Mucking Personal Selling

CRM

-Process of using technology to gather and analyze customer data to initiate sales actions -Process of internal formalization for enabling successful customers marketing and one to one marketing -Process of acquiring, retaining, and growing profitable customers consistent with a relationship selling approach -Put customer value means that when the customer weights the cost of a relationship with a seller, the benefits realized from that relationship outweigh the costs. Building customer loyalty is very important goal of the CRM processes because loyal customers are typically highly satisfies with he relationship and the product offering and are very unlikely to leave and go to another company.

Three Sales Effectiveness Ratios:

1. What was your prospect/ lead ratio? 2. What was your proposals/ prospects ratio? 3. What was your sales/ proposals ratio?

• Active Listening:

o Active listeners focus not just on what is being said but how it is being communicated like facial expression arm, hand and body movements. 1. Listen patiently to what the prospect is saying, even if you believe it is wrong or irrelevant 2. Try to understand the feeling the person is expressing, not just the intellectual concept 3. Restate the person's feeling briefly but accurately 4. Allow time for the discussion to continue without interruption 5. Avoid direct questions and arguments about facts 6. When the customer touches a point you want to know more about, simply repeat his or her statement as a question 7. Listen for what is not said 8. If the prospect genuinely appears to want your viewpoint, be honest in your reply 9. Do not get emotionally involved yourself 10. BE Quiet, let the other person talk. Listen to what he or she has to say.

• Distributive Bargainers use tactics such as:

o Silence and bracketing- isolate something other party is uncomfortable about and then follow up with silence o Auctioning- use of power, I can get this cheaper somewhere else o Bottom-lining or walking away o BATNA-Best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Should know this before going into negotiation signaling you have other alternatives. o Nibbling- attack and withdraw, wear other party down, clears room for trampoline o Stating artificial deadlines o Good cop/ bad cop o Anger and emotion

• Distributive Bargainers believe that

o The give and take is highly competitive and bargaining is hard fought. o Every negotiation should involve a definitive winner and loser o Each side engages in aggressive information seeking tactics about the other party while also trying to keep information about themselves private (RULE: maximize the get, minimize the give).

Lead:

• Different than a prospect. All prospects are first leads. A lead is a ppossible candidate for a product or service that sales organization sells.

At the Meeting:

• First greet the prospect with a professional introduction • Engage in pleasantries to establish rapport • Implement a smooth transition into the approach

When Closing the three different SFA tools to use:

• Marketing Encyclopedia System to help prepare for a close by looking at relevant fact sheets and schedules, contracts and to perform a post-close analysis. Using document of best practices for a close that ends in success. • Automated Sales Configurator: helps prior to the close to show how an offering matches the buyers specifications and helps handle an objection like an on the fly response showing how salesperson can reconfigure an offering to meet ew demands • Personal Quote Generator: with respect to closing it is used primarily to adjust prices and ensures price discounts are made if applicable.

Negotiation:

• Negotiation: a situation in which o Two or more parties must make a decision about their interdependent goals and objectives o The parties are committed to peaceful means for resolving their dispute o There is no clear or established method or procedure for making the decision • More broadly it is the act of conferring with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter; to arrange for or bring about through conference, discussion and compromise.

Pipeline:

• Prospects are no longer leads. It belongs to salesperson- they haall have a pipeline to manage.

Setting Objectives for the Sales Presentation:

• The sales presentation is a critical time in the relationship-building process: having a clear idea of what you are trying to accomplish is imperative for making an effective presentation. The goal of the presentation is to secure a purchase commitment from the customer. • Depending on the specifics of the situation, salespeople may seek to achieve at least one of five principal goals: 1. Educate the prospect by providing enough knowledge about the company's products and services 2. Get the prospects attention 3. Build interest for the company's products and series 4. Nurture the prospects desire and conviction 5. Obtain a prospect commitment to action • Note: in goals 1-4, the salesperson may not feel that they can get the prospect to purchase today, the goal here is to set up another prospect meeting.

