The Selling Process

Process
The selling process is defined as a process by which a salesperson
identifies and locates the prospects, separate the prospects from
suspects, approaches them and makes a sales presentation, handle
the objections, and close a sale
The selling process can help a salesperson to identify the customers
needs, arouse their interest in product or brand, and motivate them
to make a purchase decision
The Selling Process
It is assumed to be a chain process that a salesperson ha s to follow
step by step to have a synergistic effort.
Each of these step can be called a sales proposition,
 it is a n orderly process in which a salesperson can respond to the
decision making process of the customers and close a sale to the end
of the process
 Stages in the selling process

Pre-
Pre-sale approach Approach to
Prospecting before the
preparation the customer
interview

Handling
Follow up Closing the Customer Sales
action Sale Objections Presentation

.
The selling Process
1.Pre-Sale Preparation
In this stage , the salesperson prepares himself with
Adequate knowledge about the product he will sell,
 The company he will represent,
 The market in which he will sell,
The competitors products and prices,
 The category of customers or segment he will target,
The various selling techniques he will apply during the sale
The selling Process
Product Knowledge
It includes knowledge about the quality of product, SKUs, price point
at which they will sold to various customers, the USP, Value
proposition etc.
If the sales person fail to supply the relevant information the
competitor may take advantage of the situation and make the deal
Sales mangers should train the salespersons for acquiring adequate
product information
The selling Process
The sales person should have knowledge about type and timing of
various consumer promotion tools like coupons, contests, refund
offers, price pack and premiums
They should have adequate knowledge about transportation charges,
they can be FOB( free on Board)
The selling Process
A salesperson has to collect information about
The competitive environment
The structure of industry
Bargaining power enjoyed by each of the force in business
 Prospecting
Successful prospecting

50 potential prospects 50 potential prospects

15 Qualified prospects 25 Qualified prospects
6 Interviews 17 Interviews
1 sale 7 sales

No Yes

Successful prospecting
Prospecting
Prospecting is the process of identifying potential buyers who have a
need for the products and services offered by the company, the
ability to pay for it, and the adequate authority to buy it.
A successful salesperson always efficiently utilizes the selling time by
distinguishing the prospects from suspects.
Suspects have no potential demand for the goods at the point of
probe in selling process. However, a proper follow-up many a time
results in converting the suspects into prospects
Prospecting
A salesperson identifies three sets of customers at the stage of
prospecting
a) Lead Customer-customer with a desire and need to purchase the
product but purchasing capacity not known
 A sales person needs to screening skills to identify , their buying
power, financial transaction capacity
 The process of collecting customer data and checking lead
parameter to make them qualify as prospects are refereed as
prospecting
Prospecting
b)Prospect Customers
 The prospects are buying units who have a current demand for the
product and can get substantial benefits through the acquisition of
the product.
 A salesperson `s job in this case is to take prospects higher in the
decisions process
 Salesperson identifies the current stage of decision making of the
customers and then takes them higher in decision making process
for realizing a sale
Prospecting
c) Qualified Prospects
 The qualified prospects are those who have a need for the product
or services in offer and have the ability to buy them, but need
further persuasion about product delivering the desired level of
satisfaction
 The prospect in advance stage of decision making become a
qualified prospects for the salesperson.
 A good prospecting helps the salesperson to differentiate between
prospects and suspects among the lead prospects so that his energy
and efforts can be used for achieving higher sales
The Process of Prospecting

Sources of prospects can be satisfied customers who are ready to

give referral, websites, newspapers and technical publications, trade
association membership directory, company enquiry registers,
suggestions from salespeople in other territories, and the company
selling plans
The company selling plan includes sales forecast for specific industry
in industrial market
Process of prospecting

Identify and define prospects

Search for sources of potential

accounts

Qualify the prospects from the

suspects
The Process of Prospecting
1.Identify and define the prospects
In this process salesperson has to identify the attributes and features
of the prospects,
The urgency of the need of product,
Ability to make payment,
Expectations and practices of credit payments,
 Authority and department involved in making the purchase decision.
The Process of Prospecting
2.Search of Sources of potential accounts
a) Primary sources- it include the immediate groups
like family, friends, relatives, suppliers of goods
and services, employees, business associates,
shareholders, and customers of the firm.
b) Secondary Sources-it includes those from which
lists of prospects are generated through a
deliberate process , such as surveys, replies to
queries in the past, enquiries generated through
ad , lists of customers published by trade
associations, the directorate of commercial
intelligence in the govt. at centre and state level.
The Process of Prospecting

