Chapter 6. Planning Sales Dialogues and Presentations

6-2e. Organized Sales Dialogues

In most situations, the process of converting a prospect into a customer will take several sales conversations over multiple encounters. These conversations constitute an organized sales dialogue. For example, salespeople often speak by telephone with a qualified prospect to get an appointment for a later meeting. The second conversation with the customer typically focuses on fact finding and parallels the ADAPT process. The next step would come after the salesperson has developed a tailored solution for the customer. The salesperson may make a comprehensive sales presentation, but in this case, it is designed for dialogue with the customer throughout. To reiterate, this is not a one-way presentation or monologue—it is a sales dialogue with a high level of customer involvement. This type of comprehensive presentation is commonly called an organized sales presentation. Organized sales dialogues may precede or follow other sales communications such as a written sales proposal. Sales dialogues are much more than mere conversation—they are a chance for the salesperson to seek information and/or action from the prospect and to explore the business reasons the prospect has for continuing the dialogue with the salesperson (e.g., solving a problem or realizing an opportunity). Feedback from the prospect is encouraged, and therefore this format is less likely to offend a participation-prone buyer. When the situation calls for a full sales presentation, the organized sales presentation is usually favored over both the canned presentation and the written proposal. Such an approach allows much-needed flexibility to adapt to buyer feedback and changing circumstances during the presentation. Organized presentations may also include some canned portions. For example, a salesperson for Caterpillar might show a video to illustrate the earth-moving capabilities of a bulldozer as one segment of an organized presentation. Due to its flexibility during the sales call and its ability to address various sales situations, the organized presentation is the most frequently used format for professional sales presentations. One reality of this presentation format is that it requires a knowledgeable salesperson who can react to questions and objections from the prospect. Further, this format may extend the time horizon before a purchase decision is reached, and it is vulnerable to diversionary delay tactics by the prospect. Presumably, those who make these arguments think that a canned presentation forces a purchase decision in a more expedient fashion. Overall, however, most agree that the organized presentation is ideal for most sales situations. Its flexibility allows a full exploration of customer needs and appropriate adaptive behavior by the salesperson. By fully participating in the dialogue, both buyer and seller have an opportunity to establish a mutually beneficial relationship. The trust-based relational selling presentation, often combining elements of need-satisfaction and consultative selling, is a popular form of an organized presentation. The first stage of the process, the need development stage, is devoted to a discussion of the buyer's needs. As seen in Figure 6.1, during this phase the buyer should be talking 60 to 70 percent of the time. The salesperson accomplishes this by using the first four stages of the ADAPT process. The second stage of the process (need awareness) is to verify what the buyer thinks his or her needs are and to make the buyer aware of potential needs that might exist. For instance, fast-food restaurants were generally slow to recognize the need to offer more low-fat and low-carbohydrate menu items until their sales volume suffered. Others, such as Subway, gained a competitive advantage by working with their suppliers to formulate a significant number of menu alternatives for the health-conscious consumer. A logical conclusion of the needs awareness stage is to have the prospects confirm their needs. It is a positive step when the salesperson discovers the prospect's needs, but far more effective when the prospect confirms the importance of those needs. The need-awareness stage is a good time to restate the prospect's needs and to clarify exactly what the prospect's needs are. During the last stage of the presentations, the need-fulfillment stage, the salesperson must show how his or her product and its benefits will meet the needs of the buyer. As seen in Figure 6.1, the salesperson during the need-fulfillment stage will do more of the talking by indicating what specific product will meet the buyer's needs. The salesperson, by being a good listener early in the process, will now have a better chance to gain the buyer's interest and trust by talking about specific benefits the buyer has confirmed as being important. To engage in effective sales dialogue, salespeople should try to think like the customer and anticipate key issues that should be addressed. To reiterate a point made earlier in this chapter, researching the prospect or customer is essential in preparing for effective dialogue during organized sales presentations. For more discussion on preparing for sales calls, see "From the Classroom to the Field: Preparing for Sales Calls."

