Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 6
Smart Selling and Effective
Customer Service
Mariotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Essence of Selling is Teaching
Teach customers about the benefits of
your product/service, don’t just tell
them about its features.
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Principles of Selling
1. Make a good personal impression
2. Know your product/service
3. Believe in your product/service
4. Know your field
5. Know your customers
6. Think positive
7. Keep good records
8. Make appointments
9. Treat everyone you sell to like gold
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Sales Call
A sales call is an appointment with a
potential customer to explain/demonstrate
your product/service. During the call:
Focus on the customer
Listen to uncover his/her needs
Be honest, if your product/service
will not meet those needs
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
8-Step Sales Call
1. Prepare yourself mentally
2. Greet customer politely
3. Show product/service
4. Listen to customer
5. Deal with objections, always acknowledge
them
6. Close the sale
7. Follow up
8. Ask for referrals to other potential customers
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
3 Behaviors of Successful
Salespeople
1. Let the customer talk more than you do. You are
there to learn about the customer’s needs.
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Analyze Your Sales Calls
After each call, ask yourself:
Did the customer open up to me?
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Turn Objections Into Advantages
1. Study objections you have received
2. Group into categories and develop objection-
proof answers for each
Price
Performance
Follow-up service
Competition
Support
Warranties
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Customer Service Is Keeping
Customers Happy
Examples of customer service:
1. Know your customers by name
2. Deliver products on time
3. Help customer carry product to the car
4. Suggest a less expensive product that might
meet the customer’s need
5. Listen politely and with empathy to
customer complaints
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
4 Costs of Losing a Customer
Customer complaints can be difficult to
listen to, but losing a customer will
cost you:
1. Loss of current dollars customer was
spending with your business
2. Loss of jobs
3. Loss of reputation
4. Loss of future business
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Customer Complaints
are Valuable
Always acknowledge and address complaints
and criticism. Valuable source of market
research!
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Customer Service Is Marketing
Your customer service should always
reinforce your marketing and competitive
advantage.
If your competitive advantage is speedy
service, make sure your employees move
fast.
If your competitive advantage is a cozy
atmosphere, employees should not rush
customers.
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Collect Market Research Via
Customer Service
Include brief market surveys with purchases.
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Build Long-term Relationships
with Customers
Stay in touch via Web site, email. Offer
customers birthday discounts, etc.
Ask customers to refer you to new customers.
Marriotti: Entrepreneurship © 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.