3.Qualify the prospects from suspects

In this process salesperson distinguish the
prospects from the suspects and then determine
the probable requirement of the prospects.
It is the process by which the salesperson ranks
the prospects on the basis of their payoffs.
The payoff or expected value is the probability of
the prospect buying multiplied with magnitude of
sales from the prospects
The Process of Prospecting
It is a process of estimating the probabilities and
sales potential
The salesperson will like to classify the prospects
at the beginning to effectively utilize is selling time,
his relationship building strategy, and also his
effectiveness in handling customer objections.
A salesperson will classify a lead as a prospect
when the lead have a reasonable probability of
buying, has sufficient needs to justify a profitable
sale, has the financial resource to buy and cane
classified as eligible to buy.
 Methods of prospecting
 Cold canvassing
 Endless chain customer referral
 Prospect pool
 Centers of influence
 Non competing sales force
 Observation
 Friends and acquaintances
 Lists and directories
 Direct mail
 Telemarketing
 Trade shows and demonstrations
Pre-Approach Before Selling

1. Determination of call objectives

2. Development of customer profile
3. Determination of customer benefits
4. Determination of sales presentation
Pre-Approach Before Selling
Before the salesperson approaches the customers for a sale, it is
necessary to develop a sales strategy by collecting customer data and
combining them with product attributes as fit for satisfying the
individual and organizational needs.
The more a salesperson become knowledgeable about the
customer`s behavior and his requirement, he is better equipped to do
a sales presentation.
Pre-Approach Before Selling
Different personality elements may be found in customers like price
sensitiveness, varied level of intellect, capacity and propensity to
bargain, level of self indulgence, and a salesperson has to develop
different selling strategies for each type of customers.
A pre approach selling strategy for each prospect requires a clear
understanding of his personal characteristics and needs, and how a
salesperson`s product and service will satisfy his need
Pre-Approach Before Selling
The need- benefit match is the initial process of
developing a sales strategy.
The salesperson contacts the customers and uses the
generalized need identified beforehand as an induction
method to develop a positive attention towards the
product.
The selling plan of the company also helps in building
up the selling strategy because it explain the call norms
and objectives, additional benefits, and differential
advantage to be offered to the customers and the
suggested closure of the deal with various rallying
pricing points corresponding to customers demand and
tenure of relationship with the firm
Pre-Approach Before Selling
The next stage of building the sales strategy is to
develop the call objective
Call objectives explain the action that a
salesperson wants the prospect to take.
Pre-Approach Before Selling

Benefits
1.The salespeople buildup a high level of self
confidence before meeting the customers
2. They are able to develop an atmosphere of
goodwill and trust with the customers
3.This will help in creating an image of
professionalism in the eye of customer
4.This increases the scope of achieving higher sales
because people are prepaid for making a sale
Approach to customer
 This step is crucial because in this step the salesperson tries to get
customer`s attention and generate interest in him for the sales
presentation.
In the cold calls, the salesperson should try to impress the customer
with manner rather than sales talk.
The goals of any sales approach can be summarized as getting the
prospect`s attention, removing any inhibitions, gaining the prospect`s
respect and confidence, probing for the benefit most wanted by the
prospect, and arousing their interest for hearing the presentation
Approach to customer
There are various approach used for this purpose
a)Customer benefits approach
In this approach a salesperson would like to begin by
saying' would you like to save 20% by buying of this
particular line of adhesives that also save the average
wear and tear by 10%`
b) The referral Approach-it is valid when the prospect
values the status and opinion of the referee.
c) Introductory approach- in this sales person introduces
himself and the company and in the product approach
the salesperson hands over the product to the
consumer for generating interest and attention
Sales Presentation
In this process the salesperson presents his product and services before
the prospects and make effort to create and modify their interest into
sales realization for the company.
In presentation sales people should always try to link the features and
attributes of the products with customer needs so that the gap or
conflict and level of customer objection can be reduced in the
subsequent stages
Sales Presentation
Presentation should be always be made by
keeping in mind the level of customer interest,
nature of the product, and time available for the
presentation and for leading the prospect in next
stage
If the customer agrees with the opening idea, the
salesperson goes for a trial closure. If the customer
looks for more information and probe furthur, the
salesperson delivers additional benefits; if the
customer is indifferent and the response cannot be
classified, the salesperson should probe for further
information
Sales Presentation
If the customer has some doubt regarding the product performance
and delivery of brand promise, a proof should be demonstrated to the
customer during the presentation.
Objections of the customers should be classified as minor or major,
and the salesperson should wait for customer response at each stage
before moving to the next stage
Probing helps in confirming the fit between the stated need and
promised brand benefit.
Sales Presentation
Approaches to Sales Presentation
A normal presentation style covers
Summarization of the situation
Statement of the idea
Description of how the idea works
Statement of promised benefits
Recommended action of buying
Sales Presentation
There are three approaches used during the sales presentation
1.Attracting Customer Attention