6-3b. Section 2: Customer Value Proposition

In this section, the salesperson develops a preliminary customer value proposition, which is a statement of how the sales offering will add value to the prospect's business by meeting a need or providing an opportunity. Essentially, the customer value proposition summarizes the legitimate business reason for making the sales call by answering the prospect's question, "Why should I spend my time with you?" A good customer value proposition clearly states why the customer will be better off by doing business with the salesperson and his or her firm, but at this point does not try to list all of the reasons.* At the planning stage, the customer value proposition is preliminary. The salesperson has good reason to believe that customer value can be enhanced by delivering on the contents of the proposition, but the true value of the proposition will be accepted or rejected by the customer as the sales process moves along. It is during this sales dialogue process that the actual customer value to be delivered will be refined and modified. This section of the template provides a point of departure for planning purposes and assumes that the value proposition is likely to be modified prior to the purchase decision. In writing the preliminary customer value proposition, salespeople should attempt to: 1. Determine the primary business reasons that customers would use your offering. Key reasons include revenue generation, cost savings, customer retention, building market share, productivity gains, profitability, legal and safety compliance, and return on investment. 2. Keep the statement fairly simple so that the direction for upcoming sales dialogues is clear. 3. Choose the key benefit(s) likely to be most important to the specific customer who is the audience for this particular dialogue or presentation. (At this point, it is not necessary to list all of the benefits of their offerings.) 4. Make the value proposition as specific as possible on tangible outcomes (e.g., improvements to revenues, cost containment or reduction, market share, process speed, and efficiency) and/or the enhancement of the customer's strategic priority. 5. Reflect product or service dimensions that add value, whether or not the customer pays for them. For example, some companies offer delivery, installation, and training along with the purchase of their products. Added value may also accrue from what the seller's sales team provides (e.g., work in the field with a distributor's salespeople or certification training for the buyer's technicians). 6. Promise only what can be consistently delivered. Strictly speaking, a customer value proposition in the planning stage is not a guarantee, it is a belief based on the salesperson's knowledge and best judgment. As the sales process moves along, appropriate guarantees can be made. 7. Use action verbs that show a departure from the status quo such as increase, improve, cut, save, accelerate, enhance, grow, eliminate, minimize, and maximize. 8. Be as specific as possible about key metrics, including time frame, financials, and percentage targets. 9. Practice the verbal communication of the customer value proposition with people not familiar with your business. Do they understand the proposition and can they repeat it? If not, rework the proposition until it is easily recalled. Using these points as a guide, this is an example of a customer value proposition that could provide clear direction for planning an upcoming sales presentation or a series of sales dialogues. By contrast, here is an example of a poorly constructed customer value proposition. This second proposition opens the salesperson to a potential barrage of questions: In the planning stages, salespeople may or may not be fully aware of the prospect's needs and priorities—and, until they are aware of these needs and priorities, the sales dialogue should focus on the first two stages of the ADAPT process: assessing the prospect's situation and discovering his or her needs. Unless these stages are completed, the customer value proposition will not contain enough detail to be useful. Done correctly, a customer value proposition will portray the seller's company in a favorable light and give the customer reasonable expectations of the selling company. As illustrated in "An Ethical Dilemma," this sometimes requires caution in communicating the customer value proposition.

Exhibit 6.2: Tips for Creating Effective Sales Proposals

-Focus on your prospect. Think like the buyer. If you were the buyer, what would you want to know before making a decision? -Present a compelling, relevant case for your offering. -Get to the point and make your proposal as concise as possible. Bigger is not better. -Quantify the value you can offer so prospects can financially justify their purchase decisions. -Present important details and make the entire proposal clear. Transparency builds trust. -Include testimonials and endorsements when appropriate. -Write the proposal in the customer's language. Avoid seller jargon. -Realize that most proposals serve an educational purpose. If customers do not understand your proposal, they will reject it. -Clearly communicate next steps and make it easy for the customer to take action, including accepting the proposal. -Be sure communications lines are open in case the customer has questions or wants additional information. -Allow ample time for proofreading. Sloppy proposals are completely unacceptable.

Introduction

College students and professional salespeople have a lot in common: Performance is largely determined by preparation. The best salespeople know that their success depends on their ability to properly plan for customer encounters. According to Mike Schultz of The RAIN Group sales consulting and training organization, some sales calls are appropriately called exploratory discussions in which salespeople talk with potential customers and simply see what develops. Mr. Schultz cautions salespeople against taking this approach too often, saying that most sales situations call for far more planning before meeting with prospects. Prior planning allows salespeople to move through initial discussions in a more productive manner. Customers appreciate salespeople that do their homework and that they go the extra mile to ensure maximum customer value with each encounter. Mark Magnacca, president of global sales training and enablement firm Allego, reinforces the concept of the salesperson as a student. He says that salespeople must research, learn, and apply their knowledge of customers and industries on an ongoing basis. He notes that most salespeople deal with a multitude of clients, often across diverse industries, and that the challenge of keeping up can grow exponentially over time. Through continuous learning, salespeople become valued information resources for their customers, and less reliant on guesswork and mind reading. This leads to deeper, more enduring customer relationships. In today's fast-changing, information-rich business world, top salespeople must be inquisitive and able to assess their own efforts when it comes to pre-call preparation. For example, salespeople should ask themselves if they are fully prepared in terms of what information they will need from the buyer, what they will want to convey to the buyer, what support information they will need, and what obstacles they will need to overcome. Their pre-call preparation must be guided by a firm objective that specifies the customer action sought as a result of the upcoming call. Sales technology is assisting pre-call planning far beyond checking out the prospect's Web site. While customer Web-site searches can yield valuable information, other sources are rapidly growing in popularity. For example, LinkedIn has become a powerful tool for researching companies and individuals within those companies. Prospective buyers often seek advice on potential vendors on LinkedIn, and sales organizations are monitoring the site as part of pre-call preparation. InsideView.com offers an online tool that monitors LinkedIn and Twitter for relevant sales opportunities and prospect information. Google (Google.com/finance and Google alerts) and D & B Hoovers (www.hoovers.com) also offer salespeople efficient ways for preparing for sales calls. With an abundance of information at their fingertips, salespeople have no excuse for arriving unprepared for a sales call. With most business decision makers starved for time, showing up unprepared is essentially an insult to the buyer. Top salespeople already know this, and they would not dare insult their prospects or existing customers.*

6-3h. Section 7: Anticipate Questions and Objections

For reasons to be explained fully in Chapter 8, prospects will almost always have questions and objections that salespeople must be prepared to answer. In the planning stages, salespeople can prepare by asking themselves, "If I were the buyer, what would I want to be certain about before I make a purchase?" By anticipating these issues and preparing responses, salespeople can increase their chances of ultimate success.