Main Closing Techniques:

• Trial-Order Close; et the prospect to try out the product with minimal commitment, goal-prospects will convince themselves of the merits of the product. o Very Small order o Puppy dog approach o Typically used as a last resort • Door-in-the face close: social reciprocity- donor drive example) o Intentionally ask for something big that you know will be refused initially o When it is refused you engage in conciliation adna sk for something smaller o Goal- the prospect will understand that the second request is a concession and will accept • Foot-in-the Door Close: donor drive example o Seek compliance with a small request that will trigger favorable self-perceptions in the buyer o Follow up with second requests for something larger that plays upon the buyer's favorable self-perceptions

Pipe:

• Want the pipe full of prospect accounts and kep it full- want to move prospects through the pipe to the closing of the sale

Applying Knowledge to Prospects Needs:

• salespeople should sell fab as the critical link between what the company offers and what the prospect needs. o Features: an material characteristic or specification of the companys products and services. (e.g. anti-lock brakes on a car) o Advantages: particular product/ service characteristic that helps meet the prospects needs (e.g. anti-lock brakes stop the car faster and in a more controlled fashion). o Benefits: the beneficial outcome to the buyer from the advantage found in the product feature (e.g. the car will provide greater safety for the driver and passengers)

The Major Objectives of CRM (Customer Relationship Management):

1. Customer Acquisition: Acquisition of the right customers, based on know or learned characteristics, which drive growth and increased margins. 2. Customer retention: the ability to retain loyal and profitable customers and channels to grow the business profitably. 3. Customer profitability: increased individual customer margins, while offering the right products at the right time.

Keys to a great sales presentation:

1. Demonstration: if possible incorporate a demonstration of your product into the presentation. Help to build credibility, creates a greater connection between the customer and the product. Helps enhance the effectiveness of your communication. 2. Value Proposition: summarize the value a prospect receives from your product/ service based on expected benefits and costs (explicate both a financial and business justification). 3. Nonverbal Communication: be ready to interpret and assess your psospects nonverbal. Most important element, facial expressions, posture, eye contact, gesture and even dress. Arms/ hands, body language. 4. Actively enhance the prospects knowledge of your product/ service 5. Create a memorable experience: remember- the prospect is going to likely see several of these presentations from competitors differentiate your presentation.

5 Primary Areas of Customer Concern:

1. Do I need your product? a. (both the product in general and more specifically the product you are selling) 2. Do I trust your company? a. Both unease about your company and loyalty 3. I Don't Really Know you: a. The sales person has to earn the customers respect. It is important to be very prepared and demonstrate knowledge of the customer's value proposition. 4. I Need More Time to Consider Your Product: a. Customers frequently ask for more time because they wish to delay or stall the final decision for several reasons, customers may be reluctant to make a decision because of the uncertainty of something new 5. Is this your best price? a. (add value to the total package), (effective use of price) (price is your friend, not your enemy)

Guidelines for effectively handling complaints (service recovery)

1. First, stay proactive in the follow up- don't wait for complaints 2. Listen carefully to what the customer has to say 3. Never argue (remember avoid becoming emotional) 4. Always show empathy its an important part of service quality 5. Don't make excuses 6. Be systematic 7. Take notes about everything related to the complaint, update the OMS and MES 8. Express appreciation

The 3 General Categories of Technology:

1. Internet: technology asset that facilitates communication between the sales organization and prospects (website) 2. Intranet: technology asset that facilitates privileged communication within the sales organization (salesperson-salesperson interactions, salesperson-sales manager interactions, salesperson-firm interactions) Example: Sakai 3. Extranet: technology asset that facilitates privileged communication between the sales organization and existing customers (VMI and EDI) Example: Walmart

The 5 types of SFA Tools:

