Test 1 Flashcards
Traditional Selling
- Focuses on just transactions
- Emphasizes prospecting new leads and closing new sales
- Persuading the customer your solution is the best one.
Evolution to Consultative selling
o Late 60’s to early 70’s
o Mass markets broke into target markets
o Info sharing and negotiation with customers replaced manipulation tactics
Features of Consultative Selling
o customer is a person to be served, not a prospect to be sold
o two-way communication identifies (diagnoses) customer’s needs; no high-pressure sales presentation
o emphasis on information giving, problem solving, and negotiation vs. manipulation
o emphasis on service after the sale
Strategic Selling Era
o Began in early 1980s
o Market niches required even more planning
o Equal emphasis on strategy and tactics
o Product positioning became vital
o Selling to right person at the right place at the right time
Partnering Era
o 1990 to present
o Customer is driving force, not the product
o Emphasizing strategies that create value with the customer
Strategic Alliances
Companies that have similar interests team up to gain a mutual competitive advantage
o Emphasis on creating win-win alliances
Personal Selling Philosophy
o Adopt the marketing concept
o Add value through personal selling
o Assume the role of problem solver or partner
Develop a Relationship Strategy
o Adopt a win-win philosophy
o Project a professional image
o Maintain high ethical standards with the customer
Developing a Customer Strategy
o Understand the buying process
o Understand buyer behavior
o Develop base list of prospects
Developing a Presentation Strategy
o Prepare objectives
o Develop a presentation plan
o Provide outstanding service
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
- Capacity for monitoring our own feelings and those of others
- Managing emotions in ourselves in our relationships.
Developing a positive self-concept
- Focus on the future, not past mistakes
- Develop level of expertise in specific areas
- Adopt a positive mental attitude
Win-Win Philosophy
- Customer satisfaction is primary concern
* Both buyer and seller come out of the sale with their best interests served
Strategies for Self-Improvement
- set goals
- use visualization
- use positive self-talk
- reward your progress
Communication Style Bias
o Can develop when we have contact with another person whose communication style is different from our own
o May impede developing customer relationships
Elements of EQ
See other chart!!!!!!!
Communication Style Principles
- Individual differences exist/are important
- It is a way of thinking and behaving
- Individual styles tend to be stable
- There are a set number of styles
- To create productive relationships, relate to the comm. styles of others.
Dominance Continuum: High Dominance
o Like to control
o Initiate demands
o More aggressive
o Task oriented
Dominance Continuum: Low Dominance
o Cooperative
o Let others control
o Low in assertiveness
o People oriented
Sociability Continuum: High Sociability
o Express feelings
o Prefer interaction
o More outgoing
o More informal
Sociability Continuum: Low Sociability
o Control feelings
o Prefer solitude
o More reserved
o More formal
Emotive Style Traits
o Active
o Takes social initiative
o Encourages informality
o Expresses emotional opinions
‘Do’s of selling to an Emotive
o Stress innovation
o Provide customer testimonials
o Be friendly and warm
o Listen w/ demonstrative attention
‘Don’t’s of selling to an Emotive
o Dominate the conversation
o Let emotive wander off track
o Reject ideas, concerns and objections
Directive Style Traits
o Focused on goals and tasks
o May give impression of not listening
o Displays serious attitude
o Likes to keep control
‘Do’s of selling to a Directive
o Answer questions directly
o Maintain businesslike relationship
o Identify goals and stress results
o Organize thoughts first, then talk
‘Don’t’s of selling to a Directive
o Be indecisive
o Be overwhelmingly friendly
o Make statements you cannot prove
Supportive Style Traits
o Quiet and reserved
o Listen attentively
o Tends to avoid power
o Makes thoughtful decisions in deliberate manner
‘Do’s of selling to a Supportive
o Show patience o Stress step by step approaches o Talk about service and reliability o Build consensus o Take time to build social relationship
‘Don’t’s of selling to a Supportive
o Be too pushy and direct
o Pressure them
Reflective Style Traits
o Controls emotional expression
o Displays preference for order
o Tends to express measured opinions
o Difficult to get to know
‘Do’s of selling to a Reflective
o Use a lot of facts and statistics
o Be well prepared/organized
o Clarify objections/concerns
o Stress quality, reliability, safety
‘Don’t’s of selling to a Reflective
o Be careless
o Push toward closing too soon
o Be too friendly too early
o Speak loudly and aggressively
Making Ethical Decisions
o There is not one uniform code of ethics for all salespeople
o Most businesses and professional associations have established written codes
Attitudes that Influence the Erosion of Ethics
o “We are only in it for ourselves”
o “Corporations exist to only maximize shareholders’ value”
o “Companies need to be lean and mean.”
