Nature and Scope of the Selling function.
Selling is direct, personal communications (two way) with prospective customers in order to assess needs and satisfy those needs with appropriate products and services.The one goal for any business is to sell products and services while making an efficient profit. Sales provide the link between the customer and the business. The key link is when a sales person sells a product or service to the target market.
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSUADING OTHERS
customers need to trust you so that they will purchase.
PERSUASION IS AN UMBRELLA TERM OF INFLUENCE. PERSUASION CAN ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE A PERSON'S BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, INTENTIONS, MOTIVATIONS, OR BEHAVIORS
OG 12 EXPLAIN THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AS A COMPONENT OF SELLING RELATIONSHIPS
Role and qualities of customer service/professional salesperson
Customer service is very important when a salesperson is trying to build a relationship with a customer while trying to sell a product or service. If the salesperson does a a good job when doing the sales presentation, and makes an impact on the customer, then the relationship can take off from there. Once a customer buys their product though, a salesperson can do many more things to continue the relationship with a customer, and that can be during the follow-up and suggestion selling of the selling process. During the suggestion selling, the salesperson can request other products related to the one that the customer already decided to purchase, and that will increase the satisfaction of the customer. During the follow, to build a bigger and better relationship with a customer to ensure a good experience, a salesperson may give them a business card for further contact about questions and it is also a time for the salespeople to include warranties and other things that will still benefit the customer. All of the follow-up and relationship building will help the customer make more purchases in the future with that company.
Key factors in building a clientele
Cold Calling: when a salesperson contacts a large number of people who are conveniently located without knowing a great deal about each person contacted.
Qualifying(prospecting): involves gathering information to determine which people are most likely to buy.
Three characteristics that qualify a person as a prospective customer...
1) a need for the product
2) the resources to purchase the product
3) the authority to make a decision to purchase
AIDCA: when a salesperson is trying to sell a product to a customer, they will go through the mental stages of things.
(A) the customer must focus their ATTENTION on the salesperson as well as the presentation.
(I) The salesperson needs to get the customers INTEREST in the product early in the presentation, so the customer is more likely to buy the product.
(D) When the salesperson makes the customer understand why they would need this product and the customer understands that they would use it, the the customer's interest turns into DESIRE.
(C) Conviction is what happens when the customer realizes that the product is the best choice and value.
(A) Then, when the customer purchases they product, that is known as the ACTION.
Also, to make sure that the customer trusts the salesperson with the purchase that they are about to make, the salesperson needs to make sure that they have a well understanding of the product that they are trying to sell. By explaining all of the features of the product, a characteristic of the product, as well as the benefits, the advantages of having the product, will better help the customer understand the product and why it could be use full to them. That will lead to the purchase of the product.
Lastly, the salespeople need to understand the competition, most importantly because they want the most products sold from their company. If thtey have the highest priced product for example, they won't make anough of a profit. But, if they understand the competition, they can have a product that is reasonably priced compared to the other competitors while making a good profit.
OG 13 EXPLAIN BUSINESS ETHICS IN SELLING
Business ethics in selling
Ethics are moral principles or values based on honesty and fairness. The code of ethics is a set of standards or rules that guide ethical business behavior, and it also encourages honest and proper conduct.The AMA, American Marketing Association, describes responsibilities for marketers in the areas of product planning, promotion, pricing, distribution, and marketing research.
Use of technology in the selling function
There isn't all that much technology within the selling function, but it can happen between a customer and a salesperson through direct advertising. Yes, direct advertising is face-to-face, but also through telephone or video conferences, so your technology comes into play there. Also, when trying to sell your product or service, technology can come into play but that is more within the promotion category.
OG 2 PREPARE FOR THE SALES PRESENTATION
clean the store, know your products, prices, and promos, practice customer service, dress nicely....Know your features and benefits
OG 1 ACQUIRE PRODUCT INFORMATION (E.G., LABELS, MANUFACTURER, PRODUCT MANUALS) USED IN SELLING
OG 6 Identify and demonstrate product features/benefits to match customer needs
ANALYZE PRODUCT INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY PRODUCT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
•Product feature - a fact or technical specification about a product.
•Product benefit – the value provided to a customer by a product feature.
•A FEATURE is a description of a product characteristic, such as "The standard engine in this vehicle is a 3.5 liter V6."
•A BENEFIT is the advantage provided to a customer as a result of a feature, such as "This type of engine gives you 29 miles per gallon, but you get immediate acceleration, so you won't have trouble merging into faster traffic."
Stated another way:
•Features are product characteristics such size, color, horsepower, functionality, design, hours of business, fabric content, etc.
•Benefits answer the customer’s question: What’s in it for me?
