ch. 6 Sales Communication Formats

• Customers prefer salespeople, who empower them
• Salespeople, to empower customers, should know:
  • What the prospect wants
  • What is preventing them
  • How the sales offering helps
• Prepare to win
• Make pre-call preparations part of sales processes

Sales Communications Formats

• Types of Sales Communications:
  • Canned Presentations:
    • Scripted sales calls, memorized presentations, and automated presentations
    • Can be complete and logically structured
    • Do not vary from buyer to buyer
    • Should be tested for effectiveness
    • Presume customer needs and buying motives are homogeneous
    • May not adapt to different customers and selling situations
    • May not be appropriate for many business-to-business situations because customer interaction is minimized.
  • Written Sales Proposals:
    • Complete self-contained sales presentation
    • Often accompanied by sales calls before and after submission
    • Thorough customer assessment should be done before a customized proposal is written
    • Customers may request a follow-up sales call to explain and answer questions
  • Organized Sales Dialogues and Presentations:
    • Address the individual customer and selling situation
    • Allow flexibility to adapt to buyer feedback
    • Most frequently used format by sales professionals
    • Unlike canned presentations, have a high level of customer involvement

Customer-Focused Sales Dialogue Planning & Engaging the Customer

• Sales call:

  • In-person meeting between a salesperson/team and one or more buyers
  • Used to discuss business

• Sales dialogue:

  • Business conversations between buyers and sellers
  • Helps salespeople initiate, develop, and enhance relationships
  • Should be customer-focused and have a clear purpose

• Sales presentations:

  • Comprehensive communications conveying multiple points for purchase persuasion

• Most initial sales calls on new prospects require an appointment

Chances of getting an appointment improves with the following directives

• Giving the prospect a reason why an appointment should be granted
• Requesting a specific amount of time
• Suggesting a specific time for the appointment

Key terms

• RFP (Request for Proposal):
  • Document posted by an organization to attract bids from potential vendors
• NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement):
  • Confidentiality agreement
  • Legal contract between parties that outlines confidential material/knowledge
  • Restricts access
• Order Form:
  • Document buyers use to request merchandise from a vendor
• Standard Terms and Conditions:
  • Legal agreements between a service provider and a person/company
• Customer Value Proposition:
  • Sum total of benefits a vendor promises for the customer's payment

Six Parts of a Sales Proposal – Use for Final Group Presentation

1. Executive Summary:
   • Succinctly show a customer's needs, the solution's relevance, and resulting benefits
   • Builds a desire to read the full proposal
2. Customer Needs and Proposed Solution:
   • Includes situation analysis and the recommended solution
   • Addresses the buyer's problems/needs
   • Emphasizes the benefits from the solution, not the product/service
   • Describes benefits from the customer's perspective
3. Seller Profile:
   • Company's qualifications and best practices
   • Overview of the firm, emphasizing company capabilities
4. Pricing and Sales Agreement:
   • Presents the pricing and delivery options
5. Implementation and Timetable:
   • Schedule identifies tasks and responsibilities
   • Contract, order form, or instructions may be included regarding who to call
6. Summary & Conclusion:
   • Concisely restate the main points and ask for the business

Tips for Creating Effective Sales Proposals

• Focus on the prospect
• Present a compelling, relevant offering
• Get to the point and make the proposal concise
• Quantify the value so prospects can justify their decisions financially
• Present important details and ensure clarity
• Include testimonials and endorsements if appropriate
• Use customer's language, and avoid seller jargon
• Realize that proposals educate
• Communicate next steps and make action easy
• Communication lines should be open
• Allow proofreading time because sloppy proposals are unacceptable
• Written Sales Proposal:
  • A complete self-contained sales presentation and often accompanied by verbal presentations
  • Protect proprietary information by putting a confidential notice on the cover

Five Important Dimensions for Evaluating Proposals

• Reliability:
  • Presents a business solution that meets expectations and reflects the ability to identify creative solutions
• Assurances:
  • Assure the buyer that the seller has the experience and fulfill result
• Tangibles:
  • Enhances communication and invites readership with content, structure, and appearance
• Empathy:
  • Reflects the seller's understanding of the buyer's business environment
• Responsiveness:
  • Shows willingness to work closely with the buyer
• Do not over promise but maintain a positive tone
• Written sales proposals are a permanent record of claims and intentions

Sales Dialogue Template

• A flexible planning tool that assists the salesperson in assembling pertinent information to be covered with the prospect.