Selling Skills And

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Selling Skills andSelling StrategiesObjectives. . To understand different buying and selling styles To understand andinternalize the selling skills

.' To comprehend the process of building effective communication skills To learnhow to improve listening skills o To understand conflict management andresolution skills . To learn how to bargain and win in sales . To understand thenegotiation and bargaining skills . To understand the problem solving skillsINTRODUCTIONSelling is one of the most challenging professions of the modern world. While afew peopledo very well in the world of selling many believe that selling is becoming anexceedinglydifficultjob. Success in selling determines the fate of an organization. Businessorganizationsare set up to generate profits by satisfying the needs and demands of

customers. In the processof delivering goods and services, business organizations ut'lize the availableresourcesincluding human resource, and develop business systems to continuouslyprovide utilitiesto the customers. There is a risk involved in the future of any business, andbusiness organizationstake this risk arising out of the uncertainties of a dynamic business environmenttogenerate profit.

The objective here is not to explain how or why a business enterprise earrsprofits, but toexplain how salespeople contribute to achieving the goals of businessorgarrizations. productsand services can be delivered to potential customers in two ways. Indirectmarketing involvesa process of intermediation in which a third party takes the product and deliversit to thecustomers on behalf of the producer, with a share in the profits. However, indirectmarketingorganizations deliver products and services to the customers directly throughsalespeople.I

IiSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 45

The salespeople represent the company to the customer. If the salespeopleare'equippedwith the required skills and have the desired aptitude for selling they contributeto theachievement of the higher organizational goals.Salespeople with proper selling skills not only close the sales and ut'li"e theselling timeeffectively but also are able to project a positive image of the company throughtheir professionalapproach. E{fective selling skills also help an organization in achieving itslongterm



business objectives. Research has identified that it costs less to sell products toexistingcustomers than to new customers. So companies are looking to establish long-term relationshipswith their customers so that they can provide better and value added products to

thecustomers over a long period of time. Similarly, when eflicient salespeopleinteract withcustomers, they understand their needs and problems better and providefeedback to thecompany so that the company can be proactively innovative in its products,processes, andservice commitments, and the organization will be more adaptable to changes inthecustomer world.As we have already discussed, selling is a higtrly stressfi.rl job, where thesalesperson often

gets rejected and his self-esteem level is likely to below. If the salesperson hasthe adequateskills, he will be able to overcome these barriers and hold his head high. Byachievinggrcater sales for the organization, he will be more successfi-rl than his peers andcarve agrowth path for his life and career.One school of thought believes that selling skills come naturally to some peopleand they' a"re the people who can call the shots in selling. Whereas the other school of thought isbased on the scientific management principles of skill and value development,and believesthat ordinary people can be groomed to be good salespersons.Success in selling does not depend on some inborn quality; rather it is based onapplicationof certain skills and development of commitrnent and professionalism in selling.What makes a good salesperson? This question is haunting to researchers andpractitionersand we are yet to find a satisfactory answer that would be applicable to everyperson involvedin the world of selling. However, both research and practice suggest thatsalespeople can

acquire selling skills and achieve exemplary success. This chapter identifies and e>iplains the essential selling skills that ma-ke asalespersonsuccessfii in sales. The skills described here are a synthesis of what can beacquired tlrroughtraining and practice by salespeople. We will discuss the various b"y-g andselling strategiesthat both buyers and sellers follow in the market, and also reconsider the task of a sales. manager. We will also discuss the communication skills, listening skills, conflictresolutionskilIs, negotiation skills, and problem-solving skills that are essential forsuccessfirl selling, asalso the various strategies for success in diflicult selling situations.



SELLING AND BUVNG STYTESAll customers do not buy the products in the same way. The b"yttg styles varydependingupon the buyer's capabfity to pay, the quantity of purchase, the buyer's ability totake risk,

.ISales and Distribution Managementthe bargainingpower of the.buyer in the market, the competitive landscape inthe industry

_Tj-i"l,tther factors' Research has shown that the waypeople respond to vanes tnan innovation the marketplace.People who are adventurous and have high risk capital are the overniglrt buyers.

These buyers are the innoaators in the marketplace, *ho *ortly buy on impulseand consider non- functional reasons for making a choice. This set of people'arefollowed by another group who accept new products and innovations afterobserving the innovators using it. Majority of such people takl time to make abuying decision. Ti.r" is anorher set of people who buy only after everybody has

started using the product. These laguds stzrtbuying a product when another newproduct is on the doorstep.Similarly, the customer's personality traits also in{luence the pattern and style of buying. The risk-averse customers always take multiple variables intoconsideration before theyma-ke a final decision, whereas there are buyers who buy on impulse and do notbargain much whiie making a purchase. In business-to-business selling also theb,ry-g styles are different' Many government organizations always go forbuying;e bwest-priced commodity irrespective of the quality revel, whereasquahty conscio.rs orfrnio,io^ may not give much importance to the price factorin buying solutions.In many organizations buying is centralized, whereas in many otheis brryrrgdecisions are taken by a committee or a similar form of set-up. Market conditionsin terms of the number of competitors in the market, the prevailing level of competition, the quantity of purchase by the buyer, the switching cost involveain nrryirrg from a competitor's firm, etc. will decide the nature of buying. Higherthe bargaining po*.r, more the seller has to get involved in negotiations.Alternatively, if substitutes are not available then the salespersondelivers products and services by charging a premium. He hardly ta-kes care of the customer,s interest' Figure 2' I explains the various tuyirrg and selling styles.

The saleqperson needs to adapt himself to the brrytttg style of the customers.Hence, effective sellirg skill5 gs31 up the process of adaptation to the brry-gstyres of customers in the marker

Blake and Mouton distinguish various selling styles by analyzing a saleqperson,sconcernfor the sale and the customer. How much concern the salesperson has for sellinghis product, and what level of importance he gives to the customer are the twodimensions used for developing the matrix of selling styles. Typically, asalesperson who onlypushes his product without considering the buyer's needshas more concern for the sale. on the other hand, a salesperson who alwaysresponds to customers' needs and presents his product as the optimum solutionto the customer's problem has higher.orr"..., for the .*ro*.r. Analysis of these twodimensions gives rise to a sales grid as shown in Figure 2.1. This classificationshows the orientation of the salespeople while selling. prodrr"i.we have already explained in the introductory .hupi., that sales orientationbasically looks at pushing the products and making customers buy it. sales,



profits, and market share are the typical goals pursued in sales orientation,where-as in customer orientationthe whole organization including the salespeople is concerned about customers,problem. customer-oriented organizations identify the gap between customerexpectation and the

Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 47performance of current products, and when they find a substantial gap betweenthe two,they put forward their product as a solution to the customers' problem.Orientation notonly determines how much customer-friendly the organization is, but alsodetermines howmuch effort the frontline salespeople mal<e to solve customer problems.

This also explains the kind of market situation in which a salesperson can show atypicalbehaviour. No single sales approach will be successfirl in all situations. Buyingsryles are as

varied as the selling sryles. Buyers also vary in their concern for the sale and thesalesperson.In commodity selling, most of the time the sale is purely based on bargainingand thelowest price, whereas in fashion garments, people give less value to the priceand highervalue to the sensory evaluations of the items while buy-S. In the case of sale of desktopcomputers, most of the customers go for a hard bargain, where-as in case of ITsolutions,the process of buying is largely focuses on the features and facilities that theproducts andservice packages o{fer. When a woman goes to buy a saree in a sareeshowroom, meredisplay of the sarees wiII not satisfy her. The retail salesperson has to be morecustomerfriendlyby offering to solve the problem of the customer. So the salesperson tries to takethe customer's choice closer to her perceptual mirror. In high+ech selling it isalways seenthat sales presentations focus on the benefits the customer will get by using theproductrather than the features of the product. This helps the custonier to translate thebenefits

into measurable and tangible forms and expedites the process of sales closure.Rogers propounded a theory of diflusion of new innovations in the society. Hispropositionis based on the assumption that innovations spread across the society in apattern that issimilar to a normal distribution curve. There are people called innovators, asexplained inthe preceding paragraphs, who accept any new product in the market as theyare advenhrrousand have high risk capital. Contrary to this, there are also customers who :rrevery conservativeand buy only when they see everyone using the product. It is very easy toconvince



the innovators for buying a product, whereas it is diflicult to close a sale in thecase of laggards. This is called the tluory of difiLrinn.In the theory of diffusion, the innovators do not give much importance to thesalesperson

and make new purchases out of a habit of experimenting. There are somecustomers whoare very defensive and always make a rational choice. They evaluate all theavailable informationbefore making a choice. Some customers only listen'to people from well-knownand reputed companies. Whenever a new fashion trend emerges, it is the young,aflluentclass of people who tend to adopt these fashions sooner than others. Similarly,the middleclassmales in India are found to be rational, delayed buyers of fashion garments.

Thesepeople buy a new product after prolonged deliberations and always stick to

industrystandards. They only buy when everyone starts buying the same product. Thesepeople inthe diflusion theory are called laggards.So a salesperson has to follow different selling strategies and approaches to sellto differentkinds of customers. E{fective selling largely depends on matching of the seller'ssryle withthe buyer's style. This demands that salespeople are trained in all the possibleapproachesof selling so that they can handle any kind of customer in the marketplace.Hich{f, 5*, rd Distribution ManagementFigure 2.1 Selling and buying styles

The above grid explains that the process of selling is dyadic in nature. Thesuccess of selling largely depends on the matching of buyer and seller characteristics aswell as of b"ytt8 and selling styles. Customers have a tendency to buy from salespeoplewho are of asimilar nature, at least in interests and outlook towards life.According to Franklin B. Evans, insurance companies should hire all types of people if

they wish to penetrate deeper into the market. In Figure 2.1, the saleqpeople inposition(l,l) believe in the physical display of the product and assume that customers willbuy by itthemselves if the logistics are managed. This is possible in a market wherecustomers donot have many choices or in product categories in which customers do not placeanyimportance to issues like product demonstration and briefing by the salespeople.Fast moving consumer goods are in this category where the advertising andotherpromotion programmes bring the customer to the retail counter (by a pullmethod) and thestore presence and visibility make the brand sell itself.



Here the sales force has the least role to play as they do the business of physicaltransferof the goods to the customer contact point. Similarly, in a market where thedemand exceedssupply so much that the customer is bound to take what is being offered, this

kind of sellingwill be very elfective as it involves very low cost due to non-use of advanceselling techniquesand few or no calls by the salespeople.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 49Salespeople in the (9, l) position are more product-oriented and they always tryto pushthe product for sale. They try to sell the product without caring for the customerdemandpatterns. They feel that it is possible to sell any product. They do not considerthe customer'sb"y-g intention and do the hard sell by putting uI thg pressure to realize a sale.

The salesperson in the (1, 9) position treats himself as a friend of the customer. This ispredominantly the relationship domain and the salespeople are involved inrelational sellingwhere th.y try to understand the customer and respond to his feelings andinterests so thatthe salesperson is able to establish a personal rapport with the customer andrealize a sale.Salespeople (in the 9, 9 position) are the problem solvers. They consult with thecustomerso that they understand his situation and all his needs, and then suggest aproduct that cansolve his problem. They work with the customer towards a sound purchasedecision on hispart that will help him get the desired results. This is basically consultativeselling and isnormally seen in the software and consultation selling industry where thesalespeople takenote of the customer's briefs and come with a solution that best fits thecustomer's problem.A salesperson in position (5, 5) is a professional who keeps balance betweenconcern forthe customer and concern for the product. Such salespeople use various sales

techniques todo prospecting and sales presentation, and pitch for sales by applyngprofessional salestechniques. Their sales pitch is based on a blend of personality and productorientation.SELLING SIruAflONSA typical selling situation explains what kind of customers a salesperson is goingto faceand what kind of sales approach will help him in closing a sale in that situation.When aperson makes a sales call to an individual customer for an insurance product or amobileconnection, he faces a situation where the customer either explains his statusand intention





function. As in case of solution selling, the customer has a problem and heexpects thesalesperson to solve his problem; here the salesperson performs the problem-solving function.

Therefore, to be an effective salesperson, one needs to possess various skills

arnong whichthe prominent ones are good communication skill, empathetic listening skill,good bargui"i"Sskill, a high level of problem-solving skill. If the salesperson does not possessthese skills, hewill not be able to close a sale properh will lose in every bargain with thecustomers, andmay find his job frustrating.

The following discussion evaluates all forms of selling with regard to differentmarketingand situational factors as explained below. The forms of selling indudemaintenance vs

developmental selling contacts, technical expertise, and important personalcharacteristics.Maintenance Selling

Typically, maintenance selling involves the art of servicing the existing accounts,securingpromotional cooperation, counting inventory and taking replenishment orders,anddelivering the products. In the advertising world, these kinds of salespeople arecalledclient servicing executives who provide services to clients and also take theorders as andwhen required. There is no question of prospecting for this kind of salespeople asit is donewith the existing customers. In the IT sectoq these salespeople are posted at theclient siteand are responsible for solving the client's problems. In high-tech productcategories alsowe find service and maintenance salespeople.Developmental SellingSalespeople engaged in developmental selling are called business developmentsalesexecutives as they try to contact the potential customers and build business forthe firm.

They are the real salespeople who try to do prospecting from the leads eitheravailable inthe organization or collected by them, and then take the prospect through thewhole processSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 51of selling to realize a sale. In international selling the overseas sales agents alsoget involvedin identifying prospective customers and then selling the products to them.Developmentalselling involves locating and qualifying potential buyers, securing specilicationsand approvalsfor the purchase, and closing the sale by getting an actual order.In maintenance selling either there is an absence of dealing with the prospectswhile



tat<ing an order or the customer himself seeks for the placement of the ordereither byhabit or on the basis of merchandising procedures. Getting orders ischaracteristic of developmental selling. Here the salesperson must seek for the potential

customers andobtain their order.SELLING SKILI.]S\{hile it is very diflicult to find out a set of characteristics for guaranteed successin selling,sheer hard work, working smartly in business, the ability to set goals, the level of maturity,communicative ability, dependability, honesty, integrity, and possession of requisite sellingskills can make a successfirl salesperson. In some instances, a salesperson maynaturallypossess these skills, but in the majority of situations these skills can be

developed throughtraining and practice.We started our discussion by asking the question 'Who is a successful seller?' atthebeginning of this chapter; here we will try to elaborate the skills that make asuccessfirlsalesperson. One of the prominent myths in selling is the idea that successlirlsalespersonsare born, and it is difficult to acquire skills that can turn zrn average salespersoninto asuccessfirl one. Selling skills are a set of characteristics that are necessary for asalespersonto possess, failing which he may not be successful in selling.It is not correct to assume that successfirl salespersons are born. There arecertain abilitiesif found in certain salespeople that make them successful but there cannot be aninherentquality which can ma-ke someone successful in selling. Some people can speakwell andsome can derive meaning faster than others by effective listening skills;similarly, someindividuals are aggressive and some are unassuming; but success in sellinglargely depends

on the application of certain qualities in a scientilic manner over a period of time.Since there are different kinds of sales jobs and sales situations, one kind of personalityor quality may help in a certain selling or situation, but may not work in anothersellingsituation. So a variety of selling skills may be acquired to have a successfulselling career.

The skills to communicate e{fectively, listen to the customer complaints, andnegotiate withcustomers for a profitable deal are necessary for successfirlly implementing anysales plan'Following is a list of buyer's likes and dislikes about salespeople. Salespeopleshould try



to hone the skills and roles liked by the buyers and to minimize the effect of theattitudesand traits not liked by the buyers.