1. Marketing Encyclopedia system (MES): a web-based central repository (accessible via the sales organizations intranet) which consolidates all marketing and sales related information (corporate brochures, product fact sheets, features/ benefits lists, press releases, price discount schedules, contracts, index of successful presentations). 2. Automated Sales Configurator: automated query tool whereby the salesperson inputs the requirements of a sale, proposes a configuration, matches it against an offerings catalogue and enforces dependencies or constraints to receive a proposed configuration (output). 3. Proposal/ Quote Generator: integrates with sales configurator to apply pricing information to the configurations. Should be able to support multiple price lists (e.g. if prospect came in through a particular marketing campaign which makes him/ her eligible for special pricing), apply relevant discounts and support multiple currency conversion tables 4. Routing Table: a tool (often an additional automation tool that is part of an SFA system) that routes a qualified lead onto a salesperson. In matching a prospect with a salesperson, it considers: a. The physical location of the prospect b. The type/ category of product or serfice the prospect is looking for c. If the prospect has needs that cross "multiple sales channels"

Different Sales Presentation Strategies

1. Memorized Presentation 90/10: seem most inappropriate in most situations. The salesperson is not really interested in determining the needs of the customer. Salespeople believe they can make a compelling argument for the product without spending time learning more about the customers problems and needs. A primary disadvantage is that the salesperson may discuss aspects of the product that are not important to the customer while leaving out critical information, the salesperson risks wasting everyone's time. The very nature of memorized presentations limits customer participation. 2. Formula presentation 70/30: are also highly structured but increases customer interaction by soliciting more information. Begins to shift the focus more to the customer. It focuses on the product but encourages the customer through trial closes, question to be involved. It is based on AIDA. The salesperson must get the customers attention, create interest in the product, develop a strong desire for the product and move the customer to action (buying the product). 3. Need Satisfaction Presentation 50/50: shifts the focus to the customer and to satisfying the customers needs. The key to success with this strategy is the right combination of questions, listening, analysis and presentation. The salesperson gives up a degree of control for greater understanding of the company's needs. They can be broken down into three parts. 1. Need identification: involves questioning the customer to discover his or her needs, beings with open-ended questions . Based on their response then you ask more focused questions on the need. 2. Need Analysis: combining knowledge of the company's products and series with the recognition of the customers needs, the sales person must analyze the customers needs to determine how best to meet them. 3. Need Satisfaction: the salesperson presents the companys solution to the customers needs. 4. Problem Solving presentation 40/60: the most complex and difficult presentation it is based on a simple premise: the customer has problems and the salesperson is there to solve them by creating win-win solutions. Problem solving is the most important presentation strategy for building long-term customer relationships. The focus is on the customer which means the salesperson spends more time listening than talking.

Specific Win-Win tactics:

1. Question- nonthreatening method of handling customer objections, but you must listen to the customers comments to develop a question that addresses the concern. 2. Direct Denial- involves an immediate and unequivocal rejection of the customers statement. 3. Indirect Denial- salesperson begins by agreeing with the customer, validating the objection before explaining why it is untrue or misdirected 4. Compensating for Deficiencies- the validity of the customers concern about the feature in question. 5. Feel-Felt-Found - acknowledge the customers feeling and extend the same feelings to a larger audience. 6. 3rd Party Endorsements- use of outside parties to bolster your arguments in the presentation 7. Bounce-Back- knows when to turn a customer concern into a reason for action 8. Defer- most common when the customer raises a concern about price early in the presentation 9. Trial Offer- effective with new products because the customer can try the product and become familiar with it without any risks

5 Common Types of Approach Strategies:

1. Referrals: referred by a third party often a satisfied customer. They increase credibility and reduces the customers anxiety. 2. Customer Benefit: by starting the presentation with a solution to at least one of the customers problems, you create an instant win-win situation. 3. Question: two advantages are getting the customer involved in the presentation is always positive and asking questions. Customer feedback you are position yourself success in the presentation. The risk is that you may get an answer that will effectively end the presentation if the customer answers no. 4. Assessment: ask the customer to complete a set of questions then you collect the data and analyze the information and make a presentation to client based on your analysis. It is effective because it is nonthreatening and you can go over the assessment with the customer. 5. Product Demonstration: it is an effective approach with certain products like cars because it is crucial to the presentation.

