Process of sales

Sales Process

• The sales process is a systematic approach to selling a product or service.

The Prospecting

• Prospecting is the process of searching and identifying potential customers.
• This is important to replace the lost customers and find new customers. 

Methods of Prospecting

• Endless Chain Technique
• The sales person get names from existing prospects or customers
• “Cold calling”: The marketing process of approaching prospective customers or clients, typically via telephone, by email or through making a connection on a social network.
• Direct Referral Method
• A customer is asked to recommend the sales person to other prospects. 

• Inquiries from interested parties
• Contacts from trade shows, exhibitions, and demonstrations.

The Pre-approach

• It is the stage when the salesperson prepares for an upcoming sales call on a particular prospect/customer

Primary function of the pre-approach: 

• It is to help the sales person to plan the approach and presentation 
• To help maximize effectiveness with a particular customer
• The extent of preparation may depend on:

• The experience of the sales person
• The importance of the sale
• The amount of structure needed in the presentation

Pre-approach Considerations:

• Who?- To what extent is the person involved in the purchase decision?
• What?- The sales person should translate the product attributes into benefits that will be of interest to the prospect
• How?- The style may have as much to do with success as the information 

The Approach

• The approach refers to the first few moments before and after the sales person comes in contact with the customer.

• It is the opening of the sale which sets the stage for the presentation.
• Its purpose is to secure the customer's attention and interest.

Things to check just before seeing the customer

• Physical appearance
• Mental attitude
• Equipment
• Plan for the presentation

The Sales Presentation

Degree of Structure:

• "Canned" sales presentations are highly structured.
• Canned sales presentations: A standardized sales presentation that includes all the key selling points arranged in the order designed to elicit the best response from the customer.
• Presentations give high
• Prevents a sales person from missing points.
• They can be memorized which may give the sales person confidence. 
• Easier to teach. 
• Tend to be dominated by audiovisual aids.

Weaknesses to this approach:

• They tend to be too generalized, lack distinctiveness, and sound "canned”.
• They take away much of the sales person's inherent flexibility.
• Moreover, they certainly don't work if multiple calls are made to the same customer.

Dealing with Objections

Nature of Objections

• Objections are a regular part of sales interaction and should be viewed as such by sales people.
• They can arise for many reasons other than the customer do not want to buy.
• Example: The time is not right, or there is resistance to the price.

How to Handle Objections

• Sometimes an indirect response can be used to show respect to the point but also quickly get back to the presentation.
• Minor objections sometimes can be ignored and only dealt with if they come up again.
• Postponing can also be good 
• Since it gives more time to get product benefits across.
• The objections might be forgotten. 
• It allows the salesperson to stay in control of the situation.

Techniques

• Direct Denial

o   Used when a serious objection is raised which demands an immediate and straightforward response.

• Indirect Denial

o   (Yes, but technique) - It allows respect for the person's point but counters it with other information.

• Question

o  The salesperson asks the customer a question (Why?)

o  It helps to clarify what is bothering them.

o  It gives the salesperson time to formulate a response.

• Boomerang Technique

o  An objection is turned around by the sales person and used as a reason to buy.

• Guarantees

o  Sometimes resistance can be removed if customers perceive they cannot lose anything by trying it.

Closing the Sale

• The closing refers to that point in the sales presentation when the sales person attempts to secure the desired action from the customer.
• Closing is the achievement of the outcome you want, which may be an exchange of money or acquiring a signature.
• This is usually the primary goal of most selling so if a person cannot close he cannot

When to close

• The apparent time to close is after the presentation, but it may be possible to do it earlier.
• The sales person needs to be sensitive to verbal or nonverbal cues which indicate the customer is ready to close.
• The sales person can probe the customer's readiness through something called a trial close.
• Sales person attempts to close indirectly using a favorable response to a minor point as a cue.
• If there is an unfavorable response, the sales person continues with the presentation.

Final closing techniques

• Closing on a minor point: 
• Ask them about minor points
• Get decisions on things they might consider if they were going to buy the product.
  • Summary and affirmative agreement: 
• Summarize the list of benefits that the other person will receive.
• Tell them the full extent of what they are getting for their money.
• Standing-room only method: 
• Show how other people are all queuing up to buy the product.
• Opportunity Cost Close: 
• Highlight the cost of not buying 
• Hence, show that the actual cost is not as high as it appears from the price.

Follow-Up

The purpose of the follow-up is to:

• Get feedback on the sales
• Requirements gathering

• The customer's decision process does not end with the purchase.
• Therefore, it is shortsighted to think that the sales person's job ends with the sale.
• The focus should be on customer satisfaction.

• Building goodwill is necessary because repeat business is lost many times due to lack of continued attention and concern by the seller.
  • One of the best ways to stimulate repeat business is to stay in touch with customers.
  • Treat customers as if they are the company's most valuable
  • The best way to handle the complaints is to avoid them in the first place:
  • Knowing products and customers well so as to make a good match.
  • Being sure the customer understands what the product can and cannot do.
  • Make sure the customer understands company policies regarding inquiries, warranties, and complaints.
  • The sales person should carefully keep all promises.