6-3d. Section 4: Linking Buying Motives, Benefits, Support Information, and Other Reinforcement Methods

In Section 4 of the planning template, the prospect's buying motives are linked to specific benefits offered. For each benefit identified, the salesperson will also assemble the information needed to support the claims to be made in the upcoming dialogue or presentation. In some cases, verbal claims must be reinforced with audio-visual portrayal, illustrations, printed collateral material, or testimonials from satisfied customers, as appropriate to the situation. Buying motives refers to the most important factors from the customer's perspective in making a purchase decision. In other words, what will motivate the buyer to make a purchase? Buying motives may be rational or emotional, or a combination of both rational and emotional. Rational buying motives typically relate to the economics of the situation, including cost, profitability, quality, services offered, and the total value of the seller's offering the customer perceives. Emotional buying motives such as fear, the need for security, the need for status, or the need to be liked, are sometimes difficult for salespeople to uncover, as prospects are generally less likely to share such motives with salespeople. In business-to-business selling, rational motives are typically the most important buying motives, but salespeople should not ignore emotional motives if they are known to exist. In linking benefits to buying motives, benefits should be distinguished from features. Features are factual statements about the characteristics of a product or service, such as, "This is the lightest electrical motor in its performance category." Benefits describe the added value for the customer—the favorable outcome derived from a feature. For example, "The lightweight motor supports your mobile repair service strategy in that it is very portable. The ease of use allows your technicians to complete more service calls per day, thus increasing impact on your profitability." To make such a claim about increasing profitability, the salesperson would need to gather specific information to support it. For example, in this case the claim that technicians can complete more service calls per day because the motor is easy to use might call for competitive comparisons and actual usage data, and/or a demonstration. Some situations may lead the salesperson to decide that a product demonstration and testimonials from satisfied customers will reinforce the spoken word. In other cases, third-party research studies or articles in trade publications might be used to reinforce oral claims. Another powerful option is material developed by the salesperson, such as a breakeven chart showing how quickly the customer can recoup the investment in the new product or service. A note of caution: It is always a good idea to use these types of sales support materials sparingly—prospects do not react positively to information overload. Chapter 7 discusses in greater detail sales tools and how they can enhance the sales effort.

6-2d. Evaluating Proposals Before Submission

In the customer's eyes, the standards for written sales proposals are high. Poor spelling and grammatical mistakes send a negative message that the seller has little regard for attention to detail. The quality of a salesperson's written documents is a surrogate for that salesperson's competence and ability as well as the capabilities and overall quality of the organization. If the proposal does not properly interpret the buyer's needs or fails to make a compelling case to justify the purchase, the odds of success are low. Although a well-written proposal is no guarantee of making the sale, a poorly written proposal will certainly reduce the probability of success. Because the stakes are usually high when written sales proposals are used, it is a best practice to evaluate proposals carefully before they are submitted to the customer. In fact, it is a good idea to build the evaluative criteria into the proposal writing process early on, then use the criteria shown in Exhibit 6.3 * as a final check before submitting a sales proposal.

6-3. Sales Dialogue Template

Sales dialogues are not scripted in advance as canned sales presentations are; however, salespeople should think ahead about what questions and statements to include in the conversation and be prepared to hold up their end of the conversation with an appropriate amount of detail. A sales dialogue template (see Exhibit 6.4) is a useful tool to ensure that all pertinent content areas are covered with each prospect. The template is flexible and can be used either to plan a comprehensive organized sales presentation or to guide sales dialogues of a more narrow scope. The template is not meant to be a script for a sales encounter, but rather an aid in planning and assembling the information required of the salesperson. By addressing the issues noted in the template, salespeople can facilitate trust-building by demonstrating their competence and expertise, customer orientation, candor, dependability, and compatibility. It is true that trust is built through behavior, not just by planning and having good intentions. However, salespeople who are aware of what it takes to earn the customer's trust in the planning stages have a better chance of earning that trust in subsequent encounters with the customer. The sales dialogue template is organized into nine sections, each of which is discussed individually.

6-3a. Section 1: Prospect Information

This section is used to record specific information on the prospect such as the company name, key decision maker's name and job title, and the type of business. In most business-to-business situations, it is critical to know who else is involved in the buying decision and what role he or she plays, such as gatekeeper, user, or influencer. (Refer to Chapter 3 if you need to review the buying center concept.) It is also important that the salesperson make sure that all of the key players are receiving the appropriate information and getting the proper attention they deserve. A mistake salespeople often make is not identifying all the buying influencers.

