Selling is the process by which the seller satisfies the needs and wants of the
buyer through the sale of a product or service. 

Prospecting

Prospecting refers to identifying and developing a list of potential clients.

Sales people can seek the names of prospects from a variety of sources
including trade shows, commercially-available databases or mail lists,
company sales records and in-house databases, website registrations, public
records, referrals, directories and a wide variety of other sources.
Prospecting activities should be structured so that they identify only
potential clients who fit the profile and are able, willing and authorized to
buy the product or service.

This activity is greatly enhanced today using websites with specially-coded

pages optimized with key words so that prospects may easily find you when
they search the web for certain key words related to your offering. Once
prospecting is underway, it then is up to the sales professional
to qualify those prospects to further identify likely customers and screen out
poor leads. Modern websites can go along way in not only identifying
potential prospects but also starting this qualification process.

2) Pre-approach

Before engaging in the actual personal selling process, sales professionals

first analyze all the information they have available to them about a prospect
to understand as much about the prospect as possible. During the Pre-
approach phase of the personal selling process, sales professionals try to
understand the prospect's current needs, current use of brands and feelings
about all available brands, as well as identify key decision makers, review
account histories (if any), assess product needs, plan/create a sales
presentation to address the identified and likely concerns of the prospect,
and set call objectives. The sales professional also develops a preliminary
overall strategy for the sales process during this phase, keeping in mind that
the strategy may have to be refined as he or she learns more about the
prospect.

3) Approach

The approach is the actual contact the sales professional has with the
prospect. This is the point of the selling process where the sales professional
meets and greets the prospect, provides an introduction, establishes rapport
that sets the foundation of the relationship, and asks open-ended questions to
learn more about the prospect and his or her needs.
4) Making the Presentation

During the presentation portion of the selling process, the sales professional
tells that product "story" in a way that speaks directly to the identified needs
and wants of the prospect. A highly customized presentation is the key
component of this step. At this point in the process, prospects are often
allowed to hold and/or inspect the product and the sales professional may
also actually demonstrate the product. Audio visual presentations and/or
slide presentations may be incorporated at this stage and this is usually when
sales brochures or booklets are presented to the prospect. Sales professionals
should strive to let the prospect do most of the talking during the
presentation and address the needs of the prospect as fully as possible by
showing that he or she truly understands and cares about the needs of the
prospect.

5) HANDLING SALES Objectives

Professional sales people seek out prospects' objections in order to try to

address and overcome them. When prospects offer objections, it often
signals that they need and want to hear more in order to make a fully-
informed decision. If objections are not uncovered and identified, then sales
professionals cannot effectively manage them. Uncovering objections,
asking clarifying questions, and overcoming objections is a critical part of
training for professional sellers and is a skill area that must be continually
developed because there will always be objections. Trust me when I tell you
that as soon as a sales professional finds a way to successfully handle "all"
his or her prospects' objections, some prospect will find a new, unanticipated
objection-- if for no other reason than to test the mettle of the sales person.
If objections arise, firstly the sales person should qualify each one by
reflecting back to the person who raised it, to establish the precise it
may be necessary to probe deeper to get to the real issue, by asking
why to a series of answers - some objections result from
misunderstandings, and some are used to veil other misgivings which
the sales person needs to expose nature of the objection - "why do
you say that?" , or better still, "what makes you say that?, is usually
a good start. Avoid head-to-head arguments - even if you win them
you'll destroy the relationship you'll go no further - instead the sales
person must enable a constructive discussion so that he and the
prospect are both working at the problem together; provided the
basic proposition is sound most objections are usually overcome by
both the seller and the buyer adjusting their positions slightly; for
large prospects and contracts this process can go on for weeks,
which is why this is often more in the negotiating arena than
objection handling. By this stage you may have seen some signs that
 the prospect is clearly visualising or imagining the sale proceeding, or
even talking in terms of your working together as supplier and
customer; this is sometimes called buying warmth. Certain questions
and comments from prospects are described as buying signals
because they indicate that the prospect may be visualising buying or
having the product/service. In the old days, sales people were taught
to respond to early buying signals with a 'trial close', but this widely
perceived as clumsy and insulting nowadays. Instead respond to
early buying signals (ie those received before you've completed the
presentation to the prospect's satisfaction, and answered all possible
queries) by asking why the question is important, and then by
answering as helpfully as possible

