Vikrant Duggal's R.E.S.U.L.T.S. Selling Framework

by Vikrant Duggal

You wish you didn't have to sell, but you know that nothing happens until a sale is made. You also don't want to sell like the people that give sales a bad name.

I've been selling since I was a kid. I've helped a lot of people because of my skills. I've also been rewarded emotionally and financially.

Before I get into my methodology you should know something. I've taken almost every major sales training course out there. I've gotten great results. But one thing none of these frameworks ever did was really help me understand how to integrate selling with my personality and value set.

This selling methodology (I call it the R.E.S.U.L.T.S. Selling Framework) was born out of years of trying to make everything work and then taking the best parts that work best for me.

Going through this methodology is a commitment. So if you're specifically looking to make some sales and be in integrity with who you are, read on.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to the R.E.S.U.L.T.S. Selling Framework. My name is Vikrant Duggal, and I want to do two things before we start. I want to thank you and congratulate you.

I want to thank you because you have put a lot of trust and faith in me as you're reading this and I am so honored and grateful to help you on this journey; to help you achieve your financial goals, to help you overcome some of the challenges that you've been facing. And really to help you uncover the opportunity in front of you. I know how you're feeling because I was there many years ago. I was in your shoes.

I had experience. I had some expertise. I had no way of translating it into a lucrative financial opportunity. And I had no way to translate that into adding and giving me incredible amounts of disposable time so that I could do whatever I chose to do with it.

So I want to thank you again for the opportunity to help you on this journey.

I also want to congratulate you. I want to congratulate you for showing up. I want to congratulate you for dedicating time to your vision, to your purpose for what you want to do. Congratulations for chasing your dream, your vision, your passion, your purpose. This is big stuff!

So thank you. And congratulations.

Before we go into the actual selling framework, I want to give you a little bit of background on me and how I got to this framework. I want you to have context.

I started selling when I was a pre-teen. When you hear that, it might make you think that, ‘Oh, Vikrant, of course this would come naturally to you because you've been doing it for a while.’ But as I share a little bit about this journey, I'll talk you through why I came to this place and how I got here.

I didn't know the word sales or selling when I started - I call this a blessing. Think about the negative connotations that come up for you when you hear these words. I just didn't have that when I started.

What I understood early on was the exchange of use value and cash value. That exchange when someone gives you money and you do something that they find is worth more than what they gave you. This is my definition of sales. That is what I realized very early in life.

It wouldn't be until my senior year at the University of Washington where a business professor would introduce me to my very first sales framework. We wrote about it. We read about it. We did presentations on it. I even had the good fortune of meeting a sales professional in my senior year who had actually practiced that methodology. It was phenomenal. But, as I went through more training and learning various methodologies I started to realize that word sales was being tarnished because of the individual’s relationship with money and people. I didn’t like it all. There’s a quote from film Boiler Room, “you’re either slinging crack rock, or you’ve got a wicked jump shot.” Neither of these were or would be my world.

From there on out I had the opportunity of doing sales and working in sales leadership for a number of years at a Fortune 100 company.

And then actually being able to drive that business with smaller technology companies that were backed by venture capitalists. Over these 20 years, I've had the opportunity to read and study and learn some incredible sales frameworks.

I wanted to design something that was going to be easier. I didn’t want to design a sales motion that required all this technology and all this calling and all this content. I didn't want to build that. I wanted to build a magnet. I wanted to be the magnet where other people were attracted to me.

And so as I set forth to design how I wanted to go and build a business and sell my services, I knew that if I could get a flywheel going where people would come to me, then that would be impressive. But it didn't just mean that people were introduced to me and referred to me. It also meant that anytime I engage with somebody, I was operating through a lens and a framework where, when they left the call, they would be blown away.

So whether they bought from me or not, they knew I was serious and they got something out of it. This selling framework is the result of 20 years of selling with differrent kinds of methods. And this is the selling framework that I know drives results. I've used it. I've taught it to others over the last five years.

And it's produced incredible value for people who have made the purchases, millions of dollars of income for those that are consulting or selling technology products. They're selling coaching, they're selling professional services, they are selling products. This works.

So let's jump in.

RESULTS Selling Framework

R - Reorient the Mindset

We want to (need to) reorient the mindset. When you think about what we're here to do, the thing you have to remember is that this framework is not set up to be, "Oh, you must do this," and "Then you must do that."

That becomes very overwhelming. This is more of a guideline and a checklist so that when things go well, you can easily come back to understand why they went well. And if they're not going well, you can see exactly where you've gone wrong. So let's talk about reorient the mindset.

Reorient the mindset really is all about making sure that you're clear on why you're there. You're clear on why the other person is there and making sure that you're on the same page. Let me give you some context.

