“You Can Always Sell More – Are You Good Enough to Get Better?” Present “You Can Always Sell More – Are You Good Enough to Get Better?” Class #2 – “Mastering Your Personal Selling Skills and Persuasiveness”

IT’S TIME TO SELL…

Introduction to the “Steps of a Sales Call” SECTION I Introduction to the “Steps of a Sales Call”

SELLING AT ITS MOST BASIC LEVEL - Selling at the most fundamental level is only two steps: 1st – Lower resistance 2nd – Deliver your message

Ask questions and qualify Agree to your next contact STEPS OF A SALES CALL Lower resistance Ask questions and qualify   Present your solution  Close  Agree to your next contact  

Dealer training manual FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1925 Ford Motor Company “Model T Specialist” Dealer training manual From the book “Birth of a Salesman” By Walter Friedman

TABLE DISCUSSION – HOW IMPORTANT IS EACH STEP? 1) What could happen if any step were left out? 2) How could that missing step impact the success of your sales call?

THE THREE GOALS OF MASTERING THE STEPS OF A SALES CALL AND SUCCESS IN SELLING Goal #1 – Keep control of sales call - Instead buyer controlled conversation Goal #2 – Focus time to cover most important values and uniqueness - Not in a price driven market

THE THREE GOALS OF MASTERING THE STEPS OF A SALES CALL AND SUCCESS IN SELLING… Goal #3 – Act and sound like consultant trying to help instead of salesperson trying to sell - Ask more questions - Let buyer talk - Stop selling drills… - Building long-term relationships of trust

Working Through the Steps of a Sales Call SECTION II Working Through the Steps of a Sales Call

Ask questions and qualify Agree to your next contact STEPS OF A SALES CALL Lower resistance Ask questions and qualify   Present your solution  Close  Agree to your next contact  

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP LOWER A CUSTOMER’S RESISTANCE 1) Talk in their language – not yours - Be careful of “industry or manufacturer tech” 2) Act more professional than competitors - Never talk negative about competitors - Don’t “deal out” brochures or price quotes - Always dress professional - Be respectful of your customer’s time & space

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP LOWER A CUSTOMER’S RESISTANCE 3) Focus on talking about customer’s interests and comfort zones – not yours - Three major comfort zones of buyers: People Technical Business/Financial

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP LOWER A CUSTOMER’S RESISTANCE 4) Utilize the “Four steps of opening a persuasive conversation” 1) “My name is…” 2) “I’m your area sales rep for Mill Creek Lumber” 3) “The reason for my call today is to…” 4) “Is this a convenient time to be calling?” - Use as opening face-to-face or on the telephone

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP LOWER A CUSTOMER’S RESISTANCE 5) Listen before you start talking and presenting - Don’t be guilty of “Ready – Fire – Aim” - Everyone believes they are unique - Even standard solution needs to look like a unique fit before they will buy

Ask questions and qualify Agree to your next contact STEPS OF A SALES CALL Lower resistance Ask questions and qualify   Present your solution  Close  Agree to your next contact  

THREE GOALS OF THE QUESTIONING AND QUALIFYING PROCESS 1) Identify customer's needs 2) Learn about environment and business 3) Qualify to make sure worth time - Discuss favorite questions for each…

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP ASK QUESTIONS AND QUALIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS 1) 1st question in Step 2 needs to lower resistance - “Mind if I ask you a few questions about what your doing now?”

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP ASK QUESTIONS AND QUALIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS 2) Ask all questions and have complete understanding before presenting - “Question - Present - Question – Present” raises customer's resistance

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP ASK QUESTIONS AND QUALIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS… 3) Only ask enough to sell…not to install 4) Use “Open Ended” and “Closed Ended” questions - Examples of Open Ended questions - Examples of Closed Ended questions

Ask questions and qualify Agree to your next contact STEPS OF A SALES CALL Lower resistance Ask questions and qualify   Present your solution  Close  Agree to your next contact  

UTILIZING “FEATURE - ADVANTAGE - REACTION” SELLING TECHNIQUE - Majority utilize "Talking Only" Step 3 presentation technique Feature Advantage (What’s the “WIIFM?”)

UTILIZING “FEATURE - ADVANTAGE - REACTION” SELLING TECHNIQUE… - You gain competitive advantage by being more interactive  Feature Advantage   Reaction

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP PRESENT YOUR SOLUTIONS 1) Keep it simple – Don’t over-present 2) “Don’t sell drills – sell how they can make better holes”

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP PRESENT YOUR SOLUTIONS 3) Visuals help focus and retain selling messages 4) Make detailed notes after calls to remember what presented or discussed

FIVE IDEAS TO HELP PRESENT YOUR SOLUTIONS 5) Keep presentations relaxed and low pressure (and low resistance)

Ask questions and qualify Agree to your next contact STEPS OF A SALES CALL Lower resistance Ask questions and qualify   Present your solution  Close  Agree to your next contact  

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP ASK FOR THE ORDER 1) Critical to “ask for the order” on every contact or sales call 2) “Asking for the order” is least important part of sales call and selling process

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP ASK FOR THE ORDER 3) Majority of salespeople utilize “Higher Pressure Focused" approach to asking for the order

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP ASK FOR THE ORDER 4) You gain a competitive advantage (and impress customers) by utilizing a "Least Resistance" approach to asking for the order

EFFECTIVE "LOW RESISTANCE" CLOSING QUESTIONS “So what would you like to do?” “What happens now?” “What do we need to do next?” “Where do we go from here?”

