2.00 Understand customer relationships, foundation of quality assurances, and selling.
2.01 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope.
Knowledge/Skill Statement: Understands the concepts and actions needed to determine client needs
and wants and respond through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase
decisions and enhances future business opportunities
Level: Career-sustaining.
A. Performance Indicator: Explain the nature and scope of the selling function.
Individuals, groups, & agencies that sell:
Every
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business organization sells.
Entrepreneurs sell ideas to banks to obtain financing.
Manufacturers sell to wholesalers, agents, and retailers.
Wholesalers resell to retailers who then sell to customers.
SELLING = Helping customers make wise buying decisions.
Reasons that customers buy:
 Businesses and people are able to obtain goods and service that they want and need.
 Businesses also buy for business purposes.
o One reason is to resell items at a profit.
o Another reason is for use in business operations such as office supplies.
o Another reason is for the purpose of their production of other products such as buttons
and thread being purchasing to make a shirt.
 Buying Motives are emotional or rational.
o Emotional motives are based on feelings such as social approval, recognition, power,
love or prestige.
o Rational motives are based on conscious, logical reason for a purchase such as
dependability, time or money savings, health or safety considerations service, and
quality.
Types of items sold:
 Tangible and intangible products are sold.
o Tangible products are want you can touch like clothes, food, CD’s.
o Intangible products are untouchable like dry cleaning, lawn care, or health care.
o Goods are tangible products.
o Services are intangible acts performed for someone.
 Consumer goods or services are purchased by the general consumer for consumer use.
 Industrial goods or services are purchased by a business for business purposes (Also known as
B2B).
Where Selling occurs:
 Selling happens anywhere person-to-person contact is made.
o Phone, door-to-door, person’s home, businesses, stores, flea markets, booths or
sidewalks, or offices
How products are sold:
 Direct Distribution is from the manufacturer directly to the consumer without the use of a
retailer.
o For example, door-to-door sales, selling candy for school fundraisers, Mary Kay
Cosmetics, Avon cosmetics, Tupperware, or Pampered Chef sold through home shows.
 Indirect Distribution uses intermediaries or middlemen like agents, wholesalers, or retailers.
o A video store sells DVD’s, Wholesaler sells steel beams to a construction company, or
athlete’s agent negotiates a contract for the next year.
Role of selling in the market economy:
 Keeps our economy moving is where businesses buy resources for the use of production of
goods. Individuals sell their resource of labor. Without each part there would be no flow.
 Promotes competition because businesses compete for scarce resources. In order to stay in
business, companies must compete by satisfying the needs of the consumer. New and
improved products and lower prices is the result. This creates the flow of the economy.
 Affects employment because businesses rely on salespeople making the sale. No sale, no
money or more sales more jobs.
 Adds utility or usefulness to the products like having the right item in the right place at the
right time.
 Help customers determine needs through two way communication between the customer and
the salesperson. That way the needs are better met.
 Creates desire for the products through determining needs, pointing out features and benefits,
& product demonstrations.
Sales people personal characteristics:
 Education and training – hands on experience, bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or
related field can assist. Many companies have training programs for the sales staffs.
 Self-motivation – Sales requires a lot of hard work without direct supervision. Must be
organized with good time management skills and not require someone else’s prompting to get
the job done.
 Self-confidence – People trust others who seem confident. Confidence gains trust and
customers feel as though they are making a good buying decision.
 Product Knowledge – is priceless. Salespeople must know the features and benefits of their
products and their uses or purposes. Sources of information include product, people
testimony, other salespeople, promotional material, or training classes.
 Customer knowledge – everyone is different. Take time to review client files before the
presentation to make sure you have everything in order.
 Ethics – integrity is everything in any business but I can’t imagine anything more important in
sales. Sales have a negative perception anyway. (i.e. used car salesman selling a lemon to
their own mother.)
 Persistence & patience – selling is tough. You work hours on a deal and it doesn’t come
through as a sale. You must keep pushing to the next deal. Rejection is part of the job. You
have to have a thick skin and keep moving forward toward the next sales opportunity.
 Selling skills – determining needs, buying motives, open and close sales, question customer,
handle objections, suggestions selling, demonstrate products, & follow up on sales.
 Belief of selling as a service – sales people are the liaison between the company and the
customer. They provide the service of communication for both parties. Satisfying the
customer results in salary/profits for the salesperson and the company.
 Communication skills – Salespeople must be able to express themselves simply for the
customer to understand clearly. Strong communication involves LISTENING as well as
speaking.
 Creativity – selling today requires imagination and innovation. Salespeople must listen
carefully to the needs of their customers and find unique uses for their products to satisfy
those needs. Customers for life are the goal of every sales person.
 Personal Appearance – you only have 60 seconds to make a first impression. Once
established, it is always there. Dressing and grooming habits should always be practiced.
Customers judge you and the company based on their first impression.
B. Performance Indicator: Explain the role of customer service as a component of
selling relationships.
Customer Service: Distinguish between Process or Function:
 The customer service process flow provides the overall structure providing a consistent set of
processes to record and track user contact.
