Sales marketing professional. Today’s companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year training their salespeople in the art of selling. More than a million books, tapes, and videos on selling are purchased each year, with hopeful titles such as:
Questions That Lead to Sales, Green Lights for Sales, Secrets To Winning Sales and Avoiding the Pitfalls, You’ll Never Get No Answers , Secrets of Influential Persuasion, What Not To Be Taught In Sales 101, Sell! Sell ​​Sell! How To Make Sales, How To Make Money Tomorrow Morning; Samurai Sales, and World Level Sales. One of the most enduring books is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.
All sales training approaches seek to transform a salesperson from a passive order taker into an active order seeker. Order takers operate under the following assumptions:
Customers know their own needs, resent attempts to influence them, and they like salespeople who are polite and self-effacing.
An example of this take-it-order mentality is the Fuller Brush salesperson who knocks on dozens of doors each day, simply asking the customer if they need a brush.
Two basic approaches to salesperson training
There are two basic approaches to training salespeople to become order seekers, namely the sales-oriented approach and the customer-oriented approach.
A sales-oriented approach trains salespeople in high pressure selling techniques, such as those used in selling encyclopedias or cars.
These techniques include exaggerating product strengths, criticizing competitors’ products, using sophisticated presentations, marketing yourself, and offering price deals to obtain orders.
This form of selling assumes that customers won’t buy unless under pressure, they will be influenced by a sophisticated presentation and they won’t regret after placing an order or if they do, that’s fine.
The customer-oriented approach trains salespeople to solve customer problems. Salespeople learn how to listen and ask questions in order to identify customer needs and be able to provide good product solutions. Skills in making presentations are second to skills in analyzing customer needs.
This approach assumes that customers have hidden needs that represent opportunities for the company, they value constructive suggestions, and they will be loyal to salespeople who interest them. The problem solver is a concept that fits the salesperson much better with the marketing concept than the hard marketer or order taker.
No sales approach is superior under all circumstances. However, sales training programs generally agree on the main steps required in an effective sales process.
Determining Who And Qualifications Of The Candidate
The first step in the sales process is identifying the candidate. Although the company seeks to provide leads, sales representatives need to have the expertise to derive their own leads. Clues can be obtained in the following ways:
- Ask current customers for names of prospects.
- Contact other sources, such as suppliers, realtors, non-competitive sales representatives, bankers and trade association executives.
- Join the organization this prospect belongs to.
- Do speaking and writing activities that will attract attention.
- Check data sources (newspapers, phone books, CD-ROMs) for names.
- Use the phone and mail to get directions.
- Dropping into various offices without notice (called cold canvassing).
Sales reps need expertise to filter out bad leads. Sales representatives may call or write to prospects before deciding to visit them. Candidates are qualified by checking their financial capability, size of business, specific requirements, location and possibility of sustainable business.
Leads can be classified as hot leads, warm leads, and cold leads, and hot leads are contacted for the first time.
a. Initial Approach
Salespeople need to learn as much as possible about the prospective company (what is needed, who is involved in the buying decision) and its buyers (their personal characteristics and buying style).
The salesperson can consult standard sources, acquaintances, and other people to learn about the company. The salesperson must define the purpose of the visit, which may be to determine the qualifications of the candidate, gather information or make a sale.
Another task is to decide on the best approach, which may be a personal visit, telephone, or letter. Determining the best time must be considered because many candidates are busy at certain times. Finally, the salesperson must plan the overall sales strategy for the account.
b. Approach
The salesperson must know how to greet the buyer to get the relationship off to a great start. The salesperson might consider wearing the same clothes as the customer, showing politeness and concern for the shopper, and avoiding distracting behavior such as shuffling across the floor or glaring at the customer.
The opening sentence should be positive; for example, “Mr. Henry, I’m Caroline from Global Companies. My company and I appreciate your coming to see me.
I’ll do my best to make this visit profitable and valuable to you and your company.” This may be followed by key questions and active listening to better understand the buyer and his needs.
c. Presentations and Demonstrations
Sales marketing professional. Salespeople now “tell” the product to buyers, following the AIDA formula for getting attention, generating interest, generating desire, and generating action.
During the presentation, the salesperson emphasizes the benefits that can be obtained by the buyer, by showing the product features as proof of its benefits.
Read too Measuring the results of promotions
A benefit is an advantage, such as lower costs, less work, or a higher profit for the buyer. Features are product characteristics such as weight or size. A common sales mistake is to exaggerate product features (product orientation), and not the benefits for customers (market orientation).
