Sales Executive Prospecting

Objectives

During this session you will learn to: Identify potential customers, Generate selling opportunities, Respond to sales opportunities, Understand the importance of the telephone in selling opportunities, Understand the importance of the telephone in providing customer service, Apply effective telephonic communication skills, Prospect effectively on the telephone, Develop communication skills.

Why are telephone skill important to the Sales Department?

Why are

telephone skills im

portant?

The telephone in our business is not only a

communication tool but, an effective business tool that not only enables us to look after existing clients, but enables us to potentially gain new ones, by simply

being able to communicate with them.

A large % of all the business we do today is

done telephonically. It may be someone responding to

an advert or wishing to book their vehicle in for a

service or, perhaps, someone confirming or placing a parts order.

There is no doubt that many businesses could not operate effectively, and perhaps not at all, without the telephone. It should then go without saying that your skilful use of the telephone as both a communication and business tool are paramount to the success of your organisation. The implications of not using the telephone effectively may be difficult to measure, but should be obvious.

The telephone is indeed the most convenient means of communication at our disposal. The advent of cell phones has further underlined this point and has taken telephone communication to another level whereby location and proximity to civilisation is no longer a factor.

Self Test

Self Teat

The Call Process

Determine Needs

Develop Response

Listen

Take Action

Similar to the sales process that you follow when a customer walks into your dealership, there is a sales process that you should follow while dealing with a customer on the phone.

These steps speak for themselves and are a practical way of guiding yourself through any call. It is important to remember that the two key elements in this cycle are the determining of needs and the element where we listen to the customer.

Greeting

Telephone Skills – the basics

Telephone skills – the basics

It is vital, as a professional, to be able to operate your telephone properly. It may seem like a small and insignificant issue, but the details are what count in the long run. How much time has been lost in someone’s system, been cut-off mid conversation or heard a computer generated voice message as opposed to a personal one? Know how your phone operates and understand what the caller is going through. Practice internally when the consequences of a lost call or a dropped conversation are not critical. When your company has paid a large sum of money on advertising to attract people to call in, how much does it cost when you lose a call? Ask yourself “will they call back?”

Transferring Calls

The transferring of calls within a company is a very common occurrence and should be a process that everyone knows how to do, quickly and efficiently. It is often, however, at this stage that customers become upset. How often do we encounter the following? •Transferred calls not answered – continual ringing. •Calls transferred to the wrong extension. •Calls dropped or cut-off. •Duplication of questions surrounding an issue. •Caller irritation when a transferred call returns to the transferee.

Guidelines to follow when transferring calls

Guidelines w

hen transferring calls

Here are a couple of guidelines to follow when transferring calls

As mentioned previously you must first know how to transfer calls. You should practise this with your fellow employees, not on your customers.

Obtain details from the customer. This will help you learn where to transfer the call to. Tell the customer to whom you are transferring the call and the extension number.

If your system returns unanswered calls to your extension be prepared to speak to the caller again. Don’t let your emotions spill out over the phone.

If you are sitting next to a phone that is just

ringing, because that person is not available,

answer it and take a message.

Know where you are transferring the call, to check the extension number and don’t assume you know it.

Provide detail to the person receiving the transferred call, which will prevent duplicated questions and improve the professionalism of the organisation.

Putting someone on hold

Putting som

eone on hold

Whether we are asking someone to hold briefly while we ask someone a question or whether we officially put them on hold via our system, we need to bear in mind a couple of key guidelines. • The telephone amplifies sound so

be sure that you have the mouthpiece covered when talking to someone else.

• Always ask permission to put someone on hold and wait for their reply.

• If you have put someone on hold, go back to them every 15-20 seconds and ask them if they mind holding a little longer.

• A recorded message giving some background information on your company is a lot better than a piece of “elevator music”.

• If your company gives options, such as “dial 1 for sales, dial 2 for workshop, etc…” you should call in yourself regularly to check if it is fully operational.

Taking Messages

Taking messages

Taking Messages There is some vital information that needs to be recorded every time you take a message. This information ensures that the person receiving the message will be able to follow-up effectively. You need to record: •The person’s name and surname. •Their contact telephone number and an alternative where possible. •The time the message was taken. •A brief description of why they called. •Your own name. By providing your own name you can ensure that if the message is not understood, that that person knows who to ask for clarification. You may also want to record whether the message is urgent or not urgent or whether it was important or not important.

Self Test

Self Teat

If you have committed to someone returning their call, your responsibility only ends when that person has actually called them back.

Things not to do while on a Call

What not to do

when on a call

Things not to do while on a Call There are a couple of things that we should try to avoid while on a phone call. Hopefully the reasons are self-explanatory. •Try to hold a conversation with someone else at the same time. •Read the newspaper or an interesting article. •Finish your paperwork. •Eat your lunch. •Chew gum. •Light a cigarette. •Shout across the room. •Try and update your diary.

Telephone greeting - Introduction

Telephone greeting

Telephone Greetings

Telephone G

reetings

When you answer the phone, identify yourself. A "hello" is not sufficient; give the name of your company, your own name and your department. By saying "Southern Motors, Parts Department, Mike Smith" you give callers the information they need and you prompt them to identify themselves in return. This also shows that you are businesslike and ready to be of service. Apply this rule even when picking up the phone for someone else. Say, "Todd Brown’s office, Mike Smith speaking," so callers will know someone is taking responsibility for helping them.

To summarise you need to provide the following information •The name of your company. (Confirmation of who the client has called). •Your department. (Ensuring that they are in the correct place). •Your own name. (Responsibility and ownership).