The essential skills for successlirl selling are communitatinn skilb, Iistnting skilk,conflirt marngemmt

and resolutinn sldlls, rugotintinn skills, and, problnn-solnirg skilk, as illustrated inFigure 2.2'52 Sales and Distribution Management

The Good rbHonestLoses a sale graciouslyAdmits mistakesPossesses problem-solvingcapabilitiesFriendly but professionalDependableAdaptable

Knows my businessWdl-preparedPatientDoes not follorr-rryWdk in without apprirlrmtBegins call by alhng spctsPuts down competitort' Fodf Has poor listening skillsMakes too many phone cakMakes lousy presentatirxrFails to ask about needsLack product knowledgeWastes my timellre btAhcffirdeCrt-& a er€etheart 0re- bl GrspdIbdlircgrdra{ng peopleci btl:i ireligenceUbElbSbddsnn?lep c:orpry egeinst anotherAdr Fdf

l*rhryfrreFigurc 2.2 Selling skillsCommunication Skills

The ability and expertise to cornmunicate is necessary in sening frmctln Thesaleqpeopleshould possess a good vocabulary and express themselves inteilig,end', to thecustomer. Thelater element is necessary mostly in intelligent buying and seiling sinratbns, suchas businessto-business selling.

The ability to perceive and interpret the customer's verbal and non-verbal cluesis alsonecessary as it will heh i" answering the customer's objections and finding outabout their



purchase intention. Salespeople should also develop and hone their verbal skillsas thequatity of voice is an essential element of the personality of a saleqperson andcontributesto his success. The problem-solving skills also depend on the level of cultivation

of interpersonal skills.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 53

The entire business of modern-day sales rests on building a good relationshipwith customers.

The relationship becomes long-term when it is built on mutual trust. Continuationof a relationship will largely depend on how this relationship is nurtured andmanaged bythe salespeople and how much value the customer deriyes out of therelationship. Researchhas found out that trust between a buyer and a seller largely depends on fiveelements in

the saleqperson's behaviour:l. Truth of words communicated by the salesperson2. Predictability of action3. Competency (ability/knowledge/resources)4. Intent or empathy (placing the customer's interest on par with the seller'sinterest, acommiunent to solving the customer's problem, and responsive to thecustomer'scause)5. Iikeability (It is an emotional issue and diflicult to clearly define, but can beunderstoodas a perception of commonality by both the parties.)

These five elements of trust revolve around the communication, both verbal andnonverbalcommunication. The truth of words is established by the words and follow-upactions a salespersonuses with the customer. The salesperson must demonstrate his technicalcommandof products and applications to show his level of competence.Empathy or intent means the salesperson understands buyers' needs andequates themwith his own needs. Likeability is validated with courtesy and politeness,corunonality of

interest and positive emotional feelings.Unless the salespeople communicate superiority of theirproducts and services topotentialcustomers, the products will not sell. To persuade potential customers about thesuperiorityof their product, salespeople must be able to identify accurately the needs andwants of thecustomers.

Therefore, salespeople must listen closely to what customers are saying, analyzetheirspoken words, and be attentive to their non-verbal expressions, such as bodygestures,postures, vocal tonalities, and overall appearance to understand customer needsand desires.



Salespeople should communicate effectively by organizing their thoughts andpresentingtheir products and services to the customers.

The Gommunication ProcessA salesperson needs to understand the communication process before

hedevelops his ownstrategies for successful selling. Communication is the exchange of idea andinformationbetween two parries. The communication process is defined as a set of activitiesand systemsintegrated for an exchange of ideas, concepts, information, and knowledgebetween a senderand a receiver through alternative channels. In this process the receiver decodesthe messageand sends feedback to the sender so that the sender can know the e{fectivenessand responseof his communication inputs. Noise and disturbances are interspersed in the

communicationprocess, which hinder the effectiveness of reception.Sales and Distribution ManagementSales communication can be bod pcrsrl d rpi- llnacnonaf communicationmeans the use of mass media fr pulfgF-o' ilrnrin ro the consumers.Non-personal communication invohrs mrptr, tr-.d do rroqs media throughwhich the sponsor sends messages about 6c pfu d ru:rfux rithout a scope of knowing the recipients.

This non-personal nature 6f msdia somrim nfu & .*.cirrr!.ss of communication,and the ability of these media to persnde ttc cm- fo foffir,ed Ho1-eyer, the useof this kind of medium can be ven effecdrr iD fipil,tontug Fodrrct information toenhance the level of product awareness.Personal communication is sure to take cusomc-rs Fcnmt Lr{ m tbe nerr level of thedecision process. Typically, the effectir.eness of sfo srfu fo high ar ir addressestheissues and objections of the customers on the Tot 2'yn puides irrnmrrliateresponse tothe ir problems, and thus results can be evaluated br- 6c r- r ulfth Fospcrls areconvertedinto end consumers.A typical communication process begins nith a sorrrc. r.hfoh foi ,*ri{ cesr is thesalesperson

himsell who provides the relevantproductandseni-i*rmln-Tbc -source hasthoughtsand ideas to communicate to the audience, rr*rich hrc o bc r'-oded in apresentableform by the sender. Sales presentations, sales literaturc *-r,r &uqh direct mail,telephonecalls, and selling information over the Internet are €xamdcr d crr'-'rrni:ation andinformationdissemination in the selling process. For this p'rporc, rhc r'rcge hai to be encodedinto a presentable format that can be transmitted to rhc crrqrr*l Thfu imolr estranslatingide as and thoughts into symbols, words, and pictures to meaninddcrrnrnrurication patterns.



The words and symbols used by the source should commrmizrc dc samemeaning to thereceiver.

The salesperson should avoid big confusing expressions or jargood and usewords that

carry some meaning to the customer. The active voice should be usrd ro eryressideas andcommunicate with the audience. The message may be carrird tc, fte cusromerthroughvoice communication, various forms of writing or elecuonic Eedia li\e 66mpu1ersandmobile phones. Non-verbal messages also carry some meaning in the personalmode of communication.

The dress code, body movements, voice intonations, and of emotions likelaughter and surprise also constitute part of the communication process. Theaccuracy of

the reception of the message also depends on the level of araitable noise. Noiseis theunnecessary factor that hinders the smooth transmission of mesose betrr-ecnthe receiverand the sender.Chandrakant Sen is the sales manager at Usha Workhardt Corporation and hewasSt"i"S a presentation that a new product would deliver higher profis to thecustomer, SteelAuthority of India Limited. When he was quizzed.to display how the orgarrizationwill bebefitted, he touched a couple of keys in his laptop and ran a graphic program toshowdiagrams to the customer during the presentation that illustrated his data andproposition.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 55Sender's domainFigure 2.3 The communication processReceiver's domain

This shows effective communication will help people in realizing a sale andhandlingcustomer objections successfiily if the salespeople have done their homeworkproperly.

Noise can be physical in nature like the noise emanating ftom the telephones orcomputersduring the sales presentation; they can be psychological in the form of fantasiesanddaydreams and mental blocls of the receiver due to cultural, religious, and otherreasons.Noise may also mean factual distractions, which may happen due topreoccupation withcertain factors that deter the reception of the real message. Semantic noiseoccurs when asalesperson over-responds to an emotional statement.

There are also personal factors like self-focus, defensiveness, experientialsuperioriryand egocentrism that alfect the reception of the message by the receiver.



Self-focus means a level of preoccupation with thoughts about oneself. Self-defensivenessresults when people are threatened about their positions due to negativefeedback. Peopletend to continue thinking and working during a sales presentation, and due to

this selffocus,their attention level is low when a sales presentation is going on. This is also akind of noise which reduces the e{fectiveness of communication. People tend to makeargumentsand ignore the communication by being self-defensive.

The feeling of experiential superiority is found in people who have gone throughvariedexperiences. Egocentrism is a tendenry to view the self as the centre of everything. For aneffective communication, the intended message should be decoded by thereceiver in the

same spirit as it is encoded by the sender. The receiver may not be in the same frame of mind as that of the sender due tothereceiver's poor level of comprehension or other hctors discussed in the aboveparagraphs.

The receiver may also get engaged in selective perception which as a result of ahigh levelof distortion in the process of decoding the intended message.Selective attention also meairs people will pay more attention to informationwhich is of value to them in the present situation rather than which has long-termrelevance. Peopletend to interpret messages in terms of their own set of personal factors likebeliefs, opinions,attitudes, and experiences. Hence, the salesperson should be attentive to thisprocess of selective perception.1,.ti56 Sales and Distribution ManagementKone CorporationLet us look at how sales communication happensin a company called KONE the wbrld,s largest

manufacturer of escalators and auto walks andlndia's second largest and fastest growing verticaltransportation solution provider. This is directlyunder KONE Corporation, a Finland_based com_ pany which has over 160 subsidiaries aroundthe world with revenues of US$ 2.5 billion,23,000 employees, and operations in some g00locations across B0 countries. The parent com_ pany was established in 1910, and is listed inthe Helsinki Stock Exchange, Finland.KONE supplies more than 20,000 new ele_ vators and escalators annually and services5,00,000 elevators and escalators as well as1,4O,OOO building doors. KONE is known for



being at the forefront of innovation in providingreliable elevators, escalators and auto walks. Thelndian operations is based at 22 cities/branchesacross the country & throughout the last 2_3years. lt has made tremendous growth in terms

of market penetration.It competes mainly with OTIS, the other playersin the market are Schindler from Cermany,

ThyssenKrupp from Cermany, Mitsubishi from Japan, and other local players like Johnson of Chennai, etc. As Schindler and ThyssenKrupp areboth relatively new in lndia, the main marketshare in the organized segment is divided be_ tween OTIS & KONE at 40 & 30yo, respectively.Kone's tumover b abqf lil)cqe and OTIS isabout 250 crore-

The communicdin rd $f€ p(rcess can

be explained in the frbrig pagraphs. Theprocess starts with led agsrin This job ispresendy outsorred b rf*i M*t has peoplein its payroll to urorl b fOitr in the field togenerate nery leads cr fhe tqk q1 ggographicalseparation. Tlee ld 6prts osect detailedinformation abon ay ld h a specific formatand pass trern O te eCE$ Eilr fui initial contactis made bytfp*E Dwix}1 these leads,and then tlue re fecded_ Based on theclient needs and * srdrions, a techno_ commercial oftr b f,irril b lhe dbnl As usual,follow-up b dnre br adf,ind orders and tocheck the curett sEr6 d ilre deal. A productpresentation b giren b 6e dent based on itsunique sellingfopo,fiorL Scrretimes, a site visitis also arranged frr fte dent A tough negoti_ ation is canied q1rlftfi,umalty runs for 2_3week. Then theo?derbdcedard the mutuallyagreed term are put h ag€€menB.After this, ttre salespeople take over andproceed for orrder i?u[ rcgisfation, materialreadiness, payrnenr folilH+ Installation, com_

missioning after+ales service, etc- are main_ tained though the sann sdesperson for samepoint of contactcommunication can occur in many forms. It can be thor€h pcrsmar visigtelephone,e-mail, the web, and various written forms for a salesperson to iru*re proauainformationto the customer.

The process of sales communication is fluid because the fee&ack may not besame in the channel as the communication is from the seller. The seller maycommunicate by verbal means, but may get the order in written form, by e-mair,or over phone.



The understanding of communication lbr a szrles manager can be grouped asverbal and non-verbal communication. The most basic form of commirnication isnon-verbal in nature.i. tII

ILrSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 57Facial expressions, gestures, spatial relationships, and attitude towards time andpeople areincluded in non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is lessstructured andmore dilficult to study for a salesperson. This is also different from verbalcommunicationin intent and spontaneity.In a verbal communication, the customer chooses the words he speaks to thesalespersonand thus regulates his response, but non-verbal communication is often

unintentional; forexample, the raising of eyebrow can be interpreted in many ways, such as anexPression of novelty, acceptance, or questioning the veracity of the presentation.Verbal communication is the most used means of communication, but its abilitytocommunicate the sender's intended message is limited. To communicate pastevents, ideas,and abstractions, needs symbols thatstand for his thoughts. Verbalcommunication consistsof words arranged in a meaning{irl pattern.Salespeople prefer oral communication channels to written ones. This is becausetalkingto somebody is quicker and more effective than sending an informationbrochure. When asalesperson is talking to the customers or listening to them, he can pick up theimplicitmeaning of non-verbal cues and benefit from immediate feedback.In situations where the information provided is more complex, the informationcollectedneeds to be recorded for future references, the audience is large andgeographically spreadout, or immediate interaction with the audience is either unimportant or

undesirable, writtencommunication is preferred by the salespeople.Over the decades, there has been significant development in electroniccommunicationin the form of voicemail, teleconferencing, e-mail, and computer netlvorks thathasrevolutionized the oral and written communication world.Managing Body languageSalespeople can take care of their verbal and non-verbal communication whilemakingsales presentations. The following will explain the strategy and tactics theyshould follow tomanage body language to show that they are confident enough to handle a salessituation.





and value of what has been said. It would be appropriate to practfoe in fr,ont of amirrorhow to use different kinds of gestures to improve one's communication skills.

Through aprocess of self-evaluation in the use of gestures, salespeople can achierrc

greater success.Facial expressions The face is the most expressive part of the body. A srnile as aryrnbolof friendliness, a frown as a symbol of discontent, raising of epbrows as zrnexpression of disbelief, or tighteningof jaw muscles as a symbol of antagonism c:" add to themeaningconveyed through verbal means.A deadwood expression on the face may prejudice the listenerq whereasbrightness inthe eyes may keep their interest sustained and also evoke an enthusiasticnesponse from the

customers. Exuding zeal when one is making a point, or a smile while erylainingthe productfeatures makes the job of the salesperson easy. Biting the lips, raising theeyebrows at regularintervals, or blinking the eyes too often can certainly mar the smoothest of salespresentations.Eye contact Eye contact with the customers is an important aspect of the bodylanguage.Eye is believed to be an extension of the brain and a window to the soul. Stressshould belaid on continuous eye contact between the salesperson and the potentialcustomer becauseit is an expression of sincerity of the seller and attentiveness of the customer.Conversation Habit ChecklistDo I find it difficult to start a conversation?Am I unable to pick a topic for discussion?Am I unable to keep the conversation flowingsmoothly?Do I always agree with what others say oralways disagree what others saY?Do I frequently talk about myself and myfamily?. Have I a tendency to dominate any conversation

with mY ideas?. Do I givb the other side a chance to speak?. ls any of my mannerism likely to annoy people?. Do I respect other people's time and interests?. Am I conscious about the language I use thatincludes the grammar, punctuations andarticulations?Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 59It is a means of obtaining feedback, and enabling the salesperson to alter,adjust, andreframe his sales message. In a majority of the instances this process isautomatic, and theinteraction through eyes between the salesperson and the customer takes placeunconsciously'



Space distancing Each salesperson maintains a personal space around himself'He,rormully does not allow others to invade this space unless the relationship isvery friendlyor they have previous acquaintances. Therefore a zone of 4-12 feet is maintained

when itis a formal presentation. This is known as social distance. This term also includes the standing/seatingposition.Usually the senior-most person in the sales group stands and other membersremain seatedduring sales presentation. Space distancing differs from culture to culture.

The visual code is as relevant as the verbal code in communication. A salesmanager hasto take care of the use of the body language as well as the voice craft whilema'king a salespresentation .

Face-to-face conversation is one of the.easiest modes of communication, butmarry atime people fail in communicating properly in face-to-flace conversation.Conversation isan oral exchange of views, ideas, and product information' It is always better toanalyzeyour own conversation habits and then try to bring modifications for greatere{fectiveness'Normal sales conversation should be of interest to the customers also and maybeginwith a typical customer problem with which the customer is comfortable. As itflows to newchannels of discussion, the salesperson can put his views and convey relevantproductinformation.Occasionally there should be spells of silence on the salesperson's part becausethesespells of silence will allow the salesperson to garner new points and ideasregarding customerreactions.- ':''

The salesperson should be alert to the attitude of the customers and should notbe

surprised by the changes in the customer's attitude during the conversation. If the situation60 Sales and Distribution Managementpermits, it is good to call the customer by narne during a sales conversation,while beingsensitive to the age and position of the customer, as this would h.lp i" generatingmorefriendly feelings.

The sales manager should take care of the h"gpug. and diction used in tlreconversation.

The salesperson should always be courteous and cheerfirl and should showinterest in whatcustomers say.



