25 Years of Sales Knowledge in 7 Minutes

Sales is the lifeblood of every business.

Creating a great sales process comes down to one methodology:

LAPS. LAPS stands for Leads, Appointments, Presentations, and Sales.

It is the flow of opportunity that connects attention

and interest through to money in the bank.

Getting a consistent LAPS rhythm going in your business

every week will help you grow exponentially.

Step 1: Getting More Warm Leads

To expand your pipeline and get more warm leads,

use a three-part system: short-form content, long-form content,

and signals of interest.

People must notice you and get to know you

before they signal interest in working with you.

Short-Form Content

People notice you for the first time when they see you

for the 11th time, and the clock resets every 90 days.

At a bare minimum, you must post every few days on social media;

ideally, post every single day.

Post anything that hooks the attention of your perfect customer:

strange concepts, desirable outcomes, free value, or familiar topics.

Short-form content can be experienced in one to three minutes

(posts, images, short videos, carousels)

and should feature a call to action directing people to long-form content.

Long-Form Content

Long-form content takes 10 minutes to 2 hours to consume,

such as a long post, a PDF report, a 10-minute video, a podcast episode,

or a workshop.

Research indicates people need to spend two to seven hours

with you to feel like they know and trust you.

Build up to having four pieces of long-form content available

across the course of 12 months.

Signals of Interest

Once people have consumed long-form content,

ask them to signal their interest.

You can ask them to join a waiting list,

fill out an expression of interest form, take an online assessment,

join a discussion group, or register for a live webinar.

This signal of interest happens on a landing page

away from social media.

When you receive these signals, they become a lead.

To ramp this up:

Boost your highest-performing short-form content with ads.
Fire off direct messages to carefully selected individuals.

Collaborate with non-competitive partners who share a similar audience.
Introduce lead qualification: ask questions on your landing page form to understand their current situation, desired outcome, and budget to segment your list.

Step 2: Booking Appointments

As soon as someone fills in a lead page,

follow up as quickly as possible.

The goal is strictly to book an appointment—a commitment of time,

not money.

There are four steps to booking an appointment:

Reaffirm Relevance: Let them know they filled in a form and that you are following up on that specific topic.
Ask Permission: If calling by phone, ask if you have caught them at a good time and request one to two minutes to speak. (Skip this if using text or email).
Pitch Your Value: Use the Name, Same, Fame, Pain, Aim, and Game framework (the Hook Pitch).
- Name: Your name and business name.
- Same: A familiar category you belong to so they understand what you do.
- Fame: What makes you special or different (awards, client numbers, years of experience).
- Pain: The frustration people experience before buying from you.
- Aim: What you aim to do about that specific pain.
- Game: The bigger vision your business wants to achieve.

Request the Appointment: Provide a link to your diary or ask for suitable times. If they are not interested after hearing the pitch, end the conversation there.

Step 3: The Sales Presentation

The presentation is where you make your money.

A great sales presentation relies on 10 distinct components.

1. Framing

Framing is your ability to show up as high value

before opening your mouth.

Everything a person experiences prior to or at the beginning

of the meeting sets the frame.

Meeting locations, advanced communication,

or branded virtual backgrounds on video calls all communicate

trust and authority.

2. Building Rapport

Rapport is the friendly chitchat at the beginning of a meeting

used to connect.

Use the person’s name, find common interests, smile, be polite,

and offer compliments.

3. Asking Permission

Transition into the sales process by asking permission:

“We can either have a bit of a chitchat today,

or I’ve got a process where I can ask you a series of questions

and give you recommendations. Which would you prefer?”

Most people opt for the process.

4. The Present Situation

Ask questions to determine their current situation

and exactly what is less than perfect about it.

5. The Desired Outcome (The Prize)

People do not buy products or services;

they buy access to a desired outcome.

Understand the movie playing in their mind when they imagine

what is on the other side of owning your solution.

6. The Problem

Clarify the obstacles and criteria standing between

their present situation and their prize.

Fill these first three informational “baskets” completely by asking

questions and doing a lot of listening before recommending anything.

7. Sharing Insights

Switch gears from listening to speaking.

Never jump straight to the solution.

Share an insight: a big-picture perspective, framework,

or piece of research that proves you understand

their world better than they do.

8. Sharing a Method

Present a methodology that addresses the insight.

Build a mental “golf bag” of five to ten rehearsed insights

and methods suited for different client situations,

pulling out the right one at the right time.

9. Sharing a Solution

Present your product or service as the ultimate solution,

ideally structured in Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers.

You must use visual aids (a brochure or slide deck).

Over 50% of the human brain is dedicated to visual processing;

if they cannot see it, they are unlikely to buy it.

10. Discussion and Completing

Invite discussion by asking, “How does that land for you?”

and remain silent while they think.

Do not engage in “conversational tennis”

where you answer objections one by one.

Act like a tennis ball boy: collect all their objections (price, timing, color)

by writing them down, ask “Is there anything else?”,

and answer them all together.

If they are ready to buy, complete the sale and begin onboarding.

If they need time, complete the meeting

by scheduling the exact follow-up appointment in the diary immediately.

Step 4: Maximizing Sales Follow-Up

The presentation and sales follow-up can double a business.

The highest likelihood of a prospect signing up happens

within the first 48 hours after the presentation,

dropping off from there.

Active Follow-Up: During the active window (one week to three months), follow up at least seven times. Plan reasons to reach out: special offers, new insights, customer testimonials, new data, or following up on internal approvals they discussed.

The Nurture Sequence: If no sale is made after seven attempts, move them to a nurture sequence. Use friendly touchpoints (emails, social media) sharing testimonials, insights, or news commentary to remind them you exist and can solve their problems.
Reactivation Campaign: Eventually, send a direct message asking, “Have you given up on [Desired Outcome]?” Inform them you will remove them from the list if they have given up. If they are still interested, ask for a soft signal of interest by sending a simple assessment or calculator. When they engage, they re-enter the LAPS pipeline as a lead.

Advanced Tips for Sales Growth

Utilize AI: Record your sales presentations, transcribe them, and put them into an AI tool. Prompt the AI to help build your “golf bag” of insights and methods, improve your offers, and analyze the common themes between presentations that succeeded and those that failed.

Speed: Sales and money love speed. When a lead comes in, follow up immediately. Do not play it cool or wait days to reach out.
Consistency: Confidence in sales comes from repetition. Keep a LAPS dashboard tracking leads, appointments, presentations, and sales every single week. Aim for a gentle, gradual increase over time rather than spikes and drops, building predictable revenue.