(May also prompt the customer to provide his own name). At this stage you may wish to offer a statement of assistance, in order to ascertain why the person has called your company.

For example: “How can I help you?” “What can we do for you today?” “Who would you like to speak to?”

Telephone Greetings

Telephone G

reetings

Answer your phone promptly Promptness counts. Answer your calls on the first or second ring if possible which gives the caller the impression that you are responsive and efficient. Occasionally, you may have to delay answering a call to finish an urgent task or because you were momentarily away from your desk. But no office phone should ring more than four times before being picked up by someone - you may risk losing a valuable call.

Self Test

Self Teat

Selling over the phone - Introduction Selling over the phone

Introduction The more effectively you meet customers’ needs and solve their problems, the more successful you will be in sales. At the heart of the selling approach is the need of the buyer which must be satisfied. Also important, is our language and the words we use. The way we speak can create a positive or negative perception with the caller. Topics to be covered •Determining customer needs. •Question tips and techniques. •Develop appropriate responses. •Effective positive word choice. •Negative words and statements. •Positive words and statements. •Ending the call.

Determining Customer’s Needs

Determ

ining custom

er’s needs

Determining customer’s needs and then meeting these needs is the key to a successful business. If customers call your business and enquire about your products are they expressing a need? When you call the local pharmacy in an attempt to gain business, you have to make them aware of a need before they will even listen to you. So we can see that the identification and development of need is a critical part of success.

How to determine customer needs?

to determ

ine custom

er needs

•Expression of need by the customer himself.

This sounds pretty straightforward, but it can be delivered in a number of different ways. It may be a direct statement such as “I want”, or “I need” but could also be an indirect statement such as a desire to cut a fuel bill or a need to transport heavy materials. Once a customer has expressed a need we have to move forward to meet that need as soon as we can.

•Developing a need that doesn’t initially exist.

A need for a specific product or service may not be in existence when you first make contact with the customer. The only way you can determine or develop a need in this case is to present the benefits of what you are offering to the customer. in an attempt to appeal to either his rational or emotive side and to get him to uncover a need or a desire for what you are offering.

•Uncovering need via probing.

We may have to question the customer in order to get him to reveal his need to us. Generally it is accepted that we first use general questions and then get more specific as we move towards uncovering the need. It is important to realise that the first need or statement of need may not be the real need that will motivate the consumer. We need to probe in order to break down any barriers that may be present and slowly work towards uncovering the real motivation or desire.

Questioning Tips and Techniques

Questioning Tips

and Techniques

The questions you ask while on the phone are one of the key success factors in your business. These questions not only allow you accurately assess your need, but enable you to solve customer complaints quickly and efficiently as well as presenting yourself with possible selling opportunities.

Let’s look at some tips and techniques in this regard.

•Questions must be outcome based. This is critical. We must know where we are heading before we even pick up the phone. Ask yourself what you are trying to achieve? What would the ideal outcome of this call be? Based on that decision we can set about trying to get there.

•Know the options It is all good and well questioning with a goal or purpose in mind; however there may be more than one way to get there. Do you know and understand all the options open to you. Once you know the available options not only will the way forward become clearer but the amount of tension associated with that particular contact will be lessened.

•Know your authority level. It’s no good asking a customer if he would like to have his car replaced or his service done for free when you don’t have the authority to make such a decision. It is vitally important that you know what decisions you can make, before you start raising customer expectations.

Questioning Tips and Techniques

Questioning Tips

and Techniques

•Get the customer talking. Listen, listen, listen. A British consultant once said that “God gave us two ears and one mouth and that they should be used in that proportion”. This was indeed good advice. By really listening to our customers we will develop a clearer idea of what to ask them and, in turn, a gain clearer idea of how to really meet their needs.

•Use questions to stimulate communication. A lot of communication is one-sided. In order for communication to become really beneficial, both parties have to contribute. Open-ended questions can stimulate two-sided communication. It is your role to be the catalyst in this regard. Ask the customer questions that he has to elaborate on not closed questions that he can simply answer “yes” or “no” to. •Take control when the need arises. You will encounter, from time to time, situations that require you to take charge. In particular this will occur when you feel that the conversation is moving away from your desired outcome. It is your role to steer the interaction back on track. Often closed questions, where the customer has limited responses available, will be the most effective.

Self Test

Self Teat

Developing Appropriate Responses

Developing

Appropriate Responses

How we react and respond to things people say will often determine their reaction and future behaviour.

“For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction”.

It is important that apart from becoming a good listener that we develop and practice appropriate responses to things that people may say to us over the telephone.

Repeat the process, developing appropriate responses where necessary.

The keys to developing appropriate responses are •Listen •Evaluate •Question •Summarise Mentally •Communicate a response

•Listen

•Evaluate

•Etc…

The process should be seamless with the evaluation and summarising almost processing in the background so to speak.

Remember, as discussed before, we think four times faster than someone speaks, so there is time to develop an appropriate response.

Developing

Effective Positive Word Choice How often have we been in situations where we wish we hadn’t said something? The unfortunate thing about that is that once you have said something negative, you can never take it back.

Ask yourself if you have met this person’s need and, if not, you have to make sure that your response addresses the situation.

Negative Words and Statements Negative words can have a detrimental effect on your customers. Whether it be selling them something and trying to get commitment, or if it is a customer who is complaining and needs to have his problem solved.

Negative words or statements can result in the following:

•Attack. •Avoidance. •Animosity. •Aggravation. •Anger.

