Sales TrainingRefresher

Facilitator: Eugene Sugian

Topics

– The Concept of Sales

– Traditional vs. Modern Selling

– AIDA/AIDCA

– SPIN Selling

– Handling Objections

– The Three Strategies

Why do we SELL and what is it?

From the Greek word “helein”“to take”

The Old and the New

Traditional– Knowledge

– Sales-person

– Additional services as Added Value

– Value is judged according to selling price

Modern– Strategy

– Partner/Enabler/Whole Organization

– Customer’s opportunities/ decision making/ evaluation as Added Value

– Value is judged according to the cost to the customer plus non-financial

The Old and the New

Traditional– benefits of supply extend to

products and services only

– seller knows the business customers' needs

Modern– benefits of supply extend way

beyond products and services, to relationship, continuity, and assistance

– seller knows the needs of the business customers' customers and partners and suppliers

The Old and the New

Traditional– Acquire NEW customers

TO SELL

Modern– Nurturing existing customers/

Customer Retention, community building

TO HELP

AIDA

AIDA Process

– Something first gets our attention; if it's relevant to us we are interested to learn or hear more about it. If the product or service then appears to closely match our needs and/or aspirations, and resources, particularly if it is special, unique, or rare, we begin to desire it. If we are prompted or stimulated to overcome our natural caution we may then become motivated or susceptible to taking action to buy.

Attention

– Getting the other person's attention sets the tone: first impressions count , so smile - even on the phone because people can hear it in your voice - be happy (but not annoyingly so) be natural, honest and professional.

– If you're not in the mood to smile do some paperwork instead. If you rarely smile then get out of selling.

– Getting attention is more difficult than it used to be, because people are less accessible, have less free time, and lots of competing distractions, so think about when it's best to call.

Attention

– Gimmicks, tricks and crafty techniques don't work, because your prospective customers - like the rest of us - are irritated by hundreds of them every day.

– If you are calling on the phone or meeting face-to-face you have about five seconds to attract attention, by which time the other person has formed their first impression of you.

– Despite the time pressure, relax and enjoy it - expect mostly to be told 'no thanks' - but remember that every 'no' takes you closer to the next 'okay'.

Interest

– You now have maybe 5-15 seconds in which to create some interest.

– Something begins to look interesting if it is relevant and potentially advantageous. This implies a lot:

– The person you are approaching should have a potential need for your product or service or proposition (which implies that you or somebody else has established a target customer profile).

Interest

– You must approach the other person at a suitable time (i.e. it's convenient, and that aspects of seasonality and other factors affecting timing have been taken into account)

– You must empathise with and understand the other person's situation and issues, and be able to express yourself in their terms (i.e. talk their language).

Desire

– The sales person needs to be able to identify and agree the prospect's situation, needs, priorities and constraints on personal and organizational levels, through empathic questioning and interpretation.

– You must build rapport and trust, and a preparedness in the prospect's mind to do business with you personally (thus dispelling the prospect's feelings of doubt or risk about your own integrity and ability).

– You must understand your competitors' capabilities and your prospect's other options.

– You must obviously understand your product (specification, options, features, advantages, and benefits), and particularly all relevance and implications for your prospect.

Desire

– You must be able to present, explain and convey solutions with credibility and enthusiasm.

– The key is being able to demonstrate how you, your own organization and your product will suitably, reliably and sustainably 'match' the prospect's needs identified and agreed, within all constraints.

– Creating desire is part skill and technique, and part behaviour and style. In modern selling and business, trust and relationship (the 'you' factor) are increasingly significant.

Commitment

– Ask if they agree

– If they do not agree, ask why and probe

– Tell them that you are committed to help them and find the right solution to their needs

– Always give assurance and follow through it

Action

– The better the preceding three stages have been conducted, then the less emphasis is required for the action stage; in fact on a few rare occasions in the history of the universe, a sale is so well conducted that the prospect decides to take action without any encouragement at all.

– Always close the sale with an action

– Tell them what to do. Schedule? Payment? Send us an email? Contact us again at?

SPIN® Selling

SPIN® It!