6-2c. Writing Effective Proposals

Whether the proposal is in response to a buyer's request for proposals (RFP) or generated to complement and strengthen a sales presentation, it is essential that the proposal be correctly written and convey the required information in an attractive manner. Professionals who specialize in the creation of sales proposals give these reasons why proposals might fail:* 1. Customer does not know the seller. 2. Proposal does not follow the customer-specified format. 3. Executive summary does not address customer needs. 4. Proposal uses the seller's (not the customer's) company jargon, which forces readers to interpret the message. 5. Writing is flat, technical, and without passion. A technical data dump is not effective. 6. Generic material does not match the targeted prospect, indicating a lack of customer-focused consultative selling. 7. Proposal is not convincing, and does not substantiate claims made. 8. Proposal has poor layout and glaring grammatical errors. 9. Proposal does not address key decision criteria. Don't assume what is important to the buyer, ask! 10. Proposal is vague, lacking specifics in key areas such as pricing and buyer/seller roles and responsibilities. Clearly, developing an effective proposal takes time and effort. When beginning the proposal-writing process, it is important for the salesperson to adopt the right mind-set with a key thought of, "Okay, this will take some time to get the details down, but it will be worth it." To reinforce this mind-set, consider the advice given in Exhibit 6.2 : Tips for Creating Effective Sales Proposals.* Breaking the proposal down into its primary and distinct parts can simplify the process of writing an effective proposal. Five parts common to most proposals are an executive summary, customer needs and proposed solution, seller profile, pricing and sales agreement, and an implementation section with a timetable. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This summary precedes the full proposal and serves two critical functions. First, it should succinctly and clearly demonstrate the salesperson's understanding of the customer's needs and the relevance of the proposed solution. An effective summary will spell out the customer's problems, the nature of the proposed solution, and the resulting benefits to the customer. A second function of the summary is to build a desire to read the full proposal. This is important as many key members of the organization often read little more than the information provided in the summary. A question new salespeople commonly ask refers to the length of the executive summary. A good rule of thumb is that an executive summary should be limited to two typewritten pages—especially if the main body of the report is fewer than 50 pages in length. CUSTOMER NEEDS AND PROPOSED SOLUTION: This section is typically composed of two primary parts. First, the situation analysis should concisely explain the salesperson's understanding of the customer's situation, problems, and needs. Second, the recommended solution is presented and supported with illustrations and evidence on how the proposed solution uniquely addresses the buyer's problems and needs. The emphasis in this section should be on the benefits resulting from the solution and not on the product or service being sold. It is important that these benefits be described from the perspective of the customer. Proprietary information required in the proposal can be protected in a number of ways. The most common method is to place a confidential notice on the cover. Many technology companies ask the prospect to sign a nondisclosure agreement that is part of the overall document, and in some instances, the selling organization will even copyright the proposal. SELLER PROFILE: This section contains information that the customer wants to know about the selling company. It offers a succinct overview and background of the firm, but the emphasis should be on the company's capabilities. Case histories of customers for whom the company solved similar problems with similar solutions have proved to be an effective method to document and illustrate organizational capabilities and past successes. PRICING AND SALES AGREEMENT: The previous sections are designed to build the customer value of the proposed solution. Once this value has been established, the proposal should "ask for the order" by presenting pricing information and delivery options. This information is often presented in the form of a sales agreement for the buyer to sign off on and complete. IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMETABLE: The purpose of this section is to make it as easy as possible for the buyer to make a positive purchase decision. In effect, this section should say, "If you like the proposal and want to act on it, this is what you do." There may be a contract to sign, an order form to fill out, or instructions regarding who to call to place an order or request additional information. A timetable that details a schedule of key implementation events should also be included.

6-1. Customer-Focused Sales Dialogue Planning

As noted in the introduction, buyers are generally well-informed and have little time to waste. This means that salespeople must invest a significant amount of time in planning sales calls on prospective and existing customers so that they can communicate in a clear, credible, and interesting fashion. A sales call takes place when the salesperson and buyer or buyers meet in person to discuss business. This typically takes place in the customer's place of business, but it may take place elsewhere, such as in the seller's place of business or at a trade show. As defined in Chapter 1, sales dialogue is a business conversation between buyers and sellers that takes place over time as salespeople attempt to initiate, develop, and enhance customer relationships. The term sales conversation is used interchangeably with sales dialogue. Some sales calls involve sales presentations as part of the dialogue. Sales presentations are comprehensive communications that convey multiple points designed to persuade the prospect or customer to make a purchase. Ideally, sales presentations focus on customer value and only take place after the salesperson has completed the ADAPT process (introduced in Chapter 4). As a reminder, the ADAPT process means the salesperson has assessed the customer's situation; discovered his or her needs, buying processes, and strategic priorities; activated the buyer's interest in solving a problem or realizing an opportunity; helped the buyer project how value can be derived from a purchase; and then made a transition to the full sales presentation. Salespeople who attempt to make a sales presentation before building a foundation through sales dialogue risk being viewed as noncustomer-oriented and overly aggressive. To focus on customer value and implement the trust-based selling process as discussed in Chapter 1 (see Figure 1.4), salespeople must have a basic understanding of the value they and their companies can deliver to customers. Further, they must recognize that what constitutes value will typically vary from one customer to the next. Finally, as the process continues and relationships are established with customers, salespeople must work continually to increase the value their customers receive. Before, during, and after the sale, selling strategy must focus on customer needs and how the customer defines value. For additional insights on sales call planning, see, "Selling in Action: Planning Sales Dialogues." To better understand the process of planning sales dialogues and presentations, we will now discuss the three most common sales communications formats. A planning template that serves as a guide for sales dialogues and comprehensive presentations will then be presented. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how to foster better sales dialogues when attempting to initiate relationships with customers.

6-3i. Section 8: Earn Prospect Commitment

As sales dialogues and presentations progress, there eventually comes a critical time to ask for a customer's purchase decision. In many cases, this is an obvious point in the sales conversation, but at other times the salesperson may feel the need to probe to see if the timing is right. Earning a commitment from a customer as discussed in Chapter 8 should be a natural step in the conversation, not a forced or high-pressure attempt by the salesperson. Although circumstances will dictate exactly when and how commitment will be sought, a preliminary action plan for seeking customer commitment should be part of the overall planning process. Most buyers expect the salesperson to seek a commitment—and, if the commitment is sought at the right time, buyers appreciate that effort from the salesperson.