Most of the time, when you get on a call with someone who may be interested in procuring your services/offerings, you are there for one reason, you're there to see if you can help them.

Now, oftentimes, most people are there to say, "I'm there to sell them." I'm there to close the deal. Let's backtrack a little bit and make sure your mind is right on the ability to help them.

You are trying to see if you can help them.

That is your mindset. Their mindset, and this is conditioning over years and generations is when they're going to get on the phone with someone that's going to sell them their mindset is simply to gather information.

To summarize: You're there to see if you can help and they're there to see if they can gather information.

We have a problem.

You need to make sure as you're going through this process, that you're reorienting their mindset to be very, very well aware of the problem they have and the seriousness that they have to make a decision.

Reorienting the mindset is super critical to making sure that you understand why: why you're there, why they're there, and then you can guide them to get to where you need them to go.

Because even if they do purchase from you and they're not serious, that is not a client that's going to be satisfied. If you have a call and you haven't reoriented the mindset for them to solve the problem, it's not going to work.

Now. I also get on calls where people just don't get it. They're not there. And so it's very much in my best interest because I want to save myself time and I want to save them their time. It's best if I can ask them, “Hey, so what's the problem.” Remember, they're calling me. What's the problem?” you were introduced to me.

What's the problem? If you can't get them to state the problem. Then we have a problem. Or, there's no problem, so it can be a short call.

So let's assume we've been able to reorient the mindset. You understand why you're there. You understand why they're there. You're able to get them to say, look, I've got a problem. It might be, I need to lose 15 pounds. I need to help my kid with a problem. It might be that I'm struggling with demand generation. It might be, I need to fundraise. I'm low on cash.

Whatever that answer is, be very, very clear that they do not want you. Let me pause there. Let me repeat that. They do not want you.

You are a means to the end.

Most people who purchase from me don't want me, they want the result that I'm going to help them get. So we always have to be clear on the fact that what they want is this outcome. And this result not you, you don't actually want them to want you.

You want them to want the result that they're looking for. More on this later.

E - Engage the Discussion

I love this part of the process. I'm not a pro scripts person, but I think this is the perfect place to have an agenda and have a script and by script I mean plan.

You, in your field are likely in the Top 1%, if not, maybe Top .01% of people who do what you do. And when someone shows up on a call to spend time with you they're saying to themselves I am on a call with someone who knows what they're doing. And one way you can show this is by having a structured plan for the call. A structured plan for the call does three things that are absolutely critical.

It creates safety. If I'm the client and I'm showing up to the call and someone's prepared, they've got an agenda, they know the questions to ask and I feel like I'm in a good spot. It also creates a sense that they feel like they matter. I have shown up and you have prepared for this call and I'm am going to know, and I'm going to feel it.

Lastly, this builds an incredible amount of trust that you showed up and you are prepared. If you can create an environment where they feel safe, they feel like they matter and they feel like they can trust you. That's a great way to kick off any call.

And the actual agenda is quite simple. I like to keep it quite simple. You're going to go in and you're going to ask them some questions. Now these questions have to be very poignant, powerful questions. So questions like, "Hey, so tell me about yourself. How it's going. So why don't you start?

These are terrible questions.

But a questions like, "Tell me the condition you're trying to improve right now?" "Tell me what you would ideally like to accomplish?" "What metrics do you track?"

These are questions that are very poignant and get to the root of the matter, which is what you're trying to figure out. By asking great questions you add the value of clarity on the call and whether someone buys from you or not, they never forget that.

S - Sussing out the Situation

Let's move to S through that process, you're sussing out the situation you really want to get grounded in. What is this world? What do you need to know? Now? You don't want to get too broad with this. When you're trying to understand the situation, you need to narrow it down to two to three questions that are going to give you a lay of the land.

Do not go overboard on this too many situational questions, and they will get bored. They will mentally walk away because they already know the situation. You're trying to assess the situation so that you know how to navigate the rest of this conversation, which leads us to you.

U - Understand the Pain

These are my favorite calls. I'll get introduced to somebody we'll get on the phone. So tell me about the problem I ask and they'll say, Oh problem. There's no problem. Everything's great. Awesome. It sounds like this will be a short call. I say, why would there be anything to do if there's no problem and there's no pain, look, I'm very clear about what I do.

People have problems. I help them with their problems. That's what I do. If there's no problem, then you don't need me. And you have, you have to find your own voice in saying this because we're not trying to be cruel. We're not trying to be rude, but we very much value time and we value their time and we want them to get an outcome that they really, really desire.

So if there is no problem, there is no pain. There's nothing for us to do. And when you're thinking about pain, it's about problems, but you have to go a step deeper. You have to understand the implications because if they can't achieve something and that's going to have a ripple effect somewhere else, that ripple effect somewhere else is likely going to be something that is not stated in the beginning.