Touch Points

Where the selling firm touches the customer in some way, thus allowing for information about customers to be collected

• Integrative or Collaborative Negotiators believe that:

o Almost direct opposite o The solution to conflict is rooted in an accurate exchange of information o The process should include an exchange through which parties who originally may see different aspects of a problem come to constructively explore their differences and search for solutions that go beyond the limited vision of what was originally thought possible.

• Integrative or Collaborative Negotiators will try to:

o Create value not claim it (symbiosis) o Concentrate on interests not positions o Focus the exchange on interdependencies not disagreements and differences

• Developing a time management plan:

o Daily event schedule: What am I going to do today? o Weekly/ monthly planning calendar: What are you going to do this week? This month? Helps with tasks that are medium to long term planning. o Organizational of critical information: Do I have critical information easily accessible to do my job? o Using SFA tools like OMS and the MEs can save time, work and frustration and improve efficiency. o Another tool that can lead to more effective territory management is the automated router: Routing table- used to make sure the salesperson promptly responds to the prospect, and establishes a route to integrate new sales call trips into visits and salespeople need to provide feedback to their managers.

• Measure the sales performance of the company's products, customers and territories

o Devise an appropriate metric for assessing performance o Managers can track the total sales in a specific territory and can do in a time comparative this year vs last year, by salesperson new vs former and by product models

• Reasons for sales managers

o Generate assurance that customers get the appropriate coverage and attention o Lean operations and a minimization of sales expenses o Assess sales performance, identify areas of operational weakness and direct improvement: investing in a territory management system, managers can evaluate individual territories, districts, regions or countries to identify problems before they get too big o An alignment of company policies with customer expectations

• Important to note

o Neither one nor the other is the definitive best approach o In life, some situations may necessitate using a certain approach in one situation ad the other approach in another situation o As in individual you should not fall in love with one approach (though most people, by nature, are predisposed to liking one approach in particular) o It is the nature of the situation itself- not any other factor- that should determine the negotiation approach taken o In relationship selling (because the goal is to effectively build, nurture and sustain long-term relationships with the other party), the best approach is generally an integrative approach (transitional selling is often uses more of a distributive approach) o Integrative=collaborative=win/win negotiating

Need Identification Questions: *Questions, Active Listening, SPIN:

o Unrestricted Questions- open-ended and encourage the prospect to open up and share information. Develop a richer more complete understanding of the customers issues. Help shape the presentation because they have specific information. However it is time consuming. o Restricted Questions: require a yes/ no short response, which discourages dialogue. o Data Collection Questions: ask questions to verify existing knowledge. Salespeople should limit data collection questions. Sometimes they qaste customer time. o Investigative Questions: probe for information about problems, opportunities and challenges. Successful salespeople sue these questions to assess the customers state of mind. It is difficult to manage responses. o Validation Questions: help salesperson get agreement from prospect and keep the prospect involved in the presentation. • SPIN to customers' needs: o Situational Questions: data-gathering questions in which the salesperson is trying to collect information on the current situation. Example: "How long have you had your present equipment?" Could you tell me about your company's growth plans?" o Problem Questions: focus on exploring particular problems and issues they are much more useful in identifying the customers needs than situation questions. Example: Are you worried about the quality you get from your old machine". If there is no problem there is no basis for a relationship or sale. o Implication Questions: Questions take problems and explore their effects or consequences; they aim to help prospects understand the problems seriousness and urgency. Example: What effect does our stated problem have on output? Has the problem increased your costs? o Need Payoff Questions: aimed at focusing prospects' attention on solutions rather than problems; How would a faster machine help you? These questions get the prospect to tell the salesperson the benefits of the sales solution.

Prospect:

• A lead that is a good candidate for buying what the sales person is selling.

The Follow up:

• After the close it is important for salespeople to follow up. This means providing good after sale service. Stay on top of the customer satisfaction gap, if there is a gap, there are likely going to be complaints • Gaps can stem from: o Product delivery problems, o Billing problems, o Installation issues, o Customer not really knowing how to use the product o and product performance being inadequate. • Customers should be encouraged to share their post sale concerns.

