SET YOUR SALES
The Selling Process
WHY LEARN ABOUT THE SELLING
PROCESS?
Brings products to you, either directly or through the businesses
Most salespeople follow the same basic selling process
It varies greatly from product to product.
WHY IS SELLING IMPORTANT?
Salespeople appear organized, gaining customer confidence.
The process ensures that customers’ needs and wants are met.
An efficient, effective sales process may increase company profits.
SIX PHASES OF THE SELLING PROCESS
-No one, single, correct selling process works for all situations.
-These phases include:
1-Preparing to sell
2-Establishing relationships with customers
3-Discovering customer needs
4-Prescribing solutions to customer needs
5-Reaching closure
6-Reaffirming buyer-seller relationships
PHASE ONE: PREPARING TO SELL
No salesperson can sell without
preparation.
Salesperson must acquire
knowledge about the product.
Identify the product’s features
and benefits.
Generate and qualify sales
leads.
-Find potential customers
-Determine needs or
wants and the ability to
buy.
PHASE TWO: ESTABLISHING
RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS
The completion of a sale is largely determined by the first few minutes
that the salesperson spends with his/her customers.
Salespeople can use their initial contact time with customers to:
-Put customers at ease
-Encourage customers to want to hear about the product(s)
-Gain customer confidence
-Create favorable impressions of themselves and the business
Your job is to try to determine what buying decisions have been made
by the customer.
Look for clues to the customer’s personality, including:
-General appearance
-Dress
-Nonverbal signs
PHASE THREE:
DISCOVERING CUSTOMER NEEDS
-When customers do not know precisely what they want to buy, the
salesperson must be prepared to discover their needs through skillful
questioning and careful listening.
-Asking the customer questions
-Listening to the answers
-Observing customer reaction
-Analyzing customer reactions and comments
Assessing customer needs is also important because it:
-Reduces the amount of selling time required
-Reduces dissatisfaction and customer returns
-Allows salespeople to serve more customers, leading to greater
potential profits for their firm and greater potential commission for
themselves
DIAGNOSIS CUSTOMERS NEEDS
-A doctor diagnosing patients’ illnesses
-A car mechanic
recommend a specific product that meets the customer’s needs.
PHASE FOUR: PRESCRIBING SOLUTIONS
TO CUSTOMER NEEDS
Offer solutions
Includes the sales presentation, the sales talk and the product
demonstration.
The sales talk:
-Convince the customer of the benefits
-Translate product features into benefits
A GOOD PRODUCT DEMONSTRATION
Create interest
Allow the customer to interact/become involved in the selling process
Ask questions
Discuss important points
Get the product into customers’ hands to show them how it works
BASIC GUIDELINES FOR PRESCRIBING
SOLUTIONS TO NEEDS:
1-
Sell the benefits of the product rather than its features
2-
Show the customer a limited number of products to avoid
confusion, no more than three
3-
Show only products that relate to the customers’ specific needs
4-
Concentrate on the main item of the interest to close the sale
PHASE FIVE: REACHING CLOSURE
Many salespeople feel that the closing actually has two purposes:
Identifying any remaining objections (resistance) the customer may have
Getting the order
OBJECTIONS
An objection is a question or concern raised by customers after they
have been shown a product
Salespeople should anticipate objections
Learn to use them to their advantage in a sales presentation
SOME TIPS FOR HANDLING OBJECTIONS
ARE:
Welcome them—
clearing up objections can serve as a chance for you to demonstrate your knowledge and further
solidify the product’s benefits.
Listen from the customer’s point of view to identify the real objection.
Restate the objection to be sure that you understand it.
Answer and overcome each objection completely, without arguing with the
customer or losing your poise.
Review customer benefits.
Try to develop customer conviction for the product.
WHEN ARE CUSTOMERS SATISFIED?
They often give off signals that the time has come to close the sale.
These signals may be direct statements
“This is just what we need”
Nonverbal signs such as closing and stacking product literature.
CLOSE IS A LOGICAL COMPLETION
Customers are moved to the point where they are convinced the
product meets their needs, and they wish to purchase.
PHASE SIX: REAFFIRMING BUYER-SELLER
RELATIONSHIPS
The salesperson is responsible for helping customers feel confident with
their purchase decisions.
Salespeople can follow up
Reassure customers that they have not been sold something that they
do not need.
TECHNIQUES TO FOLLOW UP THE SALE
1-Reassuring the customer that his/her choice was wise
2-Using suggestion selling—recommending complementary products
3-Answering any lingering questions the customer may have
4-Explaining the sales contract fully
5-Checking on or being present when the product is delivered
6-Supervising installation or adjustment of the product—
7-Training the customer’s personnel in the use or sale of the product—
8-Calling the customer to ensure s/he is satisfied
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