And this is why that trust matters, because if they don't trust you, they're not going to tell you, even if you do everything perfectly and I'm going to caveat this right here, you can't really believe everything they're telling you. I mean, you can believe what they're saying, but you have to take it with a grain of salt because you haven't built a deep relationship yet.

And what you'll find. And I've found this too, is that over time you just get better and better at it. The people that you get introduced to are more open and the co the way you're able to set it up, allows you to get that information. I know for me, when I get on a call with somebody and I really mean, and I'm I'm business, it's business hours, it's business time.

And I mean, business, Hey, tell me what's going on is what I say. Tell me what's going on. Talk to me like we're family. Tell me what's up this, look at these words, engage, understand reorient situation. It requires a deep sense of empathy and it requires a deep sense of non-judgment. One of the buttons that I love that I have at my disposal.

One of my favorite tools all time hacks is the mute button. Because you are going to be inclined to say something, when you have an opinion and you might make a gesture, you might say it a certain way. You can't do that. That is judgment. And so the music button helps because as you're working through your own sense of judgment, You're able to have a little guide and you might start talking, I'll tell you.

And for me, I have used the mute button and I've started talking and I'm so glad that those words didn't make it onto a call. They were so helpful. So understand the pain, understand the implications.

L - Listen

L stands for. Listen, I can't tell you the number of people that really just want to show up and tell everybody what they're doing.

Listen, deeply, understand what this individual has to say. If they truly have a problem, and they've told you their problem, if you've been able to get them to talk about their problem, you are going to ruin it by not listening. Because deep embedded in that problem, art is not just the face value of that problem, but there's underlying things that you're going to be able to suss out with your own intelligence, with your own experience.

It's phenomenal. What you'll learn when you listen. It's phenomenal. What questions you might be able to ask when you listen now through this process, as you're asking questions and they're answering and they're providing some context. Eventually, once you get the lay of the land, you're going to want to team up to investigate.

T - Team Up

This is where you get to team up with them. And what I tend to do in the agenda in addition to saying, Hey, here's, you know, I have some questions I want to ask. It's very clearly laid out. Here's what I'd like to ask. I'd like to go through some questions. I'd like to let you know if I can help you. And then I'd like to see what questions you have.

You can ask me anything you want. And once you've understood where they are, And you've been able to say, Hey, I can help. Now. You want to team up to investigate. Hey, I think I can help. Here's what I've heard is that is what I'm hearing correctly. Yeah, it sounds right Vic. Great. Here's what I think we could do here.

This is what it might look like. These are the things we might be able to do. Here's how an engagement is structured. Here's how I work. Here's what I've done before. And once that's done, it's so simple.

S - So?

So which is the last, so what do you want to do? Because there's a very clear path with what they can do.

Let's start at the beginning. Do you have a problem? Yes, I have a problem. Great. Do you want to solve it by yourself or do you want some help now? They might want some help. They're calling us. But remember when they started that call, they were only gathering information. You know, I, I really could use some help here.

Great. The question is, do you want help from me? Or do you want it from someone else like that last set says, so what do you want to do?

Conclusion

And as you go through this process with this results selling framework, you have to have to have to remember, this is absolutely not a game. People treat sales like a game.

This is life. This is serious. This is business. This is why you got introduced to them in the first place. And if you can manage this framework in your sales process, you will find that time and time again, you will have continued conversations with those that make sense, and you will know so fast whether the individual that you're on the phone with is just not the right fit. And whether they're not going to even reach back out. Now I do a bit more follow up than I used to, but I don't do a lot of followup because in my mind, what I've understood is you have a problem. I can help you. If you don't follow back up, there may be not a problem.

Maybe there wasn't a sense of urgency. And so how do we do that after the fact to create that sense of urgency, there's a number of ways you can do it, but the best way I know how really is around creating scarcity.

Or they just liked someone else better.

Here's how you can work with me. You can give me your credit card information right now, payment information right now. And if I think you're a good fit, I'll charge it. And if not, then we'll be social friends.

That is how you can create the engagement in such a way that it puts you in the power seat. Now, these tools that we're going to talk through during the workshop, Are incredibly powerful. And so it's absolutely critical that you do your best. And we're going to talk about that. We're going to spend time on that, that you do your best to make sure you are the best because this framework will work.

The question is, will it work repeatedly? Because if it works and you're not good, that's a problem. But if you're great, This will work every single time. So this is what I wanted to explain in this particular pre-work session. I wanted to give you the framework around how I think about sales and selling.

Your cart

We value your privacy

We use cookies to customize your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze traffic to our site.