The Science and Art of Selling:
The Building Blocks of Professional
Selling
John S. Parke, CMP, President & CEO
Leadership Synergies, LLC
508-367-6632
jparke@leadershipsynergies.com
© 2015 Leadership Synergies, LLC. Confidential and proprietary. Any
reproduction is strictly prohibited.
Housekeeping Notes
Cell phones off
No dominant personalities
Everyone engaged
Take notes
Out on time, back on time
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A Practitioners Definition
Demand
Creation
(Marketing)
Sales Efficiency
Demand
Capture
(Sales)
Demand
Management
(Revenue
Management)
4
Demand Creation – Marketing
Advertising
Public Relations
Research
Internet
Channel management
Demand
Creation
(Marketing)
5
Demand Capture – Sales
Negotiate and close
Demand
Capture
(Sales)
6
Demand Management – Revenue
Management
Demand
Management
(Revenue
Management)
Adding science to
instinct
Business analysis
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Destination Sales Force Focus Is
Evolving
Sales Representative
Account Director
Product/Service Focus
Customer Focus
Reactive
Proactive
Compete for Sale
Create Loyalty
8
The Relationship Role Is Evolving
Order Taker
Trusted Advisor
Product Pusher
Consultant
Narrow Relationship
Broad Relationship
Offering Discounts
Delivering Value
9
Four Selling Types
10
Changing Roles
Sales – Public Face:
Point of contact
Negotiations
Monitor milestones/activities
Conflict resolution
Reports to DOS, who reports to
DOM,
who reports to GM
Revenue Management –Analyst:
Long-term trend analysis
Views hotel as an asset to
manage
Makes pricing recommendations
based on history and forecast
Reports to GM and/or regional
RM
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Revenue Management Defined
Classic revenue management (RM) is defined as the
management of demand so the right customer gets
the right product at the right price to optimize
revenues. This primary activity of revenue
management is most valuable when demand outstrips
the available capacity so that the management of
competing demands will optimize the utilization of the
product.
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Airlines, Toll Roads, Concert Venues
13
Hotels - All in the Mix
Rates $
Business Travel
Occupancy %
Leisure Travel
Conventions & Meetings
Tours
Airline crews
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Effort and Value
High Value
/High
Effort
Low
Value/Low
Effort
High
Effort/Low
Value
Value
High
Value/Low
Effort
Effort
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STEP Defined (outside-in view)
STEP analysis: It is very important that an organization
considers its environment before beginning the strategic planning
and marketing process. In fact, environmental analysis should be
continuous and feed all aspects of planning. The organization's
marketing environment is made up from:
The microenvironment e.g., our external customers,
stakeholders, suppliers, our competitors, etc.
The macro-environment e.g., Political forces, Economic forces,
Sociocultural forces, and Technological forces. These are
known as PEST factors.
(Source: Marketing Teacher)
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Industry Trends – Group Discussion
Sample STEP:
Social trends
Technological trends
Economic trends
Political trends
Note: Often referred to as PEST Analysis
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ASAE Business of Meetings – STEP
Analysis Example
Social:
Diversity demographics/generational
issues/multicultural
Social media
Travel restrictions/xenophobia
Globalization/demographic culture
Special interest groups
Generational differences
Technological:
Virtual meetings
Mass communications
Keeping up with technology
Mobility (email, telecommunication,
travel)
Infrastructure
Cyber security
Economic:
Job
Increased cost of travel
Aging population
The economy (domestic & global)
“Do more with less”
Sponsors spending less
Political:
Tax reforms
Global turmoil (national security,
government regulations)
Government restrictions
Visa process
Legislative/regulatory avalanche
Funding/travel restrictions
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E-Lead Sources: Channels
Third parties – 40% of leads come from third parties
National and Global Sales Offices (brands)
Direct from customers
Through platforms (CVENT/Starcite)
Many times, all of the above
Leads causing chaos—sorting, eliminating duplication,
assignments, tracking
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Sales Process Defined
What? A sales process is a step-by-step approach to selling and/or
managing a customer relationship, product or service.
Why? Reasons for having a well thought-out sales process include
relationship risk assessment, standardized customer interaction in sales, and
scalable revenue generation. A major advantage of approaching from a
"process point of view" is that it offers a host of well-tested design and
improvement tools/resources from other successful customer engagements.
In turn, this offers potential for quicker progress. Mapping a process makes it
easier for everyone to learn, it leads to more success sooner, and it makes it
easier to modify and refine over time.
