Professional Selling (MKTG-204) Class 1: Personal Selling and the Marketing Concept - - - What is sales? o Exchange of value for money o Value is perceived by the customer; the value can be different between each person o If perceived value (PV) is greater than the price, customers will exchange for money o If PV is less than the price, customers will not exchange for money Ultimately you are dealing with people, to/from people, for people – sales is a peoples job Salespeople are responsible for revenue Personal selling (4 steps) o Developing relationships – identify the target segment, position yourself as a trusted and knowledgeable advisor in front of the customer o Discovering needs – customer will tell you what their problems are o Matching products to needs o Communicating benefits Personal selling philosophy o Adopt the marketing concept o Value personal selling o Partner with customer to make buying decisions o Good salespeople are great listeners, not talkers Class 2: Evolution of Selling + Ethics Chapter 2: Evolution of Selling - Being a salesperson has its advantages o Freedom to manage one’s own time and activities o Above average income o Above average psychic income Psychic income: recognition for the work you provide; satisfaction with the job o Opportunity for advancement o Great opportunities for women - Evolution of personal selling – persuader stage to problem-solving stage o Marketing era – mid 1950s to mid 1960s o Consultative selling era – late 1960s to 1970s o Strategic selling era – 1980s o Partnering era – 1990s to present - Consultative selling o Customer is a person to be serviced not sold o No high-pressure sales presentation, buyer’s needs are identified through two-way communication o Focus on need identification, problem-solving, and negotiation not manipulation o Service at every phase of the selling process o Relationship continues after the sale - Strategic selling o Strategic planning: matching firm’s resources to its market opportunities (financial, workforce, production capabilities, and marketing) o Tactics: techniques, practices or methods used when face to face with the customer o Adaptive selling: altering sales behaviours during a customer interaction to improve communication - Types of selling o Transactional sell: customers are mainly interested in price and convenience Commonly found in retail sales o Consultative selling: emphasis is placed on need identification and need satisfaction Occurs when the customer does not have a solution o Adaptive selling: altering sales behaviours to improve communication We have to match and change our communication style to different customers o Relationship selling: securing, developing, and maintaining long-term relationships Chapter 3: Ethics - In some cases, the motivation to engage in unethical sales practices may increase when companies provide incentive structures to entice salespeople to go over the line - Factors influencing the ethics of salespeople o Top management as a role model – the organization’s moral tone, as established by management personnel, is the most important single determinant of employee ethics o Company policies and practices – developing policy statements forces a firm to “take a stand” on various business practices (often referred to as a code of business conduct) o The Sales Manager – the salesperson’s actions often mirror the sales manager’s behaviours and expectations - Company polices relating to (not to do): o Sharing confidential information o Reciprocity – mutual exchange of benefits o Bribery – cash payments or large gifts Illegal in many countries including Canada o Gift giving – advertising novelties, planning calendars or meals are usually okay o Entertainment of customers – could be considered bribery depending on nature of entertaining o Business defamation – slander (verbal) libel (written) o Product disparagement – false or deceptive product comparisons o Use of the Internet – e-mail abuse is a modern day problem Be careful what you say via email – maintain formality Class 3: Creating Value with a Relationship Strategy Housekeeping - Test 1 o Oct. 2nd o In-class, online o Chapters 1-4 - Assignment 1: Elevator Speech o Oct. 10th o Submitted via Blackboard - Sales cycle o Stage 1: Develop a relationship Objective: to move to Stage 2 o Stage 2: Identify/discovering the need(s) Objective: to move to Stage 3 o Stage 3: Match our products with the needs Objective: to move to Stage 4 o Stage 4: Communicate benefits o Stage 5: Close the sale - - - - - Most important stage because that is how you’re assessed in your sales job Successful salespeople are those who can close o At every stage, there will be dropouts o Sales is a numbers game, so you need a large number of prospects in the beginning to have a good amount of customers that stay through the cycle at the end Empathy and ego drive o A salesperson simply cannot sell well without the invaluable ability to get critical feedback from the client through empathy Can be learned o Empathy: to be able to put yourself in the shoes of another person o Ego drive: inner force that makes the salesperson want and need to make the sale E.g., those with bonuses or commission have a high sales/ego drive o Empathy and ego drive reinforce each other Elevator speech o 30 seconds o Answers questions such as: Who are you? What products do you have? What benefits do you offer? What is your call to action? Adding value with nonverbal messages o Nonverbal: form of communication defined as “message without words” or “silent messages” Facial expressions, voice tones, gestures, appearance, posture, etc. o Nonverbal messages (how) convey much more impact than verbal messages (what) Via tone, volume, and speed of delivery o When there is a discrepancy between verbal and nonverbal messages, you are less apt to be trusted Influence of your entrance and carriage o Influence of shaking hands Factors that affect the message: Eye contact during handshake Degree of firmness Depth of interlock Duration of grip Degree of dryness of hands Best time to present your name is when you extend your hand The customer typically shakes their hand first since they have of higher authority Unless… the salesperson is older o Influence of facial expressions Capable of accurately signaling emotion in a split second Largely universal People trust a smiling face as it looks more sincere o Eye contact Says “I’m listening” Shows respect, understanding, and leads to trust Prolonged contact is threatening Effect of voice quality on relationships o Especially critical on the phone o Suggestions: Do not speak too quickly or too slowly Inject pauses between sentences - Avoid a speech pattern that is dull and colourless (avoid monotone) Avoid bad speech habits “Teen speech”/slang, poor grammar, casual language Effect of etiquette on your relationships o Universal passport to positive relationships and respect: Attire should be formal and dressed up Avoid the temptation to address a new prospect by their first name Use last name and title (Mr., Mrs. Miss) Avoid offensive comments or stories Recognize the importance of punctuality Class 5: Communication Styles: A Key to Adaptive Selling Housekeeping - Quiz: Oct. 29th - Test 2: Nov. 6th - Assignment 2: Nov. 10th - - Communication style o Important aspect of our personality o Patterns of behaviour that others observe (voice, expression, posture) o Also known as behaviour style and social style o Adaptive selling: altering sales behaviours in order to improve communication with the customer Failure to do so (or to do so in the right way), there will be a communication-style bias o Communication-style bias: develops when we have contact with another person whose communication style is different from our own Style flexing: the deliberate adjustment of one’s communication style to accommodate the needs of the other person Communication-style model: based on two important dimensions of human behaviour… o Dominance: tendency to control or prevail over others o Sociability: the amount of control we exert over our emotional expressiveness Sociability Supportive Emotive Dominance Reflective Directive o Emotive style Appears quite active (expresses feelings with vigorous hand movements and rapid speech patterns Takes the social initiative in most cases Likes to encourage informality Expresses emotional opinions Conversation may start with personal topics, unrelated to the actual sale Excess zone characteristics: Expresses highly emotional opinions Stops listening to the other person Tries too hard to promote their own point of view Becomes outspoken and offensive o Directive style Appears to be quite busy May give the impression of not listening Displays a serious attitude Likes to maintain control Typically are able to make decisions quickly Excess zone characteristics: Gets impatient with the other person Becomes dictatorial and bossy (but this does not mean they are top managers, it’s just a communication style) Does not admit to being wrong Becomes extremely competitive o Reflective style Controls emotional expression Displays a preference for orderliness, and prefer formality over informality Tends to express measured opinions Seems difficult to get to know Focuses on details Tries to please everybody Excess zone characteristics: Becomes stiff and formal, sticks to the rules Unwilling to make a decision Avoids displaying any emotion Overly interested in detail o Supportive style Gives the appearance of being quiet and reserved Listens attentively to other people Tends to avoid use of power Makes decisions in a thoughtful and deliberate manner Excess zone characteristics: Agrees with everyone Unable to take a strong stand Overly anxious to win other’s approval Tries to comfort everyone Class 6: Approaching the Customer with Adaptive Selling + Creating Product Solutions + Developing and Qualifying a Prospect Base Chapter 10: Approaching the Customer with Adaptive Selling - Sales cycle o Stage 1: Develop a relationship o Stage 2: Discover the needs The lengthiest stage, 70-75% of time Listening is key in this stage Listening: the art of asking the right questions; two main types of questions: Open-ended: does not anticipate a yes or no answer o Typically used to obtain as much information as possible Close-ended: anticipates a yes or no answer o Could be used for re-checking, re-stating, or creating a vision biased towards our product o Stage 3: Match a product to the need o Stage 4: Presentation of a solution/communicate benefits o Stage 5: Closing Most important stage of the sales cycle - Planning the pre-approach o Pre-approach: activities that precede the actual sales call and set the stage for a personalized sales approach, tailored to the specific needs of the prospect o Includes the first two prescriptions: 1. Preparing presale objectives Ask open-ended and close-ended questions 2. Developing a presale presentation plan o A sales call preparation is typically the result of research, planning, and critical thinking - “In sales it is better to under-promise and over-deliver than over-promise and under-deliver” Chapter 6: Creating Product Solutions - Solution: mutually shared answer to a recognized customer problem o More encompassing than a specific product Information, services, ideas, tangible products, or some combination of these that satisfies the customer’s needs, with the right solution o Often provides measurable results - Information/negotiation o Objections – can come anywhere in the sale; they have different meanings based upon where in the sale they arise Does not mean the sale is lost, a sale done correctly will have few objections o LAMA objection mandling Listening Acknowledge Make a statement Ask a question o You can get about 2 objections in stage 2 o Rebuttal sheet Objections Statements - Time objection - Price objection - etc. - etc. - Chapter 9: Developing and Qualifying a Prospect Base - Prospecting: a systematic process of identifying potential customers - Prospect: someone who meets your qualification criteria - Sources of prospects o Referrals, WOM o Centers of influence, friends and family o Directories o Trade publications o Telemarketing (cold calling) and e-mail o Direct response advertising Class 7: Sales Presentations and Negotiating Buyer Concerns - Assignment 3 o Main document – summary of findings o Presentation – slide deck Use bullet points Use subtitles and text following One sentence Do not overload with too much text Do not read directly from the slides Maintain eye contact Use body language o Due: November 27th - Informative presentation: emphasizes factual information, which is often taken from technical reports, company-prepared sales literature or written testimonials from people who have used the product Persuasive presentation: a sales strategy that influences the prospect’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviour and encourages buyer action The customer is ready for closing if… o He/she wants it o He/she needs it o He/she can afford it - Class 7: Negotiating Buyer Concerns - BATNA = best alternative to a negotiated agreement o What alternatives will be acceptable to you if your negotiation does not succeed? - ZOPA = zone of possible agreement o The space between the seller’s walk-away point (lowest offer the seller is willing to accept – also - called reservation value) and the buyer’s highest willingness to pay Golden rules of conducting a negotiation session o Understand the problem o Create alternative solutions that can add value o Periodically review acknowledged points of agreement o Don’t make concessions quickly o Timing – Pareto Law: 80% of your results happen in the last 20% of your time o Know when to walk away o Documented negotiated settlements in writing - 3 main types of closing o Trial o Comparative o Assumptive