Initial Sales Call and RFP:

• After verification, the salesperson will sometimes place an initial sales call to the prospect. The goal of this call is to get the prospect to request a proposal from the sales person. At this point, salesperson is still on information mission.

Closing Methods:

• Assumptive Close: allows the salesperson to verbalize this assumption to see if it is correct. Obviously you are looking for the buyer to just naturally move along with your assumption. Ex: I can ship it you it on Monday" • Minor Point Close: agreeing on something small reflects commitment to the purchase. Ex: What color do you prefer? • Alternative Choice Close: giving the prospect options neither of which is not to buy at all. Ex: which works best for your application, Model 22 or Model 35? • Direct Close: most straightforward simply asks for the order. Ex: if there are no more questions I can answer, I would sure like to do business today. What do you say? • Summary of Benefits: reviewing benefits of the product and how they relate to buyer needs. EX: As tuu agreed, our product will upgrade your technical capabilities, allow you to attract new business and save you money, isn't that right? • Buy-Now Close: salesperson creates a sense of urgency. Ex: I am almost out of stock on this product in our warehouse.

The Pre-approach:

• Before the initial sales call, the salesperson engages in the preapproach. They: o Researches the prospect ands ets goals for the sales call o Begins to preliminarily put together a value proposition about the product/ service and how it might help the prospect based on what the salesperson knows about him/ her o Assembles a list of questions about the prospect that will help the salesperson "fill in the holes of knowledge" o Plans to portray the right image by preparing for the presentation, considering possible questions that prospect might ask. • The preapproach makes heavy use of the Marketing Encyclopedia System • 5 elements to the preapproach: 1. Establish goals for the sales call a. Goals for the sales call must be specific, measurable and attainable. They must take into account your firms goals, your own goals as a salesperson and the clients goals. None of the goals involve actually making a sale. 2. Learn all you can about the prospect a. Pay attention to both professional and personal aspects of the potential customer, obtain enough information to match yourself and your company to your prospects. 3. Plan to portray the right image a. Deciding what type of presentation to prepare and what to wear for the sales call. 4. Determine your approach 5. Prepare a sales proposal

Non-Verbal Buying Signals:

• Buyer is relaxed, friendly open • Buyer brings out paper work (PO, sales order form, etc) • Buyer exhibits positive gesture/ expressions: Sitting at the edge of chair, mimicked movements, reducing interpersonal distance. ➢ If salesperson detects one or more buying signals--- trial close. ➢ Trial close can take place any time during the sales process ➢ If trial close is premature buyer may react with apprehensiveness ➢ If premature—salesperson should proceed with the rest of the presentation and progress towards a typical close with concludes the presentation

Before the meeting:

• Consult the OMS to review all previous interactions with the prospect, check information on the primary prospect contacts (anmes, positions, tenure with company), get name of admin assistant if on record. • Reference the MES to get the latest product specs, sell sheets, look at copies of successful previously given presentations/ demonstrations • Never make the customer wait. • Make sure your dress is appropriate

The Sales Managers role in time and territory management

• Design sales territories that make sense. Territories should be roughly equal with respect to the amount of sales potential they contain and the amount of work it takes to cover. Stages in the design include: o Select the basic control unit (the geographic area- city, county, etc.) o Estimate market potential (how much will each area likely buy?) o Perform workload analysis (how much work is required to cover the territory?). Considering the 1. Number of accounts 2. Number of calls to be made on each account. 3. Duration of each call. 4. Estimated amount of non-selling and travel time. o Define sales territories (set the boundaries of each territory) o Assign salespeople to territories

The Sales Manager's Role in Negotiations Win-win solution:

• Empower salespeople to negotiate with customers • Give salespeople the ability/ support to be able to solve the customer's problems on their own • Reiterate to the salesperson that he/she has the authority to speak for the company • Step in if the negotiation calls for it- if he customer objections exceed the salesperson authority • Stay involved in the negotiation process, receiving briefs/ updates on the process to ensure the salesperson has the best chance to bring the negotiation to a successful conclusion

The Importance of Time Management:

