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WEEK 2 - OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The seven steps Sales Process
- Make contact and build rapport
- Qualify compatibility
- Analyse Prospect’s needs
- Pitch your Product
- Deliver Proposal - Negotiate
- Close the Sale
SELLING
- Is a transaction where a good or services is being exchanged for money. It is the process of persuading a person or organization to buy something
SALESMANSHIP
- Refers to the personal sale of commodities. It is the art of a seller and a buyer conversing face to face while the seller uses his/ her persuasive abilities to influence the consumer to make the ultimate purchasing choice.
PERSONAL SELLING
- Is a person to person marketing communication process where salespeople tailor- fit the benefits of their offering to the particular needs of their customers developing the long term relationships.
- It is a two- way personal communication between salespeople and individual customer whether face-to-face, by telephone, through video conference or by other means.
Salespeople act on behalf if their companies by doing the following:
- Creating value for customers.
- Managing relationship with customers.
- Convey customer and market information back to their companies.
- Gathering market information.
Evolution of Professional Salesmanship: Production Era: 1870- Sales Era: 1930- Marketing Era: 1950- Consultative Era: 1960 Strategic Selling: 1980 Partnering : 1990
Value added Selling & Social Selling : 2000
IMPORTANCE
IMPORTANCE OF PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP
TO THE SOCIETY
TO THE COMPANY
TO THE CUSTOMERS
TO THE SOCIETY
CONVERTS LATEST DEMAND
- Professional selling helps in translating newest demand into effective demand. Its consequences lead to more production and hence increase GDP.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
- It gives the opportunity to unemployed people to work as salespersons for earning income.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
- Professional selling guarantees an attractive career, job satisfaction, respect, variety, security and a lot more.
THE MOBILITY OF SALESPEOPLE
- Travel and tourism in the country get endorsed by the mobility of the salespeople from one place to another.
PRODUCT STANDARDIZATION
- Professional selling makes certain consistency in consumption by selling homogeneous products.
TO THE COMPANY
USEFUL PROMOTION TOOL
- Professional selling is a useful promotional tool in the hands of the businessman for growing sales. Salesperson offers information concerning the different features and advantages of his product and about market development.
FLEXIBLE TOOL
- Professional selling is the most flexible tool for promotion. The sales presentation is accustomed based on the needs and requisites of the customer.
LESSENS WASTAGE OF EFFORTS
- Professional selling entails the least expenditure of efforts compared with other tools of promotion.
Types of Professional Salesmanship: APPROACHES
THE INSTANT BUDDY
- Are people who are essentially warm and friendly. Warm in nature, genuine & cares about the prospect.
THE GURU
- Prefer more logical and less emotional approach. Salesperson needs to position himself as thought leader, a problem solver and a subject matter expert.
THE CONSULTANT
- Useful in technical sales. Requires him to be an expert having in mind the customer’s best interests. Knows all about his company’s products and by asking a prospect a few questions, able to analyze the customer problem and recommend an adequate solution.
THE NETWORKER
- The commited networker needs to spend a great deal of time cultivating people. Take pleasure in attending different events, parties and so on and meeting new people.
CUSTOMER PERSONALITY SELLER
- Encompasses different kinds of sales approaches, depending on the type of buyer a salesperson has in front of him. These buyer’s traits will help the salesperson identify what type of customers he is interacting with.
JOBS
MISSIONARY SALESPEOPLE
- Missionary selling is a form of professional selling in which the salesperson gives information to an individual who will influence the purchase decision. Most common in technical, pharmaceutical and textbook sales. People are basically market influencers.
TRADE SALESPEOPLE
- Someone who calls on retailers to promote their products. The usual task of trade salespeople are restock shelves, set up display, provide in-store demonstrations and distribute samples to store customers. Helps retailers sell products.
PROSPECTORS
- The main function of prospectors is to look for prospects or possible customers. Most often, they knock a lot of doors and make so many phone calls. Finds potential customers.
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
- The one who works for the company and is incharge for the management of sales and relationships with specific customers. He/ she maintains the relationships with customers or group of customers that they will remain ung for business.
Qualifications and Skills: REQUIRED OF A PROFESSIONAL SELLER
PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
- Sales person must know by heart what business value the product offers and the reasons it appeals to company’s best customers.