Adopted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_process
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Nine-Step Proactive Sales Process
Step 1: Research/discover
Step 2: Initial contact
Step 3: Qualify/RFP
Step 4: RFP/bid
Step 5: Presentation
Step 6: Negotiation
Step 7: Account servicing
Step 8: Event/post-conference
Step 9: Rebooking
Green indicates where human sellers can add value
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Five Ways to Shorten the Sales Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sell in priority order (speed)
Five-minute research (preparations)
Use a script (two-minute drill)
Sell to the right buyer (decisions)
Close the business (reduce vulnerability)
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Selling In Priority Order
1) Increase share of current customers: Sell more to existing high-value customers first.
Increase the share of business you already get by offering new products and services
that the customer is not buying from you today. This category of customer already has a
relationship with your company, and it will be easy to gain access to and influence the
buyers.
2) Sell to lost customers: Sell to customers who considered buying from you in the past
but ultimately selected one of your competitors. They are aware of your destination but do
not have an ongoing relationship. They will be the next most likely to give access, and
they could be dissatisfied with your competitors’ services and/or products.
3) Sell to customers you turned down in the past: Perhaps the customer was not very
desirable in the past for any number of reasons (low margin, low volume, late payments,
etc.), but in a slower economy you find them more desirable. Assuming you turned them
down in a diplomatic and professional manner, they will be the next most receptive
category of customers to solicit.
4) Sell to new customers: It’s astonishing that sales leaders often ask their sales teams to
“go get new customers” before the sales force has exhausted customers in categories 1–
3 above. New customers are the hardest to gain access to and the hardest to influence 23
Five-Minute Web Research
Company profile
Mission and vision
Executive profiles
News and PR
Contact information
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The Science of Solicitation
 Five-minute research
 Script your approach
First minute: establish the
“why”
Next 2–5 minutes:
establish the “how”
Next 5–7 minutes:
establish the “when”
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Use a Script
Best day to call
Best time to call
Best option for very senior executives
Focus on the first minute, then the next two
minutes, then the next five minutes
Sample phone and e-mail script
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Territories and Segments
Segment of the market for which a salesperson is responsible.
Territory assignments may be exclusive, meaning no other
salesperson can sell in that territory, or nonexclusive. Territories
may be defined in terms of geographic or market segments,
product or product lines, size of customer or by specific
customers or prospects.
SMERF: Sports, Military, Education, Religious & Fraternal
Corporate: Pharmaceutical, Auto, IT
Association: Trade, Education
Source: Answers.com
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Mapping
Microsoft MapPoint software for North America
http://www.microsoft.com/mappoint/default.mspx
Export data from Excel spreadsheet containing Zip code/Postal
code and other relevant data:
− Vertical market segment
− Group size
− Sales managers
− Status (definite, tentative, lost, etc.)
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Definite Bookings by Market Segment USA
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Definite Bookings by Market Segment –
North East
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Switching Costs
Switching costs are hidden costs a consumer faces
when switching from one product to another in the
marketplace. Consumers should try to factor switching
costs into purchasing decisions, since they impact
future purchasing decisions (limiting freedom of
choice). Companies develop switching costs to try to
establish lock-in.
The airlines have a good understanding of switching
costs and have developed frequent-flyer programs to
raise switching costs and increase loyalty among their
installed bases.
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Examples of Switching Costs
Why switch?
Management team
Processes
Relationships
Extensive offerings
Production expense
Financial savings
Creativity/solutions
Why not?
Too much effort required to
change
Relationship and comfort—
anxiety over assimilating with
a new team
Concerns with replicating
existing processes, reports,
etc.
Fear of change (job loss,
diminishment)
No reason to change
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Identify and Understand Buying
Influences: Buyer Types
Who is involved in the
decision-making
process for this sale?
– Roles, titles
• Economic Buyer
• User Buyer
• Technical Buyer
• Coach Buyer
Adapted from: The New Strategic Selling Stephen E. Heiman and Diane Sanchez with Tad Teluja. Miller-Heiman, Inc., 1998.
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The Players: Economic Buyer
• Position: Rubber stamp
• Role: Give final approval to buy
− Controls money
− Veto power
• Focus: Bottom line and
organizational impact
• Asks:
− What is the ROI?
− How will this impact our
organization?