 When a customer contacts the business’s Service Desk, the Customer Service Representative
(CSR):
o Records the user’s contact information and the details of the request.
o Classifies the user’s request.
o Determines the supportability of the request.
o Resolves the user’s request.
o Confirms the resolution and closes the request.
o Ensures good service.
 Customer Service as a function is a department or function of an organization that responds to
inquiries or complaints from customers of that organization. Customers may communicate in
person or via written correspondence, & toll telephone.
 Customer service as a process requires step by step instructions to follow a specific system.
Customer service as a function is broader than a process. It is a governing philosophy that
oversees the business as a whole.
Customer service to beat competition:
 There’s no real secret to keeping your customers or getting your customers to come back. All
you need to do is provide customer service that exceeds your customers' expectations and
outshines your competitors' customer service.
 Determine what makes what you offer special.
o Study the competition. Think about their customer service and the customer service you
provide. What can you offer your customer that is “better” than the competition? There
are sure to be aspects of your customer Service that you can promote as “Special”.
 Study the customer service ideas on your list and examine their feasibility.
o Can you really guarantee that you will always stick to your written estimate or provide a
faster turnaround time than your competitors? If you aren’t sure, or can’t do it, cross it
off your customer service ideas list.
 Choose one or two of your shiny customer service ideas and implement them.
o When I say implement your customer service ideas, I don’t just mean do it; you also
need to let people know that you’re doing it. Feature this aspect of your customer
service in whatever ads you run, including your yellow pages listing. Put it on your
business cards and in your email signature. Make it part of your greeting spiel when you
answer the phone.
 Stay proactive and keep gathering customer service ideas.
o Neither Sears nor Sleep Country Canada have achieved their success by doing the same
thing for the last thirty years, or by simply reacting to customer complaints. Listen to
your customers and find out what kind of special customer service they want. You can
do this formally, by creating a customer satisfaction feedback form that you enclose
with every sale or post on your website, or informally, by asking them for their
customer service ideas when they're in your store or office. Shiny customer service is
service that’s responsive to customers' needs.
 Customers are tired of dealing with retailers that ignore customer service or only pretend to
have it, and as always, they’re voting with their dollars. Shiny customer Service will draw
customers to your product or service, rather than a competitor, and bring them back in
droves.
Factors that influence customer expectations:
 Interaction with ANY employee
 Customer-Friendly Policies
o Must be Consistent - payment, returns, damages
 Training
o Knowledgeable, experienced,
 Treatment of Employees
o Treat others the way you would want to be treated
 Employee Actions
o Honest, Ethical
 Handling Problems
When I'm a Customer, I Want . . .
1. To be taken seriously
10. Knowledgeable help
2. Competent, efficient service
11. Friendliness
3. Anticipation of my needs
12. To be kept informed
4. Explanations in my terms
13. Follow-through
5. Basic courtesies
14. Honesty
6. To be informed of the options
15. Feedback
7. Not to be passed around
16. Professional service
8. To be listened to (and heard)
17. Empathy
9. Dedicated attention
18. Respect
Customer service and sales relationships:
 Maintain Relationships
 Happy customers will return
 It is more expensive to replace a customer than it is to maintain one
 Create Loyalty through Rewards
Pre-sales opportunities, customer service, and sales relationships
 Does pre-sales' and post sales' customer service mean anything to you?
o It should mean a lot to anybody in a business relationship.
Customer service leads to customer satisfaction.
Customersatisfaction determines the life and death of ANY company.
o Presales are all the effort needed to prepare to make a sale. This includes the research
and planning those sales people go through or the marketing that companies employ.
The primary focus is to identify the clients’ needs so they can offer a solution.
o Presales is a process or a set of activities normally carried out before a customer is
acquired, though sometimes presales also extends into the period the product or
service is delivered to the customer.
 In a typical sales cycle the stages are:
1. Contact
2. Lead / Suspect
3. Prospect / Opportunity
 The task of a presales person starts from the initial contact phase and often ends once the
customer is acquired i.e. sale is made. In some cases, presales also provide some initial or
transitional support post sale.
 The role of presales falls right in the middle marrying the customer needs to the (provider)
company's services or products. The presales professional thus understands what the
customer needs, develops an initial view of the solution the customer needs, then tailors the
product or service of his company to meet what the customer needs, explains (or helps sell)
this solution to the customer, helps close the deal or sale and often stays on to ensure that the
delivery team or product specialists that follow him provide the intended solution.
o Company can maintain data about customers and generate mailing lists based on specific
customer characteristics
o Marketing activities such as tracking customer contacts, including sales calls, visits, and
mailings
o Customers can get pricing information about the company’s products Through an inquiry or
a price quotation
o Salespeople study their products, keep abreast of industry trends and competitors,
research potential customers, and develop familiarity with their company’s policies and
procedures.
o Self-evaluation by reviewing actions through the sales process and identifying actions that
results well and results poorly
o Review ethical and legal issues surrounding the selling situation
Post-sales opportunities, customer service, and sales relationships
 Post sales is the effort that companies and sales people go through after the sale to ensure
that the customer is happy and build future business.
