Selling & Salesmanship

So you want to be a success at

selling?
 Art of Selling
 Need to combine a number of skills
 Persuasion
 Negotiation
 Influence
 Assertiveness
 Planning & organization
 Presentation
 This requires research
 Know your customer
 Know your product/service
 Three stage process
 Preparation
 Research
 Setting Objectives
 Asking questions

 Presentation
 Explaining the benefits
 Meeting objections
 Closing the sale

 Customer Care
 After sales service
The Preparation
 Do Research
 Research the customer
 Find out the name of the customer
 Make it your business to know your customer’s
business
 Keep records of previous meetings & orders

 Study the customer’s company

 Annual reports
 News articles

 Their web site

 Do research cont
 Research your product
 Know what it is that you are selling
 Know the styles, colours, sizes, quantities

 Research the relationship

 Know what the customer has bought or asked
about
 Know if there are any previous/current problems
 Set Objectives
 Know what you want to sell, how many? Plan A
 Have a fall back option, Plan B
 I want to sell five cases
 OK two cases
 OK sale or return
 OK, here is a free sample (& order form)
 Objectives must be realistic with viable
alternatives
 If you cant sell to this customer, then
 does your customer know anyone else
 Or does your customer want other products
 Ask Questions
 Ask the right type of question
 Ask open-ended questions
 They start with what, when, where, how, who
 Not Why? Better to say “for what particular
reason?”
 Keep control
 Answer a question with a question
 Rather than give answer which will kill the deal
 Discussion points
 What should you do to organize your sales
area?
 What information should you keep on your
customer?
 How can you get an appointment?
 Should all sales be by appointment?
 Discussion cont
 Should you have sales literature?
 Should you take samples?
 What techniques can you use to keep
control?
 What should you know about your
products?
 Where can you find leads to new customers
– cold calling?
The Presentation
 Explain the benefits
 Look at your product from the customers point
of view
 Describe the benefits
 Not the features
 How does your product meet what your
customer wants?
 Fashionable, trendy, modern
 Does your product match what your customer
needs?
 Hard wearing, low cost, comfortable, nutritious, easy to
maintain, functional
 Meet objections
 Be cool, when the customers raises a query or
objection to buying your product
 Never get emotionally involved
 Never argue
 Never take it personally

 Get your customer to be specific about why he

does not want to buy your product
 Put objections into context of the use they
want to make of your product
 Consider compensating factors to explain how your
product meets their requirements
 Close the sale
 Watch for buying signals
 As soon as your customer looks like he might buy,
then …..
 Ask for the order
 Bring out an order form
 Complete the form for the customer

 Get the customer to sign, then ….

 Shut up
 Don’t say anything that would make the customer
think again
 Politely say goodbye, and leave
 Discussion Points
 What techniques can you use to close a sale?
 How to handle a price objection?
 Discuss the differences between “features”
and “benefits”
 How can objections be met and overcome?
 How to conclude a sales meeting that does
not end in an order?
 How to ask open ended questions to find out
what the customers wants?
 Art of presenting
 Introduce yourself & the subject
 Who am I?
 Where do I come from?
 What do I want to say?

 Explain the background

 Why am I giving this presentation?
 Conclude
 What were the important points?
 What message do I want to leave with the customer?
 Be brief, finish on time
 Art of presenting cont
 Introduction
 Background
 Substance
 Conclusion

I Believe in Speaking Clearly

 Art of speaking cont
 Make sure you are relaxed
 Be natural
 Make sure you are heard
 Be interesting
 Be methodical & logical
 Dress appropriately
 Have spirit
Ready now here is my delightful
speech
 Discussion points
 How to dress for a presentation?
 What is the best method of communication?
 What to do if you are not good at speaking?
 What is the best type of literature to use?
 Which medium is best: e mail, sms, web sites,
letters, telephone, skype, YM
 What other ways of selling can I use?
 What are the benefits of seminars,
workshops or conferences?
Customer care
 Benefits of customer care
 Differentiates you from competition
 Improves customer image of you
 Minimizes any price sensitivities
 Improves profitability
 Increases customer satisfaction & retention
 Enhances your reputation & standing
 Develops customer – supplier relationship
 Repeat purchase & word of mouth sales
Customer relations management
 Identify what the customer needs
 Manage the delivery of the product/service
 Manage the customer expectations
 Manage after care service
 Service is necessary immediately after delivery
 Manage problems
 Is what you are selling what your customer
needs to buy to fulfill his wants?
 Everyone in the business serves the customer
 Customers
The purpose of a business is to create a
customer

Remaining in business is a function of your

competitiveness and ability to win
customers from the competition

The customer is the foundation of the business

and keeps it in existence

Peter Drucker
 Customer loyalty?
 16% of customers stop buying each year for
the following reasons:
 1% die
 3% change jobs or move away
 5% develop other relationships
 9% change for better prices
 82% customer dissatisfaction
 Why customers get unhappy?
 Customers have a choice & can choose your
competitor!
 Types of issues:
 Products not delivered on time
 Parts missing/not in stock
 Service takes too long
 Product does not meet the need
 Lack of urgency or understanding
 No follow-up of sales people
 Customer perception
 Your customer’s perception is your barometer
of your success
 Often totally intangible
 Service improvement is often your only way to
differentiate yourself from the competition
 Customer is only aware of failure &
dissatisfaction
 Not success & satisfaction
 Customer complaints
 Don’t expect the customer to be in a rational
mind
 Maintain a professional approach
 Complaints are an opportunity to demonstrate high
standard of professionalism
 Take responsibility to solve the problem
 Don’t pass the buck
 Show you really care
 Responding to complaints
 Listen, listen & listen
 Remain calm
 Check your body language
 Let customer get complaint of chest

 Never interrupt, respond when appropriate

 Ask appropriate questions
 This is a way of showing real interest
 Responding to complaints
 Ignore insults, wait for calmness
 Summarize the issues
 Find areas of agreement
 State them
 Demonstrate empathy
 Show that you understand their point
 You don’t have to agree to it

 Agree an action
 Thank the customer
 Discussion points
 Why should customer care be so important to
your business?
 How can you retain your customers?
 How do you steal customers from your
competition?
 How does your business instill the importance
of the customer to the workforce?
 Apart from good service, how else can you win
&/or retain your customers?