Adapted from: The New Strategic Selling Stephen E. Heiman and Diane Sanchez with Tad
Teluja. Miller-Heiman, Inc., 1998.
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The Players: User Buyer
• Position: Tester
• Role: Judge impact of product/service
on his/her job performance
− Will use or supervise use of
product/service
− Link between User Buyer’s success
and the success of product/service
• Focus: Task at hand
• Asks:
− “How will this work for me in my
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job/department?”
The Players: Technical Buyer
• Position: Gatekeeper
• Role: Measure quantifiable aspects of
product/service against specifications
− Can’t give final approval
− Can advise against based on
technicalities
• Criteria: Price, delivery schedule,
logistics, terms and conditions, credit,
regulations
• Focus: Not win, but play
• Asks:
− “Does this meet requirements?”
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The Players: Coach Buyer
• Position: Yoda
• Role: Act as guide for sale
− Provide/interpret information about
validity of single sales objective, other
buyers, plan
• Focus: Your success with this objective
• Asks:
− “How can we ensure that this solution
is accepted?”
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Closing Sales
Four ingredients to
closing:
1) Needs
2) Solutions
3) Next steps
4) Contract close
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Why Customers Don’t Buy
They are not aware of your product.
They don’t understand the benefits of your
product.
They don’t feel your product has perceived
value.
They don’t see how your product meets their
needs.
Your product is not accessible to them.
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http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingmethods/a/5reasonsnotbuy.htm
How to “Close” Business
The elements of closing include verifying that:
your proposal meets the needs of the client
you have provided the client a contract to sign with terms that
are agreeable to both parties
you have provided a clear view of the go-forward path for the
customer (“these would be the next steps once the contract is
signed”)
you have asked for their business (“we want to work with you”)
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When Customers Push, Respond
Request for deeper discount:
Your best response: Ignore it and stand firm. Demands for discounts, especially at the
end of a sales cycle, usually mean the customer is testing to see if they've gotten the
best deal. If you drop your price in a demand for an automatic discount, you'll lose
credibility and end up with a non-profitable deal.
“I’m the decision maker”:
Your best response: Ask about the specific reporting structure and skillfully probe to find
out which stakeholders influence the decision. Read between the lines and you'll
probably be able to figure out which people actually have to be "sold" before a deal can
go through.
“Competitor is cheaper”:
Your best response: Treat this as you would if the competitor actually WERE cheaper:
position your offering, and the privilege of working with your company, as having
massively higher value than working with the competitor.
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I Can Never Reach a Human!
“Employees were given the option to turn off their voicemail
systems at the Atlanta office complex and our Coca-Cola
Technology Plaza, and only 6% opted to keep voicemail.”
Your best response:
Call early in the morning or over the weekend. Many real
decision-makers work extra hours and take their own calls
when the office is empty.
Use a script when leaving a voicemail message – keep your
message under one minute.
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Percentage Chances of Closing
Tradeshow Leads
30%
• First month after the event
• Customer remembers one or two points
20%
• Second month
• Vague memory recall – basically the same as competitors
10%
• Third+ month
• Same as starting over
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Tools Available to You Today
Session PowerPoint
Sample scripts and e-scripts
Sample account action plan
Sample client needs assessment
ASAE – attendee ROI tool
ASAE – exhibitor ROI tool
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Sales Meeting Format
The sales meeting format should change to be more focused and better utilize the team’s time
(efficiency and effectiveness). The sales meeting time frame should be one hour maximum. The
agenda should be fixed and should cover:
The top 5–7 major accounts that are in the sales process for each person
The sales leader must determine in advance which accounts each person will review (no selfselection by the sales team).
The sales leader should open the meeting with a perspective that only the sales leader
would/should be responsible for offering (total team year-to-date production status, major
destination-related news, major industry trends, etc.).
The sales managers should then conduct an account overview to include (mandatory
information for each event):
− Which sales process step the account/event is in
− 1–3 key objectives from the customer’s perspective (what is really important to the
customer relating to the event)
− The top 2–3 competitors and their positions with the account/event
− Who the decision maker(s) are (must identify the economic buyer—the person who
signs the contract)
− Any key obstacles/objections the seller needs to overcome (this is the time when the
sales team can offer insights, suggestions, best practices)
− Decision process steps (next step in the sales process, what they plan to do, and next
major milestone date)
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Essential Leadership Components
Architect
Coach
Sales
Leadership
Analyst
Defender
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Session Summary
Takeaways
Next steps
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