SELLING SKILLS

BY DESMOND OLIVEIRA

CORPORATE DIMENSION BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SERVICES

© Corporate Dimension Business Management Services 2009

INDEX

© Corporate Dimension Business Management Services 2009

Topic Page

PART 1. Preparing to sell 3

The buying and selling processes 4

Development exercise 1. Good and bad selling 6
What makes a successful salesperson 7
Sales planning 9
Preparing a sales plan 12
Sales plan example 14
Development exercise 2. Producing a sales plan 20
Key activities for salespeople 21
Territory planning 24
Development exercise 3. Producing a territory plan 27
Preparing for the sales interview 28
Development exercise 4. Planning the sales interview 30

© Corporate Dimension Business Management Services 2009

PART 2. The sales interview 31

Structuring the sales call 3

Development exercise 5. Agenda setting 2
Questioning skills 3
Development exercise 6. 10 key questions 4
Effective listening skills 3
Development exercise 7. Listening skills 5
Identifying needs. Buyer behaviour 4
Development exercise 8. Buyer behaviour 0
Presenting the solution 4
Development exercise 9. Features, advantages and benefits 1
Dealing with objections 4
Development exercise 10. Dealing with objections 3
Closing the sale 4
Nine closing techniques 4
Development exercise 11. Closing techniques 4
Development exercise 12. Action planning 7
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© Corporate Dimension Business Management Services 2009

1
SELLING SKILLS
Welcome to selling skills, Volume 1 in the sales skills library. This manual has been written
especially for salespeople, sales managers and sales trainers. It contains valuable information
on selling and how to be a more effective salesperson.

The manual can be read like a book, or used as a source of reference material where specific
issues, or needs arise.

The range of titles in this series is:

Volume Title
1 Selling skills

2 Booking appointments by telephone

3 Negotiation skills

4 Presentation skills

5 Time management

6 Customer care

In each manual you will find information on each topic, exercises and checklists to help you
develop your sales skills. Sales managers and trainers will find this a useful source of material
for developing training sessions and individual coaching within the sales team.

Selling skills is structured in 2 parts:

• Preparing to sell
• The sales interview

We hope you enjoy Selling skills and find that it helps you to become a more effective and
successful salesperson.

2
 PART 1.

PREPARING TO SELL
In part 1 we will look at all the work that has to be put into place before you are ready to sell
to your customers. We will begin by trying to understand the buying and selling processes;
that is, what has to happen to both buyer and seller before the sale can take place.

We will look at sales planning and how to produce your own sales plan. We will then look at
Territory management and how to manage your selling time more effectively.

We will discuss prospecting for new sales leads and the planning issues that arise from this
vital sales activity and finally, in part 1, we will discuss pre-call planning before each sales
interview.

By the time you have finished part 1, you will have the knowledge and tools to be fully
planned and prepared for the face to face selling we will be looking at in part 2.

3
THE BUYING AND SELLING PROCESSES
Understanding what happens when people buy and sell

• In order to be successful in sales we need to understand the Sales Process, i.e. what is
happening during the sales call, and be able to control what is happening if we are to
become more proficient salespeople. We also need to be aware that there is a buying
process taking place at the same time

• During the sales process certain things have to happen before the sale can take place. In
order to be more effective in sales we need to understand both the sales and the buying
processes. This gives us more control and helps to increase our self-confidence

The Sales Process

• The sales process is effectively a problem solving process that takes part in four stages:

Stage 1 The salesperson identifies a problem or problems faced by the buyer, that could
possibly be solved by the purchase of the salesperson’s product or service. A
process of questioning and listening does this

Stage 2 The problem is clarified and quantified in the buyer’s mind so that it becomes an
immediate problem and has a high priority in the buyer’s hierarchy of
problems to be solved

Stage 3 The salesperson, having identified the need for the buyer to purchase a product or
service, presents, to the buyer, a solution that highlights the Features,
Advantages and Benefits of that product or service. This means that both
buyer and seller see the need to purchase and the buyer sees the purchase as
being a means to solving his or her problem

Stage 4 Having created a desire, in the buyer, to solve his or her problem by purchasing a
product or service, the salesperson gains the commitment of the buyer to go
ahead with the purchase. The sale is complete

• This process can take place over a period of time and may take more than one meeting
between buyer and seller. What this tells us is that, before the buyer is ready to buy, he or
she must see the purchase as a means of solving a problem. Therefore, before presenting
our products or services, we, as salespeople, have to understand the buyer’s problems by
asking questions and listening effectively

• Most salespeople talk too much and fail to listen effectively during their sales calls.
Salespeople can increase their effectiveness by asking questions in a structured way that
enables them to sell more efficiently and establish a greater rapport with existing and
potential customers

4
The Buying Process
By understanding what motivates customers we can be more successful in sales. By
putting ourselves into their shoes we can begin to understand their problems and add
real value to the sale by being seen as creative problem solvers rather than ’just
another rep!’ Here are some general principles:

1. People buy for their own reasons. In sales, we assume we know why people should
buy our products. There are usually technical or financial reasons for doing so, which
we assume will motivate the purchaser. Often, however, people buy for emotional
reasons which are much less logical. These can be summarised as Ego, Fear or Guilt
and are powerful motivating factors. The role of the salesperson is to identify the
reason for buying and then make it as easy as possible for the buyer to make the
purchase

2. People are not concerned about us or our problems. We all spend a large proportion of
our time thinking about ourselves. Most buyers are thinking, before making a
purchase, things like:

“How will this make me look?”

“Am I taking a risk?”

“Will it make my life easier?“

The buying decision is therefore often based on emotion rather than logic, so to be
most effective we need to find out people’s problems and feelings before attempting to
sell them our products or services

3. People don’t buy Products or Services. They buy what those products or services will
do for them, or the feelings they associate with owning the products or services in
question. Don’t sell the product. Sell what the product will do for the person making
the purchase

4. People resent and resist high pressure sales techniques. At some stage we all buy
products or services and all tend to feel the same about high pressure selling. It is
inefficient, unpleasant and does not encourage referrals or repeat business. The
quality of the salesperson is paramount and a professional, low pressure approach is
by far the most successful. However, this is not an easy option as low pressure selling
requires high degrees of skill and application

By understanding the problems of the people we sell to and by actively searching for
ways of solving those problems, we can become more successful in sales. The most
effective selling technique is ’making it easy for the other person to buy’. This sales
training manual will give you the skills to be a successful ’low pressure’ salesperson
who is seen, by his, or her customers as a creative problem solver and a business
partner.
5
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. GOOD AND BAD SELLING
Think of the salespeople you have bought from in the past. We are all buyers at some point
and experience good, bad and indifferent selling. List first of all, the things that good
salespeople do and then list the things bad salespeople do.

