The Selling Process

The Selling Process

• The chapter outlines how to evaluate the benefits and opportunities in a sales career
• It compares current and past sales professionals
• Describes the seven stages of the Sales Process (SP)
• Explains prospecting methods
• How to apply sales strategies
• How to deal with objections through negotiation
• Reveals closing techniques from categories
• How to empower salespeople for customer relationship management roles

7 Stages of the Selling Process (SP)

• Prospecting and Qualifying
• Planning the Sales Call (Pre-Approach)
• Approaching the Prospect
• Sales Presentation and Demonstration
• Negotiating Resistance and Objections
• Confirming and Closing the Sale
• Following Up and Servicing the Account

Prospecting and Qualifying

• Prospects are potential new customers
• Prospecting requires obtaining leads
• A lead refers to a potential buyer, either a person or organization, that may have a need for a product or service

Planning for the Sales Call

• A salespersons success depends on pre-approaching

• Steps to pre-approach:

  • Preparing the prospect for the initial sales call
  • Prenotification selling of the sales appointment
  • Gathering and analyzing relevant information about the prospect
  • Identifying their problems and needs
  • Identifying the product features, advantages and benefits
  • Choosing the best sales presentation
  • Planning and rehearsing

• "Seeding" refers to prospect-focused activities weeks or months before a sale, like content sharing or event participation

• Salespeople "sell the sales call" by requesting an appointment with buyers via pre-notification, like email

• Prepare for meetings by gathering this information:

  • Prospect's Pronunciation and Name
  • Job title
  • Duties
  • Senior Manager
  • Education
  • Work experience
  • Level of technical expertise
  • Purchasing authority
  • Personality

• Also gather info about target firms, noting any activity, such as restructure, expansion, investment rounds, or debt

• Identify the prospect's problems by:

  • Noting the products previously purchased
  • Production difficulties
  • Productivity inefficiencies

• Identify the prospects needs and goals, such as:

  • Raising market share
  • Lowering the cost of production

• FAB approach identifies Features, Advantages, and Benefits to convince prospects:

  • Identify Features that matter
  • Count advantages
  • Stress benefits

• Solve customer problems through probing

• Rehearsal until competence and confidence has been built

Approaching The Prospect

• Approaching strategies include:
  • Non-product-related approaches
  • Provoking interest approaches
  • Consumer-directed approaches
  • Product-related approaches

Non-Product Related Approaches

• Non-product related approaches include:
  • Self-introduction
  • Mutual acquaintance or reference
  • Free gift or sample
  • Dramatic act

Provoking Interest Approaches

• Interest Provoking approaches include:
  • Customer-benefit
  • Curiosity

Consumer-Directed Approaches

• Consumer-Directed approaches include:
  • Compliment /praise approach
  • Survey approaches
  • Question approaches

Product-Related Approaches

• Product-related approaches include:
  • Product or ingredient approach
  • Product demonstration approach

Overall Sales Call Objectives

• Overall sales calls should:
  • Generate sales

The Sales Presentation and Demonstration

• The fourth and "heart" stage of SP

• Consider;

  • Ask qualifying questions to uncover customer needs
  • Best products and services presented to satisfy these needs
  • Desire encouraged with skillful demonstration
  • FAB is very powerful

Product features, advantages, and benefits (FAB)

• Discusses product's features, advantages and benefits

• Features = Obvious parts

• Advantages = Performance traits that help the customer better solve a problem

  • Highlight advantages relative to competitors

• Benefits = What the customer achieves

Sales Presentation Strategies

• Be aware of which method best "fits" the audience
  • Asking positive leading questions employing stimulus-response
  • Guiding the prospect through a buying process via formula approach
  • Locating buyer needs during need satisfaction
  • Buyer problem focus during consultative problem solving
  • Group decision presentation for team selling
  • Combination strategy with depth selling

Negotiating Sales Resistance or Buyer Objections

• Objections indicate resistance or a lack of willingness

• Can be seen as a sign of buyer's interest

• Two categories of objection:

  • Valid Objections
  • Invalid Objections

6 Types of Valid Objections

- Product objections
- Price objections
- Promotion objections
- Distribution objections
- Source objections
- Needs objections

Invalid Objections

• Invalid objections will:

  • Stall
  • Be irrelevant
  • Be untrue
  • Delay

Forms of Invalid Objections

• Unspoken reasons are latent objections
• Delaying tactics are stalling and time objections
• Unethical objections are immoral attitudes

Specific Techniques for Negotiating Buyer Objections

• Passing-off objections will silently defer the objection
• Put-Off objections will imply "I'm coming to that"
• Objection techniques that work will alter the strategy
• Prove the response by using case studies, demonstration and trial offers
• Techniques to refocus include switch and answer with a question
• Defuse humorously
• Counter and neutralise to offset
• Deny by using direct or indirect denial

Confirming and Closing the Sale

• The close is the SP stage aimed at getting an order
• More closing strategies increase chances for a successful sale

Closing Categories

• Strategy categories include:
  • Assumptive
  • Choice
  • Success story
  • Contingent
  • Counterbalance
  • Clarification
  • Suggestion
  • Turnover
  • Pretend-to-leave
  • Lost Sale
  • No-risk
  • Management
  • Special-deal
  • Takeaway
  • Concession
  • Boomerang
  • Future order
  • If-when
  • Probability
  • Psychologically oriented
  • Compliment
  • Straightforward
  • Stimulus-response
  • Minor points
  • Standing-room-only
  • Impending event
  • Advantage
  • Puppy dog
  • Ask for the order
  • Dependency
  • Order form
  • Summary
  • Repeated-yes
  • Benefits
  • Action closes

Following Up and Servicing the Account

• After the original sale contact is maintained to handle complaints and retain customers
• Customer retention is less expensive than acquisition
• Consistent and inclusive contact develops run, satisfaction, and loyalty

Applying CRM to the Selling Process

• Salespeople CRM responsibilities:
  • Accept returned of unsatisfactory products
  • Negotiating price discounts
  • Provide purchase incentives
  • Resolve customer complaints