Sales Skills

The Better way of Selling

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What is Selling

Selling is a process in which you articulate a product or service offering or indeed selling an idea to another person can be termed as selling an idea, this can occur either through the phone or face to face.

Selling is about influencing and positioning information in a way in which it allows the person to make an informed decision. This is typically seen through a commitment action.

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What is a commitment to action?

A commitment action is when another person, confirms their acceptance through either a purchase or acceptance of the information you are providing.

To me selling is the art of having a conversation, you cant sell, unless you have a conversation.

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The core skills needed to sell - reflect

Communication skills – voice, questioning, listening, confidence

Rapport building – professionalism, relationship driven

Knowledge skills – about product or service

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Different types of people we sell to

When selling or talking to other people, it is important to realise that not all people are the same; each one of us responds and thinks differently.

Buyer types Buyers can be categorised into four types: Rational Practical Challenging Enthusiastic

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Make decisions using

Like to hear Logic Feeling

Evidence and Detail Rational Practical

Possibilities and Big Picture Challenging Enthusiastic

Logic and feeling influence

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Recognising buying signals

These expressions may be abbreviated “Umms”, and “Aha’s” for example, which the sales person will recognise by the tone of the customer’s voice.

Recognising buying signals is an important function of CRM and sales . They can often be subtle or firm, and either unplanned or planned reactions.

Recognising buying signals requires good listening and follow up skills.

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The Power of Questions

Results in -

Shows interest: this helps you to get to know your customers and their circumstances and build a relationship

Increase your knowledge: effective questioning may uncover further relevant information and enable you to open the door for more products.

Build confidence: the interest you show and the knowledge you gain through questioning help to build your customers’ confidence in you, and this in turn boosts your self-confidence.

Identify sales opportunities: you will be able to identify the products that suit each customer’s needs and wants.

Helps build rapport – good questions, build conversations.

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Why the Questions

You need to recognise the importance of establishing needs and work on developing an effective questioning style that will allow you to do this for each customer.

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Tips for building conversations

Always ask, never assume: making assumptions comes across as arrogant and can annoy people

Vary your questioning technique: this helps you to develop a conversation rather than a rapid-fire question and answer session

Stay in control: steer the conversation towards the outcome you want by recapping and signposting

Listen for opportunities and follow them up: don’t just follow a list of questions, base your next question on the information gained so far and if unexpected avenues open up, explore them

Don’t just ask questions: you also need to think ahead, listen to and analyse the customer’s answers and make notes to keep your records up to date sesh sukhdeo

Cross Selling

You need to be able to identify linking opportunities.

A customer has purchased a pair of shoes, you could cross sell by asking them if they would like polish and a waterproof spray at the time of the purchase.

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Up selling through questioning

Once you have established that a customer is interested in a particular product, it can be upgraded to a higher valued one, this can occur when you find out what level of the product suits their requirements.

and assessing if another product, service has additional features which may benefit the client.

For example, if you are selling travel insurance, you need to help the customer determine whether they need a basic policy or something more specialised.

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Features - Benefits - Advantage.

A features is a character of a product or service for example – a mobile phone may have a camera.

The benefit to the customer is they can take pictures when ever they want and send it to anyone instantly

Advantage – time saving, instant.

Always recap these as you talk to customers.

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Objections can arise when:

The product has no relevance to the customer

The customer doesn’t fully understand the product’s benefits

The sales timing is wrong

The customer feels uncomfortable with buying the product

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Objections can arise if customer feel

feel pressured

do not like the sales person’s style / approach

are distracted by what is happening around them

have pre-conceptions about the product or perhaps the company

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Question types

OpenClosedExtendingClarifyingLinkingComparativeLeading

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Conversations that sell

Knowing your outcome

It’s important that you know from the very beginning what outcome you want from a sales conversation, and you need to match this outcome to the customer’s needs.

Once you’ve done this, you can shape your conversation to achieve the outcome you want

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Fact Finding = explore

In a sales conversation it’s important that you use open questions to find out the primary need of the person you are talking to. However, you also need to delve a little deeper to find out their secondary or underlying needs and build a picture of the sort of person they are.

At the same time, you should try to build rapport and keep the conversation fresh and natural, without wasting time or going off the point.

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Building a Picture

When you’re on the phone, you don’t have any of the visual clues that can give you important information about the person you’re talking to.