Good salespeople:

Bad salespeople:

6
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL SALESPERSON
Understanding the attributes that help to make salespeople successful

Successful salespeople tend to have certain things in common:

• They sell without having to resort to high pressure selling techniques

• They are friendly and have a relaxed selling style

• They put the customer at their ease and show a genuine interest in the customer’s needs
and problems by asking questions and listening effectively

• They try not to interrupt when the customer is talking

• They don’t put pressure on customers, or force them to buy products they either don’t
need, or can’t afford

• They try to identify the best solutions to customer problems

• They are well organised and achieve results

• They have a clear set of goals. They know what they want to achieve and how they are
going to do it

• They plan well and are flexible in their approach. They are able to amend their plans,
where necessary, as circumstances change

• They recognise the need to develop long term relationships with their existing customers,
while finding new customers on a planned, regular basis

• They understand the buying and selling processes

• They are able to generate referrals, as part of their sales approach

• They manage their time so that as much of their productive time, as possible, is spent in
selling situations

• They are aware of the different types of customer on their territory and their likely buying
patterns

• They are able to identify prospective customers and book appointments with them

• They are able to plan and prepare their sales calls effectively

7
• They are able to identify their customers needs by the effective use of communication skills

• They are able to present solutions to their customers needs, in a professional way, dealing
with objections and gaining commitment to proceed with the sale

• They are able to carry out their administrative tasks to a high degree of quality and
accuracy

Based on the above, what would you say are your major strengths as a salesperson and
what are your areas for personal development:

Strengths:

Areas for personal development:

8
SALES PLANNING
Some of the basics of planning that can help
salespeople achieve sales targets

• Most people in sales are set sales targets. These are clear objective measures of what needs
to be achieved. In order to achieve our targets we need to translate them from Volume
targets, expressed in units of products or services, or Financial targets expressed in revenue
or profit terms, into levels of sales activity

• It can be daunting to receive an annual or a quarterly target and we need therefore to break
this down into daily sales activity. The overriding principles that should affect our
approach to targeting are Key Ratios and the Pareto Principle

Key Ratios

• The amount you sell, in the medium to long term, is directly related to the number of
customers, or potential customers that you contact. Sales techniques help us to become
more proficient in sales; however, ratios exist that can help us predict how much sales
activity (input) is required to achieve a certain level of sales (output). Of course we can
never be totally sure if the next telephone call we make will result in an appointment being
made, or that the next sales call will result in an order. Over the medium to long term,
however, we will see ratios begin to emerge that will be fairly constant over time

• Two examples of key ratios that can affect your sales success:

Telephone Calls to Appointments made

Appointments made to Sales closed

The Pareto Principle

• This principle says that 80% of our business is likely to be generated by 20% of our
customers. We need therefore to devote a greater proportion of our time to our ’key’
accounts in order that we can make best use of their sales potential

• Let us look at a simple example of how key ratios can help us to break down targets into
sales activity. Let us assume, for the example that follows, that there is no repeat business
involved:

9
Example 1

Annual target

Average sales value

Number of sales required

Key ratio: Telephone calls : Appointments made

Key ratio: Appointments : Sales

 £350,000 £7,000

50 per annum 5:1

4:1
So, we are saying, on average, we need to make five telephone calls in order to book
an appointment. Of the appointments we carry out, on average, one sale results from
every four appointments, and the average sales value is £7,000

Therefore, we need to make:

200 appointments in order to make 50 sales (ratio 4:1) and in order to book those
appointments we need to carry out 1,000 telephone calls during the year (ratio 5:1).
This then has implications for our marketing efforts in that we need to find 1,000
potential customers to contact if we are going to achieve our target
Example 2

Annual Target: £350,000

Average Sales Value: £7,000

Existing Customers: £280,000 (80%)

New Business Required: £70,000 (20%)

In this example we are aware that 80% of our business is likely to come from existing
customers. Let us assume the key ratio for converting this business is 3:1 and the
conversion rate for new customers remains at 4:1 as in the previous example

In order to achieve targets we will need to make 40 sales to existing customers which,
with the 3:1 ratio, will require 120 appointments. To guarantee the revenue from new
business we will need to make 10 sales which will require 40 appointments. Therefore
we can begin to plan our sales activity more effectively based on historical data and
sensible assumptions
10
Lead Times

• Another important aspect of sales planning of which we need to be aware is lead times;
that is, the gap between our initial contact with a customer and the final agreement being
reached and the sale closed

• Lead times will vary between industries and can be anything between 1 week and 2 years.
What they do mean is that there will be a time lag between activity and results. If you work
to long lead times the results you achieve today may have been earned in previous months,
or even years

• Sales techniques can help reduce lead times by making the decision to purchase more
urgent and increasing potential customers’ general awareness of the benefits of our
products

• The main learning point for us all in sales is to keep our activity levels, that is the number
of customers we see, as high as possible, and to measure and understand our lead times so
that we can anticipate and programme into our activity sales that will occur, not just this
week, but also in the future

• We can also avoid the temptation of slowing down when our results are good. Lead times
mean that, by doing this, our results will suffer in the future. One of the secrets to sales
success is to achieve consistent levels of activity over the long term. If we do this, key ratios
and lead times will ensure our long term success

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PREPARING A SALES PLAN
Planning for sales success
All of us in sales, if we are to be truly successful, must recognise the need for sales
planning and be able to produce a sales plan for ourselves whether as salesperson, or
sales manager.

The sales planning cycle can be described as follows:

1. Set objectives
2. Identify resources
3. Produce plan
4. Implement plan
5. Review results and amend plan

Objectives need to be SMART

Specific
Measurab
le Agreed
Realistic
Time
bound

A simple example could be the objective to sell £100,000 worth of Product X in the
twelve months commencing 1 April. Other objectives could relate to market share,
market penetration, the proportion of turnover in relation to key accounts, sales
activity levels, profitability targets etc.

Resources need to be included in the sales plan, as it may be necessary to recruit or

bring in additional resources for particular targets to be met. Also production capacity
will need to be taken into consideration.

The plan itself needs to be flexible and to take into account any likely changes in the
market, unforeseen factors (such as staff turnover and recruitment) that reoccur and
any other external factors that could affect achievement of the overall objectives.

Once the plan begins to be implemented it needs to be reviewed on a regular basis

and changes made to the original plan as circumstances dictate. Remember, sales
plans cannot be written in stone and need to be flexible enough to deal with those
unforeseen circumstances that affect all businesses.
12
A typical sales plan should include the following sections:
SECTION DESCRIPTION

Sales Objectives Short, medium and long term objectives that relate to
the objectives of the overall business. Analysis of
sales strategy.
Resource This should include details of key players in the team,
s sales budgets, equipment etc.
Market Analysis A review of the market which looks at the market now
and in the future. This can include analysis of
competitor activity and an analysis of existing
Accounts.
Product Range The range of products or services available for sale, new
products to be introduced, old products to be
discontinued. The likely ratio of volumes of each
product that is expected to be sold.
Activity Analysis Review of targeted activity levels by salesperson and by
product. Statement of Key Ratios and average lead
times.
Training Plan A training needs analysis of the individual/team that
relates directly to objectives.
Resources Requirements Cost Benefits analysis of resources, manpower,
equipment, finance etc., required to achieve sales
objectives.
13
SALES PLAN. EXAMPLE: ABC PRINTING LIMITED

SECTION 1. Sales Objectives

My overall objectives for the year are to:

1. Achieve my sales target of £100,000, made up of £80,000 from my existing top 100
accounts and £20,000 from my potential customer list

2. Expand the range of services offered to my customers by aiming to sell across the range of
services offered by ABC. Target percentages being, Black and White copying 25%, Colour
copying 20%, Printing 35%, Design work 10%, other services 10%