Developing

Positive words and statements can result in the following: •Commitment.

•Loyalty. •Patience.

•Understanding. •Partnerships.

•Profit. •Tolerance.

It is a known fact that people will support those people who they enjoy doing business with. By making a concerted effort to use positive words and affirmations when we talk to our customers, will go along way to cementing relationships with our customers.

Induction - Communication

Induction Com

munication

Introduction Listening is one of the most important, if not the most important. skill to learn, if you want to become a master communicator – or a successful salesperson. If you don’t listen you will not hear the customer’s needs and that applies to all the stages in the selling cycle.

Topics to be covered •Effective listening. •Non-verbal communication. •Your telephone voice.

Effective Listening The first concept that needs to be established with regards to listening is the difference between “listening” and “hearing” and this is best illustrated by means of an example.

If you are lying in bed one night and you hear a loud noise outside, by really listening you can establish whether that noise is a car backfiring or a gunshot. So listening enables us to interpret what we have heard. We often hear conversations but very seldom do we really listen to what other people are saying.

Benefits of effective listening

The benefits of effective listening •Listening is concerned with content first and feelings second. •Good listening skills improve your self confidence. •People like you when you listen to them. •Good listeners are usually more efficient in completing their work. •Good listening creates flexibility in settling disagreements. •Intelligent responses are easier when you listen. •You can respond quicker to someone’s needs by listening to them properly.

Self Test

Self Teat

I am easily distracted during a conversation 1 2 3 4

I often interrupt others when they are speaking 1 2 3 4

I often get visually upset by things people say 1 2 3 4

I often visualise how a story ends before it is finished 1 2 3 4

I often ask people to repeat themselves 1 2 3 4

I switch off when I don’t like the speaker 1 2 3 4

I often wish a conversation would end sooner 1 2 3 4

I often misread people when first talking to them 1 2 3 4

Add up your score and refer to the index below:

0 – 8 “Sorry, what did you say? I wasn’t listening.” 9-16 “Could you please repeat that?” 17-24 “Thanks for taking time out to speak to me.” 25-32 “Great I’d love to help you!”

How Well Do You Listen? Rate yourself by completing the questionnaire below:

Tips on how to improve your listening skills on the telephone

Improving

listening skills on the telephone

If something important is said, write it down. If you have written down a key piece of information, confirm it with the other party, Be an active listener i.e. give constant affirmations of understanding. Try and avoid things which you know distract you. Make others aware that you are not to be disturbed while on important calls. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you, let the speaker convey all the facts before you jump to conclusions. Make a conscious effort not to interrupt others. Try and express genuine interest in other’s conversations by asking pertinent questions. Remember good listening is largely determined by attitude. Always assess your listening skills and practice, practice, practice!

Non-verbal Communication N

on-verbal com

munication

It may seem crazy to think that there would be any form of non-verbal communication over the phone. All forms of communication are made up of three different elements, namely the words we say, the way in which we say them or tone, and lastly the non-verbal element which includes body language.

Self Test

Self Teat

Your Telephone voice

Your telephone voice

Your voice is your personality over the telephone. It makes an immediate impression that can portray you as friendly or distant, confident or timid, spontaneous or mechanical, relaxed or nervous.

So, how do you come across over the phone? Have you ever actually heard yourself talk on the phone?

A good idea is to tape yourself and then listen and evaluate how you come across to others.

Does your voice change when you answer the phone? What do you really sound like?

Your Telephone voice There are different factors to take into consideration when evaluating your telephone voice.

Pitch - Is your voice shrill or strained? Do you speak in a monotone? In normal speech, pitch varies - these variations are known as “inflection”. The more inflection you use, the more interesting your tone of voice is. Keep in mind that when you are under emotional stress the pitch of your voice will tend to rise and become shrill or strained. Be careful! The pitch of your voice is an index of confidence and poise.

Volume - Check the volume or loudness of your voice. (You might want to get a friend to help you with this). Is it too soft or too loud? Often when people are tired or upset their voices tend to fade and they will be asked to "speak up." Be sure to speak loud enough to be heard but not so loud that you sound forced.

Rate - If you speak too slowly you'll likely lose the attention of the listener. Conversely, your listener won't be able to follow you if you speak too rapidly. In either case, your message won't get through.

Quality - The quality of your voice is the most distinctive and individual characteristic. This is where the essence of warmth, understanding and "likeability" come into play. Smiling as you speak enhances your vocal quality. Being angry, upset or in a hurry negatively affects your vocal quality.

Articulation - The price of poor articulation is high, particularly in business. You must enunciate or pronounce your words very clearly or your listeners will misunderstand you. Faulty articulation and incorrect word pronunciation give your listener the impression that you are sloppy, careless and lack knowledge.

Your telephone voice

Identify Potential Customers

Successful selling

Successful selling is all about focus. Without focus you are left “bouncing off the walls”, from one client to the next with no clear strategy which will lead to mediocre sales results. There are six main areas of focus: Focus on the right clients and prospects. With the right frequency. Working from the right database. Using the right data base selling tools. Offering the right solutions, at the right time. Making the right presentations.

Focus on the right clients

Focus on the right clients Focus on the Right Clients

Focusing on the right clients also involves speaking to the right people when dealing with a company. “Make sure that you talk to the decision maker as quickly as possible, you do not want a situation where, after months of dealing with Middle Management, your proposal is eventually rejected by the “”powers that be”.

Criteria to classify existing and prospective clients need to be developed and are two tiered, namely for selling to individuals and selling to businesses.

