SIMAC method: an effective sales technique in 5 steps
Do you know the SIMAC sales method for improving your conversion rate?
This persuasive sales technique helps you to convince your prospects and customers in a highly effective and natural way.
Discover its definition, the advantages of using it and how to put it into practice, thanks to 5 steps illustrated with concrete examples.
What is the SIMAC method? Definition
The SIMAC method is a tool for salespeople, designed to prepare and guide their sales pitch during a meeting with prospects or customers.
Borrowing a number of characteristics from active listening and the SONCAS method, it aims to capture the attention of the person you are talking to and then to make your points more effective in order to convince more easily.
The acronym SIMAC is made up of 5 letters that refer to the 5 stages of the method:
- S is for situation: identifying customer needs and business opportunities ;
- I for idea: to suggest the desire to buy by contextualising the use;
- M is for mechanism: removing obstacles to purchase;
- A is for advantages: demonstrating that the offer is satisfactory;
- C for conclusion (or closing): proposing a choice to conclude the sale.
Each of the letters in the acronym is a reminder of the key points that should punctuate your message:
- based on the prospect's situation
- you need to come up with a strong idea,
- which you will use to highlight its practical application,
- and its benefits,
- before concluding with your proposal.
This structuring makes the correlation between supply and demand more obvious, while deploying several complementary types of argument.
The SIMAC method adds to the sales pitch a form of communication capable of capturing lasting attention and avoiding as far as possible the unconscious distortion of the message by prospective customers.
The advantages of the SIMAC sales technique
Here are the 3 main advantages of the SIMAC sales technique:
- Advantage 1️: a natural progression of the various stages towards the sale, as well as the creation of a real closeness with your customer. This makes it easier to appropriate your sales communication.
- Advantage 2️: by addressing and removing the various obstacles to purchase that the prospect might object to or imagine, you make the choice of your proposal logical and attractive.
- Advantage 3️: you gain credibility when you detail how your solution can easily be implemented in your target's professional environment or daily life.
💡 Even if you don't make the sale during this sales negotiation, you'll still have scored points for a future meeting thanks to your expertise!
The 5 stages of the SIMAC method
SITUATION: start with a personalised introduction
Your introduction should always be a personalised diagnosis or a summary of the history of the customer relationship.
It must be accompanied by a friendly, positive discussion to gain a better understanding of the prospect's real motivations and thought structure.
Don't hesitate to take notes and ask very specific open-ended questions.
💡 Example of application:
" If I've understood your situation correctly, you're having trouble getting the word out about your e-commerce site launched a few months ago, and aren't getting the traffic you'd hoped for to achieve your goals. You want to put things right as quickly as possible and on a limited budget.
IDEA: learn how to express your business "idea" better
When presenting your idea, opt for a clear and concise promise (2 or 3 sentences are enough): there's no point losing your customer with digressions!
The aim of this stage is to arouse your contact's interest and stimulate them before moving on to the more detailed recommendation stage.
💡 Example of application:
" Our agency has developed an approach to Inbound Marketing that is particularly well suited to small businesses, to boost their growth."
MECHANISM: look after your credibility, the pillar of your communication
This part of your communication aims to demonstrate how easy it is to put your offer into practice.
Always answer the QQOQCP questions (Who? Who? Where? When? Where? How? Why?) to be credible and reassuring in your explanations.
💡 Example application:
" We master and use all the webmarketing levers to acquire traffic, and move users up the conversion tunnel so that they become customers. Within a week, our team develops a concrete plan of attack over several months. Our customers particularly like our personalised approach, which enables them to increase their core traffic by 40% in 6 months."
ADVANTAGES: draw up an attractive sales proposal
Step 4 involves formalising the various benefits that will encourage customers to buy your product or service.
It is essential that your message emphasises the added value or exclusivity of your offer compared to the competition.
💡 Example of application:
" By calling on us, all you have to do is validate our proposals. We take care of the whole strategy, write the content and use a host of high-performance tools to implement it. So you can stay focused on your core business!
CLOSING: close your sale quickly
To finalise the sale, you need to involve your target audience and get them to act without letting them develop a counter-argument.
One effective technique is to ask them to choose between two relevant sales proposals, possibly adding an exceptional attraction (a limited offer, for example).
If the resistance is too strong, obtaining a decision such as making a new appointment is already a great step forward.
💡 Example of application:
" If you sign up by the end of the week, you'll still be able to take advantage of the January discount on our rates, which won't happen again until next year. If you need to have a longer chat with one of our experts, we can make an appointment now."
How can a CRM support your SIMAC strategy?
In-depth customer knowledge significantly improves the quality of your SIMAC sales pitch, and by extension your sales volume.
With a professional CRM, such as Salesforce Sales Cloud, you can :
- identify your customers' needs and expectations, as well as their disincentives and triggers for buying;
- develop specific customer journeys, which will prepare your prospects for your SIMAC sales pitch and make them even more receptive to your offer.
And what about you? Do you use the SIMAC technique to convince your prospects?
Article translated from French