Laws, Contracts, and Agreements: Factors Determining Ethical Behavior
- Role model provided by top management
- Company policies and practices
- Role model provided by sales manager
- Personal values of salesperson
- Ethical conduct of salespeople
Laws, Contracts, and Agreements: Specifics
o Legal environment plays a role in preventing unethical behavior
o Cooling-off laws - Must give customer time to make decision after your sales pitch
o Uniform Commercial Code -law influencing buyer-seller transactions
o Oral and written contracts
Personal Values
o Values = Deep personal beliefs and preferences
o Values serve as foundations for our attitudes
o Attitudes serve as foundations for our behavior
Values —> Attitude —> Behavior
Ethical Issue: Confidential Info
o Customers share info in the consultative process
o Sales people must preserve confidentiality about their customers
o Don’t disclose a client’s information to its competitors
Ethical Issue: Reciprocity
o Mutual exchange of benefits
o Common practice for many companies
o Illegal if you force company into a reciprocal agreement
Ethical Issue: Bribery
o Violates legal and ethical standards
o Acceptable practice in some foreign countries
o Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits US companies from using bribes or kickbacks
Ethical Issue: Gifts
o Make sure to check company policy
o Must ensure the gift is not perceived as a bribe
o Effective strategy for building relationships
Ethical Issue: Entertainment
o Choose strategy to entertain the customer based on his/her preference
o Can enhance customer relationship
o Don’t talk too much business while you’re entertaining the customer
o Don’t link entertainment to customer’s purchases and business decisions
Ethical Issue: Business Defamation
o Slander: Making untrue verbal statements that damage competitor’s reputation
o Libel: Written statement that damages someone’s reputation
o Product Disparagement: False claims or deceptive comparisons
CRM
Customer Relationship Management
Ethical Issue: Protecting CRM Data
o CRM software allows storage of transaction data and personal info
o CRM data is “mobile”; other people may see or use it
o Don’t store anything you don’t want the customer to see
A well-conceived Product Strategy plan emphasizes:
o becoming an expert on your product
o selling benefits
o Creating value-added solutions
Product Configuration
o Consider customer selection criteria
o Customize product solutions
o Create value-added components
o Product options, pricing and delivery schedules
Performance Data and Specifications
o Clients interested in product performance and specifications
o Salespeople must be prepared to answer performance-related questions
o Data often critical when customer compares various products
Sources of product data
o Literature, catalogs and websites o Plant tours o Internal marketing and support team o Customers o Trade publications
Maintenance/ Service Contracts
o Provide service-related information in the proposal
o Understand customer service and maintenance requirements
o Service agreements customized to the customer’s needs add value to a proposal
Know your competition
o Know strengths and witnesses of competing products so you can emphasize your benefits
o Never discuss the competition with a customer unless you have all your facts straight
o Never directly dismiss the competition. Differentiate instead.
Sell Features, Not Benefits
o Feature: data, facts, characteristics of the product
o Benefit: Whatever provides the customer with a personal advantage/gain
Selling Solution
A mutually shared answer to a recognized customer problem
How to quantify the selling solution
o Conduct cost-benefit analysis for the customer using costs and anticipated savings.
o Calculate a return-on-investment (ROI) for the customer
Positioning
Decisions and activities intended to create and maintain a concept of the product in the consumer’s mind
Differentiation
o Ability to separate your product from the competition
o Key to building a competitive advantage
Value Proposition
o Set of benefits and values the company promises to deliver to customers to satisfy their needs
o Well-informed customers will choose product that offers the most value to them
Cluster of satisfactions
- Products are problem solving tools
- People buy products if they fulfill a problem solving need
- Today’s better-educated customers are more demanding; they seek a cluster of satisfactions
Positioning New Products
o develop new levels of expectations o change habits o establish new standards o build desire for product o focus on creating new markets
Positioning Mature Products
o product selling strategy
o emphasize brand superiority
o emphasize company superiority
o point out unique features
o provide outstanding customer service
o focus on sustaining existing market share
Positioning Mature Products
o Pricing Decisions must be made at each stage of the life cycle
o First step is to determine pricing objectives
o Some firms set prices to maximize profits
o Others set a market share objectives
BUT BEWARE: Pricing strategies reflect a products’ position in the marketplace
High/Low Involvement Buyers
o HIGH emotional involvement with BRAND (premium price)
o LOW involvement buyers focus on PRICE (routine items)
Low Price Selling Tactic: Quantity Discount
Low price for high quantity
Low price selling tactic: Promotional Allowance
Price linked to special promotion or ad campaign
Low price selling tactic: Trade/functional Discounts
Given to wholesalers for special services
Elements of value-added strategy
o Better sales people
o Superior service
o Product quality
o Innovative features
Generic Product
o Basic product you are selling
o Describes product category
Expected Product
Everything that meets customer’s minimal needs beyond the generic product
Value-Added Product
Salesperson offers customers more than they expect
Potential Product
What remains to be done, what is possible, anticipating customers’ future needs
Value-added product selling strategy is enhanced when these aspects of the competition are considered:
o Product attributes
o Company attributes
o Salesperson attributes
o Comparative benefits