6) Closing the Sale

Although technically "closing" a sale happens when products or services are

delivered to the customer's satisfaction and payment is received, for the
purposes of our discussion I will define closing as asking for the order and
adequately addressing any final objections or obstacles. There are many
closing techniques as well as many ways to ask trial closing questions. A
trail question might take the form of, "Now that I've addressed your
concerns, what other questions do you have that might impact your decision
to purchase?" Closing does not always mean that the sales professional
literally asks for the order, it could be asking the prospect how many they
would like, what color they would prefer, when they would like to take
delivery, etc. Too many sales professions are either weak or too aggressive
when it comes to closing. If you are closing a sale, be sure to ask for the
order. If the prospect gives an answer other than "yes", it may be a good
opportunity to identify new objections and continue selling.

7) Follow-up

 Follow-up is an often overlooked but important part of the selling process.

After an order is received, it is in the best interest of everyone involved for the
sales person to follow-up with the prospect to make sure the product was
received in the proper condition, at the right time, installed properly, proper
training delivered, and that the entire process was acceptable to the customer.
This is a critical step in creating customer satisfaction and building long-term
relationships with customers. If the customer experienced any problems
whatsoever, the sales professional can intervene and become a customer
advocate to ensure 100% satisfaction. Diligent follow-up can also lead to
uncovering new needs, additional purchases, and also referrals and
 testimonials which can be used as sales tools. Sales follow-up depends on
the type of product and service, but generally for every sale the sales
person must carry out a number of important processes:
 all relevant paperwork must be completed and copies provided to the
customer - paperwork is will cover the processing of the order, the
confirmation of the order and its details to the customer, possibly the
completion of installation and delivery specification and instructions
 Sales reporting by the sales person is also necessary, generally on a
pro-forma or computer screen, typically detailing the order value,
product type and quantity, and details about the customer such as
industrial sector - each sales organization stipulates the sales person's
reporting requirements, and often these are linked to sales commissions
and bonuses, etc.
 The sales person should also make follow-up contact with the
customer - as often as necessary - to confirm that the customer is happy
with the way the order is being progressed; this helps reduce possible
confusion and misunderstood expectations, which are a big cause of
customer dissatisfaction or order cancellation if left to fester unresolved
 Customer follow-up and problem resolution must always be the
responsibility for the sales person, who should consider themselves the
'guardian' of that customer, even if a well-organised customer service
exists for general after-sales care
 Customers rightly hold sales people responsible for what happens
after the sale is made, and good conscientious follow-up will usually be
rewarded with referrals to other customers - this is also helpful
for networking
 Follow-up is an important indicator of integrity; when a sales person
makes a sale he is personally endorsing the product and the company,
so ensuring that value and satisfaction are fulfilled is an integral part of
the modern sales function.

MODULE: TERRITORY MANAGEMENT

Sales quotas are a way of life for the sales force. All activities of the sales
force revolve around the fulfillment of sales quotas. Sales quotas are
targets assigned to sales personnel. They signify the performance
expected from them by the organization. Sales quotas help in directing,
evaluating and controlling the sales force. They form an indispensable tool
for sales managers to carry out sales management activities. Sales quotas
are prepared on the basis of sales forecasts and budgets. Sales quotas
serve various purposes in organizations.

They provide targets for sales personnel to achieve, act as

standards to measure sales force performance and help
motivate the sales force. Compensation plans are invariably
linked to quotas. The commission and bonuses given to sales
persons are based on their meeting quotas set for them. The
four categories of sales quotas widely used are -- sales volume
quotas, expense quotas, activity quotas and profit quotas. A
sales quota should be fair, challenging yet attainable,
rewarding, easy to understand, flexible and must satisfy
management objectives. It must also help in the coordination of
sales force activities. Setting motivating and easy to
understand quotas is essential to obtain the cooperation of the
sales force. Various methods are used to set sales quotas,
among which, quotas based on sales forecasts and market
potential are the most common. Skilful administration by sales
managers is required for effective implementation of quotas.
Convincing salespeople about the fairness and accuracy of
quotas helps the sales management to successfully implement
quotas. 