S - Situation - the customer's circumstances P - Problem - a difficulty for the customer I - Implication - the difficulty causes more serious disadvantage/cost N - Need (or Need-payoff) - the difficulty must be solved (by the seller's offering)

In other words…

– Discuss, understand or explain the situation with the prospect.

– Next identify a/the problem that exists or could arise.

– Explain, discuss or understand the implication of the problem for the prospect's business (how the problem produces a significant organizational or business disadvantage, which is therefore an opportunity to achieve major organizational or business improvement).

– This effectively creates a need or opportunity to rectify the problem (by selling the sales person's product/service) - the 'payoff'.

Handling Objections

Objection your Honor!

– The best way to handle objection is to prevent it.

– Combine AIDA and SPIN.

– Your questions must be patterned to let your customer say what their problem is and how it must be solved. Basically, you are helping them solve their own problem. All you need to do is reinforce the problem and the solution.

– “Why do you say that?" , or better still, “What makes you say that?”

Objection your Honor!

-Probe and use open ended questions. Use your questions to your advantage.

- "I understand why that could be an issue, can I ask you to tell me more about why it is and what's important for you here?..“

-Do not use the word BUT.

-Feel-Felt-Found - "I understand how you feel/why you feel that...//Other customers have felt just the same/that...//and when... they have found that...“

- “Imagine mam/sir that you’ve already paid this, how do you see your son/daughter/yourself being serviced by AHEAD? … Exactly sir/mam, and that has always been our promise.”

Strategy 1Hole in the Bucket

Stop the Leak!

– Get the customer’s email address including their parents/guardians

– When you receive the memo for the company discounts/offers, email them immediately (existing customers). They MUST know it first!

– Old clients who have not renewed their services must be emailed also. Send the offers and the discounts from the memo.

– Take ownership. These are MY customers and I am responsible for their welfare. I will help them.

– FOLLOW UP, the SALE is never concluded! After-Sales Process!

Strategy 2Build Your Community

Leaders, Champions, Winners!

– Start by identifying “The Leader”

– Transform the Leader into a Champion

– Prioritize the Champion in everything, offer to them the most delicious discounts, freebies, the early bird promos. They must know first.

– Get his feedback. Ask his opinion on how we can improve. Value and take good care of him/her.

– Make him realize that he is the Champion of this center. Ask his help to spread the word and invite his friends

– Monitor and build them, establish a personal level of trust and confidence

Strategy 3Conversion

From Non-Believers to Followers!– When receiving inquiries, answer the customer immediately. The customer

comes first!

– As a rule, inbound inquiries are the easiest to convert. Remember AIDA? Proceed to Desire Stage immediately! Probe, SPIN, Offer, Close!

– Always provide an alternative when you cannot provide the original inquiry. This is your opportunity to upsell, cross-sell, or create an opportunity. Don’t give up!

– If they cannot/will not buy now. Offer them the discount. If still a NO, get their permission to allow you to send them our mailers/offers etc. A delayed sale is still a sale!

Tips

– "I've found a really useful way to deal with a price objection is to ask the customer; 'If we were the same price as (insert other quote here) would you buy from us?' When the customer says yes (which they normally do), ask why. They will then list all the USPs/benefits that sparked their interest in your product and you can explain that your price is what it is because of those benefits they just listed. For most people this convinces them of the value in your product." (A. Hollingworth - 11 May 2009)

Tips

– 'Diagnose before you prescribe'... Sales people should see themselves as problem solvers, and to solve problems correctly, they must first understand the nature of the problem they intend to solve." (J Pearson - 12 May 2009)

Tips

– "There are two sales tips that will make people rich. All you have to remember about business-persuasion are the two key facets of human personality that come into play when we're being 'sold' to: 1) We all place more importance on the words that come out of our own mouths compared to the words we hear coming out of the seller's, and 2) We all place more importance on the the things we ask the seller to provide compared with the unrequested things that the seller freely offers us. So, when we are selling, our key questioning tactic must be aimed at getting the customer to say what we're dying to 'tell' him. And then to get the customer to ask us if we can provide the solution (which we know is hidden in our bag). (Bob Etherington - Feb 2010)

Thank you.

Don’t Sell. Help.