STRATEGIC PROSPECTING SKILLS
- Sales person must strategically plan prospecting. They must also learn how to approach prospects, look for possible referrals or past clients referrals.
RAPPORT BUILDING ON THE CALL
- This can be established through conversing or chatting about favorites , same interests or same opinions.
BUYER- SELLER AGREEMENT
- Sales people must learn how to craft business agreement to set the tone for all calls and agreements to make both parties more comfortable especifically for prospects.
ACTIVE LISTENING
- Salespeople must listen with a strict focus and ask smart follow- up questions. Those who are good listeners can be able to emphatize with prospects and understand more the business as well as their difficult points.
COMMUNICATION SKILL
- Salespeople must emulate the tone of voice and the style of talking about the prospect. If the prospect is more formal and polite, they should speak in the same manner.
QUALIFICATION QUESTIONING
- Salespeople should be able to investigate by asking qualifying questions on how the product can solve them.
Problem Solving
WEEK 3 - TRUST IN ETHICS
“The extent of buyer’s confidence that he or she can rely the salesperson’s integrity”
INTEGRITY - the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles ; moral uprightness. the state of being whole and undivided.
SYNONYMS: HONESTY, HONOR, ETHICS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, FAIRNESS, SINCERITY
TRUST - The salesperson must determine what trust means for each buyer by asking questions ,listening to the responses, and making general observations.
If trust means different things to different buyers, how is a salesperson to determine what trust means for each buyer?
- How do you rank the list for yourself?
Trust is the foundation for a strong and successful relationship. If the foundation is weak, the relationship will experience dishonesty, failed promises and can lead to self-destruction, whereas a strong foundation for a successful relationship is based on trust. All promises are made with efforts to keep them.” - Ellen J. Barrier
A fundamental competitive strategy of a growing number of organizations is to build long-term mutually beneficial relationships with their customers.
The ability of those organizations’ salespeople to earn their customers’ trust is essential to the success of that strategy.
TRUST BUILDING -
Do you know what you’re talking about? : Competence and expertise
Will you recommend what is best for me? : Customer orientation
Are you truthful? : Honesty and candor
Can you or your company back up your promise? : Dependency
Do I like you and believe what you are saying? : Compatibility
Knowledge Bases help Build Trusts & Relationships
SALES ETHICS: Ethics refers to the right and wrong conduct of individuals and institutions of which they are part of.
Areas of Unethical Behavior
The 7 Sales Steps Process
PART 1 Week 8 Lesson 4
THE SEVEN STEP SALES PROCESS
● MAKE CONTACT AND BUILD RAPPORT
● QUALIFY COMPATIBILITY
● ANALYZE PROSPECT NEEDS
● PITCH YOUR PRODUCT
● DELIVER PROPOSAL
● NEGOTIATE
● CLOSE THE SALE
A SALES PROCESS is a repeated sequence of stages, each including a set of actions that every salespeople perform to convert a potential customer from a lead to a paying customer. It acts as a roadmap to keep the team of sales people on track so as they always know what to do next, without hesitation
BUYER is the one who buys, has the money and the capacity to buy. Their role are researching markets, products and manufacturing; identifying quality standards and ensuring all products meet those standards.
REASONS FOR BUYING :
- To satisfy oneʼs DEPRIVATION
- To satisfy oneʼs DESIRE
- To DISPLAY wealth or social status
- SNOB EFFECT- limited edition products
- The BANDWAGON EFFECT obtaining what everybody has
- To enhance lifestyle (economic)
- To choose products that appeals to the buyersʼ chosen group (sociological)
- To enhance well-being (psychological)
- Practical and Impractical
- Rational and irrational
- Factual and emotional
THE BUYER DECISION MAKING PROCESS
PROBLEM RECOGNITION
INFORMATION SEARCH
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
PURCHASE DECISION
POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR
SELLING PROCESS FROM A SALESPERSONʼS PERSPECTIVE
● PROSPECT
● ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY
PROSPECT
Is a qualified person or a unit that has the likelihood to purchase the company’s product or service
LEAD Can be a suspect indicating the person or unit is suspected of a prospect. Once a lead has been qualified, they become a prospect. They are the people that expressed interests in your brand
3 KINDS OF PROSPECTS IN PROSPECTING
COLD PROSPECTS
These are prospects with little to no interest to your product. These are potential customers who have little to no knowledge of your company or product and haven't expressed any active interest. Your primary goal with cold prospects is to educate them about your solution and create awareness of their potential need.