Sales quotas have certain limitations such as being time

consuming, difficulty in comprehending if complicated
statistical calculations have been used and focusing on
attaining sales volumes at the cost of ignoring important non-
selling activities. Quotas may reduce risk-taking among sales
personnel and may influence them to adopt unethical selling
practices. With changes in the competitive environment and
variations in customer expectations, many companies have
started developing compensation plans that are increasingly
based on non-traditional aspects, thereby reducing dependency
on quotas.
Methods of setting sales quotas

Quotas based on sales forecasts and market potential

Quotas based on sales forecasts alone
Quotas based on past experience
Quotas based on executive judgment
Quotas based on sales force compensation
Quotas set by sales people themselves

Territory Management
Territory management develops and implements a strategy
for directing selling activities toward customers in a sales
territory aimed at maintaining the lines of
communications, improving sales coverage, and
minimizing wasted time. It includes the allocation of sales
calls to customers and the planning, routing, and
scheduling of the calls.

Territory management develops and implements a strategy for directing selling activities toward customers in a
sales territory aimed at maintaining the lines of communications, improving sales coverage, and minimizing
wasted time. It includes the allocation of sales calls to customers and the planning, routing, and scheduling of
the calls.

We know that territory management is a two-way street – a dual process of information and communication. 
First, territory management provides sales managers with accurate measurements of territory results, and the
relative success of that territory’s sales teams.  And second, territory management offers the sales team strategic
information about the impact of promotional campaigns and a variety of other data and analyses. 

Some of the Business Benefits provided by territory management include:

 Managers can gain an up-to-the minute view of their individual territory pipeline from the highest level
to the most granular.
 Regional sales teams can keep lock-step with one another when collaborating on important deals.
 Your company will gain better insight into sales effectiveness and performance by territory
 Easy set up and assignment of territories
  Simplifying territory realignments after sales reorganizations
 Eliminating lag time in lead assignment
 Stretching your selling day and spending more time with your customers
 Planning effectively and avoiding losing sales to better organized competitors
 Selling more, earning more and accomplishing more
 Setting goals and priorities to maximize your selling effectiveness
 Increasing selling time by minimizing distractions and procrastination
 Maintaining contact with key prospects and accounts
 Making more productive use of travel time
 Improving your return on investment (ROI) and reducing turnover

Territory Management enables organizations to automatically route opportunities, accounts, contacts, and
activities to exactly the right sales team members, based on a set of flexible and configurable business rules.
Sales team members can include your employees as well as your channel partners' employees, for leverage of
partnerships and corporate relationships across sales organizations. Assignment rules can be based on
geography, industry, product interest or virtually any other criteria you choose. 

Territory management features include:

 Multiple territories per account

 Rules-based descriptions of territories
 Allows bulk calculation of territories
 Automatically identifies accounts that have not been assigned territories
 Smart rebuild of unassigned accounts
 Configurable territory calculations on account entry or update
 Calculate by country, state/province, postal code and industry segment
 Manual territory overrides to support exclusive territory assignments
 Ability to recalculate selective territories
 Ability to use territories as for designating account ownership and sales teams
 Ability to assign sales agents and partners to one or more territories
 Territory breakdown reports

Territory Management allows you to manage your various sales territories by setting up a customized company
position chart that maps your reps into territories. Regional managers can easily access critical pipeline
information and monitor all the deals active within their territory. As the organization changes, territory
management allows you to very quickly and easily transfer accounts from one rep to another, build cross-
functional teams, share reports, dashboards and documents, and run reports segmented by the territories you
define.

Channel conflict occurs when manufacturers (brands) disintermediate their channel partners, such

as distributors, retailers, dealers, and sales representatives, by selling their products direct
to consumers through general marketing methods and/or over the internet through eCommerce.