3. To manage and maintain the database using resources from within the franchise and to add
100 new potential names to the database during the year

4. To contact all my top 20 accounts monthly and my other live accounts at least once every
2 months, with mailshots and details of special offers and promotions

5. To visit my top 50 accounts on a 6 weekly basis and to visit all live accounts at least every
12 weeks in order to identify business opportunities and sell across the range of services

6. To identify and put together a range of marketing activities during the year, that will
promote the ABC name throughout the region

14
SECTION 2. Resources
1. Resources available to me include:

i. My manager
ii. Support staff
iii. Database of existing and potential customers
iv. Marketing materials
v. Promotional offers, as agreed with my manager
vi. Freelance help with prospecting and follow ups
vii. Access to a company car

SECTION 3. Market analysis

Key issues affecting my market are:

1) 60% of my business is currently with 1 customer, Crodunn Limited

2) There is potential to expand our business within the educational and local authority
sectors
3) There are 6 direct competitors in our area, 2 of which present a real threat to our key
accounts
4) Most of our business has traditionally been with full colour printing and medium sized
black and white photocopying work. There are opportunities to develop more into areas
such as colour copying and design, and to go for the larger black and white copying jobs,
using the resources of neighbouring business partners with high volume copiers
5) Several larger businesses in the area have outsourced their photocopying and printing and
there are opportunities to further expand this market sector
6) The local authority has attracted 3 major businesses into the area in the last 4 years and
we need to be winning business from these companies who currently use competitors
7) We are aiming to concentrate more on Training Companies and Training Departments
within companies following our success with Delta training last year. Our aim is to
manage the production of their training materials and to hold the data in-house for quick
turnaround and amendment of the content of the training materials

15
SECTION 4. Product range
1) Current products and services offered by ABC are:

i. Black and white copying

ii. Colour copying
iii. Full colour printing
iv. Design services
v. Newsletter service
vi. Business cards and letterheads

2) Potential new products and services for 1998 include:

i. High volume encapsulation

ii. Outsourcing of high volume black and white copying iii.
Database management

3) The aim for 1998 is to achieve the following product mix:

i. Black and White copying 25%

ii. Colour copying 20%
iii. Full colour printing 35%
iv. Design work 10%
v. Other services 10%

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SECTION 5. Activity analysis
Key ratios achieved to date are:

1. Mailshots followed up with a telephone call 1:2

2. Telephone calls to appointments 1:3

3. Appointments to quotations received 1:2

4. Quotations received to sales achieved 1:2, existing, 1:3 new business

5. Customers booking a second order within 3 months 1:3

6. Average sales value (approx.) £1600.00 existing, £500.00 new business

7. Average lead time: 4 weeks

8. Target activity for 1998. 15 visits per week, 50% to existing accounts

17
Target Existing business

Average order value Orders required Conversion rates: Quotations : Orders Quotations to

generate Visits required

Potential business

Average order value Orders required Conversion rates: Quotations : Orders Quotations to

generate Visits required Total activity

200

240
£80,000

£1,600 50

1 : 2 100

£20,000

£500 40

1 : 3 120

440 per annum

£100,000
This allows for approximately 10 new business visits a week, assuming 44 working
weeks, of which around 50% are to see existing customers and 50% potential
customers. This leaves 5 visits per week to do follow up calls, given the target for total
activity is 15 visits per week.
18
SECTION 6. Training plan
1. Training to include attendance on the company Sales Training Programme, 2nd quarter
1999

2. Follow up training by my Sales Manager. 1 day per quarter

3. Attendance on internal Prontaprint training courses, 4 days in 1999

4. Attendance on external computer course at local college, 1st quarter 1999

SECTION 7. Resource requirements

1. Use of lap top computer to record activity and produce reports

2. Additional telesales support to follow up 100% of mailshots. 12 days

3. Budget to expand mailshots to existing customers, £500.00

4. Budget to fund additional prospecting activities, £275.00

5. Budget for research purposes, £50.00

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DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 2. PRODUCING A SALES PLAN

1. Using the above examples and plan outline produce your own sales plan.

2. Present the plan to your sales manager for feedback and agreement on implementation
and resource requirements

3. Review the plan on a 3 monthly basis, making any amendments as required.

NOTES:

20
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR SALESPEOPLE
Getting organised

• In order to be better organised, we need to identify the main tasks that need to be carried
out during the working week and prioritise them. Many salespeople fall into what is known
as the activity trap. This is where they measure their effectiveness by how hard they work,
rather than by how smart they work

• Also, we are all probably guilty of focusing the majority of our time on activities or tasks
that we enjoy, avoiding, or failing to tackle altogether, those things that we dislike doing,
or feel we can’t do well

• Examples of activities that we as salespeople often avoid include: planning and

preparation, administration, asking for referrals, cold calling, leaflet drops. Even if we do
tackle these tasks we often do them in an unplanned way which reduces their
effectiveness

• Successful salespeople recognise that to do the job well, they need to carry out a wide
range of selling and non-selling activities and the first step in this process is to break down
the sales job and prioritise the various tasks that make up the job

• This uses the principle of opportunity cost, which says that we are only able to carry out one
task at a time and that there is a limited number of hours available to us to carry out our
work

• Once we have identified the range of tasks available to us we then need to analyse them
in terms of their value to us and the priority we should be giving to them

• So, for example we all recognise the need to keep our records neat and tidy and up to
date. However, if we spend 3 hours per day carrying out this activity, we need to ask the
questions; "Is this the most effective use of my time?", "Am I spending too much, or too
little time on this activity?" and "What else could I be doing that could have a higher
payoff to me in terms of my achieving my sales results?"

• The process that we need to go through, if we are going to become better organised,
begins with looking at the selling job again and the amount of time and effort we are
putting in to the various aspects of our job

21
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR SALESPEOPLE
Breaking down the job into its’ constituent parts

• If we look at the salesperson’s role, it is possible to break this down into key activities. This
can help the salesperson organise his, or her time more effectively and get the most out of
the working day

Planning

Planning next week’s diary

Producing an annual and monthly sales plan
Planning the day’s calls
Meeting with manager to discuss targets and results
Pre-call planning
Researching potential customers
Analysing the existing client bank

Prospecting

Teleprospecting existing customers

Teleprospecting potential customers
Sending out mailshots
Asking for referrals
Visiting customer premises
Local advertising
Exhibitions
Cold calling from the telephone book
Contacting clubs and societies
Leaflet drops

Selling

First appointment. Fact finding

Follow up appointment to present a proposal
Follow up visit for decision
Telephone call for decision
Presentation to groups of potential customers

22
Administration \ Other

Office administration Preparing

reports Updating customer
records Attending meetings
Attending training courses
Travelling to appointments Time
spent between appointments
Cancelled appointments
Time management is a key issue for salespeople. Studies have shown that most
salespeople spend only a small proportion of their time in productive selling
situations. Here is an example:
A day in t h e life of a Salesperson
 O ther Activ itie s Sellin g
8% 5% Sm all
W aitin g in re c e p tion
6%
Custom er Inte r r u p tions
8%

