MKTG 542 Exam 1

Problem (ex)

"Have you had any problems with your current bank?"

Situation (ex)

"How long have you had your present equipment?"

Assumptive close (ex)

"I can deliver it to you on Monday. May I go ahead and schedule that?"

Direct close (ex)

"It sounds to me as though you are ready to make the buy. Let's get the order into the system."

Balance sheet close (ex)

"Let's take a few minutes to list out and summarize the reasons this purchase makes sense for you, and also list any remaining questions you may have. This will help you make the right decision."

Buy-now close (ex)

"My company is running a special this week. This product is currently 20 percent off the regular price."

Summary of benefits close (ex)

"We've agreed that our product will substantially upgrade your technical capabilities, allow you to attract new business, and all the while save you money, isn't that right? If we place the order today, I can have my service technician out to train your staff next week."

Minor point close (ex)

"What color do you prefer?"

Implication (ex)

"What effect does this problem have on your overall customer satisfaction?"

Alternative choice close (ex)

"Which works best for your application, this model or that one?"

Need-payoff (ex)

"Would it be useful to speed up this operation by 10m percent?"

Success rate high vs low close calls

(5.8 closes used)- 37%, (1.4 closes used) 69%

Compensating for deficiencies

Moves the customer from focusing on a feature your product performs poorly to one in which it excels, The new feature must be important to the customer in order to compensate for the weakness of the other feature

Time Resistance

Need to think about it

Buyer resistance

Need, Product, Source, Price, Time

Product Resistance

New or not well established, prospect may be satisfied with current one

Outcomes is larger sales

Order, advance, continuation, no-sale

Negotiation

Working to reach an agreement that is mutually satisfaction to both buyer and seller

Defer (example)

Buyer: (before the full value of the product has been explained): What is the cost of your product? Seller: I can appreciate your interest in knowing the price of the product, but may I come back to your question in a few minutes after I know a little more about your product requirements?

Indirect denial (example)

Buyer: Demand for your products is strong. I'm not convinced you will be able to meet my order on time. Seller: You are correct. My company has enjoyed tremendous success ... However, we pride ourselves on meeting our order delivery deadlines, and our customers will verify that...

Direct denial (example)

Buyer: I was told recently that you had to recall all of your production for the last two months because of a faulty relay in your switch mechanism. Seller: I'm not sure where you could have heard that. We have not had a recall on any of our products for over 10 years. If you like, I can provide the data for you.

Trial offer (example)

Buyer: I'm not willing to make a commitment to your copier today. It seems complicated and hard to use. Seller: I can appreciate your concerns. May I have our service department install one for you and let you try it for one week? I will come by and demonstrate it for you...

Bounce back (example)

Buyer: I've listened to your presentation but need more time to consider your proposal, especially since the price has recently increased. Seller: I can appreciate that this is a big decision for your company. However, delaying this commitment is likely to cost your company even more money since prices are expected to increase even more over the next few months. As we agreed earlier, my products will save nearly 40%...

Feel-felt-found (example)

Buyer: In my opinion, your products are overpriced and not worth the extra cost. Seller: Our products are slightly more that the competition's and I can certainly see why you feel that way. Other customers have felt that way at first. However, when they take the time to examine the product quality, they have found the overall value to be worth the investment.

Compensating for deficiencies (example)

Buyer: The response time on your product is too slow. Your competition's response time is two-tenths of a second faster. Seller: You're right, my product is two-tenths of a second slower. However, please note that it also costs 25% less per unit... and has 10% fewer returns...

Third party endorsement (example)

Buyer: Your customer service has been questionable in the past, and it is important I have tech support 24/7. Seller: I agree with you that our customer service was not what it should be several years ago. However, we made the investment to improve customer service, and now it is among the best in the industry. I can provide references from many satisfied customers, such as Bob at General Electronics, who can share their experiences with our company's customer service with you.

Question (example)

Buyer: Your product is 10% more than your competitor's. Seller: Yes, it is more expensive, but do you see how it could actually save your company money in the long run?

Trial offer

Clearly define the terms beforehand, make sure the customer knows how to use the product correctly to ensure a successful trial offer.

Traditional sales training

Closing most important aspect, successful sellers close more often and use more closing techniques, should close frequently

Direct denial

Confrontational strategy for dealing with customer objections, may react negatively

Photo store- high value

before- 12m 35s, 2.7, 42% after- 8m 40s, 4.3, 33%

Photo store- low value

before- 2m 11s, 1.3, 72% after- 1m 47s, 1.9, 76%

Balance sheer close

column lists: Pros... "Reasons for buying" and Cons or... "Remaining questions" Helps find out what's holding the prospect back.

