·         When a company representative interacts directly with a customer to present information about a product or service

Why get into sales?

·         Money, Travel, Jobs, Opportunity for advancement,  Flexibility,  Helping others, Involved with passion, Entrepreneurial & Effort effects income

Concerns getting into sales?

·         Commission vs. salary,  Cold calling, Pressure/intensity,  Travel, Long hours & Rejection

Characteristics of sales people? 

·         Understand prospects problems

·         Know technical product knowledge

·         Self-discipline

             Translate features into benefits

Define the 75/25 Rule

75% of the time you spend should be meeting new leads and developing prospects

25% of the time you spend should be with the client base you already have developing

Happy customers will tell 3-4 other people 

Actions of unhappy customers

Unhappy customers will tell 8 to 12 people 

 It is cheaper to keep customers

 Customers will influence others to buy

Feature

Any fact about the product or service

Benefit

What the customer gains form the feature

Define Relationship Selling

Total Quality Management 

Comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback

Prospecting

Pre-approach

The Approach

Need discovery

Making the presentation

Handling objections

Closing the sale

Service after the sale

Customer gets involved with 2+ person

More accurate needed definition

Very useful if product is technical

Different individuals bring more selling skills

Requires special training

Must have leader

Must agree on objectives

Must be rehersed 

In business, who decides what is right and wrong?

Legal system

Society

Company leaders

Customers

Shareholders 

5 Points of Ethical Choices

1.    Is it legal?

2.    Is it fair to all concerned?

3.    Would I want someone else to act this way towards me?

4.   How could I explain my actions to someone else [family]?

5.       How does it make me feel about myself?

Protects customers

Protects against monopolies [price fixing]

Protects against unfair methos of competition in commerce

Protects against unfair of deceptive acts of practices

Defines proce discrimination

Gives FTC right to limit quantity discount

Prohibits unfair promotional allowances

What influences sales person ethics?

Values

Character

Strength

Integrity

4 Responsibilities of developing a personal code of ethics

to the self

to the company

to competitors

to the customer

What is the percent impact of words, tone and non-verbal factors?

Words: 7%          Tone: 38%           Non-verbal: 55%

v--Verbal/Nonverbal (Noise)--v

Source -> Encoding -> Message -> Decoding -> Receiver

-------------------- Verbal Skills (Clarify meaning)-----------

 ---------------------------Nonverbal skills---------------------

Define Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior is the set of actions that make up an individual’s consideration, purchase, and use of products and services. 

This includes the purchase as well as the consumption of the products and services.

Define Buying Motives

A buying motive is an aroused need, drive, or desire that stimulates behavior to satisfy the aroused need

4 Types of buying motives

Emotional 

Rational

Patronage

Product

Acts due to passion or sentiment

Emotional appeals common

If two products are identical, the salesperson who “connects” has the advantage

Acts on reason or judgment

Relatively free of emotion (objective view)

Salespeople gather, interpret, and disseminate customer-specific information

Buy from a particular firm

Past experience positive

Superior service,product selection and competent staff

Buyer believes one product is superior to another

Preferences for specific brands, quality,price and design

Habitual

Variety-seeking

Complex

Frequently purchased, low cost items

 Low consumer involvement

Low consumer involvement

Low perceived difference in brands (price, coupons, etc)

High degree of consumer involvement

Product more complex & expensive

Purchased infrequently

3 Types of Business (Organizational) buying situations

New-task buy

Straight rebuy

Modified rebuy

New-task Business (Organizational) buying situation

Salespeople rely on consultative selling skills

Item that is a first time purchase.

Salespeople constantly monitor satisfaction

Routine purchase of items needed by business

Salespeople can provide service and anticipate changes

Competitive factors can bring this on

Dominance (high, low)

Sociability/Responsiveness (high,low)

(Asking)

Cooperative

Let others control

Low in assertiveness

(Telling)

Competitive

Initiate demands

More aggressive

(emotional)

Express feelings

Prefer  interaction

More informal

Nonresponsive (controlled)

control feelings

Prefer solitude

More reserved

More formal

(high assertiveness/low responsiveness)

Control Specialist

(high assertiveness/high responsiveness)

Social specialists

(Low assertiveness/high responsiveness)

Support specialists

(Low assertiveness/low responsiveness)

Technical specialists

Cautious in decision and action

Like organization and structure

Dislikes involvement

Asks specific questions

Prefers objective, task-oriented, intellectual work

Wants to be right, so collects much data

Works slowly, precisely and alone

Has good problem solving skills

Slow in making decisions or taking action

Likes close, personal relationships

Dislikes interpersonal conflict

Supports and actively listens to others

Weak in goal setting and self-direction

Seeks security and identification with group

Has good counseling and listening skills

Spontaneous actions and decisions

Like involvement

Exaggerates and generalizes

Likes involvement

Tends to dream/caught in dreams

Jumps from one activity to another

Works quickly and excitedly with others

Seeks esteem and group identification

Has good persuasive skills

Decisive inaction and decision making

Like control; dislikes inaction

Prefers max freedom to manage self and others

Cool, independent, competitive with others

 Low tolerance for feelings, attitude and advice to others

Works quickly and impressively alone

 Has good administrative skills

What is "style flexing"?