OG 14 IDENTIFY CUSTOMER BUYING MOTIVES USED IN SELLING buying motives
1.Rational – conscious, logical reason for a purchase, dependability, time or monetary savings, health or safety service and quality
–Examples – Grocery store, insurance, Cars – Buick, Toyota, Ford
2.Emotional– feeling experienced through association, social approval, recognition, power, love, prestige.
–Examples – Grill, $300 Bronco Jacket, Cars – Porsche, F-350 Power Stroke
3. patronage - can be RATIONAL or emotional - based on discount, service, location, friendliness, look of the store, CONVENIENCE, etc...
•Routine decision making – high degree of prior experience, little info needed, low risk
–Example – groceries, shampoo, toothpaste, other?
•Limited decision making – item has been purchased before but not regularly, moderate risk, more info needed
–Example: oil change, hotel, school supplies, others?
•Extensive decision making – little of no previous experience with an item, high risk, expensive
–Example: buying your first car, wedding, others?
OG 3 EXPLAIN THE STEPS OF THE SELLING PROCESS (E.G., APPROACH, DETERMINE NEEDS, WANTS, PRESENT PRODUCT)
Selling process
OG 4 Identify methods of approaching (e.g., greeting, service, merchandise, combination) the customer
1. Pre-Approach: Gathering preliminary information and preparing a preliminary sales presentation for a customer. getting ready for face to face encounter.
–Study your product
–Know your industry trends
–Research potential customers
–Know your companies policies and procedures
2. Approach: Contact customers, gain their attention as well as interest, and create a favorable first impression.
•Treat customer as individual and always use their name
•Be energetic, courteous, respectful
•Always sell to the next step
–This critical!!! Sell an appointment, sell a suggestion, sell knowledge, sell the merchandise
• 3 approach methods in retail
–Service – ask customer for assistance
–Greeting – simply welcomes the customer
–Merchandise – start talking about merchandise without asking the customer if they want to waited on
OG 5 Explain how to determine customer needs and expectations in selling process
3. Determine Needs: Gather information to determine customers' needs and how they can be met.
•Needs are directly related to buying motives
•Ask questions, listen, ask questions
•3 methods to Determine Needs
–Observing – nonverbal communication
–Listening – pick up clues to needs
–Questioning – Who, What, When, How
•Always ask Open-ended questions
OG 7 IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE PRODUCT PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES (E.G., DISPLAY, HANDLING, DEMONSTRATING SALES AIDS)
Demonstrate: Present the product in a way that emphasizes customer benefits.
•This when you get to say, “I am the coolest because…..”
•Always make a plan before you present:
–What to show?
–What price?
–How many different products and services to show?
–What to say and look out for (layman’s terms)?
•Who should demonstrate?
–Let your customer try it hands on
•What sales aids would use?
–Customer testimonials, samples, trials, guarantees, visual of actual product
Answer Questions: Overcome objections and ensure the marketing mix meets customers' needs.
OG 8 Explain techniques (e.g., boomerang, denial, demonstration) used to convert customer/client objections into selling points
5. handling the objection:
BOOMERANG METHOD: BRINGS OBJECTION BACK TO THE CUSTOMER AS A SELLING POINT. AN OBJECTION CAN BE RETURNED TO THE CUSTOMER IN THE SAME WAY BUT AS A SELLING POINT–BE CAREFUL NOT TO SOUND LIKE THE POTENTIAL CUSTOMER IS STUPID
QUESTION METHOD : QUESTION THE POTENTIAL CUSTOMER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OBJECTION–BE CAREFUL NOT TO ASK QUESTIONS IN ABRUPT MANNER, NEVER ASK “WHY NOT?”
SUPERIOR POINT METHOD ACKNOWLEDGES OBJECTIONS, BUT MENTIONS BENEFITS THAT OUTWEIGH OBJECTIONS ALLOWS YOU TO ADMIT DISADVANTAGES BUT THEN PRESENT SUPERIOR POINTS TO COMPENSATE (WORKS GOOD WITH HIGH PRICES)DENIAL: BASED ON MISINFORMATION
DEMONSTRATION: SEEING IS BELIEVING
THIRD PARTY METHOD: USES ANOTHER CUSTOMERS POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH THE PRODUCT
DENIAL – OBJECTION IS BASED ON MISINFORMATION
THIRD PARTY – INVOLVES USING PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS AND EXPERTS TO HELP WITH THE SALE
6. Close: Obtain a decision to purchase.
•This is how you get paid and is the ultimate goal
•This is an agreement between you and your new customer
•Sales people must be flexible. Just because there are steps to a sale, it does not mean you cannot skip some steps to close the deal
•Key to closing the sale is customer readiness, which can be at any moment
7. Suggestion Selling: Suggest other products that customers may see as valuable
•This is selling additional goods or services to the customer.
•Once again consider your self a consultant trying to help your customer’s company
•The benefits include
–Takes less time and effort than initial sale
–Fixed costs remain the same despite the extra sale activity. It’s a win, win, win for all 3 parties.