Demonstrating capability

demonstrate to customers that you have something worthwhile to offer

Photo store conclusions

forcing a customer into a decision speeds up the sales, closing techniques increase the sale of low priced but reduce those of expensive

Obtaining commitment

larger sales involve a number of intermediate steps called Advances

Stages of a sales call

opening, investing, demonstrating capability, obtaining commitment

Direct close

simply asks for the order

Buy-now close

Creates a sense of urgency with the buyer (reason must be honest)

Discovering needs

Customer's needs and situation factors - Confirm customers needs

Situation questions

Data-gathering questions, don't overuse

Follow up

Ensuring customer satisfaction

Customer-Oriented Sales Call Model

Establishing rapport, Discovering customer's needs, Making your presentation, Closing the sale

Minor point close

Focuses the buyer on a small element of the decision

Need-payoff questions

Get the customer to tell you the benefits that your solution could provide, ask 10 times

Verbal buying signals

Gives positive feedback- "I like the new features you described." Asks questions that show interest- "What colors does it come in?" Seeks other options- "Who are some other firms that have bought your product recently?" Provides purchase requirements- "My orders must be sent to four warehouses."

Alternative choice close

Gives the buyer multiple options

Prospecting and Qualifying

Identifying potential candidates Screening leads

Establishing rapport

Introduce yourself and your company - Initiate social conversation - Shift attention to topic of business

Pre-approach

Learning as much as possible about a prospective customer prior to making a sales call

Summary of benefits close

Reviews the benefits, reminds buyer why they are important, then asks for the order

ineffective traditional closing techniques

Sale is large or high value, sophisticated customer, continued post sale relationship

How to handle price resistance

Sell the benefits - don't apologize it - don't focus on it - point out the quality relationship - explain its difference to cost

Psychological effects of closing

Small decisions are easier to says yes to, bigger decisions react more negatively, larger decisions = less effective closing is

Approach

Stage where the salesperson meets the customer for the first time

Implication questions

Successful salesperson also need to ask more complex Implication questions, rarely ask good ones

Assumptive close

The prospective customer is ready to buy, so the salesperson verbalizes the assumption to see if it's correct

Need Resistance

Toughest to overcome, must prove product is a good investment

Question

Turn the customer's concern into a question and refocus on one or more strengths of your value proposition Get the customer thinking in a new way and contrast his/her concern against an advantage

Pro buyers views on clsoing

Unfavorable, More likely-2 indifferent-18 less likely-34

Third party endorsement

Use of an independent source to verify claims you've made in your presentation, Adds credibility, Can be combined with other strategies

Direct denial

Use this strategy when the customer states a clearly false and damaging statement about you, the company, or your product Avoid being offensive, insulting, or condescending

Benefits

Whatever provides customer with advantage or gain

Investigating

asking questions is the most important of all selling skills in larger sales

Differences in major sales

Length of selling cycles, size of customer's commitment, ongoing relationship, risk of mistakes

Indirect denial

Less threatening, begins by agreeing with customer, validating the objection, then explaining why it is untrue.

Handling post-sale problems

Listen, never argue, show empathy, no excuses, systematic, notes about everything, express appreciation

Opening

warming up events, including introductions and how you begin the conversation

Dealing with rejection

1. Don't take it personally -- remember the difference between self-worth and performance 2. Don't assume you are the problem 3. Engage in positive self-talk 4. Positively anticipate the possibility of rejection and don't let it overwhelm you 5. Consider that the decision not to buy may have important underlying reasons

Bounce back

More aggressive than some other strategies, Turns a customer concern into a reason for action, Often very effective with objections about needing more time or a lower price

Price Resistance

Most common form

Research for SPIN selling

10 years by Huthwaite Corporation, 35,000 sales, 27 countries, traditional selling methods don't work for high-sales

Defer

Most common when the customer raises a concern about price early in the presentation before the value proposition has been defined.

Closing the sales (yes)

Ask for customer commitment - Ask customer to initiate action - Confirm the sale (Thank them, Remind of benefits, Reassure)

Closing the sales (no)

Ask for customer commitment - Ask customer to initiate action - Thank them for their time

Closing

Asking for an order

Closing methods

Assumptive, minor point, alternative choice, direct, summary-of-benefits, balance sheet, buy-now

Presentation and Demonstration

Benefits of the product are presented and demonstrated. Understanding prospect needs is key

Feel-felt-found

Acknowledge the customer's feeling, Extend the same feelings to a larger audience, Counter with a legitimate argument Caution: this technique has been around for a long time, so use this technique carefully to avoid alienating the customer

Problem questions

After situation questions move to the second type, often don't ask enough of these questions

Handling Objections

Answering questions and addressing concerns

Features

Anything that can be seen, felt or measured

Post-sale problems

Product delivery, credit/billing, installation of equipment, customer training, product performance

Making the presentation

Propose a customer action - Explain how needs are met by this action - Verify the proposed customer action

Source Resistance

Prospect may be loyal to present supplier who doesn't have your product and doesn't want to do business with another supplier who has it

Selling process

Prospecting & qualifying, Pre-approach, Approach, Presentation & demonstration, Handling objections, Closing, Fellow-up

Negotiation styles

Question, Direct denial, Indirect denial, Compensating for deficiencies, feel-felt-found, Third-party endorsements, Bounce-back, Defer, Trial offer

Non-verbal buying signals

Relaxed friendly open, brings out paper work to initiate purchase, exhibits positive gesture/expressions, picks up sample/literature and carefully examines it

Closing mistakes

bad attitude, ineffective preapproach, not listening, "one size fits all", uncertainty about post-closing action