Strong opinions and arguments may spoil the prospecr of closing a sale, but if you putthem effectively, they can also help in showing your point of view. Thesalesperson shouldavoidjargons and pet words that may create confusion. An anatpis of your own

presentation*ill h+ to bringmodifications and remove the use ofjargon and duringa salesconversation.One also needs to understand the situations where breakdowns in salescommunicationmay occur, creating more problems for the saleqperson and obstruction inclosing a sale.When salespeople communicate without proper groundwod they lack a6equateknowledgeabout the organization, the product, competitor producB, and the marketsituation.In a situation in which the customer is more knowledgeable than the

salesperson, a com_ munication breakdown may happen. In order to achierrc sales and close abusiness dedl,many a time salespeople lie to the customers without realizingthatwords cannever substituteactions. In these situations the communication channel it tft.ty to break. Ignoringthepower of consumers' knowledge leads to improper prospecting and targeting.Mixing upbusiness with friendship itt sales often invites conflict of interess and bringsbreakdowns insales communications.M*y a time salespeople confuse processes with outcomes, and sufer fromoccupationalstress from these sources, which bti.gr a halt or termination to salescommunications. Useof inappropriate forms of communication and wrong channels of customercontact alsoadversely affects the flow of sales communications.A salesperson should not ignore any errors of omission or commission that maylead toa breakdown of the communication processes. If a sales manager takes care of all the

above threats to the flow of sales communication, the effectiveness of thesalesperson willincrease over a period of time.Listening Skills

The sales manager has to be a very good listener and use his listening skills tolead towardssales realization. It is generally observed that salespeople spend more time inreceivingcommunication and information than in transmitting it.. P,ryt listening 5kill5 pay make a sales manager miss subtle issues in customerinteraction,and tLis may lead to non-resolution of customers' problems and thus a poor levelof salesrealization. Yet listening is one of the most underrated skills in the sales world.



Listening is an active search of meaning in the message received. Effectivelistening canbe e><plained by the example of a doctor who is attending a patient. If thedoctor does notlisten properly to the symptoms of the patient, he may end up gi"S the wrong

treatrnent,Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 61which may lead to fatal results. In the business and sales world, the effect of poor listeningis the same, though less attention is paid to enhancing the listening skill of thesalespeople.A good listener welcomes new ideas, and stays informed, up-to-date, and out of dangerin an organization. Good listening also enhances the impact of what thesalesperson speaksto the customer, and increases the ability to negotiaie with customers.E{Iective listening supports effective relationships within an organization,

enhances theefliciency of the salesperson in delivering the product, alerts the organizationabout thecompeting products in the market, and allows the company to know and managethe diversecustomer requirements.Research suggests that people are only 25% efficient in their ability to listen. Anaverageperson remembers only about half of what is being told to him after 10 minutes,andforgets half of that within 48 hours.When people are asked to replaywhat has been told to them, they mix upvarious thitgtand preserrt the matter in a different order from the way was presented to them'E{Iectivelistening needs a conscious effort and a willing mind. Usually, people wouldprefer to talkabout the products and services to listening about them in a real sellingsituation.

There are three types of listening, namely content listening, critical listening, andempathetic listening. Diflerent kinds of situations call for different types of listening skills.

The three types of listening not only di{fer in the purpose of listening but also on

thedegree of feedback or interaction required.When someone listens to a sales representative or a medical representative, heis engagedin content listening. The objective of content listening is to understand and retainthespeaker's message. Here the information flows from the speaker to the receiver,i'e', fromthe salesperson to the potential customer. There is little scope for agreement orapproval of the message; it is just the reception of the message by the receiver, whoremains mostlyinactive in this case. It is very difficult to know the feedback as there is nofeedback involved



in this process. The objective of critical listening is to understand and evaluate the meaning of thespeaker's message at several levels-the logical level of the argument, strength of the

evidence, and validity of the conclusions; the implications of the message for thecustomer;the speaker's intentions and motives; and the omission of any relevant data'It involves interaction as the receiver tries to gauge the speaker's point of view.One alscevaluates the speaker's orientation. r/Vhen the area sales manager presentssales plans andforecasts for the year, the divisional sales manager listens carefirlly andevaluates whetherthe assumptions and estimates are valid and what implications it will have forthe division.

The objective of active and empathetic listening is to understand the speaker's

feelings,needs, and demands so that it can be appreciated by the listeners irrespective of the factwhether he likes it or not. By listening in an empathetic way, the listener allowsthe speakerto vent his emotions and thus avoids a dispassionate approach to the subject'Here the salesperson should avoid the temptation to give advice, and should tryto judgethe individual customer's feelings.62 Sales and Distribution Management

The Process of UsteningUnderstanding the normal process of listening rcdd cdain why messages are lostsooften in the listening process. There are firrc r'datEd ".d-*.r $rhich *.,r, insequence inthe Iistening process.In the first stage, the customer physically re+od, j6r rhr mcssage and takes noteof it.

This reception can be blocked by noise, inartentirn" pqrchologi:al barriers, andimpairedhearing.

This stage is called the attmtionstage. The ;nuaFb 4cca& fs assigning meaning tosounds according the customer's own values, belicE.ry,.tr--l'-,.. roles, needs and

wants,and ideas about himse$ products, and the wuld- Th eh+crsnt Fame of referencemay be quite different from the customer's frane d ltrtocc r 6e olesperson needstodetermine what customer really means.

The next stage is the stage of runnnbrauerwhere 6c,reG,r rc stored for future usebythe seller as well as the customer. As the customer lie_r, btlfcs note or draws amentalline about the product and service offered for sah. In ft ddn stage the customerapplies his thinling skills to we€h the buyer's rcmarb dqnir- Tbe saleqpersonshouldseparate facts from opinions, and evaluate the qnality d rhifuoens.

The last stage is 'response action stage' in which one reryd&e-r-ing the receiver's



message' If the salesperson is communicati"s in a smallgrqrcror-n,oeconversation,the initial response is generally a verbal feedback. In laqe gq; i a be in the formof an applause, laughter, or silence. Later on the salesperson

-- ' - rhr he has heard.levels of Listening

The best way to know your customers is to listen to thern Thc-trclmls of listeningthat the sales manager should understand: feedbac\ panphig,drilications,empathy,Figure 2.4 The listening processSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 63and active listening. Feedbark is fundamentally the reaction of the customer to asales call.After listening to the customer, the salesperson says something back to him,giving away his

attitude towards or evaluation of what the customer said.In paraphrasing, a salesperson tries to paraphrase the question by mirroring thequestioner'spoint. For example, the salesperson may say, 'So what you are saying is youthink that I am

just giving the company line, whereas what you really need is more help infinancing andon-the-spot service.' The immediate response will be 'Yes.' So the salespersonmay havehim agreeing with him here onwards. Thus he can create a more receptivelistener in hiscustomer.

The next level is the ckrlfuati.on of tlu issuzs.It involves working a little harderwith thecustomer's words to identify his real concerns. To illustrate, the salesperson maysay, 'Sowhat I hear you saFng is that you have got two main problems you want help on,lack of enough fund to buy the solution and lack of technical people to manage thesolution. Thefirst is probably the more important. Is that right?' By doing this, the salespersoncanestablish a level of agreement with the questioner. The salesperson by clarifying

the problemsshows the customer that he is trying to sort out the vital issues in theirconversation.Empatlutir listenaq, is the level in which the salesperson tries to show that heunderstandsthe feelings of the questioner (customer). The empathetic listener finds similaremotions inhis or her own experience and shares them with the questioner (customer).For example, the salesperson may respond by saying 'You know we have beenthere,too. Don't forget we have also worked in a bad way in 1995, one that wasstrapped of people and drowning in the red during those formative years. I know what yourcompany



is going through.' It shows the customer that the salesperson understands theirsituation,even though he cannot offer much help, and at least he has aligned himself withyourcustomer.

Figure 2.5 Levels of listeningSales and Distribution ManagementActiae Listaingis the last stage, in which 6e saleT.rs itcntifies the emotionsunderlyingthe customer's words. This is potentially the md powrful Eqp'ring ftsponse,because itis usually the emotion behind the phrases tnat pnoryca 6e customcr's objectionsin thefirst place.When the salesperson responds to the real need d ttc gc*irncq he ges to theheart of the issue even if he can never provide arry concr€E ansser To iilhrsrate his

empathy hemay say, 'It sounds like you feel really alone out th€rc, wi6f,rt mnch zupport. You"arefrustrated because you are putting in all this hard urut erd a[ I fcd is that we canbe withyou for achieving your goal. Is that it?' The ansrrer here will bc dffinitety Yes'.

This meansthe salesperson has validated the aspects of the menal crtc of 6e customer.Barriers to Ustening

There are various barriers to listening that indude p\nicat and mental barriers.Prejudgementis the most cornmon barrier to listening, as it is an aurnatic process. Peoplecannothandle life without having some assumptions about o&ers e'd about pmductsand servicesin the society.

These assumptions may be found to be incorrect in acnlal sinntlrns. Some peoplelistendefensively assuming every communication as a personal rttacl on them or ontheir socialposition.Many listeners are also guilty of self-centeredness. When a salegerson attemptsto discuss

a problem, they start talking about their own problems fhey- 11'to prove thatthey havemore problems than what the salesperson is trying to solve with the product andthe productmay not be able to solve their problems. No matter what product information isprovidedto them, they behave as if they know more than theSelective listening is also another common barrier to communication. Somecustomersindulge in selective listening, also known as out-listenhg- This happens when thecustomer isthinking about his children or family or some other matter during a salespresentation.



The customer continues to be absent-minded till he listens a wond or phrase thatgets hisattention once more. The problem with outJistening is that the receiver does notrememberwhat was said by the salesperson but remembers what he thinls that the

saleqperson probablysaid. The basic reason of this wandering of the mind is that we tend to think fasterthan weqPez}. While some salespeople can spealc about 100-150 words per minute, themind hasthe ability to analyze around 800-900 words per minute. ths .lisparity betweenthe speedof speech and the speed of thought allows the mind to wander. Some people usethis timeto prepare their argument.Salespeople can improve their listening skills by practising the effective listening

tipsmentioned in Table 2.1.Salespeople should take the following additional steps to improve their listeningskills.

They should try to depersonalize the listening so that they can decrease theemotionaliryact of what is being said and will be able to receive the customer's questionsand rebuttalsSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 65

Table 2.1 Characteristics of a good and a bad listener Thie bad listener The good listener Effective listeni ng tips Tunes out dry subjects Behaves opportunely; asks, Find areas of interest.'What's in it for me?'

Tunes out if the speaker is Judges content; skips over Judge content and notdeliverynot as per his liking delivery errors

Tends to start an argument Does not judge until comprehension Hold youi fireis not built up, interrupts for thepurpose of clarificationListens for facts Listens for central and main theme Listen for ideas

Takes extensive notes Takes a few useful notes Take selective notes only whendesiredFakes attention Works very hard to understand what Work for listening

the speaker is saying and exhibitspositive body languagels distracted easily Avoids distractions, and knows Block out competing thoughtshow to concentrateR.esists difficult expository Takes on difficult material as an Paraphrase thespeaker's ideamaterial exercise for the mindReacts to emotional words lnterprets emotional words, Stay open-mindeddoes not get hooked to them

Tends to daydream while Listens between the lines, weighs Capitalize on the factthat thoughtlistening to poor speakers the evidence, and summarizes moves faster thanspeechin mind



till he finishes his arguments. The salesperson can avoid distractions by closingthe doors,and moving closer to the customer.

They should listen to the customer's idea of the product and the price, and try todistinguish

between facts and arguments by applyrng their own market knowledge. Theyshouldalso try to stay ahead of the customer by anticipating what he is going to saynext and bykeeping a link with what has already been said by him. They should also remainalert to theunspoken messages expressed through the customer's body language.

There should be an attempt to review the messages delivered in betweenpresentations,and the salesperson should ask questions for clarifications wherever possible.

They shouldnot attempt to judge the customer's point of view.

They should not try to interrupt the customer because the customer may thinkthis to bean injury to his social image. It is always better to evaluate the content of thecustomer'sfeedback than the customer himself.Gonflict Management SkillsConflicts exist in every organization. Con{lict in sales organization is moreevident than inany other organization. This is due to the fact that there is always conflict of interestamong people at different levels as the goals are diflerent at each level of theorganization.rSales and Distribution ManagementA sales manager wants his salespeople to cover the territory as thoroughly asthey canwhereas the salesperson is interested in realizing the desired sales through a fewloyalcustomers. The vice president (sales) is interested in getting better results fromthe samecost to show the board that resources are being used efficiendy. Conllict is aform of relatingor interacting where the sales manager finds himself under some sort of

perceived threatto his individual or collective goals. These goals are impersonal in nature. Theprocess of identifying the nature of the con{lict and taking correctirre action so that theconflict willnot emerge in a similar situation is termed as conllict manegernenL

The perceived threats may be either real or imaginary This process begins whenoneparty perceives that another party has negatively afiect@ or is about tonegatively affect,something that the first party cares about. Conflict is a natural and inevitableoutcome inany group. Conflict is not only a positive force in a grcup but it is absolutelynecessary for



a group to perform effectively.Conflicts can be classified as functional conflicts, dffirnctional conllicts, taskconflicts,relationship conflicts, and process conflicts. Functional conllict supports the goalsof the

group and improves its performance. Dysfunctional conllict hinders groupperformance. Task conflicts are disputes over the content and goals of the worh Relationshipcon{lictis tussle based on interpersonal relationships. Process conllict is fight over howworkgets done.Models of Gonflict

There are situations where a conflict seems to exist, but in reality it may not beso. Forexample, when a wrong party accuses another party of cover up, it may not be aconflict.

In many instances, customers who do not know how to use products blame thesalespeoplefor malfunctioning of the product. When a person in charge of a position isblamed forsomething that happened at the time of his predecessor, it may be a false sourceof conflict.Similarly, when members of a group are blamed due to stereotlping ('You salesguys arealways late!'), and the two parties assume a disagreemenq a situation of lalseconflict iscreated. A proper conflict management procedure will be able to remove thesefalseassumptions of con{lict in the organization.

There are various models of conflict. The Dollard and Miller model explains threekindsof conflicts. They are approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidanceconflicts. The approach-approach conflict arises when both options for resolvinga situationare equally attractive but mutually exclusive. Only one option can be executeddespiteboth having potential for execution. The approach-avoidance conllict ariseswhere a person

wants an outcome but must not have it for equally compelling reasons, i.e.,wants to havesomething but avoid it at the same time. The avoidance-avoidance conflict ariseswhen theone dislikes all the options equally but has to decide on one out of them. Asalesperson hasseveral products to sell to customers and often faces such conflicts when thecustomerswitches between the product alternatives either for making a choice or foravoiding the.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 67Rummel,s model of conflict differentiates between conflict structures, conflictsituations'



and manifest conflicts. In this model, conflict is seen as either latent, with anunderlyingpotential for conflict, or an actual conflict. Conflict structure means interests thathave atendency to oppose each other, i.e., the failure of a seller to deliver the product

to the buyerin time. Deu6ch has divided conflict depending on its underlying motives asunderlyingand overt or manifest conflict. The former is hidden, denied, or implicit, whereasthe latteris expressed and open in nature. In sales situations, manifest conflict looks like asafee*p.ession because the customer gives a denial to the salesperson and thesalesperson assumesthatthesa]ecouldnotberea]izedforthereasonsknowntobothofthem.