Exhibit 6.1: Types of Sales Communications

Canned Presentations -Include scripted sales calls, memorized presentations, and automated presentations -Can be complete and logically structured -Do not vary from buyer to buyer; should be tested for effectiveness Written Sales Proposals -Proposal is a complete self-contained sales presentation -Written proposals often accompanied by sales calls before and after the proposal is submitted -Thorough customer assessment should take place before customized proposal is written Organized Sales Dialogues and Presentations -Address individual customer and different selling situations -Allow flexibility to adapt to buyer feedback -Most frequently used format by sales professionals

6-2a. Canned Sales Presentations

Canned sales presentations include scripted sales calls, memorized presentations, and automated presentations. The telemarketing industry relies heavily on scripted sales calls, and memorized presentations are common in trade show product demonstrations. Automated presentations often incorporate computer graphics, video, or slides to present the information to the prospect. When done right, canned presentations are complete and logically structured. Objections and questions can be anticipated in advance, and appropriate responses can be formulated as part of the presentation. The sales message varies little from customer to customer, except that some sales scripts have "branches" or different salesperson responses based on how the customer responds. Canned presentations can be used by relatively inexperienced salespeople, and using this format might boost the confidence of some salespeople. Canned sales presentations should be tested for effectiveness, ideally with real customers, before they are implemented with the entire salesforce. Canned sales presentations make an implicit assumption that customer needs and buying motives are essentially homogeneous. Therefore, canned presentations fail to capitalize on a key advantage of personal selling—the ability to adapt to different types of customers and various selling situations. The salesperson can only assume the buyer's needs and must hope that a lively presentation of product benefits will cause the prospect to buy. The canned presentation can be effective, but is not appropriate for many business-to-business situations—simply because customer opportunity to interact is minimized. During a memorized presentation, the salesperson talks 80 to 90 percent of the time, only occasionally allowing the prospect to express his or her feelings, concerns, or opinions. Canned presentations do not handle interruptions well, may be awkward to use with a broad product line, and may alienate buyers who want to participate in the interaction. Despite its limitations, the canned sales presentation can be effective in some situations. If the product line is narrow and the sales force is relatively inexperienced, the canned presentation might be suitable. Also, many salespeople find it effective to use instead of a sales dialogue to introduce their company, to demonstrate the product, or for some other limited purpose.

An Ethical Dilemma

Corey Morgan is a sales representative for IDE, a supplier of production equipment that is sold to packaged goods manufacturers. IDE specializes in replacing older equipment with more efficient equipment. Although the IDE products are expensive, the increased efficiencies of their equipment can provide cost savings to customers in the long run. Corey has been thinking about a recent training session on pre-call preparation planning. The trainer told the sales representatives: "Use the template we provide to be sure you have included all of the relevant information in planning your sales calls. Don't develop a script from the template. Make it your own and add your own ways of doing things to make it more effective." Corey knew that customer value propositions should be as specific as possible and should not over promise on what could be delivered to the customer. Corey also knew that customer cost-savings in the range of 5 to 15 percent were possible, but that actual savings would depend on the situation. Corey was strongly considering stating the 15 percent savings figure early in sales dialogues as an average savings, which would make a lot more prospects willing to listen to a full sales presentation. What should Corey do? (A) Be conservative and continue to state the average savings as 5 to 15 percent. Be prepared to show the customer how to maximize savings. (B) Go with the 15 percent figure and back it up with testimonials from customers that had achieved 15 percent savings. (C) Early in the sales dialogue, learn more about the customer's situation and then estimate the potential cost savings for the customer.

6-3j. Section 9: Build Value Through Follow-Up Action

Finally, the salesperson must always be looking for ways to enhance the relationship and move it in a positive direction. The salesperson should always make a note of any promises that he or she has made during the sales calls. The buyer may ask for information that the salesperson is not prepared to give during the presentation. By taking notes, the salesperson ensures that the appropriate follow-up activities will happen. This planning template for sales dialogues and presentations is an extremely useful tool for all salespeople, especially inexperienced salespeople. It guarantees that all the appropriate steps are covered and that all of the pertinent information is collected. Using this template will make the task of customizing sales dialogues and presentations easier.

Selling in Action: Planning Sales Dialogues

Gary Walker is executive vice-president of Channel Sales and Operations for CustomerCentricSelling, a global sales training firm. He urges salespeople to maximize their time with prospects and customers through strategic sales call planning. According to Mr. Walker, planning allows salespeople to focus on critical issues with the prospect and align with their key priorities. He observes that most prospects are looking for help in solving a problem or realizing a significant opportunity. To add maximum value, salespeople must be able to converse about prospects' goals, problems, and issues—not just present the features and benefits of their products. By strategically planning sales encounters, salespeople can convincingly demonstrate their situational fluency, or the ability to tailor sales conversations in terms that resonate with prospects. Mr. Walker says that customers want to do business with salespeople who empower them. To accomplish that, salespeople must be prepared to converse about what the prospect is trying to achieve, what is preventing them from achieving it, and how the sales offering can help deliver the desired outcome. Mr. Walker says that pre-call planning shows the prospects that you respect their time, as time is not wasted with questions that can be answered through pre-call research. Planning also prevents shortcuts and carelessness. Sales call planning can become a reliable, repeatable process tailored for each individual prospect. It is easy for prospects to see how well-prepared (or not) salespeople are. As a result, Mr. Walker says, "I'd like to ask you to please prepare to win. Don't leave it to chance. Make pre-call preparation part of your sales process."