That’s why it’s so important to ask questions that will build up a picture in your mind of the person you’re speaking to.

When you have a good picture of a person, you might be able to guess - without asking - things like their age, interests and some of their attitudes.

This helps you take an approach that suits their personality.

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Relationship Selling

Understanding how to develop loyalty in your customers will put you in a good position to anticipate their future needs, understand areas which may cause them concern and prevent any avoidable issues arising.

Relationship selling is key to developing loyal customers who may even become advocates for your business.

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The benefits of retaining customers

Increased sales: as customers get to know your company and are happy with what they are receiving, they will start to purchase other products and services

Lower costs: it costs more to win new customers through advertising and marketing than it does to work harder at keeping your existing ones

Word-of-mouth advertising: positive word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied customers is the cheapest form of advertising, but also the most effective

Easier for the customer: nobody wants to search for a new supplier every time they want to make a purchase, so if you can satisfy your customers, they will relax and begin to rely on you to provide the products they want

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How to influence Loyalty

Keep your promises: If you promise to do something for the customer - ring them back, send something in the post or get a colleague to call them – it’s up to you to make sure it happens.

Be willing to help: There is nothing more frustrating than speaking to someone who sounds uninterested in sorting out your problem.

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You could

– Use the customer’s name

– Listen, repeat and summarise the reason for the call

– Outline the next steps and actions that will be take

– Check that the customer understands what will happen next and why

– Ask if they have any further questions or problems

– Thank them for calling

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The steps to building customer loyalty

Customers don’t become loyal overnight; they gradually move through five stages, but only if you nurture them through each one.

Potential First time Repeat Loyal Advocate

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Loyalty and the buying cycle

A first time buyer will go through 5 stages.

– Awareness– Initial purchase– Post-purchase evaluation– Decision to repurchase– Repurchase

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The goals of cross selling

Due to the cost of attracting new customers, businesses are under pressure to increase revenue by cross selling products to their existing customers.

When it’s done correctly, cross selling actually adds to the relationship with the customer, rather than detracting from it. By providing customers with a wider range of products backed up with excellent service and customer satisfaction, you will actually help to retain them.

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Selling Solutions

To sell solutions you need to think of the value they offer your clients. The solutions you propose must match your customer’s needs and have a value.

Selling solutions is not difficult but it is important to listen and recap as you are going through the sales process. This ensures there is linkage throughout the communication process.

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Selling Solutions

To sell solutions you need to think of the value they offer your clients. The solutions you propose must match your customer’s needs and have a value.

Selling solutions is not difficult but it is important to listen and recap as you are going through the sales process. This ensures there is linkage throughout the communication process.

You may needs to alter your sales techniques for different situations

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Different Closing techniques

The direct approach, for example, “Do you want to go ahead?”

The alternative approach presents the customer with alternatives, for example, “Would you like the 3 or the 6 month notice account?”

The minor close approach poses open questions and if the customer agrees they have agreed to buy the product, for example, “Would you like it delivered to your home or your office?”

The assumptive approach, assumes the sale has been agreed, before it actually has, for example, “How would you like to pay, by Visa or MasterCard?”

The trial close approach can be used quite early into the sales conversation, for example, “If I can answer your concerns will you decide to go ahead?”

Or this is only for masters!!!!!

In other words you need to stop talking and be quiet. You can do this by resisting the urge to provide any more information, and simply wait for the customer to reply.

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Beware over selling

It’s important for you to be able to recognise when a customer is ready to buy, and to seize that moment to complete your sale.

Some agents get carried away at this point, and instead of closing the sale, they just keep talking.

Or they try to force the conversation into other areas that have not been discussed.

If you do this, you will bore your customers, and even risk losing them. Instead, once you have completed your questioning, you should

present a solution based on the information you gained

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Different types of objections

Logical – based on rational thinking.

Emotional - bad experience, what someone has said, perhaps dislike to what sales person has said.

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Pre-empt customer objections

The best way to overcome objections is to prevent them from arising in the first place.

For example, if you know that your product or service is more expensive than your competitors, it’s a good idea to face up to this early in your discussion.

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The fundamental principals to remember when answering objections

Answering objections directly

Keeping your answers clear and simple

Tailoring the answer to the type of person you are dealing with

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Make sure you

Gain commitment

Confirm the actions

Follow through if required

Communicate internally your success

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Happy Hunting

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Sesh_sukhdeo@yahoo.co.uk