The conflict situation arises when opposite interests, attitudes, or powers areactivated'

i.e., the buyer threatens to withhold the payment of the seller or start legalaction' Manifestconflict means specific behaviour or action by one party, e.g., demands andaggressions'Refusal to pay the buyer and take legal action is a manifest conflict'Gomponents of ConflictFrustration and aggression are the major reasons of conflict' In many instances'thesalesperson gets frustrated by making large number of inconsequential calls,and it alsoincreases the level of uggr.rrion of the customer' This leads to further conflictingsituationsin a sales process. M;; conflicts are embedded in the structural hierarchies of thetwoorganizations in a business-to-business selling situation' Power, status' and levelof hierarchyare the major sources of conflict in business organizations, which may mar thesales if thesalesperson has not understood the interpersonal conflicts between variouspeople involvedin the buying decision in an organization'

There are various components of conflict. They can be grouped into three broadcategories of conflict: inte;ests, emotions, and values. Interests motivate people

and aretermedassilencemovers.Theyaresubjectiveaswellasobjectiveinnature. They not only depend on a particular individual's desires andlvishes, but alsodependon their roles and statuses in an organization. Interest-based conflicts also arisedue todifferencesinpractices,rulesandpolicies,roles,needs,andlevelsofresourceuse.-The emotional component of conflict originates with the ever-present feelingthataccompanies human interactions. It includes feelings such as anger, resentment'fear'rejection, anxietY, and loss'

The value component of a conflict is often the most difficult part to resolvebecause



values are intangible. Values represent deeply rooted ideas and feelings aboutright andwrong, which govern and guide our behaviour. Though all these componentsexist in everyconflict, the relative degree of presence of each component varies'

The Gonflict Resolution Process The problem of conllict starts with the perception of conflict' This is where one orboth of the parties experience a sense of unease oft.r, .hu'ucterized by a sense of feelingof Sales and Distribution Managementfrustration, nnger, and anxiety. It can also be a serxrc o{'.frri+inn and confusionasthey may feel a discrepancy in the levels of interests, eg1i6, -d"o5e aientations.

Thefollowing paragraplu oiplain the variety of wayn in u,hict corfirrr arn bc managed.

The

conflict management process can be one-to-one thrcWh,,or,olfir'.d.nand.r.foaiu,iorr,can be representational between the two parties, or c?n bc vir ffi partyinterventionConllict between buyers and sellers in business-teh15ir* ",EB r-n gs solvedthoughany of these methods . Various methods of handling 6sdnlr rhdirx ae erylainedbelow. ffi@ffiEreMethods of Gonflict Resolution 'Following are various accepted and standard methods of conllh resclution:' Competing: Each party pursues its own interests, rcgard€ss of the impact ontheother party.' Collaborating: Both parties in a conflict try to satiq fuIly the concems of bothparties. ' Avoiding: one party withdraws from or suppresses the conni<r' Accommodating: . One party agrees to place the opponent's interests above itsown. Compromising: Both the parties agree to gtve up someth;gIdeally, the sales manager evaluates the situation and decides on his conllictresolutionmethod' Avoidance works well when the conllict is trivial, emotions are runninghigh, andtime is needed to cool them down, or when a potential disruption frpm a moreassertive

action outweighs the benefits of a resolution.Competing worls well when we need a quick resolution on important issueswhereunpopular actions must be taken, or when commitrnent by others io o* solutionis notFigure 2.6 The conflict management processSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 69critical. We all have a preferred way of handling con{licts. When pushed againstthe wall,this is the way we tend to rely on. The output of the conflict handling process isreflected inthe behaviour and performance of both the parties'Nader and Todd in their book Tlu Ditryut' g hocess J4u in Tm Sociztits haveidentified



eight procedures usually used to handle conflict:. Lumping. Avoidance' Coercion. Mediation

. Conciliation. Arbitration' Adjudication' Negotiation

The term tumpngrefers to the failure of one party in a conflict to punue theircomplaint'

The issue is simply ignored and the relationship with the offending partycontinues. Inamifuiueor exit, the relationship is called off The decision to avoid conllict isusually basedon the relative powerlessness of one party, or the social, economical, andemotional costs

involved in the relationshiP.Concinnis imposition of the outcome by one party on the other' Here there is alevel of threat and force involved, and such practices are widespread in businesssituations.Conciliation means btitgntg together both the parties in a conflict for the purposeof settling the dispute. The conciliator does not have to pay an active role, althoughhe maydo so by the request of one or both the parties during the negotiations.Medintinninvolves a third party who intervenes in a dispute to help the parties toreach atan agreement. The mediator may be appointed by the disputing parties or byanotherpartywith adequate authority, like the government. The parties in the disputeagree to themediator's intervention.In arbitration, both parties consent to the intervention of a third party whose

judgementthey must agree to accept beforehand'In adjudiration, the third parry has the authority to intervene to make a decision,and toenforce the decision on both the parties irrespective of the parties' wish' The

judiciary isthe best examPle of this.Negotiation refers to the mutual settlement of conflict by both the partieswithoutintervention of any third party. Both the parties reach at a conclusion notbecause it isrequired by law, but because they wish to settle the dispute and work together'We willdiscuss the negotiation process in detail as it is very important for salesmanagers to begood at negotiations skills for success in business'Sales and Distribution ManagementNegotiation Skills



Negotiation occurs when someone else has what yur uru, e'rl yur are prepared tobargainfor it and the vice versa. Successfirl negotiation b an artaoIt bry tm parties toachievemutually acceptable solutions, which does not r€grh in a rirc and a lmer. The

core skillsrequired for successful negotiation includes the abfty o drfinc and prioritize arange of objectives, the ability to explore a wide range of opti-,t 6c ablir!- to prepare well;andinteractive competence. Negotiations are very imprtanr in elEng becausemajority of selling is done without a list price. Even in case of repro&rctq where there is alistprice available, sometimes the customer renegotiates &c de-l In hrdness-to-business sellingand services selling the success of selling target', dfpcr& m bor- a good

negotiator thesalesperson is. Day-to-day managerial negotiations in .hrd. a1.qcmcnt of pay,terms of palrnent, and working conditions, and definingi$ 1016 and areas of rcsponsibilities insales organizations. Commercial negotiations inchrdc nfimirga sp\- contract,schedulingthe delivery of goods and services, agreements on qrnrity and picesr etc-Let us take the example of a student Vinod Krmarrto & m t'Le up any job aftergraduating from a business school and wanted to dCIrchp. nar oonrputer gamethat hebelieved would be highly successfirl. However, it s,ould r'b l Lnt time to programit. Heneeded to earn for his living also. He met one of [fo rr---*- Slrr-L-', who had joinedalarge computer company after the business school Sbanlar Elcd 6c llea andagreed toput it through to his management. But Shankar's organizarincurldofier only Rsl;00,000.Vinod said it will take him ten months to develop the Fodrct r-t while Rs 1,00,000willenable him to survive during this period, it was not enoqh as a rsrard- Hezuggested that

Rs 1,00,000 should be treated as an advance against fisrc 1lrofits and that heand thecompany share the profits in the ratio of 25:75. Evenurally trc deal rzs finalizcdat 20:80.

The cbmputer game was launched in a big children fair and was a huge success.It broughtgreat rewards to both the company and Vinod. This is an elarrdc of a rrin-winsituation.

The success of arry negotiation is based on the princip[e that long"term successof anynegotiation is possible when it is satisfactory to both the partfos As we havementionedearlie4 sale is an active process in which both the buyer and serkrarc imolved inan exchange



of, products and services and theit worth. These exchanges are classified as routinized exchange and negotiatedexchange.Routinized exchange occurs when the terms of exchange are esablished \administered

price mechanism and distribution in the market.Most of the standard products on the retail counter have a predefined price tagandthere is no scope for negotiation on price by any party. But the process of industrial sellingand bulk selling involves negotiated exchange, where both parties oome to thenegotiationtable and arrive at a final price after negotiating on the terms and conditions.Here theprices and other terms are decided by a set of bargaining behaviours.It is observed that in a case of long-term and captive selling situations, more andmore

people and organizations are going for negotiated exchanges. These markets aremovingSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 71from being highly competitive towards being highly domesticated, where there isno scopefor the competitor. Wall-Mart globally follows the strategy of negotiatedexchange with itssuppliers, and these are set for a long-term period.Indian automobile majors like TAIA and Maruti Udygg also follow the samestrategy indealing with the auto ancillary and equipment manufacturers. Traditionally, pricehas beenthe only element of negotiation, but modern-day business has seen theemergence of newelements of negotiation, such as time of contract completion, quality levels andnorms forsupply of products, volume of goods, responsibility of financing level andquantity of riskinvolved and who is responsible for what amount of risk, promotion and title,ownershipof intellectual property rights, and level of safety and other norms of maintenance.Bmgainhgis defined as a process where at least two parties are involved, the

parties havesome or one con{iict of interest between them, they are at leasttemporarilyjoined togetherin a special kind of voluntary relationship, and the activity in the relationshipconcerns thedivision or exchange of one or more specific resources and/or resolution of oneor moreintangible issues among the parties. The activity usually involves thepresentation of demandsor proposals by one party and evaluation of those by the other, followed byconcessionsand counter-proposals.Bargaining skills and theories have gained attention in different disciplines likeeconomics,



applied mathematics, industrial relations, social psychology, and internationalrelations.According to von Neumann and Morgenstern, each actor in bargaining has anobjective(either to minimize loss or to gain profits) and the outcome depends on the

opponent'sdecisions. The major purpose of the game theory is to describe the decision rulesby whichrational actors chose the right strategy.Economists study the bargaining process through a concept called 'bilateralmonopoly'in which every negotiation is the end result of o{fers and counter-o{fers fromboth theparties. They pay less attention to the manipulative tactics, power, andbargaining skill5 ef the participants.Social psychologists have studied the effects of independent variables on

bargainingeffectiveness. Rubin and Brown in their exhaustive review of social psychologicalstudieson bargaining behaviour have discussed the impact of four variables, namely thestructuralcontext of bargaining the behavioural predisposition of bargaining, theinterdependenceof bargainers, and the use of social influence strategies on bargainingeffectiveness.Bargaining effectiveness is measured in terms of the number of cooperative andcompetitive choices made throughout the process and/ or the magnitude of outcomesobtained by the bargainer. The behavioural approach focuses on the concepts of powerbalance, tactical action, and bargaining settlements.Situation and Timing for Negotiations

This is the most important question in a negotiation: when a salesperson shouldgo fornegotiation? Many authors have addressed this issue in different ways.. ke andDobler72 Sales and Distribution Managementhave listed the following instances when negtr n riate for purchasingagents:

' When many variable . factors bear not only oft h & m quality and service Whenbusiness risls involved cannot be acorrftFfr,nd' When a long period of time is required to profu ft hr grcnased' when production is interrupted frequently bo-rd m*rrrrrs change ordersOran Young has developed a bargainer's calculus wlftte-n;-ry- demonstrates thepoint atwhich bargainingis an appropriate methodof -rrlrr.*;,rob.jectives.Bargainingis appropriate whenever the five definitional conditi==-n d z zrlne of agreementexists' A zone of agreement can be considered as dE ?-fR d ecoepane outcomesthatexists for all the bargaining parties.If traro parties are negotiating a price, each establi$ofr fu'*-u ralue that it needs.

That is, the seller has a reservation price, s, which is tbefri h rill accept. Any final



contract value say, x, which is below s represents a prh h i wr dhan not reachingatan agreement at all. For any x)s, the seller receives a rr1l, Thc rilcr desires aslarge asurplus as possible while maintaining a good relation *if I buru Similarly, the

buyerhas a reservation price b, which is the maximum he will pq, Aryr$er fu above brepresentsa price that is worse than no agreement. For any x < b, 6c bF lccdrcs a surplus. If theseller's reservation price is below the buyer's price, that 4 53r ilr'r a zone of agreementexists and bargaining will determine where x will fall within 6c rrr There is anadvantagein using the theories of probabfity in assessing the other pq-r rsration price, andinmaking one's own reservation price seem higher for a sclb ud lu.u for a buyer

than itreally is.However, the level of openness with which buyers and rdLcs rncal and use theirreservation prices or otherwise practice strategic misrepresmrin fu often dictatedby thepersonality of the bargaineq the circumstances of the negotiarin_ rnd theexpectations of the future relations.Final contact xFlgure 2.7 The zone of agreementSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 73Formulation of a Bargaining StrategyOnce salespeople are clear about the objectives of negotiation and haveanalyzed theprobable objectives, they should be ready to formulate a bargaining strategy forachievingthe desired results. The salesperson should keep his rregotiation strateg'y simpleand flexible.A bargaining strategy helps him to hide his negative emotions and frustrationswhilenegotiating. He should prepare a written schedule for briefings and rehearsingtactics.Bargaining tactics are the moves that a salesperson uses during negotiations to

close a dealto the benefit of both the parties. A bargaining strategy is an over all policydesigned toachieve a number of specified objectives through the process of negotiation.Bargaining involves strategic decisions before the actual bargaining starts andtacticaldecisions <iuring the bargaining session. A bargaining strategy is an overallapproach toachieving the negotiator's objectives.Some negotiators pursue a 'hard strategy', where they start with a rock bottompriceidea with high level of rigidity regarding the price the settlement price is likely tobe more



in line with the other party's proposition. In 'soft bargaining strategy' both theparties areconsiderate and the negotiation most often results in a situation where both theparties arecomfortable with the decision.

The Theory and Strategy of Principled NegotiationsFisher and Ury have proposed a bargaining strategy popularly known asprinciplednegotiations. Companies follow the strategy of principled negotiations as aneffective toolfor closing sales. Fisher and Ury are of the opinion that the followers of thisstrategy willhave a higher level of success despite the other party following any otherbargaining strategy.

The strategy of principled negotiations means to decide on issues on the basis of theirmerits rather than through haggling. It suggests that you look for mutual gains

whereverpossible, and that where your interests conflict, you should insist that the resultsbe basedon some fair standards independent of the will of the either side. The method of principlednegotiations is hard on merits and soft on people.In a research project known as Harvard Negotiations Project, Roger Fisher andWilliamUry propounded four principles for conducting principled negotiations that have ahighprobability of succeeding in a negotiation as discussed below.Separate the people ftom the pnoblem It is natural that emotions will getentangledwith the objective issue in a negotiation when the parties are involved in face-to-facebargaining. So people involved in bargaining should be separated from theprocess of bargaining. Ineffective bargaining may occur when the main issues of negotiation are framedin terms of the personalities involved rather than the interests of both theparties.Instead of making a negotiation a process of joint problem solving when partiesget

involved in a contest of wills, the negotiation fails in a majority of situations.When peopleare separated from the process, appropriate perceptions emerge on both thesides.74 Sales and Distribution ManagementEach party should understand empathetizlv &c qrrrb$hryrmt and try to feelthe intensity of their feelings about it. Emodous bmngh num or e.wl,*mg our of negotiationsshould be made explicit and should be acknmic$el hgfuimre- -\ll open rriscussiononthe emotions of both the parties while not rn-.tg ror-mrma,l otr6urst helps savenegotiations from becoming personal fighc.We tend to confuse the matters of relationrh? !r & w de I rrith negotiations,



disagreements, feelings of hurt, anger, and the hlel u,it rfi.flc d nrb,rance(numbers,dates, and terms and conditions). Failure to separaE 6c trc--fumc andrelationshi5-may lead us to fix relationship problems by making rrzild fu srd-lr.,r6*r

concessions.Hurt feelings cannot be compensated by concessidrs an,r mrrr rrlmqm 1 salesmanager canmake up for a significant loss of money with a d-,pha]bg5 Fr-{.r 56 of issuesneeds tobe negotiated on its own terms. The following rist sb.T fr. ddr"d*,. Substantive issues- Terms- Conditions- Prices- Dates- Numbers

- Liabilities. Relationship issues- Balance of emotion and reason- Ease of communication- Degree of trust and reliability- Attitude of acceptance and rejection- Emphasis on persuasion or force- Degree of mutual understanding

The use of 'I message' is a very creative way of separating pccple from theproblem.Examples include:. I would appreciate if.... I would like to.... It would be helpful to me if... . I would certainly appreciate...'I messages' can elicit help from the other party in a negotiation rather thanmake it take adefensive stand. People do not feel angry or bad and most people are happy inhelpingothers if they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 'I messages, helpparties toconcentrate on issues and leave personalities aside.Focus on interestsr not on positions The second criterion for principlednegotiation is

to focus on interests and not on positions. A position is a stance, and it is interestthatilIILSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 75created the position. The di{ference between position and interests is that one'sposition issomething one decided upon, while one's intere st are what caused one to adoptthat position.For instance, a bargaining position may be that a contract must provide for a stiff penalty



for late shipments, but the parties' interest here is to maintain an unbroken flowof rawmaterials. Reconciling positions with interests works better because for satisfyingeveryinterest there usually exist several possible positions.