• For salespeople, effective time management leads to: o Increased productivity: management designs territories so that salespeople must exert maximum effort to reach the territories full sale potential o Improved customer relationships-efficiency and effectiveness helps to raise the customers opinion of the organization and helps build successful customer relationships. o Enhanced personal confidence

The approach is the first part of the sales presentation. It is the transition point from the greeting to the main body of the presentation. It has two objectives:

• Get the prospects attention • Create enough interest in you, your company and its products./ services that you can continue in the presentation

Verbal Buying Signals:

• Giving Positive Feedback: " I like the new features you described" • Asking Questions (as buyer gets more engaged- more questions) When will it be available to ship? What Colors does it come in? • Seeking Other Opinions: this typically will not happen unless the buyer is serious. Give me your honest opinion about how your product stacks up against your competitors. • Providing Purchase Requirements: Signials buyer is becoming very specific re: needs. My orders must be split among four warehouses.

Common Closing Mistakes:

• Harboring a bad attitude: a positive outlook is infectious and carries over into the buyer-seller exchange. • Failure to Conduct an Effective preapproach: improper planning means poor preparation, poor preparation breeds a lack of confidence- buyers can read this. • Talking instead of listening: buyers say that salespeople talk too much • Using a One Size Fits all approach to closing: learn to be adaptive- fit the close to the buyer/ situation • Uncertainty About what to do after the close: never linger after the close- it is possible to talk a buyer out of a sale

The Sales Presentation itself:

• Identify prospect needs → apply knowledge to prospect needs→ satisfy prospect needs • Salespeople should bring thin other members of the sales organization to provide specific knowledge if necessary (tech people, delivery specalists, product designers, etc.) • Cumulative knowledge is at the heart of the team selling concept: often salespeople are not the only ones selling- there is an entire team of people at the sales organization responding to the needs of the prospect.

The Salespeople role time management:

• Identifying personal and professional priorities: o How important is my family-time? o How important is money? o Where do I want my career to go? o What trade-offs do I need to make? o Are my customers satisfied with me? o Do my existing customers show promise for up-selling/ cross selling? o How good am I doing landing new sales?

Prospecting and Lead generation:

• Leads of possible candidates for the product/ service that the sales organization provides are generated (lead generation) from a myriad of sources and marketing campaigns: 1. Other Customers: Referral: the customer is referring more business your way. Customer advocacy: means that the customer is satisfied, loyal and willing to spread the word that he or she is pleased with you. Satisfied customers are an important source of word of mouth advertising. 2. Social networks: Friends/ relatives: the idea is to think of friends and relatives as a core circle of potential leads for prospects and use an endless chain approach to work concentrically out from the core. Bird Dogs: Sales people can use bird dogs as their eyes and ears in the marketplace since they come into contact with an unusually large number of people in the course of their daily routine. Civic/ Professional groups: can seek out primary prospects in an industry and professional groups such as trade associations that represent the field you are targeting. 3. Directories: Moody's Industrial Manual, The Dun and Bradstreet Reference Book, Purchase Lists. 4. Internet: Opt-ins, website visitors, online queries 5. Telemarketing and Cold calling: Telemarketers are inside sales people to denote that they do not call on clients face to face. Outside sales people call on clients in person often prospect by phone themselves and allow the salesperson to hear potential prospects responses, favorable and unfavorable, helps minimize the time and information gap between prospect identification and initial sales calls. Cold calls mean that the salesperson telephones or goes to see potential prospects without any invitation. 6. Trade Shows and Conferences: Opportunities to sell as customers come by your booth to view and learn about your new products. 7. Direct Mail: salesperson can differentiate his or her communication with clients from competition by occasionally employing a personal written letter or note.

What is a close?

