1. Preliminary Steps in the Selling Process
Sales Management

2. - Convince the prospect
PROSPECTING
- Identify &
- Qualify
Potential Customers
PREPARING
- Pre-approach
- Call Planning
PRESENTING
- Approach
- Probe for needs
- Convince the prospect
Handling Objections
Closing
Follow up
The Selling Process

3. Step 1- Prospecting
“ Identifying potential customers & qualifying them to determine if they are valid prospects” Through:
Networking: an active process of acquiring new contacts and cultivating existing ones
Define Target Market
Networking
Market surveys
Generate Sales lead
Sales lead is a specific person or organization that might need a good/service
Qualify Prospects
Product need
desire to buy
Financial resources
Decision making authority

4. Step 1- Identifying Prospects
Present Customers
Former Customers
Cold Calling: making unsolicited Sales call
Spotters: people who identify & qualify sales leads
Directories & Mailing Lists
Prospecting Services: companies that provide specific information on prospects.
Personal Contacts
Trade shows & Exhibits
Direct Marketing
Referrals: Techniques are
- “centre of influence approach "is when a person with information about other people or influence over them helps a salesperson identify good prospects.
- Endless Chain Prospecting involves sales representative asking customers for names of friends or business associates who might need similar goods or services

5. Step 1- Qualifying Prospects
Potential customers must be qualified for validity based on prospects:
Money
Authority
Need

6. Qualifying Checklist! Will they buy? Yes No Unknown
1. Do they have good business reasons to buy?
2. Have their needs (objectives) been identified?
3. Is top management aware of these needs?
4. Has funding been identified and approved?
5. Have the decision criteria been established?
6. Is the decision maker available for us?
7. Will other key people give us time and information?
8. Have they said they are definitely going to buy?
9. Have all levels of management agreed to buy?

7. Qualifying Checklist! Will they buy from me? Yes No Unknown
1. Have I established a favorable image for us?
2. Did I adequately describe our proven capabilities?
3. Does (Do) our product(s) provide solutions for their needs?
4. Has genuine interest in our product(s) been expressed?
5. Is the decision maker biased towards us?
6. Have any preferences for us been stated by key people?
7. Is (are) our solution(s) competitive?
8. Does the competition have major advantages over us?
9. Is a consultant (or other third party) involved?

8. Qualifying Checklist! Will they buy from me now? Yes No Unknown
1. Is there a pressing business reason to act?
2. Does a sense of urgency exist with the key people?
3. Has justification been presented and accepted?
4. Have the key steps in the decision process been finalized?
5. Has a decision date been determined?
6. Is the competition making progress in the sales cycle?
7. Has an installation or delivery date been established?
8. Is a demonstration or benchmark required?
9. Can we meet their implementation schedule?

9. Step 2- Preparing
Two key activities are 1. Pre-Approach: Sales call preparation in which the sales person seeks out additional information after the prospecting process is completed - Who is the customer? gatekeeper, economic buyer, user or technical personnel? - What are the customer needs? - What other information is required? - Where does one obtain information?

10. Step 2- Preparing
2. Call Planning: involves a specific sequence of activities before the sales interview take place such as: - Specifying the objective of the sales call - Developing a strategy - Making an appointment

11. SALES SITUATION MANAGEMENT Estimate of Selling Solution
Marketing Services
Estimate of Selling Solution
STEP I
Consider the customer’s objectives and goals
STEP II
Consider your objectives. If multiple, set priorities.
STEP III
Compare your objectives and the customer’s.
Is there a conflict if so, would you:
re-examine your own objectives
attempt to change the customer’s objectives?
really try to keep this customer?
STEP IV
Consider your Goals
Short range goals. Goal of Today’s call?
Do they conflict with one another or with our objectives?
Do they really enhance your objectives?
If not, which is right…your goals or your objectives?
STEP V
Gather intelligence
(Essential elements of Intelligence)
Intelligence on the nature of your competition.
Intelligence on products-yours and competition’s
Intelligence on economic factors of the customer’s business
Intelligence on psychological factors affecting the customers.

12. SALES SITUATION MANAGEMENT
Cont..
SALES SITUATION MANAGEMENT
STEP VI
Analyze the intelligence
(Identify facts, make assumptions)
Consider assured advantages, possible advantages, effects.
Consider assured disadvantages, possible disadvantages, effects.
STEP VII
Develop your sales strategy
Consider possible courses of action, with alternatives
Consider customer’s alternatives
Consider competitor’s alternatives
Consider customer or competitor reactions to your alternatives.
Choose the most promising in terms of your long-range objectives.
Avoid attractive short-range methods that jeopardize objectives.
STEP VIII
Plan Opening Tactics
Same considerations as in step VII
Exploit your advantages
Anticipate and meet disadvantages
Have alternate tactical plans ready.