Making certain that interests are understood by all parties and the positions areflexibleas to the means of achieving these interests, while negotiating firmly for theintereststhemselves, is an e{fective strategy.As Fisher and Ury state:Fighting hard on substantive issues increases the pressur€ for an e{fectivesolution, St"i"Ssupport to the human beings on the other side tends to improve yourrelationship and toincrease the likelihood of reaching agreement. It is the combination of supportand

attack which works, either alone is likely to be insu{Iicient.We assume that as the other side's position is opposite to ours, so must be theirinterests.If we have an interest in defending ourselves, then they must be eager to attackus. If it is inour interest to increase the prices, then the other party's interest mus,t le toreduce it.However, a close examination of the underlying interests often reveal theexistence of many more interests that are shared or compatible than those that are opposed'Following are the cornmon sources of difference between two parties:Risk Some people hate taking risk. Others enjoy taking risk for higher gains.Largeinstitutions are better prepared to handle risk than small institutions. Howeveq asalesmanager should try to find out the nature of risk- aver,lon behaviour of the buyerat thebargaining table, and build strategies based on that. This would lay thefoundation forsuccess in negotiation.funing The sales manager should look for the possibility that what is impossiblethis month*uy b. porsible next month or what is unaffordable in this year's budget can be

managednext year.Pernptinns To some people, the opinion of others is critical; for others it mightmatterlittle. The sales manager should look for ways the former can have a publicvictory if needed while the others satisfy their separate more valued interests.Marginalaalut When people own several instances of the same object, the valueof the laston. i, l.r, compared to that of the preceding ones. Differences in the marginalvalue of thenegotiated goods, services and terms create oppoffunitles to draft the finalagreement.



A ,ul.rp.rron identifies the interests of the customer by exercising empathy' Heputshimself in the customer's shoes and asks why he or she is taking a certainposition.Directly asking questions about the customer's interest is perfectly legitimate,

such as:Sales and Distribution ManagementWhy are you not accepting a price more than a year or so? What benefits will itserve youas a company?Another popular rule is to be hard on the problem and soft on the people. Thesalesmanager should listen to customers respect&rlly, be courtcous, expressappreciation abouttheir time and effort, and demonstrate concern for their interests while stilldefending hislegitimate interest. The psychological principle of cognitira dissonance operates

here. peopledislike inconsistency in their attitudes. Howeveq if they like the personality of thesalesperson,they will tend to accommodate his interests to reduce the inconsistency intheir ,riews.Invent options for muhral gains By options we mean possble agreements orpieces of possible agreements. Inventing options for mutual gain inrDhres searching for alarger pierather than arguing over the size of each piece. Derrcloping opnions requiresinnovativethinking and brainstorming sessions that help to identify sharcd interests.

The buyer's interest may be revenue, quality, and reliability The options can bepaymga premium price for premium quality, paying a bonus for timely ddn.ry, or graniof a1exclusive contract. Negotiators often quarrel over interess &at are common toboth theparties.

The common belief is that if we both value something the only w:ry we can bothhaveit is by dividing it between us. The approach is 'more for me and less for you,.

They key

idea is to suspend criticism and allow space for identification of goals for mutualbenefit.Insist on objective criteria When an opposing negotiator is ina:ansigent andarguesover his position rather than his interests, a good strategy is to insist that theagreementmust reflect some fair objective criteria independent of the pcition of either side.By discussing objective criteria rather than stubbornly held positions, neitherparty yieldsto the other, and both arrive at a fair solution. Such objectirrc criteria may bemarket value,depreciated book value, competitor prices, replacement and switching costs,wholesale priceindex, etc.



This approach worls best when each issue is resolved thmugh ajoint search forobjectivecriteria and each party is open to reason as to the standards besr reflectingobjectivity.Deviations from a fair and objective standard should be made only when a bett.,

one isoffered, and not because the opposing party is applying pressure, threab, orother meansof imposing his will. It is difficult to identify objective standards to reach at anagreementin all cases.Even with objective criteria to define the boundaries of an agreemeng the salesmanagersneed a way to progress towards a final agreement on specifics. In suchsituations, one needsto spend some time and come out with a fair procedure for the deal.Howeveq no method can guarantee the success of a deal when the success

depends onthe other party. If a salesperson is representing small enterprise, how can h.grururrt..success against a major concern like Tata or Reliance. If there are severalalternatives tothe product that the salesperson is selling or there is a high level of inventory inthe warehouse,how can a salesperson negotiate with force to realize sales?t.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 77So in any negotiation process, the salesperson can gain power if his negotiationsmeettwo criteria: if the salesperson is protected from making an agreement thatshould berejected, and if the salesperson makes the most of his assets to satisfy hisinterests.In situations where the salesperson assumes that hg has spent much time andeffort in anegotiation and the results are doubdul, he is likely to agree to accommodatethe views of the other side more than what he would normally like to, and may end up withan agreementthat he would have rejected in normal situations.

The purpose of a negotiation is to produce better results than what one wouldhave gotwithout negotiating. This result is known as best alternative to a negotiatedagreement(IIATNA). BATNA is the standard of comparison that can protect a salespersonfromaccepting unfavourable terms and rejecting favourable terms. It is a standardagainst whichthe proposed agreement should be measured. Recognition of BAfNA early in thebusinessnegotiation process helps the sales manager to be successfirl and gain morethan the BATNA.6t us look at the example of Sunderam Fastener's deal with theJapanesemanufacturing



major Mitsubishi Corporation. In one of the supply deals, the Vice President,Sales, of Sunderam Fastener was on the negotiation table and although theJapanesemajor wantedthe products, the deal was halted for some time for price reasons. During the

meetingsMitsubishi declared that they are only interested in buying three specificallydesigned hotmetal products at a price lower than the normal market price as the size of theorder wasvery large.

The VP, Sales, despite being close to clinching a million-dollar deal, did notsurrenderand whispered to his assistants during one of the tea breals to calculate howmuch theywill earn if they do not get this deal and sell the same product in theinternational market.

The message went to the other palty that Sunderam can yet make big bucks inthe marketwithout getting the deal from Mitsubishi. The VP, Sales, was able to clinch aprofitable dealwhen he knew the value of BATNA, and the Japanese major agreed for thenegotiatedprice as they were sure of the company's commitrnent to quality'Protecting oneself from a bad agreement is a defensive proposition, which helpsthesales manager to benchmark the returns from a negotiation. But making theoptimumfrom one's assets in order to produce a good agreement also depends on one'sBATNA.Negotiation power is generally perceived to be the function of one's marketpowers,financial positions, political clout that one enjoys, and the list of one's friends.

The relativepower of two parties will depend on how attractive the option of not reaching anagreementis to each party.If it is a small or medium-sized enterprise negotiating *ith a bigger concern andthere isanother deal close by, it is in a position to do a better negotiation. If an

agreement is notpossible then the salesperson can walk out and develop alternatives by followingthreeapproaches, namely inventing a list of acceptable options if no agreement ispossible, improvingsome of the better ideas and developing thdm into options, and selecting thebetteroptions from the list of new options.78 Sales and Distribution Management

This means prospecting for other .qlnP with a well-connected 6od qrq dEdophg a joint venture larger concern' -.rt at.#* b'riu firnds, or any other suitablealternative' The result is that *. .-r-i*- t. rrrlgr against which each alternative canbe weighed to make a dmiin_



The more aYcdv: BATNA is, higho ir t pcEt, Jl-r.l_qm meking successfulnegotiations' It is easier for a salesperson ro t ".r"+b,6cn he has got anotheralternative' or the BATNA is moreatnactivc 6a ed;d- rur' 6c BArNAis worse, it isadvisable to evaluate the deal from the 063,-*hb.c'. If the other party's BATNA toa deal. seems good ^'xl dcy c nnd n,

-ori^teperson should consider then the sales- what he or she can do o ,& ft rf,rNA cfectin their eyes.Negoriations at Akzo Nober coatings rnda fut-l Akzo Nobel coatings India Private Limited b pct d c d fu r''urxrc 500 companieswith a global turnover of 5 billion euroq having; fuhlprcrac ir mtings, chemicals,and pharmaceuticals' They are the first i" il -qry-'at podrtbn in Inrria, and hold35% tt *.|T{ft share in global martet h;a:+.y' Tbc Indan branch has a turnover of Rs 700 million, growin"g at 7 o/o per annr.rm- Td-p-y otfictive is to become oneof the two preferred suppliers in the customet'sproduct at the most affordable price; to retain the bc-s+ a L- t h &c6 cis br.a'trprc: stiob lree nsdeervr icteh,e/ best technical service; to have pioa,r.t" based

on -"fr., Gq o be a partner rather than a Vendor; to present cost_benefit to th,term and lon g-term benents, . .*,' ;:',:"#:;fi ffi :'"ffi *.T: friendly productsAkzo Nobel manufactures the entir""vd p;;; the r,igl, p..ro,*-.-..o:TT#ffi ffiffiffi'J'ffiT Nobel' Holland' it needs tomaintain a certain standard fcitspro&cc, as both the quality and the packaging of products have to U. ,rrrifo.*.

The prospective customers for the marine division are. Ship owners' Ship managers-who run the ships on behalf of tlre ship omcrs . Shipyards-thatmake ships and also repair Sipr. . Barge owners r r--. Fishing trawlersship owners cante crassfied as big prayers, such as scl, The Great EasternShipping Essar shipping, Torani, and Mercatl, r-ii.r,"1a chowgule ;Jilr^ zuch as Gujarat Ambuja, steamships, and century. The kindof products'aniservices theyprodde include:' sea store Paints, which are paints for maintenance and regular use on board.(IMe shall refer to this as SS paints.)t--Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 79' Dry Docking Paints, which are supplied once in 2.5-3 years, when the shipscome tothe dry docks for major repairs and the entire ship is painted from outside andsometimes internal works are also carried out ('\Ne shall refer to this is as DD

paints.) The mode of purchase is through a rate contract'valid over a specified period of time.Most of the big customers have rate contracts for 2 years for SS paints. Very fewof thecustomers go in for rate contracts for DD paints. DD paints are basicallypurchased on thebasis of tenders. Some are based on spot quotations. Ship mnnagers manage thevessels onbehalf of ship owners. This is basically like outsourcing, because the owners donot wantincrease their headcount and the regular day-to-day activities are done by themanagers,



whereas the owners can concentrate on other important things like earnings andplan forexpansion. Rate contracts for SS and DD paints are decided by ship owners.Shipyards are places where the new vessels are constructed or old vessels arerepaired.

The purchase is always through tenders, but sometimes when the ownersnominate a supplier,then there is a single tender. Barge owners and fishing trawlers are smalloperators.Sometimes suppliers are nominated, but in this market, the prices have to becompetitiveas there is no fixed b"ytng pattern.Here we present the negotiations in the case of a ship owner. The salespeoplefind outfrom the Directorate General of Shipping or ShippingMaritime about various shipownersin and around the country They also take leads from the existing customers

about newentrants in this industry which sometimes helps them. Sometimes they get leadsfromsome magazines or some exhibitions where the prospects walk into the stall.Once the salespeople identify the customer, they approach them with theintention of firdi"g out the following information:. \Alhat is the kind of operations they are into?' What type of vessels they operate? Whether they are operating bulk carriers,minibulk carriers, tankers, or offshore vessels?. What is the size of the vessels in the industry based on tonnage capacity.' Where the ship owners operate their vessel, in India o, abroad? Alro the locationof operation, as to in which area the vessels operate.. Who are the present suppliers?. What is the mode of purchase?. Is there anything specific they are looking from a supplier?After the salespeople get this information, they give the customers a brief of thecompanyset up and all they are dealing with in India. This generates some interest inthem. Probablythey have heard about the compnny and most of the time the salespeople get

the feedbackthat the customer assumes that they are expensive, being an MNC (which.is afact).Salespeople e:<plain to them about the service offer with a promise that theywill call backwith their prices and product data sheet.80 Sales and Distribution ManagementOnce the basic information is gathered, the salespeople tryto find out about thecustomer'scredibfity in the market by talking to people from the industry like ship chandlers(whosupply stores to the vessels), and sometimes competitors. Initial pricingdecisions are taken



internally. The salespeople ensure that the prices offered to them arehigher.than that forthe regular key customers. Differential pricing is done on the basis of volumeand paymentterms. The company's key customers ftey accounts) get the best deal. Credit

terms are veryimportant in the organization. The maximum credit period is 90 days, failingwhich thecompany will walk out from the deal, unless the volume justifies a higher credit,but neverbeyond 120 dap.Competitors in the market are other MNCs who either operate through a liaisonofficein India or have a toll manufacturing facility in India. Those with a liaison officeareJotunPaints of Norway, Hempels of Denmark, Chugoku of Japan, KCC of Korea. SigmaCoatings of Holland is the only company that has aJV with Coromandel Paints,

Yizag.Other local companies are Shalimar Paints, Advance Paints, etc. Thesecompanies are athreat only with the small ship owners like Barge and Fishing trawlers.ff,e 5slling Process Mr Neeraj Sundar explains the selling process and negotiationskillsused by them to arrive at a price point in following terrns.'Let us assume that we are talking about DD paints (big volumes business). Weneed tofind out the vessels area and the period of dry docking. We also find out thecolour schemefor the vessels. Normally all vessels have to dry dock twice in 5 years (it is a rulefor safetypurpose). Once we get this information, we then prepare a scheme accordingly.Once weget the pulse of the customer, we give them the most economical scheme tostart with. Butat tfre same time, we also o{Ier a slightly premium scheme.

The salespeople offen both kinds of schemes. They ensure that they meet thecustomerspersonally. They get the key decision makers involved and make some sort of presentationor discussion with them. They brief them about the performance expected if they

go inwith the economical scheme, and at the same time explain the benefits, if theygo in for thepremium, which is priced at a premium. They try and generate customer interesttowardsthe premium scheme, gi"S them all the benefits and how they can save on therecurringcosts over a period of time.During the course of the discussion, we try to find out how we are competingwithothers. Since we are well versed with their products, we ask probing questionslike what$stem have they offered. If they give us this information, well and good, or elsewe tell



them that they should mention a particular product against our produpt or elsethecomparison is not apple to apple. This gets the customer thinking and most of the times hebols into the competitor's oflers for his information. When he opens up a bit, and

tells usrttat they have offered, we ma.ke comparisons and try to educate him a bit. Bythis time, if he believes us, then we assume that he will get back to the competitors to o{fersimilarpoducts. This worls 60% of the time. If not, then we tell him that we shall offer aschemeSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 81similar to the competitors, assuming that we are on the expensive side in thefirst scheme.We then leave it at that stage, stating that we shall get back to him. Or else, hemight end up

telling us that he shall ask for a similar o{fer from competitors. He then tells usto get backto him couple of days later.We then get back to our drawing table and plan how to tackle this issue. Wecollatevarious sources of information about our products used by other owners andthen approachhim. We then do our homework in our warehouse and factory so that when weapproachthe customer, we can assure him that we have stocls of all products available ata particularport of supply. One of the advantages we have is that as an MNC, we are theonly companyin India with a factory and strategically located stock points, which worfts verywell to ouradvantage. Another disadvantage for others, which works to our advantage, isthat paintsare the last priority for a ship owner and the supplier is decided at the lastmoment.