C ar
Cold Canvassin
Travel
g 6%
41%

Hom e Planning
5%

Talk
8%
Lunch
13%
Time management should mean that the salesperson spends the maximum amount of time
carrying out high payoff activities

23
TERRITORY PLANNING
Organising and managing a sales territory

• The purpose of territory planning is to organise the work of the salesperson, minimising
the amount of travelling time to, from and between sales calls, thus increasing the amount
of selling time available

• Territory planning becomes more of an issue where the territory is geographically large,
however, even salespeople with relatively compact territories can benefit from territory
planning

• Depending on the salesperson and the territory, travelling time can take up to 50% of the
available selling time. This, more than any other area, can improve productivity and
hence results

• One principle is to ensure that all parts of the territory are covered on a regular basis

• Another is that, wherever possible, the bulk of travelling time takes place outside prime
selling times

• Planning should be flexible enough to allow for cancellations and appointments made by
customers outside the normal plan. However, wherever possible appointments should be
made to fit in with the territory plan, rather than vice-versa

• The salesperson should have a list of potential calls that can be made at relatively short
notice, so that if an appointment has to be made outside the normal plan, there are other
potential calls or activities that can be carried out in the same locality

• The amount of time spent in each part of the territory should reflect the level of existing
business and the potential for future business development, in line with the overall sales
plan

24
TERRITORY PLAN
An example of a simple territory plan and how it can be managed

• Here is one example of a territory plan, where the territory is divided geographically
and a day of the week allocated to each sub territory. This gives flexibility on Friday to
follow up any sales leads that are outstanding, while enabling the salesperson to book
alternative appointments in an adjoining segment, if a particular day, or the Friday, is
not suitable

TERRITORY PLAN
So, for example, if a customer agrees to a Monday appointment, in the top part of this
segment, then wishes to rebook, there are the alternatives to book for the following
Monday, the Friday, or possibly the Tuesday, when the salesperson may be relatively
close by

This also ensures that appointments are focused, initially, Monday to Thursday
which, hopefully, does not leave the salesperson coming to the end of the week with a
substantial amount of his or her target still to meet

Prior knowledge of these will give the salesperson early indication of the number of
potential customers who need to be identified and contacted and this will help in the
preparation of a Prospecting plan
25
• Steps that need to be taken to develop the territory plan:

– Look at the overall territory

– Identify where the existing clients live
– Identify areas with potential for development
– Divide the area geographically into 4, or more segments
– Allocate a day to each segment

• Where the territory is large and it requires more segments than you can cover in 4 days,
allocate a number to each segment, depending on the ideal call frequency, then divide up
the territory and give it a day number

• For example: say you have a customer base of 300 customers, located nation-wide. If the
ideal call frequency is 8 weeks for some and 4 weeks for others, we can look at the 8 week
period and divide it into 40 working days. An 8 weekly call would then be allocated a
number between 1 and 40, say 15 and a 4 weekly call would be allocated 2 numbers, say,
12 and 32

• As we can see on the diagram below, day 15 is a Friday, 3 weeks into the journey cycle, day
12 is a Tuesday in the third week and day 32 is also a Tuesday in the seventh week

• These numbers indicate the day within the call cycle when a particular customer would
receive a sales visit

WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Monday 1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36
Tuesday 2 7 12 17 22 27 32 37
Wednesday 3 8 13 18 23 28 33 38
Thursday 4 9 14 19 24 29 34 39
Friday 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

8 WEEKLY CALL CYCLE

26
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 3.
PRODUCING A TERRITORY PLAN
The purpose of this exercise is to begin the territory planning process, by looking at
your territory and identifying:

– The geography of the territory

– Where your existing customers are
– Which parts of the territory hold the most potential for new business
– How the territory can be split into sectors, as in the previous examples, with
a
day allocated to each sector, Monday to Thursday, or Monday to
Friday. – The territory’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Using flip chart pads and pens, prepare a 5-minute presentation on your territory and
your territory plan. The presentation will be made to your manager, who will be given
the opportunity to ask questions at the end of your presentation
27
PREPARING FOR THE SALES INTERVIEW
• Having booked the appointment to see a potential customer it is important for us to plan
and prepare effectively for the sales interview, or sales call, as we will refer to it in the
manual. One important aspect of planning is the setting of sales call objectives

• Sales Call Objectives should be set prior to the call taking place. To be effective your
sales call objectives should be:

– measurable
– challenging
– realistic
– relevant

and is important to have two objectives for each call

• Primary Objective What you wish to achieve from the call. This is your main objective,
such as, ‘to sell a specific product to the customer’.

• Secondary Objectives These are ‘back-up’ objectives in case you fail to meet your
primary objective. For example, ‘to gain the customer agreement to a follow-up call, in
three months, to review their position’, or ‘to update the customer on our existing product
range’

• By having both sets of objectives you are able to be successful even if your primary
objective is not achieved

• Being well prepared also means having a supply of the appropriate literature plus any
equipment or sales aids that you will require to carry out the call successfully. Also, before
you go into the call, think of the person you are about to visit. What do you know about
them? Based on the information you have, think about things like:

What questions do I need to ask?

What kind of products is this person most likely to need?

What would motivate this person to buy those products?

What would I be looking for from the sales call, if I were the customer?

What assumptions can I make, before the call that can be tested out during the call?

28
Questions will tend to fall within the following categories:

The contact
The organisation
Current supplier
Problems
Needs
The decision making process
Competition
Finance

Finally, think success! Successful people often visualise a positive outcome before making the
actual call. Think positively and imagine yourself after the call is over, with a positive result.
You will not always be successful, but thinking positively will make you successful more often
29
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 4.
PLANNING THE SALES INTERVIEW
• Write below a list of things to do prior to carrying out your sales call. Include a list of
literature and equipment you may need

30
 PART 2.

THE SALES INTERVIEW

In part 2 we will look at the face to face sales interview and how to establish and keep control
of the sales process.

Areas we will cover include structuring the sales call, asking questions and effective listening
skills, identifying needs and presenting our products and services.

We will then look at dealing with objections and then look at closing techniques and how we
can become more effective closers.

31
STRUCTURING THE SALES CALL
Using a structure to gain control

• When selling, face to face, we need to be in control of the Sales Call without dominating
the interview and making the other person feel out of control. In order to achieve this we
work to a structure

• Structuring the sales call is important because

– it gives us confidence
– it gives the other side confidence in us
– it provides a reference point should the call move away from the structure
– it keeps us in control

• The structure we will recommend is simple and can actually be used for any product or
service that is being sold. The structure is:

Open the Call Set the

Agenda Ask Questions
Identify Needs Present
the Solution Gain
Commitment

• Looking at the structure in more detail:

Open the Call

• This should be kept to a realistic timescale. The purpose is to introduce yourself to your
customers and establish rapport before moving into the business part of the call. Avoid
being too familiar at this stage unless you know the customer well.

Set the Agenda

• This phase signals to the other side that you are doing business. The purpose is to put you
in control and establish how the sales interview will be structured. It also gains you the
right to ask questions. An example of an agenda statement could be:

Thank you for seeing me today Mr Smith. As you know, I represent ABC Limited.
At ABC, we offer a wide range of services and in order for me to identify whether
any of these might be of benefit to you I need to begin by asking you a few questions.
Is that okay?

