Final Exam Professional Selling

Four Stages in a Sales Call

the approach, needs assessment, sales presentation, and obtaining commitment/closing

What is the most important stage in a sales call?

needs assessment

Probing questions

questions that help you uncover and clarify the pain, implications, or consequences surrounding the customer’s buying problem

SPIN

a logical sequence of questions used to identify/assess needs

Situation questions

basic facts/info you must have to sell

Problem questions

uncover challenges, dissatisfaction, struggles; your product= solution to a problem

Implication questions

effects of problem; “build the pain” (NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES)—> “if this is left unchecked, what do you think will happen down the line?”

Need-payoff questions

how the solution can help your business (POSITIVE)

Sales Presentation

always reiterate the needs early in the sales call before going on to the body of the presentation

Characteristics of Effective Presentations

should be customized to customer needs, keeps the buyer’s attention, improves buyer’s understanding, appeals to multiple senses, covers one idea at a time, use proof devices to demonstrate buyer benefits, creates a sense of value, quantify the solution, summarize major points

Develop a Presentation Strategy

sort out the buyer’s needs and prioritize buyer needs (may have to be done on the spot), avoid feature dumping: discussing features that are of no use to the customer

Feature

quality or characteristic of the product or service (facts about products/services, dimensions, specifications, etc.)

every product has many features designed to help potential customers

Benefit

the way in which a specific feature will help a particular buyer (what’s in it for me?, something of value to customer)

customer benefit proposition: manner in which a salesperson shows how a product addresses the buyer’s specific needs

FAB (features, advantages, benefits)

advantage: points out why a feature would be important

FEBA (features, evidence, benefits, agreement)

mention the feature, provide evidence the feature actually exists, explain the benefit, ask if the buyer agrees with the value/benefit of the feature

Trial close

taking the pulse of the situation during the presentation, indicates whether the prospect is interested or not

Credibility statements

includes features of the salesperson, organization, and other related and useful information

Balanced presentation

is honest and shows all sides of the situation

Objections

an objection is a concern or a question raised by the buyer; objections are an opportunity to tailor the message and to sell value

LAARC

listen, acknowledge, assess, respond, confirm

most common types of objections

objections related to needs, product, source, price, time

Forestall

to prevent by doing something ahead of time

Objections can be classified as…

unsatisfied needs—real objections

excuses—expressed to mask other issues

Trust

a belief by one party that the other party will fulfill its obligations in a relationship; must be mutual

Why is trust important in sales?

it is the key to building long-term relationships; customers are more likely to refer people that they trust

Trust is a combo of five factors

Dependability, Competence, Customer Orientation, Honesty, Likeability (DCCHL)

Dependability

the buyer’s perception that the salesperson (and the product and company) will live up to promises made

Competence

the buyer’s perception that the salesperson knows what she/he is talking about

Customer Orientation

the degree to which the salesperson puts the customer’s needs first

Honesty

both truthfulness and sincerity

Likeability

behaving in a friendly manner and finding a common ground between the buyer and the seller; salesperson can influence likeability with personal communications (birthday cards, handwritten notes, etc.)