Ttu nzgotiatinn prucess Assuming that the customer is convinced about theo{fer, the negotiationstarts. As mentioned earlier, our prices are most of the time higher than those of the

competitors. This is due to various factors like higher overheads andmaintenance of a certainstandard for our products, for which we import a lot of raw materials. On thenegotiationtable, we normally start off with a small discount and try to delay the finaldiscount to beoffered. We tell the customer that we need to take management sanction, etc.We leave thecustomers office stating that we shall get back to him within 24 hours with ourfinal o{fer.In certain cases, where there is a huge volume involved, we need to get back toourhigher ups to get the approval for discounts. We also sometimes get our GM/MDdown to



meet the customer, if the customers are strategic ones, even though thedecision regardingthe discount can be taken back by the Sales Manager. This makes the customerthink thatwe are going out of our way to bag this order. During the course of our

negotiation, we ensurethat we convey to the customer the credit terms on which we operate. If hewants anextended credit, then we restrict our discount to a certain level. We inform thecustomerabout the kind of services that we shall olfer if we get the order. Technicalservice plays avery important part for DD orders. If it is an out-of-station DD then we limit ourservicesto a certain number of days, beyond which we need to charge our customer. Butfor keyaccounts, we try and avoid the limit as far as possible.

Iike all customers, their request is for the maximum discount. But since we havea fairbit of idea about our competitors' pricing and products, we go up to a certainlevel of discount, which we feel will be good enough to secure the order. But since this isa buyermarket, on request we try to accommodate the custor.ner's request (if we canafford to) *dclose the deal. In our industry, most of the decisions are taken by the technicaldepartrnentin co-ordination with the customer's purchase department. The purchasedepartrnent helpsthe customer's technical department in making price comparisons. Once thetechnicaldepartrnent finalizes the supplier, it then briefs the purchase deparfrnent toplace the orderwith a particular supplier.Sales and Distribution ManagementFollnw-up Once the order is secured, we follow-up with the factory andwarehouses aboutthe stock and inform them about the supply point. The technical servicedepartrnent isinformed about the dates and location of the services required. The salesperson

then coordinatesbetween the customer, warehouse, and the technical service tedm, and ensuresthat everything is handled smoothly.,Bargaining TacticsBargaining tactics are the maneuvers made by salespeople at qpecific points inthe processof bargaining. The basic objective of using Uargaining tactics is to clinch the dealfor thebest solution for both the parties. A perfect salesperson heq (e rnaster the artand techniqueof tactical bargaining. Some of the commonly used tactics include W, btqfrfi, andInstchnrce offers.



Fisher and Ury have given some tactical advices that are consistent with theirstrategy of principled negotiations. Their first piece of advice is on w-hat should be donewhen theother parry' is powerful. The best tactic is to know one's BATNA Identification of

one'sbest alternative if a settlement is not reached sets a standard against which anyo{fer can bemeasured.It protects one from being pressured into accepting unfarourable terms by amore powerlulnegotiator. Another helpful tactic works well in situations wherc the oppositeparry insistson his position rather than his interests and attacks your proposals o. p..rorrr.

The normal tendency in an argument is to push back tr"oa *fr.o pushed against,but thebetter tactic is to deflect the attack from the person towards the problem. One

should lookat the interest of the opposite party's position and invent options that can satisfimutualinterests.Here you should invite the criticism of the opposite party and advice him tounderstandyour situation (FIad you been in my position what should have been yourdecision?). Thereis a series of bargaining tactics used in responses to the opposition's tactics of deception,distortion, and in{luence to tilt the bargain to their undue-adrantage.In a situation where the other party shows an attitude of take it or leave it, orthreatensthe other party to quit, the sales manager should recognize the tactic, raise theissue explicitly,and question the legitimacy of the tactic itself by probing and questioning aboutitsdesirability.Regarding negotiation tactics, the principled negotiation procedure suggestsquestioningthe tactic, asking for the reasons why the tactic was used, suggesting alternativecourses of action to pursue' and suggesting the principle behind the tactic as a negotiation

rule. The sales manager should resort to his BATNA if all other tactics fail, andterminate thenegotiation until the other party ceases to employ unfair tactics. Tiackling suchtactics bydefending principles is more productive than counterattacking with similartactics.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 83

Tactical Considerations and Strategies There are some specific questions that one has to take into consideration forentering intoany negotiation. The basic question is who should make the o{fer first. It is notalways a



good idea to be the first to put the offer on the table. This should not be donewithout firstdiscussing interests, options, and objectives because the other side mayperceive this as arailroading activity. Once both the parties have outlined the problem, making the

oflerlooks more appropriate.Questions to Ask Oneself before Making an Offer. Should I give the first offer? . Should I start with a high offer? . Should mypreparation lead to a strategy? . Should I sketch an agreement from thebeginning? . Should I construct a framework for agreement? . Should I movetowards the commitment gradually?

The next important question is how high should a salesperson start. Manypeoplemeasurethe success of a negotiation in terms of how far they have given in to thecompetitor'spressures ir gi"S discounts or lowering the prices. Even if the first price quoted is

a listprice and not even parallel to the industry prices, the customer feels h"ppy whenhe isasked to pay less than what was quoted at the beginning of the deal. So thesalespersonshould start with a higher figure that can be reasonably justified and does notcause muchembarrassment to the salesperson subsequently. Another alternative is to startwith a highfigure that a neuffal third party thinks as justified. The firmer you are at thebeginning, themore you will loose credibility by discounting at a latter point of time.Strategy is a function of the relative readiness of the firm and the degree of preparationthe salesperson has done before the negotiation. If the salesperson is wellprepared, thestrateg-y will automatically flow out from the preparation and prioritization.If thepreparation is good and the priorities are well structured, then the salespersonknows whichissues to discuss frst and which interest to put forward. If the salgsperson hasidentified theobjective standards, he will know which standards to bring up and which ones tohold

back. If the salesperson knows his BATNA, he knows when he has to talk. The salesperson at the beginning should try to figure out the outline of asuccessfirlagreement. This will help him to realize what issues to deal with and resolveduring thenegotiations. The salesperson should think of all the requirements to implementtheagreement. Then he should work backwards by asking himself how the otherparty isgoing to justify nn agreement to its staleholders. There is a need to sale one'sagreement tothe other party; otherwise no agreement will be possible. One needs to considerif theirpeople will'buy it'.



84 Sales and Distribution ManagementIt is always prudent to initiate an agreement document while pu are progressingin anegotiation table because most of the successfirl negotiations end up with awritten

agreement. The framework agreement is an agreement document r,rith lot of blank spacesfor eachterm to be resolved. In many instances, a standard headingwr.Il also serve forthe agreementdocument. Working on the framework agreement will ensure that all importantissues arediscussed, serve as an agenda, keep the discussion focuse4 pronide a sense of progress, andkeep a record of past discussions, reducing the chances of latermisunderstandings andmisquoting.

Negotiations do not proceed in a sequential manner and 1ou should not stick toa singlepoint as you may have to compromise on the same point in conjunction withother issues.If agreement cannot be achieved on one poinq the number of options can benarroweddown and the negotiation can move on. The salesperson should be prepared togo throughthe issues again and again to find strategic alternatives and condude withsuitable options.Pushing hard on certain issues will have negative effect and may hamper therelationshipdeveloping between the two parties.Let the other party herrc it ia your orrn way The principled negotiation strategyallowsthe negotiator to follow the tactics mentioned aborre, but in many instances theother partymay not be following the strategy of principled negotiations. In such situations,one needsto follow five principal steps to break the impasse. The whole idea of these fivesteps is toresort to indirect action rather than ta^king the other party head on. It is tlu artof baing tlu

other par\ hnae it inlour oum ua).Visit the balcony In this case the salesperson imagines as if he was bargaining ona stageand then goes to the balcony to see the thi"Sr happening on the stage. This is ametaphorused for the mental attitude of detachment. Standing on the balcony, the salesmzrnagercan evaluate the conflict as if he is a third parry who wants to setde the issue.

The whole idea of visiting the balcony is to forestall an immediate reaction andto controlthe instinct of launching a counterattack. The sales manager should buy time tothink overthe problem, to determine the real situation, to evaluate his BATNA, and todecide about



continuing the negotiations.Let us take an example. Purandar worls for HCL Infosystems and he is meetingAshokof Cydus Pharmaceuticals for negotiating a deal for the computer hardware. Hehas just

finished a deal for selling hardware to Cydus worth one million rupees.\{hile srgning the deal, Ashok come asls for a free service contract. Now if Purandarreacts to the statement either by 'yes' or 'no', he may fall into a trap in whicheither thenegotiation will be stalled or he has to offer the services free. So Purandar buystime andsays, 'Hey Ashok, Hold on. I am not sure that I am following you. kt us go backfor aminute and see how we arrived here. We started this deal four months ago, andat thebeginning you said that we will negotiate the service contract separately from

the purchase.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 85We reached at a final agreement day before yesterday.' In this case Ashok isputs forth anew demand but Purandar moves on to the 'balcony' and responds with anaccount of allthe days of negotiation.Step to their side In many instances people do not negotiate rationally. It issometimesworth trying by the salespeople also. To cope with the irrationality of thecounterpart, thesales manager has to be all the more purposeful and rational. Dealing rationallywithirrationality often evokes reciprocation from the other parly. It is also possiblethat a perfectlyrational perception of the other party looks mista"kenly irrational to thesalespeople. Sobefore engaging in principled negotiation, a favourable climate should bedeveloped, sothat the other party's anger and fears are removed.

The opposition always expects you to attack or resist, but if the salesperson doestheopposite by listening to them and being empathetic to their views, it is easier to

bring themto an agreement.It is a procedure of disarming them by stcppary t0 tluir sidr.The sales managercan beginby letting them know that he is listening to them attentively and agreeing withthem whereverhe can. He should maintain eye contact, nod, and express acceptance throughhis bodylanguage.He can reflect back and acknowledge their points by saying that the point isworth consideration.Even if the sales manager disagrees with 99o/o and agrees with only 10/o of what



was said, he should concentrate on that I %, saying 'Yes, I agree with you. . ..' Toacknowledgethat he respects them and is not attacking them, the sales manager may furtherpreface theremark with a statement, such as 'You are the decider' and 'I respect your order'.

Then, after saying yes, he can go on to present his views. For example, the salesmanagermay say, 'Yes, I agree with you that we charge a higher price than thecompetitors and youare absolutely right when you say that you buy superior quality, greaterreliability, andbetter service'. Whatever language one uses, the argument should be in additionto theopinion of the other party rather in contradiction to that.As a salesperson expresses his views, he is less likely to appeal to thecounterpart if hespeaks about himself rather than the other party. The impact of the problem can

beminimized by using sentences beginning with 'I feel that...' or 'I am notcomfortable with...'f,,sfta'ning rather than rejection The next step is to focus on each party'sinterest.Instead of rejecting the other party's viewpoint outright, which makes them morestubbornwith those ideas, the sales manager can direct their attention to the problem of satisfyingeach party's interests.Wherever they agree can be taken into account and can be reframed as anattempt todeal with the problem. The sales manager can ask problem-solving questions like'What isthat you want to...?' 'What are your concerns?' or 'What if we were to...?' or 'Whynot dothis way?' or 'What is wrong with this approach?' People who don't open up theirpointsvery fast are very comfortable with criticizing the opinion of others.86 Sales and Distribution Management'What if"'' kind of questions will bring possible solutions rather than provokingopponent' one the typical question is 'what would you do in this situation if youwere in my place?' This makes them understand your concern and provides

insight into your constraints.- If the opposition's point sounds illogrcal, one can start with u ,.rrt rr.. like, lyo'must be having good reasons for thinking that this is a fair solution to the deal; Iwould like to listento that" '' The sales manager should try to ask the open-ended questions ratherthan closedones' The opponent *ill fi"d it difficult to answer with 'No' to questions, suchas ,What is the purpose of this policy/this statement?' It is better to prefacequestions with ,How,,'Why', or 'Who'' While such problem-solving questions enable the sales managerto reframe the opponent's position in terms of options, interests, and standards,th. ,11., manageralso needs to reframe their tactics and sffategies.



Iet them take onmership under this strategy, the sales manager constructs anagreementthat the opponent can call a victory This is a.hie.red by involving the opponent indrafting the agreement, which satisfies more than their monetary needs. It is aprocess of augmenting their personal r..d, oi success, power, recognition, and

autonomy It also helps the opponent to back away from their earlier stance *iLo'tlosing their face during and after the negotiations. Thus also helps the otherparty to present thecase as a triumph to its constituents.It also means moving slowly to achieve victory with the counterpart rather thanabruptlymaking the agreement acceptable to both the parties. when people get involvedin theprocess, they start seeing things differently and start accepting ownership of theidea, whichculminates in a negotiation. In this process they may like an idea that they hadrejected at the initial stage of the negotiation. When ttr.y iorrt iuute ideas to it

and a consensus builds up, they own the entire agreement rather than only theideas promoted by them. Thetypical questions asked during this stage include: 'B,rildirrg on your idea, what if we...., or the sales manager may respond with statements such a-s: i{s a follow-up to our earlierdiscussion, it occurs to me that...'and 'I got this idea when I analyzedwhat yousaid earlier...'

The sales manager can ask for the opponent's criticism and probe throughproblemsolvingquestions such as: 'Which interest of yours does this iaea fal to satisf,r?,',In whatrespect this is not fair?' 'How would you imgrove upon this proposal?, ,Is thereany way we can make this proposal better for your side without making i *orr. fo,-y .o*p*yl,When alternatives are given to them and they chose one, it becomes their idehand theiralternative rather than yours.

The sales manager should help the other parq, reahze that circumstanceschange andthey also have to .f1s.-u1.ordingly. In such situations, where third parryintervenrion isnecessary one should look for a neutral friend or an expert who can help inconvincing theopponents about charrges in the environment and how they have alfected the

business. A proposal muted fromone side and unacceptable to the othe,side ;;;;;"rl..ptuut. if routed through a third parry.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 87An agreement reached slowly through a step-by-step approach is moreacceptable thanan entire proposal done in one go. Too marry decisions taken in a short periodmay end upin an abrupt conclusion. It is a good idea to assure the other party that you arenot lookingfor a commitment immediately and they can come out with an agreement andcommitrnentat the end of the whole exercise.If the agreement is not acceptable to the opponent, make it as hard possible tosay no to



you. This is possible by a cumulative summation of benefits over a period of timeandtradeoffs of values during the negotiations.Educating them to senses If the buyer has a feeling that he can still win withoutthe

negotiations, the sales manager should educate the opponent by asking reality-testingquestions and demonstrating his BATNA.

The sales manager should exercise restraint and provide reassurance thatmutual satisfactionand not the victory of one party should be the objective of any negotiation. Thebargaining is to bring the opponent to their business senses rather than bringingthem totheir knees. Let the opponents ysalizs the consequences of not reaching anagreement byasking them questions such as: 'What do you think will happen if we don'tagree?' 'What

do you think I will do?' By asking the second question, you try to show them yourBATNAand make them realize that you have satiSfactory alternatives. You can askquestions suchas: 'What will you do?' 'How much will it cost you?' 'How will it satisfy yourinterest?'Also make them realize that their BATNA may not be satisfactory. You may ask aquestionsuch as 'Is it possible for you to get the material at short notice ftom thecompetitor if youdo not negotiate with us?' The attempt should be to warn and not to threaten.A warning is respecdul and objective, whereas a threat is subjective andconfrontationalin nature. A threat is what you will do if they do not agree with you, whereas awarning iswhat will happen to them if an agreement is not reached. It is convenient toagree to anobjective reality than to bow down to a threat. It is i process of making theopponentreafize that the previously formulated agreement is always a better bargain thanthe futureuncertainties.Some of the popularly known and practised negotiation tactics are designed to

back youup and corner your counterparts in a negotiation table. These are popularlyknown as'dirty tricks'. There are three steps to counter these dirty tricks, recognize thetactic, raisethe issue explicrtly, and question the legitimacy and desirability of the tactic.

The sales manager needs to recognize the tactic before he can tackle it. Oftentherecognition of the tactic itself will destroy the ploy. After recognizing theploy,'the salesmanager should point it out to the other side. If the opponents care for thenegotiation,they will cease to use it. Pointing out the tactic gives an opportunity to the salesmanager to



decide on the rules of the game. It is worth mentioning during this stage that theobjectiveof the negotiation is to bring benefit and respect to both the parties and not togive advantageto one party over the other.