•Be careful to stay honest and only sell what the customer needs.
methods to suggestion selling
•Offering related merchandise
–Related items and accessories
•Recommending larger quantities
–Most of the time cheaper in long run and saves an extra trip
•Calling Attention to Special Sales opportunities
–Salespeople are obligated to communicate all sales to customers
8. Follow-up: Continue contact to ensure satisfaction, determine other needs, and build relationships
EXPLAIN TECHNIQUES USED TO CONVERT CUSTOMER/CLIENT OBJECTIONS INTO SELLING POINTS COMMON OBJECTIVES AND 4 HANDLING STEPS
NEED- “I REALLY LIKE THIS, BUT IT DOESN’T MATCH ANYTHING I HAVE.”
PRODUCT- “I DON’T LIKE THE WAY IT FITS ME”
SOURCE- “I’VE NEVER HAD GOOD LUCK WITH THIS BRAND.”
PRICE- “THAT’S MORE THAN I WANTED TO SPEND.”
TIME- “I’LL WAIT UNTIL THEY GO ON SALE.”
4 STEPS
~LISTEN CAREFULLY
~ACKNOWLEDGE THE OBJECTION
-"I SEE YOUR POINT..."
~ RESTATE (PARAPHRASE)
-"IN OTHER WORDS YOU FEEL THAT..."
~ANSWER THE OBJECTION
OG 9 IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE METHODS USED IN CLOSING A SALE Methods to Close a Sale
Which Close
~“Which one do you prefer?”
Standing Room Only Close
~When product is in short supply
Direct Close
~“How will you be paying for this?”
~“How many would you like to start with?”
Service Close
~Gift wrapping, warranties, return policy, etc
OFFER CUSTOMERS CREDIT, LAYAWAY, 0% FINANCING TO CLOSE THE SALE
RULES:
-Recognize closing opportunities
-Help customers make a decision
-Create an ownership mentality
-Don’t talk too much
-Don’t rush a customer
OG 11 IDENTIFY THE PROCEDURES OF DEPARTURE AND FOLLOW-UP (E.G., RECEIPT, REASSURANCE, THANK YOU, PHONE CALLS, THANK YOU NOTES, E-MAIL) IN THE SELLING PROCESS
•Involves the strategies businesses use to stay close to their customers
•Customer service can be the most important part in selling a deal, closing a deal, and keeping a deal
•What happens when something goes wrong?
–Helping a customer through a problem often creates customer loyalty and more business even when the problem in the first place was your fault
•Remember always to follow up
–Keep competitors away
–Maintain a great relationship
–Keep customer updated to new products and features
–Maybe a customer in the future
OG 10 EXPLAIN THE METHODS AND BENEFITS OF SUGGESTION SELLING
INCREASE SALES, IMPROVE CUSTOMER RELATIONS, SELL MORE INVENTORY...
Suggestion selling
(sometimes called suggestive selling) is an important and effective sales technique in which a salesperson attempts to increase a customer’s purchase by suggesting that s/he buy additional goods or services. These suggestions are based on the customer’s needs. Usually, suggestion selling occurs after the customer has made the original buying decision. Here are some examples of suggestion selling:
• A customer has just decided to purchase a camera. The salesperson might suggest that he also buy a tripod, an extra charger, extra memory cards, etc.
• A couple wants to purchase an appliance, such as a refrigerator or a dishwasher. The salesperson might suggest that they also buy an extended service contract on the appliance or special cleaners and scratch removers for the stainless s teel.
• A customer has chosen to buy a dress. The salesperson might “suggestion sell” her a pair of matching shoes, a coordinating jacket or sweater, or earrings that complete
the look.
The importance of suggestion selling
So, why is suggestion selling so important? The most obvious reason that salespeople use this technique is to build the sale— moresales can lead to more profit for the company. Let’s look at an average sale, and then compare it to a sale in which suggestion sellingwas used.That’s $17.55 in additional gross profit—all because suggestion selling was used!
Salespeople who are working on
commissioncan increase the amount they earn by using suggestion selling. Consider the aver-age sale of the camera as an example. If the salesperson earned a 10-percent commission, s/he earned $19.99 in commission on theaverage sale. However, if the salesperson used suggestion selling, the 10-percent commission would have been $25.84.
Another reason that suggestion selling is important is that it saves time. Salespeople using this technique do not have to makeadditional sales presentations for the products they’re suggesting. They simply suggest additional goods or services related to thecustomer’s original purchase
selling process
OG 15 Interpret business policies to customers/clients
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/interpret-business-policies-customers-26990.html
OG 16 Compare and contrast warranties and guarantees
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/interpret-business-policies-customers-26990.html
OG 16 Compare and contrast warranties and guarantees