32
• Once you have gained the customer’s agreement ask for their input by saying something
like:

Is there anything in particular you would like to discuss at today’s meeting?

• This gives the customer confidence in you and the opportunity to contribute to the
meeting. It can also identify specific needs early on in the call

Ask Questions

• Selling is about identifying and then solving problems. The next stage therefore is to ask
questions in order to identify and explore customer problems

Identify Needs
• The process of asking questions will clarify the customer’s problems in his or her mind and
give you a clear idea on whether a feature or features of your product could solve those
problems and satisfy the customers’ needs

Present the Solution

• Having clarified the customer’s problems and identified needs, present the Features,
Advantages and Benefits of your own product in such a way that the solution meets the
needs of the customer

Gain Commitment
• Having presented a solution that meets the customer’s needs the next phase is to gain
commitment, from the customer, to go ahead or else for some future action that will move
you nearer towards the sale being made. You may well meet with objections at various
stages of the sales process and techniques will be developed for dealing with objections
later in the programme

• The next stage is to practise using the sales structure and become familiar with this
approach, so that it becomes second nature.

• The structure takes into account that there may be more than one sales visit made before
the actual sale takes place. At each stage the salesperson should seek some commitment
from the customer to advance the sale to the next stage in the process.

33
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 5. AGENDA SETTING
• Using the example on the previous two pages, write down your agenda statement for two
types of call; new business, with a customer you have just met and existing business, with a
customer you know well.

• Remember, the purpose of the agenda is to gain control of the meeting, agree what is going
to be discussed and earn you the right to ask questions.

NEW BUSINESS CALL

EXISTING CUSTOMER

When you have written your agenda statements, you will be asked to practice their use with
your manager, or a colleague. After the exercise is over, give each other feedback on the
effectiveness of your agenda statements

34
QUESTIONING SKILLS
How to become a more effective communicator

• In order to improve our sales techniques we need to be aware of our skills as

communicators. The main communication skills we need to develop are:

– Asking Questions –
Effective Listening

Asking Questions

• When we are in sales situations we need to develop rapport with the customer early on in
the conversation. Selling can be a stressful occupation both for buyers and sellers. Good
communication reduces the stress

• Our communication skills, therefore, enable us to create a positive relationship early on in

the sales call. The problem with most sales people is that they talk too much and don’t
listen to what the customer is saying. Many sales people don’t give the customer
opportunities to speak during the sales call. This is often due to nerves or lack of
confidence.

• One key point about communication is that most people are unaware of a lot of what you
say but are very aware of how you say it.

• The first point to learn in becoming a more effective communicator is to learn how to
speak and listen effectively.

speak a bit more slowly

sound friendly and positive
give the customer a chance to contribute to the conversation
listen to what the customer says
put yourself in the customer’s shoes
take your time and relax

• The most effective way to be in control of a sales call is to ask questions. Most people feel
the way to control the call is to present information. This is not the case. If you are
presenting information you should always aim to finish on a question such as: ‘How do you
feel about that?’ or ‘Is that what you were looking for?’ and so on

35
• We need information from customers if we are going to be truly effective in sales.
Information comes in various forms:

– FACTS

– OPINIONS AND ATTITUDES

– IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS

It is necessary to develop constructive questioning techniques that achieve results and
lead to greater success. There are different types of questions that we can use, some of
which are more effective than others.
For
example
:
Effective Open Less Effective
questions Closed Leading questions
questions Follow-up Multi questions
questions Unclear questions
Open Questions

• Open questions are useful because they enable us to do several things:

Establish rapport
Open up particular topics
Discover how customers feel

• Open questions are those which cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, but require
the customer to give more information. They generally begin with words like ‘how’ and
‘what’ or ‘tell me’ and have the effect of ‘opening’ the customer up.

• Examples of open questions:

“How did you first hear about us?” “What made you decide

to invest in a Personal Pension?” “Tell me, what is the best

time for us to call and see you?” “Who else would benefit

from being at our meeting?”

36
• These open questions bring out facts, opinions and suggestions from the customer. These
are particularly useful in sales when customers are uncommunicative and not very
forthcoming.

Closed Questions

• Closed questions can be equally useful in the sales process because they enable us to gain
specific information. Closed questions bring responses that arm us with facts or specific
yes/no opinions.

• For example:

“Did you remember receiving our literature?”

“How old are you?”

“Do you still live at 25 London Road?”

Follow-up Questions

• Effective listening can involve the use of follow-up questions. The objectives of asking
follow-up questions are as follows:

To show interest and encourage the customer to keep talking.

To increase the quality and quantity of information already gained.

To confirm understanding of information already gained.

• For example, by responding with “really?” or “... and then?”, you encourage the customer
to continue by actively showing interest in what he, or she, is saying.

• Examples of follow-up questions

“So, you changed the policy last year. Why was that?” “You say

you weren’t happy with the service. What happened?” “You

mentioned efficiency. How important is that to you?” “Why?”

37
Questions to be avoided

• Leading Questions:

“You do want to see our representative don’t

you?” “This is just what you’ve been looking

for isn’t it?”

Multi Questions:

“What time will be most convenient, who else will be there and how can I find
London Road?”

Unclear Questions:

“How have things been since we last met?”

“Do you know your IB maturity date?”

During the sales process we ask questions and listen in order to identify needs. A
common fault among salespeople is to ask a question, listen to the customer’s reply
and then sell a benefit

For example:
Salesperson: “How important is your long-term financial security?”
Customer: “Quite important. I don’t currently have a company pension or
any life assurance policies.”
Salesperson: “No problem. We can offer ....”
and the salesperson launches into a presentation.
It is more effective to spend time analysing the customer’s problem in more depth so
it becomes more specific and more immediate. This is where follow-up questions are
most important:
For example:

“How do you feel about not having a pension?”

38
“How will that effect you in 20 years time?”

“What problems will this cause you?”

“How will it affect other members of the family?”

These questions clarify the problem in the mind of the customer and increase the
likelihood of the sale taking place.
39
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 6. 10 KEY QUESTIONS
• Prepare a list of 10 key questions that you could ask during the questioning phase of the
sales call. Try to come up with a combination of open and closed questions.

• Remember the areas that we said our questions would cover: The contact, the organisation,
current supplier, problems, needs, the decision making process, competition and finance.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

40
EFFECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS
A guide to more effective listening

• Listening can be difficult in face to face situations. There are a number of barriers to
effective listening of which we need to be aware.

– Listener has pre-conceived ideas.

– Listener thinks he/she knows more than the speaker.

– Listener is thinking about something else.

– Listener is tired or uncomfortable.

– Listener is afraid of the speaker (or envious, prejudiced, or just not interested).

– Listener is anxious to input his/her own ideas.

– The person speaking has a communication problem, mumbling, using jargon, has
a heavy accent.

– There is external noise or interruptions.

• The techniques we can use to improve our listening skills in sales are verbal and non
verbal.

Verbal

• Verbal techniques that improve our listening skills and help us gain a better understanding
of what is being said include:

– Clarifying –
Confirming

Clarifying

• In order to increase our understanding of what is being said, we need to make it clear by
asking for more details.

“You say that evenings are a difficult time for you. What times in particular are
inconvenient?”