88 Sales and Distribution ManagementNegotiation TacticsFollowing are a list of tactics including the 'dirty tricks' used during negotiations,andvarious strategies to counter them.Acting c'razy The sales manager should put up a good show by visiblydemonstrating hisemotional commitrnent to the deal This increases his credibftty and may give theopponenta justification to accept his terms.Auctioning The buyer in this case negotiates with more than one sellersimultaneously,

and lets each of them know that he is bargaining with other parties. Thesalesperson whois confident of his o{fer should stick to his terms as if there:rne no other sellers.

The strategyis to reveal the buyer's bias, which can be treated as a indication about how toproceed.When the buyer finds that this tactic is not working he will stop using it. Whenthe buyercalls all the vendors to a meeting, the salesperson shifts his attention to readinga newspaperor a novel, and when the buyer goes for a long telephone call, the salespersoncan ignorethe tactic by shifting his attention to somerhing else.

TLe good guy-bad guy routine This is typically seen in Hindi movies when apoliceofficer is interrogating a criminal. The lirst officer starts abusing the criminal,beating andtorturing him, and then he takes a break. Here the good guy enters and savesthe criminalfrom further abuse. He gives the criminal water and assures him that his interestwill betaken care of. The first o{ficer may be tamed by the second one if the criminalcooperates,

and ultimately the criminal gives in to the good guy. This also happens innegotiations. Two people from the buyer's side may stage a quarrel in which one will take atoughuncompromising stand on price, whereas the other behaves considerately andoffers certainadditional provisions for a price reduction. In the absence of the tough bargainer,theother guy comes with a statement that the prices of the seller are right but thetough guy inthe team will not agree and hence some compromise has to be made.

There are two ways in which such a problem can be tackled. The smartnegotiator may



directly ask for the real reasons for which price reduction is demanded. Anotherway is tolet them know that you have recognized their tactics, which is not going to work.Big pot The sales manager should leave himself a lot of room to negotiate. Heshould

make a high demand at the beginning so that even after making concessions hewill stillend up with a large payoff than if he had started with a very low demand.Budget bogey The customer says that he has a fixed budget beyond which hecannot go.

The seller who accepts this fixed budget constraints ends up with a low price. Sothesalesperson should not accept this concept without crosschecking the sources of funds.Most budgets are flexible and have scope to adjust the market variations. If thesalespersonrejects the price as nonnegotiable, budgetary provisions can be made in

companies fromother sources.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 89Get a prestigious ally The sales manager should select an ally. The ally can be apersonor a project that is prestigious to the opponent. Thus the sales manager tries toget theopponent to accept the deal because a person or object involved in is considered'prestigious'.Escalation This happens when two parties have iorne to a conclusion and onepartyraises its demand with an objective of wearing down the resolution. They mayraise anissue which the other party must have assumed to be resolved. The tendency inthis case isto settle the issue quickly before the other party decides to escalate oppositionto thenegotiation. A wise negotiator will identify this tactic, point it out to the opponentandrefuse to go along. He may call for a break while they consider whether or not tocontinuethe negotiation. This prevents an impulsive reaction and gives time for both theparties to

ponder over the situation. The well is dry In this tactic, the sales manager ta-kes a stand and tells theopponent thathe has no more concessions to make.Limited authority The sales manager may negotiate in good faith with theopponent,and when they are to ready to sign the deal, the sales manager may say, 'I haveto checkwith my boss.' This is basically done to get a"nother opportunity for negotiation.

The otherparty may also make a similar claim by saylng that he needs approval from thefinancialauthority.



The best way to handle such a situation is to establish how much negotiatingpower theother party has. If there is some ambigurty, the sales manager may ask fortalking directlyto the person from whom final approval is sought. He may also say that, 'Are you

suggestingthat the negotiation is to be reopened again?' If the answer to this question is'No'then thesales manager should stick to the agreement made in the negotiation. If theanswer to thequestion is 'Yes' then the sales manager should say that the agreement is a jointdraft towhich neither side has committed. 'You check with yo'ur boss and I will checkwith mineand let us meet again to discuss the possible changes'. It means if the otherparty wantssomething extra, you should also get something in return.

Whipsaw/auction The sales manager should let several competitors know that heisnegotiating with all of them at the same time . He should schedule thecompetitors' appointmentswith him or his boss at the same time and keep them all waiting to see him.Divide and conquer If the sales manager is negotiating with a tearn on theopponent'sside, he tries to sell the proposal to one member of the team and that personhelps him tosell it to the other members of the team.Reunion If one of the negotiators can guess where the other negotiator stands ontheissues of negotiation, he can take a stand somewhat away from the negotiator.

Then heallows the other person to convince him of the rightfblness of his stand and thenacceptshis stand.90 Sales and Distribution Management

There are two advantages to this tactics Thc ncaahr b-ccningly to made aconcession the other party, which calls for reciprocal gtnrin It fo also likely tolower the expectation of the counterpart. In this proG'!* the * mga may ask forthe objectivestandards that justify their proposal, so that tbcy ca 6:r e rLrrnr fa the future

movemenrs of the counterpart when negotiations arc txr. --Deadline M-y agreements are reachedin6chEit-d6edeadline, which is used as agood maneuver. People often accept fte dr,"Erp d fu o6er party as their owndespite the fact that the deadline often farmrrs 6c & prty, one should neveraccepr the other party's deadline without questioning ls rrinfu one can also turnthe opponent's deadline to one,s own advantage.sticks and stones Some buyers have a habit of mrhgfu d 6c salespeople ormakingstatements that are derogatory to the sales prr*rrin i m bfrrld".lr. Th.y -.y ,uy,'Hey, you look so down, zlre you not doing gpod sd6 ilr.r denr or they mayridicule the proposal saying that they have heard sirnilar 36tr frm otbcrsalespeople also. The assumption is that by insulting the seller, the bupr a $ordrrn as inferior and force him to comply with his demands.



The humfiation may be other than verbal also hFr EEtrr humiliate salespeopleby letting others interrupt their presentation, rnat ing;.ph calb during a meeting,or continuing to read or work when the salespe.r"" is tafu, rhb ndies that thesalespersonis ignored and has low value for the customer.

The salesperson can respond to such a situation in tno wayr IIe c"r, reframe theattack on the personal front to the problem p *t"s ycr ma1. harrc a point but howdo you improve the proposal to make it acceptable.'i'"tri"gdithcmysnlbeharrc asaprofessionalby saying that he has apparently called the buyer ri" "n*g,i* and he was there to sharesome important information with the buyer. Fie may aho i r*"ooa.r time when he can visit and make a presentationGet lost/stdl for ti-e The sales m:rnager may leare 6e ncgotiation table for awhile,and come back to negotiate when the things are be6er - Thc break may be long(say, you

are going out of town) or short (you go to the bathmom to d,;nk)- Take it or leave it The buyer sticks to a price and cl-irm rhat fos cannot givemore andthe seller has to either take it or leave it. The salesperson should test the buyer,sseriousnesswhen this tactic is used. He may keep talking about the problem as if he has notheardwhat the buyer said, or the context of the ,rrb3..t may be changed- If the buyeris serious about the threat, the message will be repeated, and if so, thesalesperson should let themteartze what they will lose if the agreement is not made. Then he should look fora facesaving way such as a change in circumstances for the btrlar to come out of theirpreviousstand.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 91Wet noodle The sales manager does not grve any emotional or verbal responseto theopponent's tactics. He does not respond to the opponent's pressure. He just sitsat thenegotiation table like wet noodle and keeps a poker face.Veiled threat Here the buyer lets the salesperson know how much power heenjoys. He

starts like this: 'Last year we had to drop a seller because we found that he wascharging 4%more than what the competitors were offering in the industry. Of course, I knowthereputation of your company in the business.' Threats are the most abused tacticsinnegotiations.A threat is easier to make than a legitimate offer. However, it may stall a healthynegotiationprocess and destroy a relationship. In such a situation, the salesperson shouldplay to theirfeelings of superiority. Behaving subserviendy towards them increases theirfeeling of superiority.



On the other hand, after considering his BATNA, the salesperson may say that heonlynegotiates on merit and his reputation is built on not responding to threats.Let's split the dilTerence The negotiator who first Suggests this has the least tolose

because he shows proactive behaviour to remove the deadlock in thenegotiation.Ptay the Devilts advocate The sales manager argues against the opponent'sproposalsby saying 'Before I say yes or no, let's look at all the bad things that maypossibly happen if we did what you want.' This lets the sales manager show the opponent his betterway of achieving their objectives without directly opposing the opponents viewpoints.

Trial balloon The sales mrmager releases his decision through a so-called reliablesourcebefore the decision is actually made. This enables him to test the opponent's

reaction tosuch a decision.Surprises The sales manager tries to keep the opponent off balance by drastic,dramatic,and sudden shift in his tactics in general. He shows completely unpredictablebehaviourand thus prevents the opponent from anticipating his future moves.What's the rock bottom price The buyer in this case claims pauclty of time andasksdirectly about the least price. The salesperson should not go immediately to thebottomwith a price that has nothing to negotiate. The salesperson with a stable pricestructure inthe industry has the advantage of saying, 'How many will you need?' If there issomepricing flexibility with the volume of the order, responding with a negotiableprice isappropriate.Adversarial negotiating tactics In this situation, the buyer pursues fournegotiatingtactics. They are:92 Sales and Distribution Management' Extreme initial positions; They start with nn extreme low o{fer designed to

lower other the side's expectations. M*y a time the customer presents a price farbelow the current prlce to negotiate harder with the seller.' Emotipnal tofiits:They create the impresion ttrat they are angry with theoppositiongettingred faced, raising their voices, and often *"king o,it of u -..tirg in a huff.Adversary concessions are viewed as wea.knesses. If they receive a concessiin,they do not reciprocate it, something that every body expects as a part of fairplay. ' Sti"gl in thtir conusioas: They delay making .ny .orr".ssion and *hen theyfinally do, it is negligible.' Ignore deadlines: They tend to be patient, as if time is of little significance tothern.However, one should be aware of the preconditions for such tactics, whichinclude the following:



' Discontinuation of retation:hip: sooner or latter the other party wiu come toknow that they have been cheated and they will be smarter next time. ' Norernorse {tentards: one must not feel guilty for playrng unfair. ' unawareruss futtu uictim: The potential victim must be naive, innocent, and unaware of what isgoing on.

There are three alternatives when the other side has adopted adversarial tactics. They are walking away if other alternatives are available ; taking time, exercisingpatience, and practising the strategy.of principled negotiations to get th; toargue on the basis of merit; and beating the devil at his own game by practisingidenticar tactics.Negotiation difrers from a typical buying-selling relationship. In a typical buying-sellingrelationship, the prices, promotional terms, and distribution schedules arealready identified,whereas in negotiations they are to be decided upon through bargaining andnegotiationsbetween the buyer and the seller.

Problem-solving SkillsBesides the negotiation skills described above, one also needs problem-solvingskills foreffective selling' The relational and consultative selling approach suggests that asalespersonshould not be a mere order taker; he should rather actas a problem-solver and aconsultant to the customer. These roles are more significant for higi+ech ,.[t";;;il.irt.rr-,obusinessselling.Most of the real-world sales problems have many solutions. The objective is topick up the best solution for the customer and organizational problems so thatthe salespersonbecomes an engine for growth of the enterprise ,athe. than only a person incharge of transfer of ownership of products and services. If we can apply ourproblem-solving skills betteq the solutions will be more effective for theorgunirutiorr.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 93

Table 2.2 characteristics of ineffective/effective problem-solverCharacteristics lneffective problem'solver Effective problem-solverAttitudeActionsAccuracySolutions procedures

Thinks nothing can be done;gives up easily.Lies back and exPects that asolution will come naturallY;unable to re-describe theproblem;.iumps to conclusionsvery fastDoes not checkDoes not break the Problem, letsit be as it is.Does not know where to startfrom; fails to identifY keYconcepts; relies on guess; doesnot use any sPecial Plan; quits or



withdrawsBelieves the problem can be solvedRe€valuates the problem several times tolook at the issue from different angles;Redescribes the problem; asks himself

questions; creates a mental picture, drawssketches, and writes equationsChecks and rechecksBreaks the problem into smaller problemsleading to the larger problem; starts at apoint where he understands better; uses afew fundamental concepts as building block;uses decision heuristics; perseveres whenheld up or struck; uses quantitative formulaand equations to solve the problems; keeps atrack of changes and Progressproblem definition is a common but difficult task because what is normally

observed rsthe effect of the problem and not the true problem. The true problem is socomplex that itis linked to multiple sources. These are also disguised in many forms' A trueproblem solverwill analyze the situation and extract the real problem from an ocean of information andfacts. Ill-defined or poorly posed problems may lead the problem-solver to aseries of impossible and improper solutions.

Treating the effects or symptoms can give a quick-fix.solution, but finding andsolvingthe real problem is important to minimize the use of time, money, and eflorts forthe customeras we[ as the sales orgalization. Implementing real solutions to real problemsrequiresdiscipline to avoid being pressured into accepting a less desired, quick-fixsolution due totime constraints.An understanding of the systematic approach that helps guide the salespersonthroughthe solution process and generate alternatives solutions for the customer makesthe

salesperson more successful in establishing a relationship with customers'Eflective problem-solvers develop mindsets and habits that help them inhandling diflicultproblems. Stephen Covey in his famous book Tfu Seuen Habits of Highu EfectiuePeoplthstsseven habits that make people more effective problem-solvers. These habitsinclude thehabit of being proactirr", b"gitttting with an end in mind, putting first things first,alwaysthinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then be understood,synergizing, andrenewal.Habit I Be proadiue. Take an initiative and make things happen' Aggressively tt-tk.ttt*



ideas and innovations. Do not let a negative environment a{fect your behaviourand decision94 Sales and Distribution Managementmaking' work on things that you can change. If you make a learn mistake,acknowledge and from it.

Habit 2 Begin uith an md in mind. you take are in the right direction. Fi.rkst", ywhere you are going and make sure all the steps determine trr" rig;t things toaccomplish and then how to accomplish them best. write a personal missionstatement describing where you want to go, what you want to be, and how toaccomplish these thingsHabit 3 Putfrst thingsfirct. List your top priorities each day for the upcomingweek, and schedule your time to work on them. continually review and prioritizeyour goals. say no to doing unimportant tasks. Focus on the important tasls, theones that will have the desired . impact if carefirlly thought out and planned.Habit 4 Think win-win' wn-win is the frame of mind that seeks mutual benefits forall the people involved in a solution and agreement. Identi& the key issues andresults that would constitute a fully acceptable solution to all. Make a]l involved

in a decision feel good about the decision and committed to a plan of action.Habit 5 sakfrst tn understand, thm to be undnstnod, karn as much as you canabout the situation' Try to see the problem from the other person's point of view.Be willing to be adaptable in seeking to be understood. Present ,hi"; t;..un notemotionally Be credible, empathetic, and logical.Habit 6 sInngize' Make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. value thedifferences in the people you work with. Foster open and honest communication.Help everyone bring out the best in everyone else.Habit 7 Renewal' Renew four dimensions of your nature. The frst dimension isphysical, which can be improved by exercise, nutrition, and stress management.rrrrr..."i ar-ension is mental, which can be renewed by r:"ds,;t*;:trr*rtn planning,and writing. The third dimension is spiritual, which can be .ni.nc.d by valueclarifications and commitrnents, study, and meditation. The social and emotionaldimensions can be enhanced by service, empathy, self_esteem, and synergyProblem Solving and the paradigm pioneersAs we have mentioned earlier, problem solving is a scientific process, and wecan suggest a heuristic for sales managers to follow to solve problems forthemselves, their organizations, and customers.