2.Creating Interest

3. Arousing desire and conviction building

Sales Presentation
1.Attracting customer Attention
It involves understanding the buyer`s mind and
thought, and placing the product information so that
it matches their mind
The interest factors include the customers choice
and preferences, personal problems, and expectation
from the buying
This helps the salesperson to create a positive
impression that the salesperson is sensitive to the
customer issue and also it helps in doing a survey
whether the customer really needs the product or is
on a window-shopping spree.
Sales Presentation
2.Creating interest
People show in interest in things that help to solve their
problems. Creating interest approach is classified further as
Benefit Approach Opinion Approach
Factual Approach Praise and compliment
Curiosity Approach Article feature approach
Dramatic Approach Premium Approach
`I am here` Approach Visualization Approach
Information Approach
Problem Solving Approach
Sales Presentation
3.Arousing Desire and Building Conviction
Customer interest takes the form of desire when
The customer agree that he is in need of a product.
His emotional needs will be satisfied by the buying
motive
The advantage of using the product have influenced
his mind
The salesperson has been able to generate the
consumer confidence in the product
Sales Presentation
The salesperson has to identify the consumer needs
unmet by the existing product use and the sources of
dissatisfaction sources

Salesperson make it clear that his product will satisfy

his need better than the curent product used by the
consumer and then make it clear to the consumer
about the advantage and benefits he will receive by
using this product
Sales Presentation
The salesperson will be able to generate conviction
when the customer is convinced by his talks and has
full confidence in the salesperson`s words.
Such conviction can be built up only when the
salesperson is able to give satsfactory answer to the
complaints and objection raised by the customer.
The salesperson will be able to build conviction by
allowing inspection and demonstration of the
product, by the offer of warranty, by giving faccts
and arguments, by stating the goodwill and brand
image of seller and by offering a right to consumers
to claim compensation against damages
Sales Presentation
Method of Presentation

1. Canned Presentation
2. Organized Presentation
3. Tailored Presentation
Sales Presentation
1. Canned Presentation
 It is prepared by company, and there is little scope
of modification for each prospect
 It is based on the research and designed by
experienced people in the organization.
 New sales people can use the presentation that
addresses all the relevant issues for the customers.
This type of presentation helps in building the
confidence of the new salespeople
 This kind of presentation sounds very mechanical,
discourages the prospects participations, and is non
enthusiastic in nature
Sales Presentation
2. Organized Presentations
 In this salespeople have enough scope to word the
presentation, but on the line of company policy
and systems.
 This brings more flexibility and encourages
participation of the prospective customers, and
overall structure is as per company guide lines.
 The presentation can be developed on the basis of
information collected from field search, which is
not available with individual salesperson
Sales Presentation
3. Tailored Presentation
 It is developed from the detail evaluation of a
prospective customer`s business and is specifically
designed for that specific customer.
 This is most common method in B to B business
selling
 This method is also applicable in the case of
reseller like retailer and wholesalers