41
 “You mentioned some problems you had last year. Can I ask what they were?”

“You haven’t time to see anyone at the moment. When would be a convenient time
for someone to call?”

Confirming

• Instead of asking questions to clarify what is being said we can state our understanding and
check it with the customer’s by asking for confirmation.

“The person you spoke to before said you needed to review your system. Is that
correct?”

“You are saying at present you feel you have no further requirement. Is that the case?”

“So, you would prefer someone to call in the afternoon. Is 2 o’clock convenient?”

Non-Verbal

• Non-verbal techniques that encourage rapport and give ’signals’ to the speaker include:

– Smiling warmly

– Nodding the head

– Making regular eye contact

– Sitting still in a relaxed position

– Changing facial expression in line with what is being said

– Making notes

• All of these can be used to good effect, however, for obvious reasons, these should not be
taken to extremes.

• These techniques demonstrate you are paying attention and value what the customer has to
say. All effective listening techniques need to be practised. With practice, you can become
a better listener and therefore, a more competent sales person.

42
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 7. LISTENING SKILLS
• Try this exercise to help improve your listening skills. Sit down with a colleague and begin
one at a time, by telling each other how you arrived at work this morning.

• The person who is listening should do so in 3 ways:

1. Using no verbal or non-verbal techniques.
2. Using non-verbal techniques only.
3. Using verbal and non-verbal techniques.
This will demonstrate the importance of developing both verbal and non-verbal
techniques and how they can improve rapport with our customer.

Write down how you felt at each

stage: Stage 1 : No Techniques

Stage 2 : Non-Verbal Only

Stage 3 : Verbal and Non-Verbal

43
IDENTIFYING NEEDS. BUYER BEHAVIOUR
Understanding why people buy in different ways

• The sales process involves the salesperson and customer, together, working through a
problem solving process that results in both sides achieving their objectives and the
sale being made
Initially the salesperson opens the call, sets an agenda and asks questions. The purpose
of this phase of the sales call is to seek out problems that the customer may have that
could potentially be solved by the purchase of one or more of the salesperson’s
products, and to clarify those problems in the mind of the customer

Once the customer sees the problem clearly, it temporarily becomes top of his or her
agenda and if the salesperson is able to prove that his or her product provides a
solution to the problem, then a sale can take place

This process of identifying customer needs is vital to the sales process. However, we
also need to be able to gauge how quickly different customers will buy and the
amount of information and detail they will require before making a decision. We do
this by studying their personal buying behaviour

Some buyers will buy more quickly than others and require varying degrees of
information before making the decision to purchase. As salespeople we need to be
aware that we must allow the buyer to buy in whatever way he or she feels most
comfortable. This approach to selling is aimed at understanding the buying process and
making it easy for the people, to whom we sell, to buy from us

People who buy quickly tend to enjoy power and authority and are motivated by being
in charge. They have high achievement needs and will typically be involved in
several projects at once. They tend to become bored or frustrated if presented with a
lot of detailed information and prefer brief information summaries to detailed
proposals. They can favour quick results and are often willing and able to give
commitment on the day rather than needing a lot of time to think things through
People who buy slowly are less motivated by being in charge and more concerned
about thinking things through in a logical way before making a decision. They do not
respond well to pressure and resist being forced into a quick decision. They will tend
to ’shop around’, if only to confirm the validity of their decision to buy from a
particular supplier. They require detailed proposals or quotations and will often call
the salesperson back to discuss items of detail before making what will often be a
shared decision
44
• Within these two extremes will fall most of the people with whom we come into contact.
The general principles in understanding the way people buy are:
1. We need to adapt our selling strategy to the buyer’s preferred buying strategy.
 2. Our presentations, in terms of their length and detailed analysis, will vary for
different buyer types.

3. Where a written proposal is required it will need to be biased towards the

needs of the buyer, rather than being in a standard format.

4. The right time to close the sale will depend on the buyer’s preferred buying
style.

People generally have two basic kinds of needs.

– Personal Needs
– Organisational Needs
Personal Needs relate to the individual and are not necessarily associated with the
person’s occupation. These are:
Power The need for power and influence over others
Achievement The need to achieve success
Order The need for order and precision
Safety The need to avoid risks
Recognition The need for recognition from friends, colleagues,
neighbours
Affiliation The need to belong and be part of a group
People can exhibit combinations of these personal needs and some combinations work
well such as ‘Achievement and Recognition’ whereas others can cause problems such
as ‘Power and Safety’.
45
Organisational Needs relate to less personal aspects of the buying decision.
Finance The financial implications of buying decisions.
Image How a product or service impacts on the person’s
image.
Performance Productivity and performance issues.
So, for example, you may be selling to people who are concerned with the
performance of your product while also having order and safety needs. This means
they will need a slow paced, logical presentation that minimises risk and gives them
confidence that their performance needs are going to be met.
46
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 8. BUYER BEHAVIOUR
Write down information on the Organisational and personal needs of 3 of your customers.
How does it affect the way they buy, and how should your selling strategy change with each
one?

Customer:

Organisational needs:

Personal needs:

Customer:

Organisational needs:

Personal needs:

Customer:

Organisational needs:

Personal needs:

47
PRESENTING THE SOLUTION
Selling Features Advantages and Benefits

• There comes a point, during the sales process, when the salesperson needs to present the
solution that meets the customers’ needs. Presentations can relate to products or services
or the company itself.

• During the sales process it is important to:

– Sell the concept of buying the product

– Sell their company as the natural choice of provider

• Many salespeople fall down because they raise awareness about the need to buy a particular
product/service, then fail to sell their company. This can lead to shopping around for the
cheapest option which may not actually met the clients’ buying needs.

• When salespeople present information, they tend to present features of their products or
company:

“Our company is market leader”

“This product has flexible payment options”

“Our company has been established for 100 years”

“Our pension plan is the most flexible on the market”

and the reaction of most potential customers is to say, to themselves, “So what?” Let us look
at how a number of different products could be described. Read the examples overleaf and
decide which is the most persuasive.

48
This car telephone has a Because this telephone has a
“hands-free” facility “hands-free” facility you can
use it safely while the car is

in motion.
Our calculator has a solar Because it has a solar battery
our calculator can run
battery indefinitely in normal
daylight.
Our computer is IBM Because it is IBM compatible
compatible our computer can use the
widest range of software
available.
Most people find that the second style of statements is more
persuasive
What is the common factor in the second type of statements which makes them seem
more persuasive than the first? Each of the first statements is a neutral description – a
fact or a piece of information about the product. In selling, such statements are called
FEATURES
A FEATURE describes some characteristic of a product or service. Features are
relatively neutral, both in their content and in their effect on the buyer. In fact, the
second set of examples goes beyond simple product characteristics. It shows how a
characteristic, or FEATURE, can be used and applied. Such statements are called
ADVANTAGES.
AN ADVANTAGE describes how a product, or a product feature, can be used or can
help the buyer. ADVANTAGES, as we have seen, are more persuasive than
FEATURES. Most ADVANTAGES can be expressed in the form:

“Because of ... (feature) you can ... (advantage)”

49
• So, if the FEATURE is:

“This policy has a flexible maturity date.” An ADVANTAGE could be:

“Because the policy has a flexible maturity date you can choose the best time,
based on your personal circumstances, for the policy to mature.”
But there is one way for a seller to describe the produce which is even more
persuasive than using advantages. People buy because they have NEEDS. If the seller
can relate the product specifically to those needs, then there is a high probability of
making a sale. Statements which show how the buyer’s needs can be met by product
features, and advantages, are called BENEFITS
BENEFITS are the most powerful way in which a seller can describe the product. A
Benefit describes how a feature or advantage of a product can meet a specific need
the buyer might have for that product. By having a clear understanding of the Buyers’
needs we can sell the particular benefits of the product that meet those needs

You will recall we have spent time in the sales call asking questions in order to
identify needs. Using the examples, above, of the carphone, the calculator and the
computer, let us say that during the sales calls that took place the following answers
were received during the ’asking questions’ phase of the call.