The problem-solvers always take risks in life. Risks are actions with less chanceof being successful' but if they succeed, then they bring great benefits to theorganization. rnnovative solutions making a significant difference to life andorgurri"utior,-i.l^;;;l*i, ura uSelling Skills and Selling Strategies 95

higtrly effective person can bring such initiatives to the organizations. Problem-solvers alwaysbring paradigm shifb and establish new patterns in society.A paradigm is a model or pattern based on a set of rules that defines boundariesandspecifies how to be successfirl at and within these boundaries. Success ismeasured by theproblems you solve using these rules. Paradigm shifts can occur in anevolutionary orrevolutionary process. They move us from seeing the world from one specificway to anothernew way.\{Ihen new rules are set in a new paradigm, the old rulers and decision-mal<ersfade



away and the market is talen over by new problem-solvers. Paradigm paralysiscan beillustrated with an organization that has frozen with the idea that what wassuccessfii inthe past will continue to be successful in the future.

Paradigm pioneers are people who have the courage to escape a paradigmparalysis bybreaking existing rules when success is not guaranteed. They have therealization thatthere is no shortcut in the journey of life, and there is no easy road in unchartedterritories.

They have to cut paths and make it easier for others to follow. They have a htghlevel of intuition to carry out new ideas, and courage to leapfrog the conventionalwisdom andcreate new patterns.Paradigm pioneers always seek for opportunities to initiate a paradigm shift to

improvethe set processes. They have an eye on the future, and are able to see the waythings oughtto be as opposed to the way they are at present. It also includes a master plan toachievethese goals. This attitude of paradigm pioneers may be appropriately expressedin GeorgeBernard Shaw's words: 'Some people see things and say wh1t,l see thirgr thatnever wereand say uhy noP' Elfective problem-solvers are paradigm pioneers with a visionand anaction plan to arrive at that goal.Problemsolving Pnocess

The problem-solving process brings logicality into decision maling though certaindecisionstaken on the basis of intuitions may also work.Figure 2.6 shows a problem-solving heuristic, which helps sales managers infindingalternative solutions to a problem. This was developed by McMaster, and ispoputarlyknown as McMaster five-point strategy. The problem definition stage can comeat anystage of the problem-solving process because implied problems can emerge

when we areevaluating various alternative solutions during the process of problem solving.At the beginning you should collect and analyze data, and talk to people familiarwithproblems of similar nature. With the same problem recurring in the organization,if possible,the sales manager should view the problem and confirm all the firdi"gr. Theproblemsolvershould list every detail that he can use to explain the problem. He shoulddeterminewhat information is missing and what information is extraneous in nature. Usingall suchdetails, he should draw a sketch of the situation or problem.96 Sales and Distribution Management



Figure 2.8 The problem-solving processMcMaster FivePoint Strategy1. Define(a) ldentify the unknown or stated objective.(b) lsolate the system and identify the knowns

and the unknowns, such as inputs, Iaws,assumptions, criteria, and constraints,stated in the problem(c) List the inferred constraints and the inferredcriteria.(d) ldentify the stated criteria.2. Explore(a) ldentify tentative pertinent relationshipsamong inputs, outputs, and unknowns.(b) Recall past related problems or experiences,pertinent theories, and fundamentals.(c) Hypothesize, visualize, idealize, and

generalize.(d) Discover the real problem and the realconstraints.(e) Consider both short-term and long-termimplications.(f) ldentify meaningful criteria.(g) Chose a basis or a set of conditions forreference.(h) Collect missing information, resources,and data.(i) Cuess the answer or the result.f) Simplify the problem to obtain an orderof magnitude result.(k) lf you cannot solve the proposed problem,first solve some related problems or solvepart of the problem.3. Plan(a) ldentifo the problem type and select theheuristics(b) Cenerate alternative ways to achieve theobjective.(c) Map out the solution procedure to be used.(d) Assemble the resources needed.

4. Act(a) Follow the procedure developed in theplan phase, use the resources available.(b) Evaluate and compare the alternatives.(c) Elirninate alternatives that do not meet allthe objectives or address all the constraints.(d) Select the best alternative from theremaining.5. Reflect(a) Check that the solution is blunder free.(b) Check the reasonableness of results.(c) Check the procedure and logic of yourarguments.(d) Communicate results.



Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 97He should analyze the data to find trends, errors, and other meaningfulinformation.

Then he should ask exploratory questions to people who have experience or whoare

conversant with similar problems by evaluating the past, challenging the basicpremise of their problem dcfinition, and asking for clarifications when the issues are notclear. Thesales manager should not rely on the experienced people's opinion orinterpretations; ratherhe should make it his first-hand problem definition by confirming all thosefindings andcross-checking all the data, information, and trends available.Define the ProblemAfter this preliminary exercise, the sales manager should go on to define theproblem.

First, he should find out where the problem came from, who posed the problemstatementin the first place, i.e., did it arise at the level of the sales representative, thesales officer, orthe customer himself. Then the sales manager should make an attempt tovalidate thereasoning to arrive at the problem statement. This can be done by asking theconcernedperson whether he has considered the problem from all angles.

The next step is to explore the problem. This technique can be used for both ill-definedproblems and new problem formulation situations. Problem exploration can bedone byidentifying all the available information, learning the fundamental theoriesinvolved in thebusiness, collecting the missing information, generating hlpothesis, collectingany missinginformation, and then defining the real problem. The next step is to look at thepresentFigure 2.9 Techniques of problem definitionSales and Distribution Managementstate and identify the desired state' This technique helps us to learn whether thesolution

goals are as per the current needs of the organization or not. The fourth step in defining a problem is to use Dunker's diagram. It helps toobtainsolutions that satis$r the criteria set up by the stating the desired state and thepresent state.

The uniqueness of the diagram is that it points or*h. ways to solve a problem bymaking it OK not to arrive at a desired solution.

The fifth step is called statement-restatement technique. It was developed byparnes.Here one loolcs at the fuzzy or unclear problem situation and writes a statementregardingthe challenge to be addressed.Figure 2.10 Dunker,s diagram



The problem is then restated in di{ferent forms a number of times. Each time theproblemis restated, one tries to generalize it further in order to arrive at the broadestform of theproblem statement. In restating the problem, it is important to inject new ideas

rather thanmerely changing the words. The evaluation of the problem statement is a technique by which we can cross-check theproblem definition, whether it is in the right direction or not. Then the salesmanger shoulddecide whether the problem needs to be solved, continues to collect moreinformation,develops simple hypothesis, and brainstorms potential causes and alternativesolutions.Generate SolutionsAfter gathering sufficient information and defining the problem, the next task is

to generatealternative solutions. Brainstorming is one of the poprlu, techniques used forgeneratingsolutions' It helps in expanding thinking as to whatis possible and what is notpossible. Theother methods include analogies and blockbusting.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 99Figure 2.1 1 Statement-restatement technique

The problem may seem to have a single solution due to mental blockings. Thementalblocls can be from multiple sources, such as the narrow definition of the problemandattack on the syrnptoms rather than on the problem itself, which leads tosymptom-relatedsolutions, the attitude of getting hooked to the first solution that comes to mind,chances of distraction due to irrelevant information called mental dazzle, and a high level of ambiguityin defining the problem.

The mental blocks can be of perceptual blocLs, emotional blocks, cultural blochs,environmentalblocks, intellectual blocls, and expressive blocls. The perceptual blocls mayhappen

due to the inability of the problem-solver to clearly perceive the information orthe problem. This may be due to the stereotyping attitude, which limits the problemunnecessarily, ordue to saturation and information overload.

The emotional blocls can be due to the fear of taking risk by the problem-solver,thelack of appetite for the chaos that the problem may create, inclination tojudgethan generateideas, lack of potential challenge in the work environment, and inability toincubate theproblem by rushing to solve the problem just to get it off from the mind.

The cultural bloc}s are acquired by exposure to a given set of cultural patterns,and



environmental blocks are imposed by our immediate social and physicalenvironment.Distractions like telephone calls and intrusions, which inhibit deep and prolongedconcentration, create blocfts in creative problem solving.Similarly a work environment that lacls emotional, physical, and social

motivation alsohas the potential to create environmental blocks. The intellectual blocks arise out of inflexible and inadequate use of problem-solvingtechniques. Lack of intellectual capability sometimes inhibits the problem-solvingskills.100 Sales and Distribution Management

Table 2.3 Coman,s blockbustersBlocks BlockbustersNegative attitudeFocusing attention on the negative aspects of the problem and possible unsatisfactory

outcomes hampers creativity.Fear of failureOne of the greatest inhibitors of creativity isthe fear of failure and the inability to take risk.Following the rulesSome rules are necessary while other ruleshinder innovation.Over-reliance on logicRelegate imagination to the backgroundbecause of a need to proceed in i step_by_ step fashion.

Your are not creativeBelieving that you are not creative can be aserious hindrance to generating creativesolutions. Believing that you cannot dosomething is a self-fulfilling prophecy.List the positive aspects and outcomes of theproblem.Realize. that.with every problem, there is not only a danger of failure but also an opportunity for success.Risk takingOutline what the risk is, why it is important, what is the worstpossible outcome, what your options are with the worstpossible outcomes, and how would you deal with future.

Breaking the rulesPractise trying new things. Take a different route to work, trya new food, go somewhere you have never gone.lnternal creative climate

Turn the situation over to your imagination, your feelings,your sense of humor. play with insights and possibilities.Creative beliefsEncourage your creativity by asking ,what if, questions,daydream, invent metaphors and analogies. Try differentways of explaining your creativity and problem-solving ability.Attitude adjustmentExpressive blocls are the inabilities to communicate your ideas to others in eitherverbal or



in written form. Blockbusting techniques are used to remove these kinds of blocls. Gomanhas developed a structured technique for blockbusting as shown in Table 2.3.

There are other methods for creative thinking anJgenerating solutions.Brainstorming

is one such method, in which an initial association of ideas i, *J. to find a solutionto theproblem' A list of possible solutions is generated either at the group level or theindividuallevel, and solutions are evaluated. This triggering of ideas is dolne with a positiveattitude inmind and no negative or critical evaluation of solutions generated by others isdone. Methodslike analogies, in which metaphors are used u, u rnod. of expression, of theproblem is apopular method to generate solutions.Decide the Course of Action

The next step is to decide upon the course of action amongst the solutionsgeneratedduring the preceding stage. rngical analysis of each alternative h"elps in arrivingat i solution.

The decision involves prioritizing the problems, selecting the best course of action, anddeciding on how to success{Llly implement the solution. Figure 2.10 shows thekind of decisions that are to be taken for each alternative to arrive aia solution

This model was developed by Kepner and Tregoe. This model helps us to decidewhichproblem is to work on first and what is to be done *ittr the problem..In situationanalysis,the problem-solver classifies the problem into one of these analysis groups.Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 101Figure 2.12 Components of a decision on the future course of actionIn problem analysis, the cause of the problem is not known, which the problem-solvertries to find out. The events, trends, and programs of the past that have givenbirth to thecurrent problem are anaJyzed. The problem-solvet' must juggle priorities at allthe time .In methods like Pareto analysis, the problem-solver finds out the relative

importance of each problem to other problems in a given situation. In decision analysis thecause of theproblem is found, and the problem-solver has to decide what actions have to betaken.

The decision at the present time is to correct the cause of the problem. Inpotential problemanalysis, the problem-solver wants to ensure the success of the decision, andanticipateand prevent future problems from occurrence. In this case the problem-solveridentifies allthe potential problems that could occur and the consequences of eachoccurrence.



He should be alert towards potential problems when the deadlines are nearing,whensomething new and complex is being tried out, and when the solver is trying toassignresponsibilities and is following a critical sequence. The problem-solver lists all

the causesof each problem and develops preventive actions for each cause. He alsodevelops acontingent action plan to be undertaken if the preventive action fails to preventtheoccurrence of the problem. Establishment of early warning signals can help intriggeringthe contingency plan.lmplementthe SolutionAfter deciding which alternative course of action to take, the next difficult task istoimplement the decision. The problem-solver plans the activity to solve the

problem. Heuses a number of techniques to allocate time and resources to implement thesolutionfigure 2.13).

The first step in implementing a solution is to get the organization's approval forthechosen solution so that necessary resources can be allocated to complete theproject. Theprocess starts with preparing the plan document about what the problem-solverintends todo, the reasons thereof, what procedure the solver wants to follow to implementthis, andwhat benefits the organization will have after implementing the solution.

The most important stage in implementation is the planning stage, in which timeandhuman resource are allocated along with financial resources. In this stage theproblemsolvertries to sketch the entire pathway to the final solution. Gantt and deploymentcharts102 Sales and Distribution ManagementFigure 2.13 The solution implementation processare made, critical path management is employed through the application of CpMand

PERI and allocation of necessary resources are clone in this stage to implement anewsolution in the organization.

The carry through stage involves obtaining and maintaining cooperation fromotherpeople in the organizationfor smooth implementation of the solution. Follow-up isnecessaryto monitor the progress of the solution on the basis of time allocated foreachpart and thetime available so that processes and resources can be organized to complete theimplementation.Evaluate the Solution

The last step is the evaluation of the solution by measuring up its performanceagainst the



implementation plan and its ability to solve the organizational problem. This is anongoingprocess, in which at each stage of the implementation quantitative andqualitative methodsare used to judge the extent to which materials and methods satisry the external

and internalcriteria for the solution. Here the problem-solver checks whether the realproblem is solvedor not) whether the solution he has arrived at is the best available solution atthat situation,and whether the solution was innovative and effective enough so that the sameproblem ora similar problem will not crop up in future. The problem-solver also evaluatesthe problemfrom the point of view of ethicaliry environmentally friendliness and safety of thepeoplein the organization and user of the products and services or not.

Selling Skills and Selling Strategies 103 The problem-solving technique explained above is an attempt to develop asystematicprocedure so that sales managers can attempt to solve the organizationalproblems whilefacing the market and solving consumer problems. Log.ul flow of ideas andstrategies willhelp managers to solve organizational problems, 4nd make them moreresponsive tocustomer problems.SummaryA successfirl salesperson is an asset to the organization,particularly in the context of customer'sswitching rapidly from one firm to another forsmall benefits due to the availability of multiplechoices. It is also observedthat the attrition rate inthe sales world is quite high and people frequentlychange their jobs.Proper training of salespeople in selling skillsand sales processes will have significant positiveimpact on their image in front of others, thegeneral attitude towards the nature of their work,their self-esteem, and their relevance to the work

organization. A business organization's successlargely depends on the success of its salespeople,as they are the first customer contact points. It isimportant not only to acquire adequate sellingaptitude and knowledge about products of theorganization and its competitors, but also toacquire various selling skills like communicationskills, negotiation skills, conflict resolution skills,listening skills, and problem-solving skills.Mere acquisition of the skills will also not bringsuccess to salespeople; they have to apply these skillsto understand the customers and close the sales rndifferent selling and buying situations. The sellingskills are honed by a process of continuous application



in the world of selling.Such enrichment will help a salesperson to stickto a company for long as more success in sellingwill bring more rewards, and the longer they stayin an organization, the better the strategies of

relational selling can be executed in that organ-:uzation. Selling skills help the salesperson and thesales manager to effectively utilize the selling time,to understand the customer betteq and generatehigher returns to the organization. He needs tohave conceptual skills, which refer to the cognitiveability to see the organization as a whole and therelationships between the parts. This skill involvesthe manager's thinking and planning abilities.People skills involve the manager's ability to workwith and through other people, and to workeflectively as a group member. The necessary

technical skills include the ability to perform aspecialized task that involves certain methods andprocesses.KeyTermsSelling skills These are the sum total of aptitudes and skills such as communication skills,listening skills, conflict resolution skills, problemsolvingskills, and negotiation skills.Communication It is the exchange of ideas andinformation between two parties.Content listening It is the understanding andretention of the speaker's message. Here the informationflows from the speaker to the receiver,i.e., from the salesperson to potential customers.

There is no question of any agreement or approvalof the message.Critical listening It is to understand and evaluatethe meaning of the speaker's message at several

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