Individual criteria involve aspects such as: •Age groups. •Hobbies. •Household income. •Disposable income. •Purchasing habits.

Business criteria concerns matters such as: •Monthly or annual turnover. •Industry. •Number of employees. •Nature or type of business. •Number of outlets. •Roll-out possibilities to other businesses. •Procurement procedures. •Political influence such as Black Economic Empowerment policies.

Right Frequency and Database

Right frequency and database

Right Frequency Focusing with the right frequency is about repeating your contact with a client without stepping on their toes. The key is building a relationship and being unique in the way you do it. Never follow a routine your contact person has seen or heard a million times before, aim to be different – it shows an innovative nature and sparks interest from the client.

Right Database Working off the right database ties in with focusing on the right people as it is of no use contacting a list of clients who have no need for your product or service. Make sure that the information you are working from is correct, up to date and relevant to your business. Using the right database selling tools is about making and maintaining contact through various methods.

Database Selling Tools

Database Selling

Database Selling Tools

Primary tools are more personal contact methods such as: •Visits to the client. •Inviting the client to functions and events. •Personal lunches and social meetings. •Telephone calls between you and the prospect.

Secondary tools involve things like contact by your P.A., third-party delivery of corporate gifts or information and things like specific personal promises sent by e-mail or faxes. Other database selling tools are greeting cards, press-releases and other forms of less personal contact. All three types of database selling tools must be combined in building a business relationship. Know the client, what he or she likes or dislikes and then work according to a strategy that allows you frequent contact, without coming across as overbearing.

Right Solutions at the Right Time

Right Solutions

Right Solutions at the Right Time •There is, of course, no point in maintaining excellent customer relations and identifying the right customers, but being unable to offer the product or solution the client needs. Know your products, what you can offer and know what questions to ask. A successful sales philosophy is solutions based. •In bigger, long-term deals and major negotiations you must remember that it is not about selling, or buying – but buy-in into the solution(s) you are, and can offer the client. •Do a need analysis based on the company’s unique requirements and then offer the solution. •Approaching clients at the right time goes a very long way on the road to making a sale.

Making the Right Presentations Do the right presentations when you get the opportunity. There is no point in presenting CEO's and others in Top Management with just a colourful story about you and your company. They want to know what you can do for them. What do you offer? Get to the bottom line as quickly as possible. Thereafter you can elaborate on the history of your company and such if asked to do so.

What is a Prospect

What is a

prospect?

Expectations When you make contact with them, prospective customers expect you: •To be polite and quickly explain the purpose of your call or visit. •To be considerate and value their time. •Not to exert undue pressure to buy a vehicle or make a sales appointment. •To listen carefully to their views and respect their decision whether or not to take matters further.

Definition: Prospecting is any activity or conversation you engage in to position yourself in front of a prospect with the intention to enquire, assess, discover and educate so that you can determine whether there's a fit and a relationship that's worth pursuing, which can then lead to presenting your product or service in order to earn your prospect's business.

A “Prospect” is defined as a customer (person, organization, buyer) before the sale is made, i.e. a prospective customer - someone who has a future need for a vehicle.

Internal Sources of Marketing

Internal M

arketing sources

The internal prospects can be supplied to you by each of the departments in your business. They could be customers that are already doing business with a department or they can be suppliers to the department.

•Make a list of the customers who purchase from the Dealership. •Make a list of suppliers who supply goods or services to the Dealership. The benefits of selecting prospects to contact from internal resources are: •They already have an affiliation with your dealership. •Somebody in the department can introduce you to the prospect. •There is information available about the prospect.

Enquiries These are people who initiate contact with the dealership. They could be people who walk-in or telephone.

Prospect base These are prospects generated by the salesperson through his or her prospecting activities. They can be private individuals or businesses with whom the salesperson wishes to maintain contact.

Leads These are people and organisations suspected of being a potential prospect based on the information obtained from a third party. Leads come from: Referrals Spotters Business contacts Social contacts

Owners Owners are people who currently drive your product. For the purpose of prospecting the salesperson will normally use the customer base of the dealership for who he or she works.

External Marketing Sources External M

arketing sources

External Sources In order for you to achieve your monthly and annual unit sales targets it is recommended that you appoint a minimum of 20 Associate Consultants (“spotters”) who will in their own time refer prospects to you.

Telephone prospecting The telephone is used to make contact with potential prospects to: (a) Establish whether there is an interest that can be further persuaded. (b) To make an appointment with a potential prospect to determine the possibility of present or future business.

Orphan customers These are customer who bought their vehicles from a salesperson who is no longer with the dealership.

Dealership workshop The salesperson meets the customers who have brought their vehicles in for service - this activity is performed from the time the workshop opens till about 08.00 and takes place in the workshop reception.

In order to make this an official appointment you need to confirm this in writing and have regular contact with your Associate Consultants to update them on models and prices.

“Dear Sam, I have pleasure in confirming your appointment, effective 1 March 2009, as my personal Associate Consultant. Your remuneration will be RX for every referral that transforms into a transaction. Your name will also be entered into a quarterly draw of which you will be advised with regards to date and time. I’m looking forward to a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. Kindest regards. John Smith, Sales Person. “

Referrals Referrals are people referred to you by your friends, your family, customers you have sold to, etc. Spotters Spotters are usually people who are in contact with many others or who have some influence in his or her work or social environment - the spotter is given a fee should they refer a potential buyer to the salesperson and purchase a vehicle. Clubs and social groups This refers to you local sports club, church groups and other types of gatherings and includes your personal friends.

