R.

K Institute of Management & Research

Sales process -7 steps

 People involved in Selling
• Sales persons • Customers

• Company Employees • Consumer

• Business Organisation • Channel partners

• Distributors • Logistic partners

• Retailers /Shop keepers • Technicians

 Types of Sales persons
Missionary salespeople
Order getters
Business salespeople
Company salespeople
Consumer salespeople
Technical support sales people
Merchandisers
 Prospecting & Qualifying
• Searching for an individual, family or an
organisation who needs the product/service
• Sales lead/ Cold call generates the prospect
• Directories or enquiries in a Trade exhibition
• Referrals from existing satisfied customers
• Task is also done by the Back office team
• Important to maintain the existing sales
volume or for growth
 Prospecting & Qualifying
• Prospect has a need for the product/ service
• Prospect has the ability to buy the product/
service
• Leads after Qualifying are placed in 3 groups:
--Hot prospects
--Warm prospects
--Cool prospects
• Salespeople get about 80 % of the business if
they follow-up a sales enquiry
 Preapproach
• Information gathering in more details

• Planning the Sales Call:

--Setting the Call objectives
--Planning the Sales strategy
 Approach
Meeting the buyer for the first time – Make or
Break a sale
• Commonly used Approach techniques:
--Introductory approach
--Customer benefit approach
--Product approach
--Question approach
--Praise approach
 Approach
• Be business-like in appearance and behavior
• Be cordial in approach but not over-familiar
• Be attentive to the minutest details of the
customer
• Observe common courtesies and etiquettes
• Do not take sales interview for granted
• Express gratitude for interacting with you
 Approach
• Identify the needs and problems of each
customer
• Requires the development of questioning
and listening skills
• Successful sales people get the customer to
do most of the talking
• Good salesperson can connect with each and
every customer’s situation
 Approach
Approach Brief description Application
type
Introductory Greetings/Firm handshake/
Namaskar/ Business card

Customer Identify one major benefit and

appeal towards it
benefit
Product Talk /Display /Highlight the
benefits

Question Ask a question to raise

curiosity/ initiate dialogue

Praise Indirect praise with sincerity

 Presentation & Demonstration
• Understanding the Buyer’s needs:
--Situational questions
--Problem identification questions
--Problem impact questions
--Solution value questions
--Confirmations questions
 Presentation & Demonstration
• Knowing Sales presentation methods:
--Stimulus response method (Canned approach)
--Formula method (Mental states selling)-AIDA
--Need-satisfaction method –Use of FAB
--Team Selling method
--Consultative selling method –(Problem solving)
Developing an Effective Presentation
• Planning
• Use of technology
• Adapt presentation
• Benefit plan
• Don’t overload
• Prospect’s language
• Convincing
 Presentation & Demonstration
• Planning and conducting Demonstration
--Mock rehearsal with colleagues; Buyer’s doubts or
objects are cleared/questions answered
--Contingency plan -power failure/product break-down
--Use of simple language and no technical jargons
--Demonstration must be interesting to the buyer
--Demonstration broken into 2 parts- theoritical aspects
followed with the actual working
 Presentation & Demonstration
• Matching presentation methods with situations
--Use Stimulus-response when time is short/ Salesperson is less
experienced/ Product is not new
-- Formula method when buyer is familiar like in Straight Rebuy
-- Need-satisfaction –Creative form of selling for expensive goods
like FMCD/ Industrial product
-- Team selling –used when Buying centre consists of many persons
-- Consultative selling -when Buyer has a problem and they don’t
have the expertise to solve it
 Presentation & Demonstration
• Overcoming the Objections
 Dissatisfied customers tell six other people on an
average about their cause of complaint
 Dealing with complaints quickly and efficiently – Key
aspect of selling
 Understand the anxiety level of customers and the
difficulty faced by customers
 Complaint is serious as the customer believes it to be
 Reduce anxiety of the Customer before solving
problem
 Presentation & Demonstration
• Benefits of using the Demonstration method
 .Buyer’sdoubts or objections are cleared and
questions answered
 .Provides a good support in selling process
 .Helpsto find the specific benefits required by the
prospective customer
 .Chances of guaging at what price the buyer will buy
 .Scope for cross-selling, Up-selling & Down-selling
 Handling & Over-coming objections
Objections highlight issues that are important to the buyer
--Handle both the substantive and emotional aspects
-- Listen to the objection without interruption, Agree to the customer’s
viewpoint but also present an alternative viewpoint
-- Do not offend or embarrass the customer

• Ask questions intermittently

• Turn an objection into a Solution –examples …
• Deny objections tactfully –examples …
• Third party certification like ISI/FSSAI etc
• Compensation – Need to offer a suitable compensation when there is a
genuine objection
 Trial Close / Closing the Sale
Trial close is one of the selling technique. It checks
the attitude/asks opinion of the prospect
• To what extent this product meets your needs
• Which of these benefits are important to you
• Of the 3 models, you liked the last one. Isn’t it ?

Trial close is one step before the Closing of the sale

 Trial Close / Closing the Sale
Closing the Sale means to ask for the order. It’s a
process of helping the Buyers to make the buy
decision. Some of the Buying signals are:
• Customer examines the product
• Asks another person’s opinion
• Asks questions about availability/delivery etc
• Becomes friendly with the Seller
Closing of the sale is the most vital decisive moment
 Closing techniques
• Simply ask for the order
• Summarize and then ask for the order
• Concession close
• Action agreement
 Follow-up and Service
• Maintaining customer records and information
feedback
• Customer record keeping important for salespeople
• Helps focus on getting repeat orders
• Records very valuable when the key contact
employee of a major customer leaves the company
• Encourage salespeople to send customer and market
information to the head office
 Follow-up and Service
• Salespeople have lot of market and product
knowledge that can be utilized by the company
• Salespeople can provide after sales service to
customers – Important in determining satisfaction
levels of customers
• Develop relationship with customers by rendering
small help whenever necessary
• Welcome calls by customers