Some manufacturers want their brands to capture the power of the internet but do not want to create
conflict with their other distribution channels, as these partners are necessary and viable for any
manufacturer to maintain and gain success. The Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of
Commerce reported that online sales in 2005 grew 24.6 percent over 2004 to reach 86.3
billion dollars[1]. By comparison, total retail sales in 2005 grew 7.2 percent from 2004 [1]. These
impressive numbers are attractive to manufacturers, however they have not been able to participate in
these sales without harming their channel relationships.

According to Forrester Research and Gartner, despite the rapid growth of online commerce, an

estimated 90 percent of manufacturers do not sell online and 66 percent identified channel conflict as
their single biggest issue hindering online sales efforts [citation needed].However, results from a survey show
that click-and-mortar businesses have an 80% greater chance of sustaining a business model during
a three-year period than those operating just in one of the two channels. Among others, the reach will
be enhanced by creating another selling channel. Nowadays, E-commerce wins in popularity as
second distribution channel, because of the low overhead expenses and communication costs. Their
advantage is at the same time their disadvantage, since consumers can communicate less expensive
and more easily with each other too. Therefore, price and product differentiation is getting tougher
than ever.[2]

Channel conflict can also occur when there has been over production. This results in a surplus of
products in the market place. Newer versions of products, changes in trends, insolvency of
wholesalers and retailers and the distribution of damages goods also affect channel conflict. In this
connection, a company's stock clearance strategy is of importance. To avoid a channel conflict in a
click-and-mortar, it is of great importance that both channels are fully integrated from all points of
view. Herewith, possible confusion with customers is excluded and an extra channel can create
business advantages

Channel Conflict Solutions

Channel conflict is an integral part of your channel strategy, so you must examine your market
position and channel strategy before attempting to manage it. Taking a closer look at the problem
often reveals that the perceived channel conflict issue masks a larger channel strategy issue. So prior
to executing solutions to address channel conflict, the manufacturer is encouraged to examine all
elements of its overall channel strategy, including pricing, end user segmentation, channel support
programs, company policies, etc. Have you created a conflict situation through the design or
implementation of these other components of channel strategy?

Destructive channel conflict is managed through economics and structural controls. Economics
motivate the channels to avoid conflict. Structural controls lay the ground rules within which conflict is
managed. With each tactic, communication before conflict arises is critical.

The right economic solution is dictated by the type of conflict being faced, the manufacturer's market
and channel position, and the company's strategic goals. Economic approaches include;

Dual compensation—applied when conflict exists between direct and indirect channels. The
goal is to move the indirect channel from a position of potential adversary for the direct sales force to
one of "partner" for the direct sales force

Activity based compensation or discount—used to manage cross-channel conflict or conflict

between channels of differing cost structures and capabilities. Activity based discounts are applied by
paying a channel a specific discount if it performs a measurable task or function. These discounts
allow the "high-cost" channel to compete against "low-cost" channels for those customers who value
the high support

Shared costs—the key difference between this concept and functional discounts is that
functional discounts compensate the channel for incremental tasks via a discount on product sold,
while shared costs pay directly for the task

Compensation for market share—usually applied to direct versus indirect conflict, the direct
sales rep is compensated based on total market share in a territory. The goals of the sales rep are
based on direct and indirect volume, thus motivating the direct rep to "partner" with indirect channels
to maximize territory volume.
Structural controls are only as effective as their enforcement. There is no value unless you are willing
to clearly spell out the controls at the outset of the channel agreement and enforce the stated
penalties to all channel members. The structural controls are typically applied to:

Accounts—you specify "named" or "house" accounts where indirect channels can expect to
compete with your direct channels. Named accounts are usually specified based on end-user
sourcing capabilities, channel ability to meet end-user buying requirements, and volume and strategic
value

Products—channels can qualify for franchising by product line/category across your company's
offering. Product qualification is usually based on end-user product support needs, channel support
capabilities, "fit" or positioning of the product category in the channel's overall business, and strategic
considerations

Geography—as a manufacturer, you can specify those geographies/account types in which you
will provide sales support to the channel. These geographies are usually defined by granting the
channel a primary area of responsibility

The successful marketer combines the elements of economic and control-related solutions that best
address conflict challenges —framing them in an understanding of market position, channel
position, and strategic goals.