Finance houses This method entails getting the names of people who discounted their vehicles through your dealership from the respective finance houses - preferably about eighteen months before the financial agreement will be paid up. Small business concerns These would be small and medium sized businesses such as plumbing, electrical, painting and building contractors, building and other suppliers, garden maintenance companies, small and medium sized manufacturing concerns etc. Fleet accounts The term “Fleet” is normally used for companies that operate a certain number of vehicles. Many dealerships employ dedicated fleet consultants.

External Marketing Sources External M

arketing sources

Marketing Basics

Marketing

Basics

•Create quality marketing tools. This doesn't mean you need to allot 75 percent of your budget to printing costs, presentation slides and a Website but it does mean that you need to put deep thought into the cohesive image you want to present.

•Greet clients with style. Voicemail may not seem like a component of your marketing plan, but if a potential client calls and your child answers, that client could be gone before you can even technically call him a client. So - get yourself a professional voicemail system (even the phone company offers options) with several boxes so callers can press "1" to hear more about your services, "2" for your web and e-mail addresses, etc.

•Conduct competitive intelligence online. Today, information is completely at your fingertips. So find your competitors' web sites and get clicking.

•Focus as narrowly as possible. Instead of trying to reach all the people some of the time, narrow your target audience to highly qualified prospects. Instead of going to seven networking groups once every two months, go to the two groups with the best prospects every week. Instead of marketing to 5,000 companies, find several dozen highly qualified companies and make regular contact with them. Call them, mail your marketing materials, and then ask to meet. It'll save you money and time.

•Cross-promote with other businesses. Who do you share customers with? Find them and figure out how you can promote one another. Another option is to add a brief note at the bottom of invoices referring your accounting clients to "an excellent computer consultant," and have that consultant do the same for you.

Marketing Basics continue

Marketing

Basics

•Network. If this piece of marketing advice sounds like something you've heard before, there's a good reason: It works. Join your local Chamber or your Industry association. When you go, ask the people you meet what leads they're looking for-and really listen to what they have to say, they'll repay you in kind.

•Chat online. Find newsgroups that cater to your audience and join the fray. One very successful owner of a marketing company joined a chat group to find information on various subjects and ended up getting 60 new customers over the past five years.

•Offer an e-newsletter. Again, this establishes you as an expert, but it also provides another very important marketing tool: e-mail addresses of potential clients. You've opened up the gates to creating a relationship with these folk by offering free information. They may approach you to do business, or you can use these "opt-in" addresses to offer your services.

•Go where your best prospects are. This is called play-space marketing. Advertise somewhere where people are likely to be thinking about what you're selling.

•Become an expert. Write articles to show your talents and give them as filler to any Web site owner that you feel is fitting. Other ways to establish yourself as an expert:

•Answer questions in online forums and get yourself listed in a directory like Experts.com. Send tip sheets to local media outlets; write a pamphlet; or do the next tip on our list.

•Host a seminar. It's cheap. It's easy. And it's a good way to get over your public-speaking fear. Crandall offers the story of a business broker who conducts free weekly seminars. People selling businesses don't want to attend, as they aren't new to the business brokering process, but they do notice his ad and call for his services. Business buyers attend, and the broker now has "pre-qualified" prospects. You're getting free publicity, you're getting prospects to call you, and you're building your level of expertise.

Marketing

Basics

Marketing

Basics

Reaching out

Reaching Out Thinking "out of the box" may seem clichéd, but it's a good image to keep in mind when you think about prospecting. If your current approach to finding leads isn't working for you, it's probably time to get a little creative. After all, prospecting is more than simply making a phone call and asking to speak with the decision-maker. Here are three "out of the box" prospecting methods used by a very successful sales executive who writes his own column. His name is Barry Farber.

Methods 1. Build a qualified priority list. “Recently, when I began marketing a new product, one of my first steps was to research the marketplace. I went to every retail store I could find that sold similar products and talked to the store managers. I asked, "Which company sells most creatively to you? Which one really moves product off the shelf and has a quality product people like?" I checked out product packaging; got names, phone numbers and websites; and did more research, legwork and homework. Only then was I able to call the president of a company directly and prospect from a much higher and more knowledgeable level.”

2. Create synergy to double the opportunity from a single effort. “Everything is relative--the key is to be able to recognise how things relate. As readers of this column know, I wear many different business hats. I market products, but I'm also an agent for authors and entertainers. Recently, I've made many media contacts while trying to connect a nationally known comedian to radio and TV. At the same time, I'm using these contacts to try to get PR on radio and TV for my product. Even though my product and the comedian are not related, I can use my prospecting skills for both at the same time.”

How to Qualify Prospects

to qualify prospects

• If you know more about your clients (past and current), you will have a better idea about where and how to find more people like them.

• You may also discover a trend that you were previously unaware of - like the fact that most clients are men, that they are all mothers of small children or that many of them are from the same area. When you know more about your clients, you can create products and services that match what they really want.

• When you know the most frequent ways that clients find your business, you can increase your marketing efforts in those areas.

• When prospective clients ask you what kind of clients you serve, you will be able to answer clearly with confidence.

So what do you need to discover about your clients?

Questions to ask

So what do you need to discover about your clients? Here are some questions to ask yourself to get you started. You may not be able to answer all of them.

Questions to Ask Business to Consumer Are they mainly men, women or both? What age range are they? Where do they live? The same city as you? A nearby city? How much do they buy from you on average? What is their nationality?

Are they single, married or divorced? Do they have children? What is their profession/business? What clubs do they belong to? What types of books and magazines do they like to read? How do they find out about your company?