“I need to be able to respond quickly when customers contact me on the

carphone but I am also concerned about the safety aspects of driving and using
the phone at the same time.”
“I like the look of your calculator but I find it expensive to run my current machine as it
gets through a lot of batteries.”

“I am looking for an industry standard computer system and I need to be sure that I
can choose from a wide range of software for our accounting and stock control
requirements.”
During the presentation phase of the call we can sell Features Advantages and
Benefits to link our presentation to the actual needs described by the customer earlier
in the sales call.
50
 For example:

Because our car has a hands-free facility you can be confident that if a customer calls you in
the car you can respond to the call quickly and safely.

Because it has a solar battery, our calculator can run indefinitely in normal daylight, which
means that you will not need to worry about the cost of replacement batteries.

Because it is IBM compatible, our computer can use the widest range of software available,
so you can guarantee that your particular accounting and stock-control needs will be met.
Benefits relate to the individual. They say how the features and advantages will affect
the individual and are therefore much more persuasive. Most people are thinking
“What is in this for me?” Benefits describe what is in it for the individual customer
and reflect feelings of confidence, well-being and peace of mind
51
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 9.
FEATURES ADVANTAGES AND
BENEFITS
Write a brief 3 minute description of your company. Use Features Advantages and
Benefits as if you were describing the company to a friend or potential customer.
Present this to your manager once it is complete.
52
DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS
Dealing with objections in a positive way

• During the sales process most people will raise objections. Objections are raised for many
reasons.

they want to get rid of you

they are not convinced
they feel pressurised
they are not convinced about your claims
they haven’t yet made up their mind
they have misunderstood something
There are different emotions that come into play when a customer raises an objection
depending on what the objection is and how it is raised. We can feel:

– frustrated
– angry
– confused
– irritated
– worried
– frightened

and this can lead to us losing control

Most people when faced with an objection tend to react by making a statement that
often, proves the customer wrong. This is a bad tactic since none of us like to be
wrong and all of us hate to be proved wrong. This method, therefore, of responding to
an objection with a statement of fact is unwise since it puts the customer in the wrong
frame of mind

Rather than attacking our customer’s beliefs or opinions we should try to get them on
our side. The golden rule should be; whatever the objection is you should never
openly contradict a customer. It may be that the customer has misunderstood
something you have said previously or maybe he feels it is his or her duty to question
some of your claims about your product or service in order to test their validity

Whatever the objection and whatever the circumstances the least powerful way to
answer a sales objection is with a statement of fact.
53
There are several basic ground rules that can be used to answer any sales objection. These
are:

1. Listen to the objection.

2. Check that you have understood the objection.
3. Answer the objection.
4. Advance the sale.

1. Listen to the objection

Resist the temptation of interrupting the customer. You may have heard the objection
a hundred times before but not from this particular customer. It may also be that the
customer has more than one objection, or that this particular objection is slightly
different than the ones you usually hear. By listening you show the customer you are
interested in his or her problems and enhance your own professionalism. It also gives
you time to think of a way of answering the objection.

2. Check that you have understood the objection

It is very easy in the heat of the moment to mishear what your customer has said and
begin to answer the wrong objection. It could also be that when you test your
understanding of the objection you find that your customer has an objection that is
fairly trivial and can be handled with ease.

You could say something like:

“So if I understand you correctly Mr Smith what you are saying is ... Is that correct?”

3. Answer the objection

Once you fully understand the nature of the objection then it can be answered in
different ways depending on whether it is

– a misunderstanding by the customer

– disbelief over claims you are making
– a product disadvantage

54
Misunderstanding
Where the objection is based on a misunderstanding of something you have said then you
must:

– take responsibility for the misunderstanding –

give information to clarify the true position – gain
agreement to proceed

For example the customer says:

“I don’t wish to see anyone from your company as I am working full-time and can’t afford to
take time off work during the day.”

The customer has clearly misunderstood the fact that someone will be available to call in the
evening. In cases of misunderstanding,

– accept responsibility for the misunderstanding even if it isn’t your fault –

put the customer right – advance the sale

“I obviously haven’t made myself clear Mr Smith. I will be pleased to call at any time in the
evening to suit yourself. I will actually be in your area on Thursday. Would 7.30 be
convenient or would you prefer a slightly earlier time?”
Disbelief
This occurs where you have made a statement and the customer does not believe you,
or at least doubts some of the claims you have made. One method of handling this
kind of objection in a non-threatening way is to use the ’feel, felt, found’ method:

For example:

“I don’t think it will be worth my time seeing you.”

“I understand how you feel Mrs Smith. Other people have felt exactly the same as you
and were uncertain at first how a visit could benefit them. What they found was that 20
minutes time invested in looking at their financial requirements was very beneficial
and gave them much greater confidence for the future.”
Product Disadvantage
This occurs where there is a feature of your product or service that is genuinely less
advantageous than a feature of a competitor’s product or service. For example, the
55
customer could say: “We use a local company with an office in the high street.” There
is a disadvantage here because you don’t have a similar office in this ___location. This is a
genuine disadvantage
We overcome this by stating the advantages of dealing with your company, in the
hope that the advantages will outweigh any disadvantages. This is often called the
’Balance Sheet Method’. To do this successfully you need to be aware of your main
selling points as a company and what service you can provide that is not provided by
others
56
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 10. DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS
Working with your manager, or a colleague, think of the six most common objections
your customers will raise. List these on the worksheet provided and your ways of
overcoming them, using the techniques we have discussed.
 THE 6 MOST COMMON OBJECTIONS
Objection What you should say:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

57
CLOSING THE SALE
Putting the closing stages into perspective

• Closing the sale is not a skill that can be learned in isolation from the rest of the sales
process. Closing is one element in a chain of events that begins with the sales person
planning and preparing for the call effectively. During the sales interview various stages
occur and different ‘labels’ can be attached to each stage.

• What actually happens during the sales process is that the salesperson

– Opens the sales interview and sets an agenda.

– Asks questions that help identify the buyers’ needs.
– Presents the features and benefits of products that satisfy those needs.
– Overcomes any objections the buyer might raise.
– Closes the sale by gaining the agreement of the buyer to make the purchase.

• This is a very simplified summary of a complex process that requires a high degree of skill
on the part of the salesperson.