Ask questions and qualify Agree to your next contact STEPS OF A SALES CALL Lower resistance Ask questions and qualify   Present your solution  Close  Agree to your next contact  

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP YOUR CUSTOMER AGREE TO YOUR NEXT CONTACT 1) Ending with close is selling event - We want selling process 2) You gain a competitive edge utilizing this fifth and final step - More customer focused ending

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP YOUR CUSTOMER AGREE TO YOUR NEXT CONTACT 3) Important to use this step to review all promised actions

FOUR IDEAS TO HELP YOUR CUSTOMER AGREE TO YOUR NEXT CONTACT 4) Use step to help qualify and learn feelings about your efforts “When would you like me to get back with you that won’t be bugging you?”

SECTION III Utilizing the “Steps of a Sales Call” to Increase Your Competitive Advantage

THE THREE MOST CONSISTENT SELLING WEAKNESSES FACED BY ALL SALES PROFESSIONALS Weakness #1 – Sales people without control of steps talk too much - What percent of a call do you talk vs listen?

Agree/Set up next contact WEAKNESS #2 – SALES WITHOUT CONTROL WILL COLLAPSE UNDER PRESSURE AND ONLY TALK Lower Resistance Ask Questions Present Close Agree/Set up next contact

“Slime balls” sell by talking & “pitching” WEAKNESS #3 – ALL SALES PEOPLE ARE USING THE SAME STEPS…EVEN HIGH PRESSURE “SLIME BALLS” “Slime balls” sell by talking & “pitching” Lower Resistance Ask Questions Present Ask for Order Agree to Next Contact Less than 25% More than 75%

“Lower pressure Pros” sell by asking and listening Weakness #3 – All sales people are using the same steps…even the high pressure “Slime Balls” “Lower pressure Pros” sell by asking and listening Lower Resistance Ask Questions Present Ask for Order Agree to Next Contact Less than 25% More than 75% More than 75% Less than 25%

TAKE THINGS ONE PERSUASIVE STEP FURTHER BY SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING - Answering “No” puts pressure on you - Saying “Yes” puts pressure on buyer  “Yes if”  “Yes when”  “Yes but”  

HOW COULD YOU ANSWER YES TO THESE QUESTIONS? - “Can I get a discount/cheaper price for this?” - “Can I get this out-of-stock piece immediately?” - “We’re currently on COD with Mill Creek, but can you get me these few boards so I can finish this house and get paid?”

How to handle objections STEPS OF A SALES CALL How to handle objections

Build a list of the toughest objections you hear TABLE DISCUSSION Build a list of the toughest objections you hear

HOW TO HANDLE OBJECTIONS - An objection can occur at any time - All objections are a sign of resistance - Resistance to “I don’t see how this will work for me?” - Resistance to feeling ready to buy - Resistance to you, your company…

AN OBJECTION IS NOT NECESSARILY NEGATIVE – Two types of objections: 1) “Help me make this work for me” objections 2) “I don’t want to buy from you but can’t tell you no” objections

FOUR STEPS TO HANDLING ANY OBJECTION - Handle objections with steps sales call 1) Lower resistance 2) Ask questions - Objections vs real problems 3) Present (“Feel – Felt – Found”) 4) Seek agreement/acceptance

LET’S PRACTICE - Try using steps to handle an objection 1) Lower resistance 2) Ask questions - Objections vs real problems 3) Present (“Feel – Felt – Found”) 4) Seek agreement/acceptance

IT’S TIME TO SELL AGAIN!

Questions?

TABLE DISCUSSIONS Question #1 – What is the best idea you have received from this class? Question #2 – What do you plan to do different this next week?

FIELD TRAINING BETWEEN CLASSES #2 & #3 - Keep detailed log - E-mail one page report of your field training activities and accomplishments since Class #2

BY THE START OF NEXT CLASS YOU ARE TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE… #1 – Debrief this class with Manager - Follow list of topics on Page 37 #2 – Learn steps of a sales call before next class - Review steps and plans before each call to help learn

BY THE START OF NEXT CLASS YOU ARE TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE… #3 – Make sales call(s) with Manager - Feedback on message & steps #4 – Discuss w/Mgr progress with prospect and planned next steps #5 – E-mail one page field training report to Mgr, “Bob” Vogt and Jim C.

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