Chapter 5Chapter 5

Adaptive Selling for Relationship Building

C. 5 - Opening Chapter ProfileC. 5 - Opening Chapter ProfileMr. James EllingtonMr. James Ellington

Director of Sales & Analytics Director of Sales & Analytics Tandy BrandsTandy Brands

Former Texas State University Professional Selling studentFormer SIFE/Enactus Lead Presenter (salesperson)Works for a national sponsor of our free enterprise group – Tandy Brands

Types Of PresentationsTypes Of Presentations

Standard Memorized Presentation (Canned) Completely memorized sales presentation Ensures that the salesperson will provide complete and

accurate information about the firm’s products and policies Effectiveness limited – no interaction

Outlined Presentation Prearranged presentation that lists the most important sales

points to be discussed when calling on a customer Can be very effective because it is well

organized/natural/flexible

ContinuedContinued

Customized Presentation A written and/or oral presentation based on a detailed

analysis of the customer’s needs Presentation builds respect Allow for expressing empathy The company may want to bring in a specialist

Adaptive Selling and Sales SuccessAdaptive Selling and Sales Success

Adaptive selling- selling behavior and approaches are altered during a sales interaction or across customer interactions, based on information about the nature of the selling situation

Forces the salesperson to practice the marketing concept Selecting the appropriate sales strategy for a sales situation

and making adjustments during the interaction are crucial Does not mean the salesperson should be dishonest

Knowledge and Adaptive SellingKnowledge and Adaptive Selling

Knowledge is a key ingredient in selling

(Product, company, customer, and competitors)

Enables the salesperson to build self-confidence, gain the buyer’s trust, satisfy customer needs, and practice adaptive selling

Product and Company KnowledgeProduct and Company Knowledge

Purchasing agents rate product knowledge as one of the most important attributes of good salespeople

Generally, the service provided is more important than the performance of the product

The most important knowledge is how the product will satisfy the customer’ needs (not technical details)

Need to watch competitive offerings

International salespeople must recognize that customers in different cultures can seek different benefits for the same product

How to create knowledgeHow to create knowledge

Ask other salespeopleRole play selling situations/practiceGet feedback from sales

managers/professorsGo to training eventsUse CRM systems to store/access

information – Netsuite, Salesforce.com

Retrieving KnowledgeRetrieving Knowledge

Cloud computing – Customer Relationship management – CRM

Using a CRM has a positive impact on adapting while in a sales call

Genius management – tapping into in-house experts

Tagging – including key words with a person’s name on web pages & documents

Read Manuals and Trade PublicationsRead Manuals and Trade Publications

Outlets of resources for the companies industry include:

sales manuals, newsletters, sales meetings, plant visits and business and trade publications

Keys to a successful salesperson:

• understand your company

• ask questions about new programs and products

• collect competitors information

Organizing Knowledge Of Sales Organizing Knowledge Of Sales Situations and Customers Into CategoriesSituations and Customers Into Categories

It is very important to know information about the different types of sales situations and customers salespeople may encounter and which sales presentation works best in each situation

Develop categories to reduce complexity of selling and free up their mental capacity to think more creatively

Leads to better performance in many areas, not just in personal selling

Used to focus on benefits the customer seeks, the person’s role in the buying center, the stage in the buying process, or the type of buying situation

International salespeople need to avoid stereotyping buyers on the basis of their national origin

Develop an Intrinsic Orientation Toward Develop an Intrinsic Orientation Toward Your WorkYour Work(Not in text)(Not in text)

Intrinsic orientation- get rewards from doing the job itself

Extrinsic orientation- views their job as something that has to be done, either to get extrinsic rewards (e.g., more pay) or to avoid punishments (e.g., getting fired)

• Selling frequently emphasizes extrinsic rewards

• Note: This information is not included in the latest edition of text, but is important

The Social Style Matrix:The Social Style Matrix:A Training Program For Building Adaptive Selling SkillsA Training Program For Building Adaptive Selling Skills

See course packet or P. 137 for self-assessmentSee course packet or P. 137 for self-assessment

A popular training program that companies use to assist salespeople in adapting their communication styles

David Merrill and Roger Reid discovered patterns of communication behaviors, that people use when interacting with one another

Dimensions Of Social StylesDimensions Of Social Styles

Assertiveness- the degree to which people have opinions about issues and publicly make their positions clear to others

(Assertive people- speak out, make strong statements, and have a take charge attitude)

(Less assertive people- keep opinions to themselves, rarely dominate a social situation)

Responsiveness- based on how emotional people tend to get in social situations

(Responsive people readily express joy, anger, and sorrow; more concerned with others and informal and casual in social situations)

(Less responsive people-cautious, intellectual, serious, formal, and businesslike)

Social Styles - DriversSocial Styles - Drivers

high on assertiveness and low on responsiveness swift, efficient decision makers base decisions on facts, take risks affecting bottom line competitive Salespeople should be direct & businesslike

Example: Donald Trump – P. 134

Social Styles - ExpressivesSocial Styles - Expressives

high on assertiveness and high on responsiveness warm,approachable,intuitive,and competitive direct time & effort toward achieving their vision impatient salespeople need to demonstrate how their

product will help the customer achieve personal status & recognition

Example: President Obama – P. 134

Social Styles - AmiablesSocial Styles - Amiables

low on assertiveness and high on responsiveness close relationships and cooperation are important enjoy working with people and make decisions

slowly avoid conflict Salesperson should stress product benefits

Example: Paul McCartney – P. 134

Social Styles - AnalyticalsSocial Styles - Analyticals

low on assertiveness & low responsivenesslike facts, principles, and logicanalyze the past; past is good indicator of

future eventssalespeople need solid, tangible evidence

when making presentations

Example: Hillary Clinton P. 134

Categories Of Social StylesCategories Of Social StylesExhibit 5.5 – Page 136Exhibit 5.5 – Page 136

Identifying Customers’ Social StylesIdentifying Customers’ Social StylesP. 136 & 137P. 136 & 137

Concentrate on the customer’s behavior and disregard how you feel about the behavior

Avoid assuming that specific jobs are associated with a social style

Attempt to get customers to reveal their styles rather than react to your style

Test your assessments

VersatilityVersatility

Versatility- the effort people make to increase the productivity of a relationship by adjusting to the needs of the other party

You will be more effective if you are versatile

Successful salespeople are versatile

The Role Of KnowledgeThe Role Of KnowledgeAdapt & SucceedAdapt & Succeed

Systems For Developing Adaptive Systems For Developing Adaptive Selling Skills P. 140Selling Skills P. 140

Example: Global assignments benefit from categorizing customers

according to their culture

Concentrate training efforts on building relationships between the customer and the salesperson and spending less time on product knowledge

There are several other prominent sales training methods

Limitations Of Training MethodsLimitations Of Training Methods

The social style matrix and expert systems are limited

Salespeople must focus the style of sales presentations toward customer’s individual needs

Accurately fitting a customer into one particular category is very difficult

Sales Force Automation SystemsSales Force Automation Systems

System provides information and suggestions on a particular customer and product offered by the company

Contains an online collection of information such as policy manuals , sales literature, analyses, price lists, and product descriptions

Sales Coaching module uses the first-hand experiences and observations of high-performance salespeople working for the company