced using the old “feature, advantage, and benefit” selling approach in today’s more complex selling environment.Using their combined 65 plus years of sales experience, they developed a new, common sense approach to selling that is unconventional, by most standards…and it works!

Course curriculum

  • 1

    1. Introduction and Overview

  • 2

    2. Taking Control, Building Trust, & Finding the Pain

    • Building Trust & Rapport

    • Mirroring & Matching

    • Opening Meeting Agreements

    • Pain Overview

    • Pain Indicators or Symptoms

    • Questions to Enter the Pain Conversation

    • The Pain Conversation

    • Tips for Becoming a Better Investigator

    • Common Sense Selling® Tools
  • 3

    3. Closing and Presenting

    • Discussing Money & Budgets

    • The Prospect’s Decision Process

    • The Forecasting Fiasco

    • How to Forecast More Accurately

    • The Prospect's First Test

    • Debriefing a Sales Call

    • Draft Proposals

    • Closing Plans

    • Presenting Your Solutions

    • Protecting the Sale

    • Quick Lessons and Role Play Audio
  • 4

    4. Stalls and Objections

    • Stalls and Objections

    • Tactics

    • Maintaining Your Price

    • Negotiating
  • 5

    5. Prospecting

    • Your Recipe for Prospecting Success

    • Cold Calling

    • Elevator Speech - The 20 Second Commercial

    • Dealing with Gatekeepers

    • Leaving Effective Voice Mails

    • Referrals

    • Upgrading Your Referrals
  • 6

    6. The Inner Game of Selling

    • Characteristics of Successful Salespeople

    • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective (Sales) People

    • The Inner Game

    • Pre-Call Planning

    • The Relationship Bank Account

    • DISC Behavioral Assessment

    • Final Exam
  • 7

    Locker Room

    • CSS – The Process Driven Advantage

    • Webinar - Breakthrough Email

    • Monday Morning Sales Coach Book

    • Aaron Ross - Predictable Revenue - Webinar

    • Webinar - ROI 4 Sales

    • Common Sense Selling 1 - 60 Minute Audio

    • How to Outsell Your Competition & Dominate Your Marketplace (Sales Managers)

    • Common Sense Selling 2 - 60 Minute Audio

    • Creating Win Win Business Deals - 60 Minute Audio

    • Forecasting Sales Revenues - 60 Minute Audio

    • Gaining Access to Ultimate Decision Maker - 60 Minute Audio

    • How To Build Rapport with Nearly Everyone -60 Minute Audio

    • How to Outsell Your Competition and Dominate Your Marketplace - 60 Minute Audio

    • Improving Your Closing Ratio - 60 Minute Audio

    • Managing Objections - 60 Minute Audio

    • Taking Control of Sales Call - 60 Minute Audio

    • Time and Territory Management - 60 Minute Audio

    • Uncovering Your Prospects Pain - 60 Minute Audio

    • I need to think it over - 60 Minute Audio

    • Webinar - Crucial Conversation

    • Webinar - Dan Waldschmidt

    • Pocket Coach