6-2. Sales Communications Formats

In planning customer encounters, salespeople must decide on a basic format, such as a canned sales presentation, a written sales proposal, or an organized sales dialogue. Exhibit 6.1 summarizes the types of communications sales professionals use. Each of these alternatives varies greatly in terms of how much customization and customer interaction is involved. A salesperson might use one or more of these formats with a particular customer. Each format has unique advantages and disadvantages. To be successful, these communications must be credible and clear. In addition, the salesperson must communicate in the right environment at an appropriate time to maximize the probability of a successful outcome. For any of the three communications types, salespeople must plan to be as specific as possible in developing their sales message. For example, it is better to tell a prospect "This electric motor will produce 4,800 RPM and requires only one hour of maintenance per week" than to say "This motor will really put out the work with only minimum maintenance."

Exhibit 6.3.: Evaluating Sales Proposals

It is a best practice to evaluate sales proposals before they are submitted to the customer. Five important dimensions for evaluating proposals are reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness. Reliability: reflects the seller's ability to identify creative and practical business solutions that will help the buyer achieve their goals and objectives. Does the Proposal: 1. Present a solid business solution that meets the buyer's expectations? 2. Effectively describe the seller's offering and clearly define how it will work? 3. Describe all of the seller's fees, prices, and expenses the buyer will incur? 4. Present seller capabilities and convert them into buyer-specific financial and nonfinancial benefits? Assurance: increases the buyer's trust and confidence in the seller's ability to deliver successful results. Does the Proposal: 1. Assure the buyer that the seller has the experience and capability required to fulfill the contract? 2. Present the seller's roles, responsibilities, and business practices to fulfill the contract? 3. Provide a schedule with clear specification of major work activities? 4. Provide customer references that are easy to verify and that demonstrate a solid track record? Tangibles: enhances and differentiates the communication of the seller's message and invites readership by its content, structure, and overall appearance. Does the Proposal: 1. Focus on the customer, provide a logical flow, and have high standards for mechanics and readability? 2. Convert the intangibles into tangibles such as schedules, diagrams, graphics, or charts? 3. Effectively use appendices to control length and provide more detail for interested readers? 4. Contain an Executive Summary that condenses the entire proposal into no more than 2-4 pages? Empathy: reflects the seller's thorough understanding of the buyer's unique business environment, operations, organization, improvement opportunities, needs, and objectives. Does the Proposal: 1. Reflect a thorough understanding of the buyer's business operations? 2. Clearly define the buyer's critical business issues or improvement opportunities? 3. Clearly define the buyer's needs for addressing critical issues or improvement opportunities? 4. Propose a product or service that satisfies the buyer's time frame and unique business needs? Responsiveness: demonstrates the seller's willingness to work closely with the buyer to understand their unique situation, present viable business solutions, and ensure achievement of promised results. Does the Proposal: 1. Demonstrate the willingness to ask questions, gather information, and gain a thorough knowledge of the buyer's unique business issues or improvement opportunities? 2. Present a custom offering tailored to the customer's unique situation? 3. Offer a review between buyer and seller to answer questions and clarify issues? 4. Match the seller's consultative selling process?

From the Classroom to the Field: Preparing for Sales Calls

Jordan Lynch, a graduate of Colorado State University, is responsible for strategic business development for Ultimate Software in Denver, Colorado. Ultimate Software helps clients around the world in recruiting and onboarding employees, managing employee benefits and compensation, and continuous performance management and development. He learned the importance of preparation for sales calls while he was interviewing for sales positions during his senior year in college: When I was a senior in college, I took a professional selling course and competed in the National Collegiate Sales Competition. The more I learned about sales, the more I wanted to pursue a career in sales and sales management. As I began interviewing, I quickly realized that I needed to apply some of the lessons I had learned about being prepared for sales calls. After all, a job interview is just like a major sales call. Both parties are trying to determine if there is a mutually beneficial fit. For every interview that I had, I researched the company so that I clearly understood what they were looking for and how I could match up with their needs. I thought of myself as a value-add product that employers needed. I knew that employers would have some tough questions and I tried to anticipate those questions and formulate my responses. I wanted to be sure the employers understood what I could do for them, so I developed a written plan for each employer that laid how I would operate a sales territory. I also tried to get a commitment at the end of every interview. I wanted the offer, and I also wanted to show employers that I was enthusiastic about working with them. I apply the same principles today to build business with Ultimate Software. I prepare for a back-and-forth dialogue and try to help customers make wise business decisions. To maximize your opportunities, think like your customer and do your homework!

Technology in Sales: Facilitating Team Selling with Google Apps

Major account and global sales teams must collaborate and coordinate efficiently and quickly to be effective. Technical product experts must provide their inputs, financial analysts and researchers must analyze data and make recommendations, and team leaders must finalize the entire package together prior to in-person sales calls. Google is a market leader in providing Web-enabled applications that allow communications and information sharing from mobile and stationary devices. Using these apps, sales teams can collaborate on sales proposals and presentation plans using Google Docs, which provides simultaneous content creation and real-time feedback to members of the sales team. Written content, visual designs, and videos can be stored on Google Drive. Files can be accessed and edited on any device without using e-mail to access the files. If additional preparation, training, or strategy sessions are needed to prepare for an upcoming key account sales call, Google Hangout can be used for virtual meetings without the travel time and costs of live meetings. If the sales call involves a formal presentation, Google Slides offers a tool for crafting key content and graphics into a compelling message. In a fast-paced, competitive marketplace, sales teams must move quickly when new opportunities arise, and collaboration through technology is increasingly popular.