What is "adaptive selling"?

Process in which the salesperson converts an idea or concept into symbols the buyer can understand.

·         Carl Jung: a plane showing responsiveness levels (V) and assertiveness levels (H)of human behavior

Keep it business like

Be efficient, time disciplined, organized

 Identify their goals

Ask questions to involve them and note responses

Don’t try and relate to them on a personal level

Answer questions immediately, never lie

·         Present several alternative to which they can select their own solution

Be enthusiastic

Don’t be too stiff or formal

Take time to establish goodwill/relationships

 Maintain eye contact

Be a good listener

Ask open ended questions

Never argue/Don’t back them into a corner

Show a little showman’s ship

Show how they can personally win and benefit their company

Use thoughtful, well-organized approach

Present information in deliberate manner

Provide documentation

Never pressure for quick decisions

 Go in with facts & evidence to back them up

Point out the pros & cons of your offering

Use a logic-based, low key style of relating

Take time to build the relationship

Listen carefully to their opinions and feelings

Provide assurances for their views

Have patience, give them time to comprehend

Make the presentation informal

Use empathy & show you understand their feelings 

      Be prepared to use third party references & case histories 

Individual Differences Exist

       Communication Style is a way of thinking behaving.  It is your preferred way of doing it.

Individual styles tend to be stable over time.

There is a finite number of styles. 

Get in sync with styles of others.

Knowledge of the product or service

Knowledge about the company

Knowledge about the industry

Knowledge about your competitors

a. The Product b. It features c. Benefits it offers

a consumer’s “gut feeling” or perception about a product or service

image

What is “Differentiation?”

     Your ability to separate yourself and your product from that of your competitors.

It is the key to building and maintaining a competitive advantage.

External:

Fear- temporary and negative

Incentive-temporary

Internal:

Attitude-perminant

Define “Positioning”

Define “Prospecting”

identifying potential customers

Define “Prospect”

·         a potential customer that meets the qualification criteria established by your company

Define “Prospect base”

·         is made up of current customers and potential customers

What is the importance of prospecting?

Websites

Computerized database

Cold calling

Educational seminars

Networks

Prospecting by non-sales employees

Group prospecting

Companies that provide

 Prospects.

Referrals

Centers of influence

Directories

Trade publications

Trade shows and special events

Telemarketing and e-mail

Direct-response advertising and sales letters

Clubs & Societies.

Orphan accountants

Adequate information to make a presentation

Need for product

Money to buy

Authority to buy

Possibly a referral

You have inadequate information to make a presentation

Do not know all or part of need, money, authority

Keep researching

Names & numbers – no other information

They are currently leads, not prospects

Left: customers getting on (leads)

Right: cusomers getting off (lost customers)

What is CRM?

What does it do?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management

Used to manage relationships with customers

What information is included in CRM?

Sales data: contact name, company name, title, phone, address,email, products purchased, benefits they like, what sales oppertunities exst in the future

Personal data: family,birthdays, anniversaries,interests of family, affiliations, background

Why do we try and qualify products?

So we don’t waste valuable time

Active cooperation

[within organization, industry and outside of industry]

M Money – do they have the means to purchase?

A  Approachable - can you get an appointment?

D  Desire - do they have the desire to buy?

D  Decision Maker - are they the decision maker?

E  Eligible - can they buy? 

 N Need - does your product fit their need?

    Used to qualify prospects

The planning and preparation done prior to the actual contact with the prospect. Sometimes called Presale Planning.

Part Research     Part Planning    Part Critical Thinking

Mergers- alliances with new companies

      Personnel Changes: watch for new appointments by your customers, prospects and competitors

·         Changing Product Lines: Firms that drop or add products may need suggesting a new emphasis you can help with

       Advertising Plans: signal of a change in the company, may want new product

·         Online, TV, and Magazine Ads: look at these to determine what type of “image” they’re selling

Sales Training: make use of their training program

What are the 6 Step Telephone Tracks?

 Introduce yourself and your company

2.       Take the curse off the call

3.       State the purpose of the call

4.       Make an interest-capturing statement

5.       Request an appointment

6.       Overcome resistance