MARK 3337

3 things to improve the quality of the prospecting effort

1. Increase the number of people or accounts who board the Ferris wheel 2. Improve the quality of the prospects who board the Ferris wheel 3. Shorten the sales cycle by quickly determining which new prospects are qualified prospects- to need, authorized to buy, ability to pay, and authority to purchase the product

Performing Prospect Research

1. Learn about the company 2. Do a background check 3. Hypothesize pain points 4. Be curious to know more

Consumer buyers

1. Purchases for individual or household consumption 2. Decisions usually made by individuals 3. Purchases often made based on brand reputation or personal recommendations with little or no product expertise 4. Purchases based primarily on emotional responses to product or promotion 5. Individual purchasers may make quick decisions 6. Products: consumer goods and services for individual use

Organizational Buyers

1. Purchases made for some purpose other than personal consumption 2. Decisions frequently made by several people 3. Purchases made according to precise technical specification based on product expertise 4. Purchases based on primarily rational criteria 5. Purchasers may engage in lengthy decision process 6. Products: often complex, classified based on how organizational customers use them

Consumer Buying Decision Process

1. Sales Enquiry 2. Needs Awareness 3. Evaluation of solutions 4. Resolution of Problems 5. Decision/ Purchases 6. Implementation Customers are 57% of the way through the process before asking for help (could shoot up to 70%)

Quotation Management

A major element of product configuration is

Product knowledge

A top ranked characteristic of salespeople who are able to build trust with customers

COVID-19 Crisis accelerates shift to Online Retail

Approx. 16% of consumer retail purchases online

B to B digital growth

B2B is growing digitally

Value

Benefits-Cost

Where customers see value

Best to Worst Change in strategic direction Anticipating future problems Problem solving & customized solutions Client advocate Time stamped info on industry/ competition Talking brochure (negative value)

Most people agree

Customers are getting harder to deal with, even before economic meltdown (94%) They treat you like a commodity (76%) Also demand expertise and support more than ever (88%)

Digital shift

Customers are now on an even playing field with sellers. They have access to the same information that sellers do.

Dharmesh Shah, the co-founder of HubSpot, notes that although the digital age has impacted information asymmetry in B2C sales, the situation remains unchanged in B2B sales and is unlikely to undergo a transformation.

False

Nowadays, sales developed leads play a greater role than marketing developed leads.

False

Product Configuration

If the customer has complex buying needs, then the salesperson may have to bring together many different parts of the company's product mix in order to develop a custom-fitted solution. The product selection process is often referred to as product configuration.

Buying process differs by culture

Japan- decisions are made by group process China- a senior negotiator leads Germany- even for routine decisions, top level leads Latin America- relationship building occurs before negotiation

How do I convey the value story

Most to least powerful Resonating focus Comparison All benefits (More likely to remember a fact when it's in a story)

New versus Mature Product-Selling Model

New Develops new levels of expectation Change Habits Establish new standards Build desire for product Focus on creating new markets Mature Emphasize brand and company superiority Point out unique features Provide outstanding customer service Focus on sustaining existing market share

3 B2B buying situations

New Task, Straight rebuy, Modified Rebuy

Reasons for company attrition

One-time need or an extended time between purchases Movement outside of territory Customer business failure or merger Loyal buyer or purchasing agent changed position Sales are lost to the competition

A customer goes to an automobile dealership to buy a new car. The salesperson tells her about various features and benefits of a car. Which one of the following is an example of a customer benefit?

The car has excellent build quality, so the customer will have to spend less time at the service center.

Product knowledge is a top ranked characteristic of salespeople who are able to build trust with customers.

True

Documenting and Delivering Value

Understand Buyer's Business Substantiate Value Chains Document Value Delivered Buyer VP- A Central Business Skill

Which one of these will result in a negative score in Marketing's Digital Lead Scoring Model?

Visits Undesirable Page

Solution selling

a process by which the salesperson uncovers and clarifies a customer's problem, works with the customer to create a vision of how things could be better, and then develops a plan for implementing the vision

product strategy

a well-conceived plan that emphasizes becoming a product expert, selling specific benefits, and configuring value-added solutions

Differentiation

ability to separate yourself from competitors (key to competitive advantage)

Ferris wheel model

aimed at supplying an ongoing list of prospects

Prospect

an individual or business who meets the qualification criteria established by you or the company

Dr. Analogy

ask questions to assess the situation gain full understanding of what is important know their issues probe for understanding allows for accurate assessment to suggest correct products and solutions

Key challenge with customers

building trust

Positioning

decisions and activities to create and maintain a certain concept of the product in a customer's mind\ requires developing a sales and marketing strategy how how a market perceives a product must be continually configured to match wants and needs

Product

encompasses info, services, ideas, tangible products or some combo to satisfy customer needs

translating features into benefits

features include data, facts, and characteristics or a product or service benefits include personal advantage or gain, can be general or specific

3 types of consumer buying behavior

habitual, variety seeking, and complex

Quantifying the Value Proposition

important to B2B, raises customer comprehension level and can provide increased reliability or lower maintenance costs

Solution

mutually shared answer to customer problem, measurable results, requires greater effort than selling a product to define and diagnose

The main purpose of a salesperson

not to make sales, but to create customers

Buying Motives

rational, emotional, patronage, product

information asymmetry (traditional sales model)

situation in which one party is more informed than another because of the possession of private information The seller had internal information before.

SPIN Questions

situation, problem, implication, need payoff developed by Neil Rackham based on more than 35000 sales calls in over 20 countries Most successful sellers seen as consultants or problem solvers Process is a funnel for identifying problems and valuing a solution

Qualifying

the process of identifying prospects who appear to have a need for your product and should be contacted

value proposition

the set of benefits or values it promises to deliver to consumers to satisfy their needs

Know the competition

• Acquiring knowledge of your competition is another important step toward developing complete product knowledge • Salespeople who have knowledge of their competitor's strengths and weaknesses are better able to emphasize the benefits they offer and add value