WARM PROSPECTS These individuals have some familiarity with your company and might have shown initial interest, like downloading a whitepaper or signing up for a newsletter. You can focus on further qualifying their needs and addressing any concerns to move them closer to a purchase decision. They had a lukewarm response to their productThese are highly qualified
HOT PROSPECTS leads who have a clear need for your product or service and are actively looking to buy soon. Your focus with hot prospects should be on closing the deal and addressing any final questions or concerns. They are the prospects who immediately respond and attracted to the product.
SIGNIFICANCE OF PROSPECTING
- To boost the present sale.
- To replace lost customers.
- To keep the organization kicking and alive.
- To rationalize the approach.
- To bring the company and buyers together.
- To augment up the sales efforts.
- To keep constantly before prospects.
- To utilize time, treasure and talent in an optimal way.
CHALLENGES IN PROSPECTING
- Creating a targeted prospecting strategy.
- Quality of leads from marketing
- Sales must work hand in hand with marketing in setting a clear definition of a quality lead. This does not only increases their effectiveness but also creates a better experience of the buyer.
- Gaining appointments
Marketers can follow-up as many times needed using automated emails and call sequences to guide them into unrecovering their own painpoints, educating them through generated content, addressing every question until finally landing a meeting with sales.
METHODS IN PROSPECTING
SOCIAL SELLING - Using social media to find, engage and nurture potential customers. The goal is to build relationships and close sales. This helps build rapport and trust.
ACCOUNT BASED- MARKETING - A strategic marketing approach that focuses on building relationships with key accounts. Most popular method in B2B transactions.
CUSTOMER REFERRALS - This takes place when a present customer provides the name and contact information of a prospect to the salesperson especially if the present customer has a high level of trust to the salesperson.
INTERNET DATA AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS - Refers to the use of vast amount of data collected from the internet to predict future trends, behaviors or outcomes by analyzing patterns and correlations within that data using statistical models and machines.
PERSONALIZED EMAIL SEQUENCES - A series of emails that are tailored to specific customers. This can help encourage customers, drive sales and build loyalty.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND CONTENT MARKETING - Thought leadership refers to establishing yourself as an expert in a field by sharing insightful and authoritative information; Content marketing is a broader strategy of using content to attract and engage target audience with thought leadership often being a key component of that strategy to build credibility and position a brand as a leader in its industry.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INDUSTRY GROUPS - A community involvement is another most effective prospecting technique. The more people who associate with the name of the salesperson with a positive message, the more clients will they have.
EXHIBITIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS - Though salesperson and prospect contact is somewhat short, this form of gathering of special interest gives salesperson far- reaching contact with a big number of possible buyers over an extremely short extent of time.
COLD CALLING - Is a technique whereby a salesperson contacts individuals who have not previously expressed an interest in the product or service that are being offered. This could be thru phone calls, or a drop in visits.
BUILDING RAPPORT The process of actively engaging with the prospect to create a positive connection by listening attentively, finding common ground, asking relevant questions, and showing genuine interest in their needs and concerns.
2) QUALITY COMPATIBILITY
- Refers to the ability of the salesperson to accurately assess a customer’s needs and match them with the features and benefits of a product or service that best aligns with those needs, ensuring high- quality solution that fits the customer’s specific requirements, thus creating a strong sense of compatibility and value proposition.
KEY ASPECTS OF QUALITY COMPATIBILITY IN SALESMANSHIP
DEEP CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING - Actively listening to customer concerns, asking probing questions to uncover their true needs and pain points, and thoroughly understanding their business context.
PRODUCT EXPERTISE - Having in-depth knowledge about the features, benefits, and limitations of the products or services being sold to accurately match them with customer needs.
TAILORED COMMUNICATION - Adapting the sales pitch and presentation to resonate with each individual customer's specific requirements and priorities.
VALUE PROPOSITION FOCUS - Clearly articulating how the product or service will directly solve the customer's problems and deliver tangible value.
TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY - Avoiding misleading claims and presenting information openly to build trust with the customer.