6-4. Engaging the Customer

Most initial sales calls on new prospects require an appointment. Requesting an appointment accomplishes several desirable outcomes. First, the salesperson is letting the prospect know that he or she thinks the prospect's time is important. Second, there is a better chance that the salesperson will receive the undivided attention of the prospect during the sales call. Third, setting appointments is a good tool to assist the salesperson in effective time and territory management. Further, prospects may not appreciate salespeople who drop in unannounced, as their visit could be an unwelcome interruption in the prospect's busy work day. Given these realities, it is a good idea to request an appointment if there is any doubt about whether one is required. A salesperson can request an appointment by phone, mail (including e-mail), or personal contact. Combining mail and telephone communications to seek appointments is also commonplace. Regardless of the communication vehicle used, salespeople can improve their chances of getting an appointment by following three simple directives: give the prospect a reason why an appointment should be granted; request a specific amount of time; and suggest a specific time for the appointment. These tactics recognize that prospects are busy individuals who do not spend time idly. In giving a reason why the appointment should be granted, a well-informed salesperson can appeal to the prospect's primary buying motive as related to one of the benefits of the salesperson's offering. Be specific. For example, it is better to say that "you can realize gross margins averaging 35 percent on our product line" than "our margins are really quite attractive." Specifying the amount of time needed to make the sales presentation alleviates some of the anxiety a busy prospect feels at the idea of spending some of his or her already scarce time. It also helps the prospect if the salesperson suggests a time and date for the sales call. It is very difficult for busy individuals to respond to a question such as, "What would be a good time for you next week?" In effect, the prospect is being asked to scan his or her entire calendar for an opening. If a suggested time and date is inconvenient, the interested prospect will typically suggest another. Once a salesperson has an appointment with the prospect and all the objectives have been established, the salesperson should send the agenda to the customer. This is a highly professional way to remind the buyer of the upcoming meeting.

6-3c. Section 3: Sales Call Objective

Section 3 asks the salesperson to determine the objective for his or her sales call. Salespeople must have an objective for each sales call. Basically, sales call objectives state what salespeople want customers to do as a result of the sales call. The objectives should be specific enough to know whether or not they have been accomplished at the conclusion of the call, and they should require customer actions such as placing an order, agreeing to participate in a test market, or supplying specific information useful to the salesperson. Many salespeople think that there is only one objective: to get an order. Other legitimate sales call objectives do exist. For instance, during an introductory call the objective may be simply to introduce the salesperson and his or her company and to gather information on the buyer's needs. Eventually, the major sales call objective will be to earn a commitment from the customer by making a sale, but this is not always the only objective. At the very least, the objective of any sales call should be to advance the process toward an order.

6-3f. Section 6: Beginning the Sales Dialogue

Section 6 addresses the critical first few minutes of the sales call. During this period, salespeople will greet the prospect and introduce themselves, if necessary. There is typically some brief polite conversation between the salesperson and the buyer as the salesperson is welcomed to the buyer's office, then both parties are usually eager to get down to business as quickly as possible. It is recommended that the salesperson propose an agenda, to which there may or may not have been previous agreement. Once the agenda is established, the salesperson may need to gather more information to use in the sales dialogue or, depending on the situation, it could be appropriate to make a transition a sales dialogue or presentation. A typical first few minutes might sound like this: Buyer: Come on in, Pat. I am John Jones. Nice to meet you. (Introduction/greeting.) Seller: Mr. Jones, I am Pat Devlin with XYZ Company. Nice to meet you, too. I appreciate the time that you are spending with me today. (Thanks, acknowledges importance of the buyer's time.) Buyer: Glad you could make it. We have had a lot of cancellations lately due to the bad weather. Did you have any problems driving over from Orlando? (Polite conversation may last for several minutes depending on the buyer-seller relationship and on how much the buyer wants to engage in this sort of conversation.) Seller: Not really, it was pretty smooth today. Say, I know you are busy, so I thought we could talk about a couple of key ways I think we can really help you build market share with your end-user market. How does that sound? (A simple illustration of getting the buyer to agree to the agenda.) Buyer: Sure, let us get right to it. What do you have in mind? Seller: Well, based on our phone call last week, I believe that our training programs for your customer service representatives can improve your customer satisfaction ratings and customer retention. I can share the details with you over the next 20 minutes or so ... (Transition to a sales dialogue or presentation based on customer needs and customer value.) In planning the first few minutes of the sales call, salespeople should remind themselves to be friendly and positive. They should also remain flexible in terms of their proposed agenda—customers like to have an agenda but sometimes want to modify it. The salesperson should be prepared to make an adjustment on the spot. For example, in the previous dialogue, the prospect might have said, "Yes, I want to hear about your training programs for our customer service reps, but I am also interested in your thoughts on how we can build a service-based culture across our entire marketing organization." The salesperson might respond accordingly, "I would be happy to do that. In fact, let me start with an overview that shows you the big picture from a strategy and company culture perspective, then later I will show you how the customer service training piece fits into the overall strategy. How does that sound?" In most sales situations involving one-on-one encounters with customers, salespeople would not present a formal written agenda, but instead would present a brief agenda verbally. In more formal situations that involve team selling and multiple buyers, a written agenda distributed in advance of the meeting could be appropriate. Properly presented, an agenda shows the prospect that the salesperson is prepared. It also demonstrates customer orientation by asking if the prospect has anything to add to the agenda. In addition, an agenda can provide continuity from one sales call to the next by incorporating important follow-up points from the previous sales call. These first few minutes are critical in the trust-building process. By showing sensitivity to customer needs and opinions, and by asking questions to clarify the customer's perspective, salespeople demonstrate a customer orientation. Salespeople can demonstrate their expertise and competence by being sharp and well prepared. First impressions are crucial in all human interactions, so time spent on planning the first few minutes is a good investment on the salesperson's part. But remember that the planning template is not intended as a script. It is imperative that salespeople think logically—and from the buyer's point of view—in planning what to say after greeting the customer. When companies use team selling, pre-call planning by the sales teams can be facilitated by technologies that allow real-time access from multiple locations. For more on this topic, see "Technology in Sales: Facilitating Team Selling with Google Apps."