Support post-sale activities
 This section describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to attend to post
sale activities that build and strengthen the partnership between a salesperson and the client, and
enhance the prospect of future sales. No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements
apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.
ELEMENT
1 . Process order
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
1. Record client order details in accordance with organizational policies
and procedures
2. Forward order for product to the relevant section of the organization
3. Monitor the processing of the order
2 . Deliver support to agreed
expectations
1. Provide technical assistance and/or advice in relation to the product
purchased
2. Handle defective returns in accordance with organizational
requirements
3. Provide information to facilitate product repair, support or servicing
4. Provide liaison services to assist clients to access appropriate aftersales support
3 . Handle client feedback
1.
2.
3.
4.
4 . Strengthen client
relationships
1. Ensure contact is made with the buyer post-sale to ensure agreed
Clarify and confirm feedback with clients
Determine client's needs and requirements
Identify and evaluate possible responses to client feedback
Respond to client needs and requirements in accordance with
organizational policies and procedures
5. Make contact with client to ensure the response is satisfactory
expectations have been met
2. Use feedback solicitation methods on the sales process and product
satisfaction
3. Identify, address and resolve service problems and difficulties
identified through feedback
5 . Offer additional benefits to
clients
1. Develop and implement client loyalty strategies to secure buyer
loyalty and to facilitate ongoing contact
2. Contact buyer regularly post-sale at an appropriate level to maintain
relationship and to identify new sales and cross-selling opportunities
3. Offer additional sales solutions and benefits to clients when
opportunities arise
Salespersons maximizing from the customer service activities
 Four phases of the cultivation of customer relationship:
1) Prospecting
2) Acquiring
3) Servicing
4) Retaining
C. Performance Indicator: Explain company selling policies.
Types of selling-activity policies
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Policy overview
Item description
Terms and conditions
Product availability
Postage and related charges
Delivery and dispatch time
Communication
Returns
Types of terms-of-sale policies
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Forms of payment you accept
Return Policy
Restocking fee, if applicable
P&P method, fees and other information
Taxes and any applicable government imposed fees (i.e. electronic waste disposal fees)
Tell buyers about the terms of the transaction in your listing
Meet the expectations you’ve set in your listing
Types of service policies
Service Requests - Record, track and quickly process customer requests for service and support (Warranties,
Guarantees, etc.)
Repairs - Optimize your service repair processes by tracking and managing the complete service cycle.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) - Create and manage service contracts. Accurately define the level of service that
will be offered to your customers.
Installed Base - Record and track detailed information on all product items owned by your customers.
Service Planning - Set up your after sales service policy and processes in line with your individual business needs.
Service Analysis - Monitor the quality and profitability of customer service at all times. Benefit from a structured system
for processing and handling product defects, enhancement requests or software upgrades.
 Efficiently handle and resolve all types of customer problems and requests, including helpdesk
calls, complaints, repairs, hardware and software problems, and information requests
Importance of selling policies
 Selling policies standardize sales.
 Ensures that the company and the customers understand how products are sold.
 Protects the company, legally.
Characteristics of selling policies
 Where can products are purchased?
 Clearly defines what constitutes a sale.
Why selling policies are necessary
 Proves that all customers are treated the same way and increases efficiency of the sales
people. See Below Example:
“eBay's policies help to create a safer, fair and enjoyable trading experience for all eBay members. As
a seller, you are responsible for reviewing and understanding eBay's selling policies, as well as all
applicable laws and regulations outlined in the user agreement.”
External factors that affect selling policies
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City, county, state and/or Federal regulations
Competitors’ actions
Changes in customer expectations
Changes in costs of producing the products - Examples:
o Price fixing
o Sherman Antitrust Act
Internal factors that affect selling policies
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Sales quotas
New management
Changes in goals
Set policies disclosed openly protect the company’s interests.
Regulatory factors that affect selling policies
 The distribution channel might require specific policies in exchange for using that channel (eBay for example).
 Implicit warranties.
 FTC
 Cooling off Period
 ICC Code of Direct Selling
The ICC Code of Direct Selling is designed primarily as an instrument for self-discipline, but may also
be used by the courts as a reference document within the framework of applicable legislation. ICC
expects business operators to respect and endorse the Code both in the spirit and to the letter. It is
recommended as a daily reference source for everyone involved in direct selling. The Code is
intended to achieve the following objectives:
 To demonstrate responsibility and good practice in direct selling across the world;
 To enhance overall public confidence in direct selling;
 To respect privacy and consumer preferences and to provide effective consumer protection;
 To promote fair competition and free enterprise;
 To provide practical and flexible solutions;
 To minimize the need for detailed governmental and/or inter-governmental legislation or
regulations.
Problems encountered with the use of selling policies
 Policies cover specific circumstances, so some situations will not fit the current policies.
 Miss-interpretation by a salesperson.
 Some customers will ask for exceptions to policies in exchange for increased business or
because of a history with your company.