13. Advanced Steps in the Selling Process
Sales Management

14. The time is always right to do what is right.
~Martin Luther King Jr.

15. Sales Presentation Activities
Approach
Probe for needs
Convince the Prospect
Handle objections
Close
Follow up

16. Step 1- Approach
“ Selling step during which the salesperson obtains the prospect’s interest and attention.”
Preparation
Beginning the presentation
- Ask Questions
- Use a referral
- Offer a benefit
- Offer a service
- Compliment the prospect
- Give something of Value

17. First Impressions are Essential!
Wear neat, Conservative clothes
Be clean and carefully groomed
Know the prospect’s name and pronounce it correctly
Be alert and pleasant
Let the prospect offer to shake hands
Forget about yourself and concentrate on the prospect
Avoid smoking or chewing gum

18. Step 2- Probing for needs
Probing for needs involves asking questions for identifying needs. An approach is SPIN selling that involves Situation Questions, Problem questions, Implication questions and need payoff questions in a logical sequence.
Benefit of Questions!
To learn about the prospect’s needs
To maintain subtle control of the presentation
To involve the prospect
To Build trust
To build relationship

19. SPIN (Neal Rackham - A British research psychologist developed the “SPIN” selling system.)
Situation Questions deal with the facts about the buyers existing situation.
Individual
What is your position?
How long have you been here?
What do you see as your objectives in this area?
Company
What sort of business do you run?
Is it growing or shrinking?
What is your annual sales volume?
How many people do you employ?
Business
What equipment do you use at present?
How long have you had it?
Is it purchased or leased?
How many people use it?

20. SPIN
Problem Questions ask about the buyer's pain and focus the buyer on this pain while clarifying the problem, before asking implication questions. . These give Implied Needs:
Is this operation difficult to perform?
Are you worried about the quality you get from the old machine?
How satisfied are you with your present equipment?
What are the disadvantages of the way that you're handling this now?
Isn't it difficult to process peak loads with your present system?
How is the reliability on this system

21. SPIN
HURT & RESCUE

22. SPIN
Implication Questions discuss the effects of the problem, before talking about solutions, and develop the seriousness of the problem to increase the buyer's motivation to change.
How will this problem affect your future profitability?
What effect does the reject rate have on customer satisfaction?
What effect does that have on your output?
You only have three people that can use them. Doesn't that create work bottlenecks?
It sounds like the difficulty of using these machines may be leading to an employee turnover problem. Is that right?
What does this turnover mean in terms of training cost?
Could that lead to increased cost?
Could that lead to customer service problems?
Will it slow down your growth?

23. SPIN
Need-Payoff Questions get the buyer to tell you about their Explicit Needs and the benefits your solutions offers, rather than forcing you to explain the benefits to the buyer. Getting the buyer to state the benefits has greater impact while sounding a lot less pushy. What these questions do is probe for explicit needs.
Would it be useful to speed this operation by 10%?
If we could improve the quality of this operation, would that help you?
Is it important to solve this problem?
Why would you find this solution so useful?
Is there any other way that this could help you out?
So would you be interested in a way to control this cost?

25. Step 2- Probing for needs
Types of Questions - Open Ended Questions: Broad questions asked early in the sales presentation - Reflective Questions: Questions asked in response to a prospect’s comments - Directive Questions: Leading questions designed to point the prospect toward areas of agreement.

26. Step 3- Convincing the Prospect
Most salespeople use Features-benefit Selling in which the seller relates to a prospect’s needs by emphasizing the benefits received from the seller’s product.
Presentation techniques used are:
Visual aids
Testimonials
Examples
Guarantees
Demonstrations

27. Step 4 – Handling Objections
- Sales resistance: actions or statements by a prospect that postpone, hinder, or prevent the completion of a sale.
- Objections: Outward expression of a prospect’s doubts or negative feelings about a sales proposal. Objections could be related to timing, price, Source and competition.

28. Step 4 – Handling Objections
Responding to Objections
Listen carefully
Ask questions to clarify objections
Respond to the objections
Confirm your response and also make sure that the prospect understands & accepts it.
Prospect states objections/questions/concerns

29. Step 5- Closing When to close - Look and listen to buying signals
- Verbal buying signals
- Nonverbal buying signals
- Using a trail close: A sales technique that asks for an opinion.

30. Step 5- Closing How to close: Some techniques are
- Alternative proposal close: offers the prospect a choice between details
- Assumptive close: Assumes that the prospect will make a commitment.
- Gift Close: provides the prospect with an added inducement for taking immediate action.
- Action Close: Suggests that the sales representative take an action that will consummate the sale.
- One –more yes close: salesperson restates the benefits of the product in a series of questions that result in positive responses, then asks for the order.
- Balance sheet close: the salesperson and the prospect list the reasons for acting now against the reasons for delaying, aimed at pointing advantages of prompt action.
- Direct Close: Salesperson simply asks the prospect for a decision.

31. Step 6- Follow up
Follow up are the salesperson's after sale activities
- Post sale action
- Customer relations
Handle Complaint, promptly and pleasantly
Maintain contact with customers
Keep serving the customer
Show appreciation
- Self Analysis: Continual personal evaluation of a salesperson’s own performance and methods.