3) ANALYZE PROSPECTS NEEDS
- This involves actively researching about customer’s needs and situation to identify their painpoints, goals, priorities and challenges, allowing the salesperson to tailor the sales pitch and demonstrate how the product or service directly addresses their specific needs, ultimately increasing the likelihood of successful sale.
The 7 Sales Steps Process
PART 2 - Week 9 - Lesson 5
4) SALES PITCH - It is a brief presentation that highlights the value of a product or
service. The Goal is to convince the audience to buy a product or service
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SALES PITCHES
ELEVATOR PITCH - is a short speech that introduces the salespersons, their business or ideas. It's a way to make a connection with someone in the time it takes to ride an elevator. LENGTH- 30 seconds
STRUCTURE- introduce self, the company & the job title; explain what you do, summarize professional work; explain what you want, explain what you’re interested doing next; call to action, suggest a next step either formal meeting or conversation.
EMAIL PITCH - Executing your sales pitch over email can be challenging, especially when you consider that getting your prospect to open the email is half the battle. A punchy subject line stipulating your value proposition and a concise email with a clear CTA can go a long way.
PHONE PITCH - Pitching over the phone is one of the most common sales pitch types and comes with its own challenges. Consider the best time of the day to call your prospect, earn their trust by being honest, and talk and connect with them for the best results.
Tips:
- Avoid talking too much
- Use testimonials or case studies from satisfied customers to validate your product or service
- Identify the specific product you offer
- Outline your value proposition
- Know who you are selling to
- Address pain points and ask questions
SOCIAL MEDIA PITCH - A modern sales pitch approach, the social media pitch can lead to lucrative deals, but there are a few obstacles to navigate. To ensure you don’t look like spammer, engage with your prospect on something specific and relevant you found in their profile and build on that while keeping things professional.
VIDEO PITCH - This method combines the advantages of in-person, call-based, and text-based pitches, which you can place strategically in messaging.
When to use video pitch? Entrepreneurs: To introduce their company, product, or service to a target audience Marketers: To promote a product, service, or idea to a target audience
SALES PRESENTATION TECHNIQUE
CANNED PRESENTATION - It is a pre-written sales pitch that is memorized and repeated by a salesperson.
PLANNED PRESENTATION - Presentation that is provided by the company, which contains descriptions and pictures
AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATION - Using audiovisual tools like charts, slides, videos and computer based.
WEBINAR - An online session where a salesperson presents information of a particular product
WRITTEN SALES PROPOSAL - A written sales proposal is a document that convinces potential customers to buy a product or service. It should highlight how the product or service can solve the customer's problems.
GROUP SALES PRESENTATION - This presentation is a meeting where a salesperson presents a product or service to a group of potential buyers. The goal is to convince the group that the product or service is the best option for them.
SALES TACTICS IN A GROUP PRESENTATION ARRIVAL TACTICS - Be at the location before the buyer. This gives the chances to set up and prepare. EYE CONTACT - Use the OVERHEAD APPROACH, it is, looking over the head of each so the farthest people can feel that they are part of the group. COMMUNICATION TIPS - Be able to handle disagreements during presentation. Exhibit diplomacy. Salesperson should either be silent or be active. HANDLING QUESTIONS IN GROUP PRESENTATION
- Salespeople should answer the question they understand well.
- Salespeople must defer answering questions they are not prepared to answer.
- Salespeople should answer questions directly.
TYPES OF SALES OBJECTIONS PRICE, NEED, TIME, PRODUCT, SOURCE
HOW TO HANDLE SALES OBJECTIONS?
● BE PREPARED - Do as much preparation as you can before you start selling. Analyze the objections that your customers usually have.
● DO NOT INTERRUPT - Even if you already know what the objection is and how to handle it, don’t try to interrupt your customers.
● THANK - You should thank your customers for the objection because this means that you are given a chance to win the competition and close the deal.
● AGREE - Agree with your customers before addressing their objections. If you show that you understand them they will understand you.
● DENY - If you are sure that your customer builds the objection on personal assumptions you can deny this objection. You should feel when you can do it.
● CLARIFY - If you are not sure what the customers’ objection is, ask them for clarification. You should not guess as it may be very harmful.
● SAY IT - If you are sure that some objections will be expressed you should try to express them by yourself