Fleet sales What size is their company? How much do they buy from you? What is their geographic location? What type of industry are they in? How did they find out about your dealership? What is the function of your contact at the company?

MAN Principles

principle

Money Authority Need

•Does the prospect have the money or ability to pay for the product? •Does the prospect have a need for the product? •Does the prospect have the authority to buy the product?

Calculating Prospects

Calculating prospects

Calculations Start by writing down the number of clients for each category like: gender, age range, etc. Take the number in each category and divide it by the total number of clients and you have the percentage of that category. The great news is that once you have set this up, you can simply add new clients to the mix as you go.

Take a good look at the information you find and sort it from the highest to lowest percentage in each category. This will tell you which groups to focus on more and which groups need less attention. It’s also a chance to re-evaluate who you would ideally like to serve with your business.

Also, look for themes and see if any patterns emerge. You may be surprised at what you find. When you have better knowledge about your clients, you can make better decisions for your business.

Characteristics of a good prospect

Characteristics of a Good Prospect •A need. A highly qualified prospect needs your product now or relatively soon. For example, if you sell widgets with an average lifespan of eight years, a good prospect is someone who owns a seven-year-old widget, not someone who bought a new one last year.

•A sufficient budget. A qualified prospect has the money to buy your product or service. Don't waste time pursuing someone who can't afford to buy what you're selling or a company that has already spent its yearly budget.

•The authority to buy. A good prospect is empowered and prepared to take action. The simpler and more streamlined their decision-making process, the better your chances of closing a sale.

Users do not see the separate databases by looking at the view file; instead, they see different pieces of information about a single record (person). Only an advanced user will be able to tell that, when he/she is looking at one record, he/she is also looking at more than one database.

Upgrading from a flat database to a relational database allows for a great deal of growth for information-tracking. A good relational database allows for endless sorting and viewing options; virtually any combination of information in any form can be generated from a good relational database.

Flat Database vs. Relational Database

Flat database vs. Relational D

atabase

A "flat" database means all of the information about a record such as name, address, phone number, meeting attendance, publications ordered, committee membership, etc. -- is kept in a single database.

A flat database is very easy to manage, because it has its information stored in one source. The limitation of a flat database is usually not in the number of records you can put on, but in how much information you can track per record. Limits of a flat database are usually realized the more information you need to track about each record, rather than adding records to the database. As time passes, different people at one organization often need to track a great deal of different information about each record, or view it in very different ways.

You can create a different database for each staff person's need, but this will make it very difficult to find out all information about one person quickly; imagine having to look on one database for board information, another for event attendance information, another for publications they've received, another for their volunteer involvement, and you get the idea. Instead, should you be faced with this problem, create relational databases that are joined a single view file.

Managing your Database

Managing your

Database

Management Before you start making changes to a database structure or the way information is obtained, make sure you can answer the above questions and make sure that other staff members, particularly the DP, agree with your answers! Aside from the fact that you don't want to waste time tracking information that nobody will use and that will take up valuable space on your computer, Database Managers should remember that the information they track serves different staff members with different needs.

The following fields are identified as the "core fields". You will probably have a lot of information about an individual record on your database, but the core fields are the ones that you need to generate mailing lists or "to call" lists:

•First name. •Last name. •Company. •Position. •Address. •City. •Day phone. •Fax phone. •E-mail address.

Database Managing Times

Database

Managing Tim

Once a month jobs:

The Board of Directors and Special Committees at your organization are usually your VIPs - the most important people you call or to whom you mail literature. Complete and correct information about these people makes your organization look efficient and conscientious; incorrect information can offend a big supporter.

Get rid of duplicate records on the database. Most database programs come with a function that will find duplicate records for you, based on certain criteria. If not, you can sort the information by various fields to find duplicates.

The three searches that will identify most of your duplicates will be searches for:

•Same first name and last name and company name. •Same last name and company name. •Same first name and company name.

Each of these searches, done separately, will usually find all of duplicate records on a customer database. Taking too much time to purge duplicates from a database can lead to a lot of confusion when you are trying to look up information about an individual. Purging once a month will make it easier for you to determine which record to keep and which to discard.

Once a quarter jobs:

•Make sure that the Press people on the database have correct information and that all appropriate press people are on the database

Database Managing Times

Database

Managing Tim

Other Duties •Local newspapers usually have a weekly Business page that lists local business people movements -- hiring's, promotions, buyouts, etc. It's a good idea to read these listings to be on the lookout for prospects. Once a quarter jobs:

•Make sure that information regarding major customers is correct, particularly the information in the core fields. Print out a report of major customers, review it and make any changes / additions / deletions.

Other Duties •Once or twice a year, put the words "Address Correction Requested" on your newsletter address page (your mailing house or the post office can tell you where this should go ).

Other Duties •Any newsletter with a new or bad address will be returned to you with corrected information, and you can then make the appropriate updates to your database. Words of Caution: The first time you do this, you will receive a lot of returns, so be prepared! Also, you will need to resend your newsletter in a timely manner to everyone with corrected information.

Closing Ratio’s

Closing Ratio’s Knowing your closing ratio is critical to successfully planning and implementing your prospecting efforts effectively. Let’s take a look at defining, measuring and managing the specific sales and new business development activities in order to reach your sales goals.

•How many calls do you need to make to generate one prospect? •How many prospects does it take to generate one sale? •How long will each prospecting or cold calling effort take? •How much time do you need to devote to new business development every day? And how many sales do you need each month to attain your year end financial goals?

