Sales Techniques Basics

Basics of Sales Techniques

• Personal conversations are considered a fundamental aspect

Social skills

• Seven levels of social competence:
  • Self-perception and self-reflection
  • Social diagnostic skills
  • Conversational experience
  • Team skills
  • Management of work processes
  • Organizational skills
  • Competence in communication with new media

Professional Preparation for Customers

• Active sales: More effort translates to more sales
• Conduct research, including online platforms like Xing, LinkedIn, and Twitter
  • Identify common acquaintances
  • Look for photos
• Research the company's website to understand its position, name, titles, team size, and current events

Utilizing Internal Knowledge

• Colleagues may know the customer already
• Review old contracts for previous contact and conditions

Cold and Warm Acquisition

• From Latin "acquirire," meaning to acquire or procure
• Customer acquisition (warm) and new customer acquisition (cold) exist
• Significant legal differences exist between B2C and B2B
• "Cold calls" are restricted by laws against unfair competition (UWG)
• Strengthening/expanding existing customer relationships is vital

Tips for Phone Calls

• Have a checklist of important points and relevant documents ready
• Call at a good time for both the customer and salesperson
• Visualize the person you are talking to
• Maintain good posture
• Practice speaking before the call

Potential List (Datenerhebung)

• Data collection methods include buying contacts and using industry directories
• Conduct online research and look for personal contacts using city maps

Information for the Potential List

• Note who spoke with whom and when
• Determine if there was interest in the product, reasons for failure, and when to reconnect with a specific offer

Techniques to Initiate Customer Contact

• When introducing yourself at the secretariat:
  • State the company name, location, the name of the person, and a greeting
• To find decision-makers:
  • Identify their name and position
• Allies in the anteroom:
  • Treat the assistant positively/friendly
  • Mention the name of the desired customer

Seven Steps to a Tailored Offer

• Letterhead: Include the name and title
• Subject: Use relevant keywords (new, current)
• Address: Use a correct and polite address
• Content: Explain what it's about and why now
• Bonding: Explain the benefits for the customer and why they're suitable
• Price and performance: Mention free or service benefits
• Next step: Define the next action, avoiding subjunctive and empty phrases

The Art of Persuasion

• Use phrases like "when, where, how; not if..."
• Stay persistent but avoid being pushy
• Emphasize the "aftermath" (benefits)

"Killer Phrases" in Sales Closing

• Avoid impatience/pressure
• Do not apply too much pressure
• Present few but strong arguments
• Don't rely on habit instead of loyalty

From Fair Price to Fair Offer

• Avoid "discounts"
• Reasons for discount requests include:
  • Price is higher than expected
  • Customers like to bargain
  • They are not yet convinced of the quality
• Inquire about the reasons (competition, amount of discount, why)

The Customer as Partner

• The magic of the conversation location:
  • Design the room
  • Note if there are assistants, secretaries, a team, and the customer's characteristics

The Sales Decision

• B2B relies on multiple sources before contact

Purchasing Decision Phases (B2B)

• General Information Gathering
• Needs Assessment
• Provider Selection
• Decision Phase & Purchase
• After Sales

Establishing and Maintaining Contacts

• Use trade fairs, congresses, etc., to have conversations and build networks
• Plan the first customer contact and be punctual
  • Bring documents, show interest, and provide concrete offers

No-Go's in a Sales Conversation

• Promising false benefits
• Hiding additional costs
• Engaging in illegal practices

Common Psychological Tricks in Sales Conversations

• Use telephone acquisition
• Mention the name and refer to previous contact
• Assess and treat all customers equally

Methods of Customer Loyalty

• Loyal customers are the best customers, leading to cheaper marketing
• Two approaches to strengthening loyalty:
  • Factual customer loyalty (customer is technically or contractually bound)
  • Emotional customer loyalty (softer factor -> state of needs satisfaction, triggered by exceeding expectations)

Systems to Remember Information From Customers

• Customer Databases
• Customer Record Sheet

Complaint Management

• Reaction to complaints/claims:
  • React fast (less than 24hr): tell the customer when they can expect feedback
  • Personally: Call instead of mailing
  • Find the error: Where did the error occur?
  • It is the boss's business: Inform the boss
  • Confidentiality
  • A satisfied customer mentions it 3x positively
  • A dissatisfied customer mentions it 10x negatively
  • A dissatisfied customer with positive feedback mentions it 16x positive

Escalation Levels of a Complaint

• Responsibility
• Shitstorm
• In court
• Publicity

Basics of Personal Communication

• The Four-Sides Model Communication Styles (Schulz von Thun):
  • Needy Dependent
  • Serving
  • Selfless
  • Aggressively Devaluing
  • Self-proving
  • Determining controlling
  • Distancing
  • Communicative - dramatizing
• Johari Window:
  • Public Person
  • Blind Spot
  • Secret
  • Unknown

Conversation Goals

• Who
• In what context
• With whom
• What
• Until when
• What outcome

Rhetoric

• The art of speech from antiquity
• Application fields of rhetoric:
  • Politics & Journalism
  • Advertising & Economy
  • Literature & Arts

Stages of a Speech

• Inventio: Topic Search; Research
• Dispositio: Structure; Argumentation Structure
• Elocutio: Linguistic-Stylistic Elaboration
• Memoria: Memorization; Index Cards
• Actio: Implementation of the Speech

Speech Tips

• Correct breathing
• "Lion"
• Expand vocabulary
  • Read aloud
  • Listen
  • Summarise
  • Toastmaster Club
• Look for "interlocutors" (eye contact)
• Loosen the vocal cords
• Hands in front of the body
• Avoid negative connoted words
• Small Talk Rules

NLP in Rhetoric

• "Neuro-linguistic programming"
• Richard Bandler, John Grinder, HPM - Human Potential Movements
• Processes in the brain can be changed with the help of language based on systematic instructions
  • Pacing (adaptation, participation, "mirroring")
  • Leading (guiding)

KISS - Rule

• “Keep it short & simple"

Presentation structure

• Topic → Goal → Handout at the end