6-2b. Written Sales Proposals

The second basic type of sales communication is the written sales proposal. The proposal is a complete self-contained sales presentation, but it is often accompanied by sales dialogues before or after the proposal is delivered. In some cases, the customer may receive a proposal and then request that the salesperson make a sales call to further explain the proposal and provide answers to questions. Alternatively, preliminary sales dialogues may lead to a sales proposal. In any event, the sales proposal should be prepared after the salesperson has made a thorough assessment of the buyer's situation as it relates to the seller's offering. The sales proposal has long been associated with important, high-dollar-volume sales transactions. It is frequently used in competitive bidding situations and in situations involving the selection of a new supplier by the prospect. One advantage of the proposal is that the written word is usually viewed as being more credible than the spoken word. Written proposals are subject to careful scrutiny with few time constraints, and specialists in the buying firm often analyze various sections of the proposal. Sales proposal content is similar to other comprehensive sales presentations, focusing on customer needs and related benefits the seller offers. In addition, technical information, pricing data, and perhaps a timetable are included. Most proposals provide a triggering mechanism such as a proposed contract to confirm the sale, and some specify follow-up action to be taken if the proposal is satisfactory. With multimedia sales presentations becoming more routine, it is natural to think that written sales proposals would be declining in importance. In fact, the opposite is true. With the widespread use of multimedia, the standards for all sales communication continue to rise. Buyers expect clear informative sales messages, and they are less tolerant of sloppy communication. Because everyone knows that word processing programs have subroutines to check spelling and grammar, for example, mistakes are less acceptable than ever. Because written communication provides a permanent record of claims and intentions, salespeople should be careful not to overpromise, but still maintain a positive and supportive tone. No buyer wants to read a proposal full of legal disclaimers and warnings, yet such information may be a necessary ingredient in certain written communication. As with all communication, salespeople should try to give buyers the information they need to make informed decisions.

6-3e. Section 5: Competitive Situation

Understanding the competitive situation is essential in planning sales dialogues and presentations. Because buyers make competitive comparisons in their decision processes, salespeople should be prepared for it. This section of the planning template asks the salesperson to identify key competitors and to specify their strengths and weaknesses. By knowing their own product's strengths and weaknesses as well as those of their competitors, salespeople are better equipped to articulate customer value relative to their competitors. This competitive positioning is important, as most major purchase decisions are made in a highly competitive business environment. If the prospect is already buying a similar product, knowledge about the current supplier can give the salesperson critical insight into which buying motives and product attributes are likely to be affecting the buyer's decisions.

6-3g. Initiating Contact

When you are planning the first few minutes of the sales dialogue or presentation, there are few ironclad rules. Instead, the situation and the prospect's preferences suggest the appropriate sequence—but a few general rules do apply: -Following an adequate introduction of the salesperson and the salesperson's company, the salesperson should use questions, careful listening, and confirmation statements to clarify and define explicit customer needs and motives as related to his or her offering. -The salesperson should present benefits in order of importance according to the prospect's needs and motives, and these benefits may be repeated during the presentation and at the conclusion of the presentation. -If the sales presentation is a continuation of one or more previous sales calls, the salesperson should make a quick summary of what has been agreed on in the past, moving quickly into the prospect's primary area of interest. -As a general rule, the salesperson should not focus on pricing issues until the prospect's needs have been defined and the salesperson has shown how those needs can be addressed with the product or service being sold. After prospects fully understand how the product or service meets their needs, they can make informed judgments on price/value issues. Obviously, the first few minutes of the sales call will be greatly influenced by previous interaction (if any) between the buyer and the salesperson. For example, if previous sales calls have established buyer needs and the buyer has agreed to a sales presentation, the first few minutes will be quite different than if this is the first sales call on this prospect. The ADAPT questioning process (refer to Chapter 4) can be used in part or whole to acquire needed information and make a transition to the sales dialogue or presentation. As a guide, the salesperson should respect the buyer's time and get to the presentation as soon as circumstances allow. The salesperson should not rush to get to the presentation, and certainly should not launch into a presentation without establishing buyer needs and interest in it.