The Calling Plan

Why cold-calling often works against you

Doing what most people refer to as “Cold Calling” is detrimental to your success. Traditional cold calling works against you because it violates several basic principles of human behaviour:

•Prospects buy in their own time, for their own reasons. They do not buy because a salesperson talks them into changing their priorities nor do they buy because a salesperson entices them with benefits.

•Pushing for an appointment to “help determine needs” or to “solve problems” creates pressure.

•Any form of pressure causes sale resistance.

•Attempting to “develop relationships” with most prospects when they are not ready to make a decision is just another way to create pressure and it creates annoyance - for both parties.

•No matter how interested or congenial you are, most prospects do not want, or have time for, a “new best friend”.

•Prospects who have been pressured by you once will seldom want to talk to you again. Thus, you have to keep finding new prospects to call. That is why it is called “Cold Calling.”

How to make cold-calling work for you

High Probability Prospecting enables you to make appointments with prospects when they are ready to buy your products and services. It keeps you at the front of the minds of the prospects on your list, on a favourable basis, until they are ready to buy. The result? A higher percentage of appointments each time you call your list.

Fear of Cold Calling

There are two basic reasons for the fear of cold calling. Both are easy to cure if you know how.

•The Experience of Repeated Failure Most salespeople set out to contact a large number of people who have an apparent need for their products and service. Their objective is to convince every one of them to grant them an appointment. Let's assume that you contact 50 people a day and average 2 appointments. In your business that may be a very good result. Nevertheless, you have the experience of repeated failure because you tried to convince all of them and you failed to meet your objective of 48 out of 50 calls.

The Cure Change your objective. Your new objective is to make appointments only with High Probability Prospects and to disqualify everyone else. Make fifty calls and be clear that you'll only make an appointment if the prospect wants what you're selling. If the prospect doesn't want what you're selling, terminate the call quickly and courteously. You now have the experience of succeeding in your objective 50 times out of 50 calls.

Fear of Rejection Fear of Rejection

•Fear of rejection

Most salespeople have a prospecting "pitch" which is designed to interest, entice, excite, convince and persuade people to give them appointments. Most prospects react to any prospecting pitch defensively. Their sales resistance is aroused as soon as they hear your warm greeting and your friendly, enthusiastic, professional pitch. The more skilful you are in keeping them talking and listening, the more they become wary and annoyed. Eventually, many of them become non-communicative; or too busy to talk, or abrupt, or sarcastic, or otherwise negative. All of these reactions cause most salespeople to feel rejected. Almost all Sales Managers and trainers tell you that you're not being rejected, that the prospects are merely declining the offer of your products or services. Why then do almost all salespeople feel rejected? Are you too sensitive, too thin-skinned?

Think about it. Who do you trust? Is it the Sales Manager who wants you to keep on going until you become insensitive to the rejection? Do you trust your own perceptions, your feelings of rejection? Are all other salespeople who feel the rejection wrong? No, you feel rejected, personally rejected, because you are being rejected. That rejection is caused by the normal defensive reactions that everyone has against being persuaded to do something they don't already want to do. If you want to eliminate rejection you must change the way you prospect. The way you do that is to follow the cure at the top of the page.

High Probability Prospecting

Finding Prospects

Finding Prospects What's the exact percentage ready and willing to buy? It depends on the product or service. It also depends on the effectiveness of marketing efforts; bulls-eye, targeted marketing yields a higher percentage of high probability prospects. How can you hit the bulls-eye with your prospecting? Find out the demographics of the highest probability prospects - data on average customers and profiles of the largest customers. Ask the Product Managers at companies you represent for these demographics. These demographics are profiles of your High Probability

Just tell them: •Who you are and who you represent. •What you're selling. •Two features (not benefits) of the product or service. •Ask if it's what they WANT. Follow that outline. Be sure your entire offer is no more than 45 words.

Prospects. High Probability Prospects are not people who are merely "interested" in what you have to sell. They are likely to want what you sell. It's just as easy to find people who want to buy as it is to find people who have to be persuaded. However, the former are much easier to close. Once you match up your products with the right prospecting list, call them all. Never mind introducing yourself, or using any kind of "sales pitch".

Low Probability Prospects

Low Probability

Prospects

Don't waste time with low probability prospects If the prospect says "no," you say "Okay, good bye." Wait for them to say "good bye," hang up, and immediately dial the next one on your list.

If the prospect says "Yes," you say "Why?" If they have a good reason, make an appointment. If they are only "interested", don't. Remember not to use the word "interested" in your offer, since "interested" implies a lack of commitment and a low probability of buying.

If a prospect wants you to send literature, get their email address and send a standard file with a standard cover note. Don’t put anything in the mail. Call back within 5 days and present a different prospecting offer for the same product or service.

Do not leave voice mails. You will sell less and add to your frustration if you do.

Be systematic. Keep good records.

Keep records of every offer that you make, including the specific number of the offer, the date, and the time. You need that information because you'll call the same list at least every 4 weeks. If you don’t reach the prospect, no notes are necessary.

Make a different offer each time you contact a prospect. Your offer can be for the same product, but change it to include two different features. Or, your offer can be for another product. The important thing is "not to" present the same offer to the same people each time you call. The average person using this method dials 67 calls an hour. Some dial as many as 100 per hour. Depending on your prospecting list and the time you're calling, you can make offers to between 10 and 35 percent of the people you try to reach.

This prospecting process is easy, effective, efficient and enjoyable. And, it eliminates almost all of the rejection created by traditional prospecting methods.