• Obtaining a commitment from the prospect or customer to make a purchase • In this age of relational selling, closing is not a discrete event • It is a natural part of the communication process between both parties and it is a progression of the relationship-selling exchange process • Should be driven by the buyers readiness to commit rather than a strict sequence of events • Closing as a selling function may be appropriate at any point in the relationship-selling process • It require a keen sense of perception on the part of the salesperson

The Advantages are that CRM:

• Reduces advertising costs • Makes it easier to target specific customers by focusing on their needs • Makes it easier to track the effectiveness of a given promotional campaign • Allows organizations to compete for customers based on service, not prices • Prevents overspending on low-value clients or under spending on high-value ones • Spends the time it takes to develop and market a product • Improves use of the customer channel, thus making the most out of each contact with a customer

Satisfying the Prospects Need:

• Remember: what has impact on one member of the buying center may be different than what impacts another. • The prospect should get some level of satisfaction from the sales presentation, negotiating, working out final agreed-upon prices and deal specifics before the deal is done. • The salesperson should work to get prospect agreement throughout the presentation by asking the prospect questions, "do you agree that my product provides good value to your business?" • The prospect will likely be feeling some stress if they feel that the solution you are providing may be better than the one they re currently using- this means change conflict for them. The salesperson should take steps to actively assure them that the sales organization will ease the stress that accompanies "switching" to them. 1. Get customer agreement: at every step in the presentation its important to get agreement 2. Minimize Change Conflict: help customers feel less conflict about the purchase, you can manage their expectations and clearly explain the specifics of your value proposition. Misunderstandings lead to disappointment 3. Establish the Relationship: creating trust and establishing a sense of loyalty. Focus on creating value for the customer and always conduct business with the highest ethical standards.

The Benefits of SFA

• Sales Effectiveness: the ability of the sales organization to generate revenues • Sales Efficiency-invest fewer hours, people, dollars and resources into the sales process (become more lean) • Customer Satisfaction- leads to a lifetime value of a customer

How Closing Fits The rational selling concept:

• Selling is a dynamic process of 2-way communication. Both the salesperson and buyer have goals and perspectives of their own • Salespeople should be interpreting the buyers goals and perspectives on an ongoing basis • Should integrate these assessments into the communication • Frame customer interactions around mutual buyer-seller need • Therefore effective sales people should watch for buying signals anytime during tehe buyer-seller communication. • Buying signals can both be verbal and non verbal

Qualification vs. Verification:

• Verification: when the salesperson picks up the prospect, he or she then VERFIFES that the prospect is qualified by quickly reviewing the qualification process. • not all leads are prospects (good candidates for the product/ service sold by the sales company). To determine if a lead is a prospect, the sales organization must put the lead into a qualifying process: 1. Does the lead have a need for your product or service? a. Success in selling depends on understanding that what you sell can satisfy a potential buyers needs. 2. Can the lead derive added value from your product in ways you can deliver? a. The more ways you can add value, the more likely you have a good prospect 3. Can you effectively contact and carry on communication/ correspondence with the lead? a. Consider what type of contract is needed to develop the relationship. 4. Does the lead have the means and authority to make the purchase? a. If the person being considered as a potential prospect can and will make a purchase and how much effort and investment might be needed to see the purchase through completion. 5. Does the lead have the financial capability to make the purchase? a. Determining the prospects financial status. Better to determine in advance that a prospect cannot afford to buy than to waste time pursuing someone who ultimately will not become your customer. • Important: Good, qualified prospects have both the will and the means • In sales organizations that take an effective CRM approach, these qualification questions are often asked by marketing. When and if the lead passes these qualification hurdles, the qualified lead (now referred to as a prospect) is distributed (lead distribution) to a salesperson via a routing table. o Routing Table: a tool (often an additional automation tool that is part of an SFA system that routes a qualified lead onto a salesperson. In matching a prospect with a salesperson it considers the physical location of the prospect, the type/ category of product or service the prospect is looking for and if the prospect has the needs that cross multiple sales channels o When the salesperson picks up the prospect, he/ she then verifies that the prospect is qualified by quickly reviewing the qualification process. This step is called verification. • The preceding process can be visually depicted like a funnel: look at slides. o At the top is lead generation: various leads come in from different marketing campaigns. o Then it is lead qualification: series of qualification questions screen out the bad leads who do not end up going through. o Then lead distribution: when good qualified prospect; distributed to salesperson and at that point, salesperson verifies the lead is in fact a qualified prospect that deserves additional sales effort.