• The most important Principles therefore when looking at Close the Sale are:-

1. Closing the Sale is an integral part of the sales process

This means that closing techniques in themselves are not enough to ensure success, if
the other parts of the sales process have been neglected. Before a buyer will place an
order with you, he or she will have to see a need for your product and be convinced
that your particular product represents the best solution to the problem represented by
that need. That is, the cost is reasonable, they have confidence in your ability to
deliver your promises and so on.

2. No salesperson ever closed every sale

Everyone who has ever sold professionally has had to get used to living with rejection.
A good salesperson will always be rejected more times than he or she is successful. In
fact if this is not the case the salesperson probably isn’t trying hard enough. The secret
is to ‘learn to live with rejection’. Every time you fail, you move closer to the time you
will succeed.

58
3. Selling is a ‘numbers game’

Given a ‘basic’ level of skill in sales techniques, the amount you sell is directly related
to the number of calls you make. The more customers you see, therefore, the more
business you will close.

4. Certain key ratios apply to your sales activity

By measuring your sales performance over a period of time you will understand more
fully the key ratios that apply to your business.

Examples of these could be:

1. Appointments booked to Number of Telephone calls made.
2. Number of successfully ‘closed’ calls to Number of ‘cold’ calls made.
3. Number of successfully ‘closed’ calls to Number of ‘enquiry’ calls made.
4. Number of successfully ‘closed’ calls to Number of presentations made etc.

In sales, these ratios vary depending on the industry, the products and how the
products are sold. The key learning point here is that these ratios will tend not to
change much over time and can be used in planning individual activity in order to
exceed sales targets.

Also by being aware of the relative success of different kinds of calls you will be able to
plan your activity more effectively by spending the maximum amount of time on your
potentially most productive sales activities.

5. The right time to close is when the customer is ready to buy

Closing tends to happen towards the end of the sales call but don’t assume this will
always be the case. If the customer wants to buy two minutes into your sales
presentation then you should get commitment straight away. There may be more
information you need to give, however, having gained commitment the customer will
be more relaxed and less likely to raise objections at a later stage.

6. Look for more than one opportunity to close the sale

There will be several occasions during the sale when the customer is ready to buy.
There will also be more than one opportunity for you to close the sale.

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Just because the customer says ‘no’ now, it doesn’t mean it won’t be ‘yes’ in ten
minutes’ time. ‘No’ can mean various things:

– Not on the terms you describe

– Not at the moment
– Not in your timescale
– Not at that price
– Convince me further
– I’m getting interested but I need more information

7. Buyer resistance is natural and should be expected

During the sales process the buyer is under as much pressure as the salesperson. The
buyer is often thinking about the consequences of agreeing to your proposal. The
buyer may be thinking:

– “Does this represent value for money?”

– “What will my wife think?”
– “Are they as reliable as she says they are?”
– “He says they can achieve significant growth. Is that true?”
– “Is her product better than her competitor?”
– “Can I afford the monthly payments?”

Often when the buyer hesitates during the closing stages he or she is seeking
reassurance from the salesperson in a consultative, non threatening way, that the
decision that is about to be made, is a good decision.

8. Buyers seldom ask you for the order

Most buyers rely on the salesperson to make the buying process easy for them.
However, they rarely ask for the order outright so the most effective and most obvious
closing technique, having gone through the several stages of the call, is to ask the
buyer if he or she wishes to place an order. By this stage, if you have carried out the
other stages of the call, it is likely the customer will be ready to buy, but more
importantly, you have earned the right to ask for the order. It is a fact, however, that
around 70% of sales calls end with the salesperson failing to ask for the order. This is
due to the salesperson’s fear of rejection. We will look next at ways of overcoming this
problem.

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NINE CLOSING TECHNIQUES
The purpose of this section is to look at nine ways of closing the sale. Any examples
that are given will be general. Write down, for the closing techniques indicated,
examples in your own words:
1. Ask for the order

It has been estimated that “7 out of every 10 presentations end without the salesperson
asking for the order”. Of the 3 salesmen that do ask for the order, 2 give up after the second
refusal.

Having presented to your customer in a professional way you have the right to ask for the
order and the customer expects you to do so. This technique alone will improve your sales
results and give you more confidence in the selling situation.

2. The Assumptive Close

By assuming that the order is being placed you can remove the responsibility for decision-
making away from the buyer. This uses the buyer’s natural inertia.

The assumptive close uses words like ‘will’ and ‘when’

e.g. “This will solve a lot of problems when it is installed.”

“When will be the best time to deliver?” “Will 4 units be
sufficient to meet your requirements?”

3. The Alternative Close

This close gives the buyer the choice between 2 alternatives both of which have been chosen
by yourself

e.g. “Do you require delivery Tuesday or will next week be more convenient?”
“Will you take the option of alloy wheels or do you prefer central locking?”
“Would you prefer the green or the red?”

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4. Closing on a small issue

Often the buyer finds it easier to make small decisions than large ones. However, having
made the smaller decision the larger one becomes easier to make. Choose a minor feature of
your product and gain agreement from the buyer on that feature.

e.g. ”Delivery can be made on a weekly basis. Does that meet your requirements?”
“We can arrange for the colours to match your company logo. Would that be what
you are looking for?”
“If storage is a problem we can arrange for a split delivery at no extra cost. How does
that sound?”

5. The Pressure Close

This enables you to put pressure on the buyer in terms of special offers or inducements that
are available or penalties for not placing the order.

e.g. “This price is only available up until the end of the month.”
“If you order the smaller quantity the higher price will apply.”
“We are giving a free carphone with orders of 500 units and above. This offer ends
tomorrow.”

6. Converting on Objections

An objection can be a very strong buying signal. If the buyer raises an objection and it is the
only objection that is preventing the order from being placed you can use this to gain
commitment to buy.

e.g. “You have said Mr Buyer that you are interested in our products but the discount terms
that we offer are unacceptable. Is this the only objection you have? If we are able to
work out a compromise would you be willing to place the order today?”

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7. The Negotiated Close

Standard negotiating techniques are very useful at the closing stages of the sales process. “If I
do this, you do that” or “a resort to higher authority” can close the sale effectively.

e.g. “If I can reduce my price by 15 per unit will you agree to place the order today?”
“If I can agree your delivery terms can we agree today on a long term commitment for
you to use us as your main supplier?”
“I will ring my boss now. If he agrees to reduce the price by 10% do we have a deal?”

8. The Trial Close

During your presentation the buyer may make a remark that suggests a decision to buy may
have been made. In these situations

• listen to what the buyer says

• summarise what has been said
• ask for the order/close the sale

Note, this can happen at any stage of the sale process. Be flexible and test for commitment to
buy.

9. The Balance Sheet Method

One closing technique that can be used is to list all the points in favour of your product and
all the points against on a sheet of paper.

This can be repeated for the other products being considered by the buyer and can influence
the decision of where the ‘balance of power’ lies. If your product is the stronger of the
alternatives available to the buyer this method can help the final decision be made in your
favour.

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DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 11. CLOSING TECHNIQUES
Working on your own, or with a colleague, write down your 6 favourite closing questions, or
techniques. Rank these in order of effectiveness and ease of use.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 12. ACTION PLANNING
Working with your manager, prepare an action plan to cover a 3-month period from
completing this manual.

Set yourself objectives and review dates.

ACTION POINT BY WHEN
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