Keep Good Records

Keep Good

Records Keep Good Records Keep records of every offer that you make, including the specific number of the offer, the date and the time. You need that information because you'll call the same list at least every 4 weeks. If you don’t reach the prospect, no notes are necessary.

Make a different offer each time you contact a prospect. Your offer can be for the same product, but change it to include two different features or your offer can be for another product. The important thing is not to present the same offer to the same people each time you call.

The average person using this method dials 67 calls an hour. Some dial as many as 100 per hour. Depending on your prospecting list and the time you're calling, you can make offers to between 10 and 35 percent of the people you try to reach.

Over 2 000 people have learned this prospecting process and most of them are still using it. It's easy, effective, efficient and enjoyable. It also eliminates almost all of the rejection created by traditional prospecting methods It is 100% certain that at any given time, a small percentage of the population wants to buy your products and services. We call them "High Probability Prospects".

Contact and Communication Methods

Contact M

ethods

Promotion Kit Word-of-mouth is a fabulous business promotion. But why sit back and wait for word-of-mouth to build? You're impressed with your products or services aren't you? Speed up the word-of-mouth process by creating and using a Promotion Kit.

Building a Promotion Kit The basic Promotion Kit will include: •Your business cards. •Other people's business cards. •Your elevator spiel.

Why carry a promotion kit? Wherever you go and whatever you do, you are surrounded by opportunities for business promotions. Having a Promotion Kit with you ensures that you're ready to capitalize on those promotion opportunities. Have you ever had someone ask you for your business card and be in the unfortunate position of saying, "Sorry. I don't have any with me right now"? This doesn't happen to people who have a Promotion Kit prepared. Think of your wider experience. If you're shopping, you'll be visiting other businesses that might be interested in exchanging some advertising space with you. If you're taking one of your children to a sports event, you'll be meeting people who might be interested in your products or services. Even if you're just out walking your dog, chances are good you'll meet someone. With a Promotion Kit, you're ready for every contact.

Customer Service Skills

Customer

Service Skills

Definition Customer service is defined as “the provision of service to a customer before, during and after purchase”.

Important Pointers We are human, so we make mistakes. Which of us didn't make a mistake last year? We know that we make mistakes and, when that happens regularly in business, we are likely to get complaints. The first thing we need to understand about complaints is that they are not bad things.

The statistics seem to be as follows: •96% of dissatisfied customers do not complain; they simply go elsewhere next time. •Of the 4% who do complain, if we handle their complaint well, between 50% and 74% will return. If we solve their problem instantly, however, 97% will return.

That means if a customer complains, at least 20 would have complained but couldn't be bothered. Not only that, if a customer complains and you solve their problem straight away, you are almost guaranteed that they will return to your business in the future. So what do you do when a customer rings up with a complaint?

Communication Skills

unication Skills

Listen The customer is likely to be angry when they complain. You have probably not lived up to your promise or “Murphy” has taken over so they have not received what they expected. Quite often just letting the customer talk will be enough to defuse the anger.

Empathise If you argue with the customer, you have lost. It doesn't matter whether the customer is right or wrong, as far as he is concerned he is right. A very useful technique at this stage is to say to the customer "You know, if I were in your shoes, I would feel exactly the same way that you do." This sort of empathy takes the sting out of any complaint. If the customer thinks that you understand then he will lower his tone and listen to what you have to say. This does not mean that you are agreeing with the customer, just letting him know that you know how he feels.

Take the complaint seriously Your customer wants to know that you care. You may have had 20 people complaining this morning but he wants you to tell him that his complaint is the most important thing on your mind right now. Don't pass the buck The person who takes a complaint call is now the person who has to make sure the problem is solved. Even if you happen to pick up the phone by mistake, it is your problem now. Customers do not want to be passed around having to relate their complaint to a number of different people before they find somebody who can fix it.

Communications Skills

unication Skills

Write it down Listen carefully and write down all the details. Make sure you get the customer's name and contact details correctly.

Inquire about the required solution Before you offer a solution to the customer, you should ask what they think the best solution would be - you may be surprised at the answer. For instance: You may have a customer in Pietersburg who has a new piece of equipment from you that has a broken switch. Knowing that he is a very important customer, you may be tempted to say "I know you need this equipment working, Mr Customer, so I will go and get the part from stores, give it to the Sales Rep who will drive up there this afternoon, fit the part for you and stay overnight to make sure it is all working properly." If, on the other hand, you ask the customer what the best solution would be, he may say "Just send me the part overnight and I will get our maintenance people to install it." That, of course, is a less costly solution and the customer goes away happy.

Tell the customer Having agreed on the solution with the customer, repeat it to them together with the time you expect to do it by.

Do it The last stage is to make sure that the solution happens within the time scale. You may not be the person who fixes the problem but you are the person who liaises with the customer. Get back to him at each stage to make sure he knows that it is happening as you promised. Lastly, I would like to leave you with one thought: "The sun never sets on a customer complaint." If a customer raises a problem with you today, if he doesn’t have a solution by the end of the day, it will be a much bigger problem tomorrow. Sometimes complaints take more that a few days to solve, so we have to keep in regular contact to make sure the customer knows we care.

Customer Product Presentations

Customer

Product Presentations There is, of course, no point in maintaining excellent customer relations and identifying the right customers, but being unable to offer the product or solution the client needs. Know your products, what you can offer and know what questions to ask. A successful sales philosophy is solutions based.

“In bigger, long-term deals and major negotiations you must remember that it is not about selling or buying – but buying into the solution(s),” says Gibson. “Do a need analysis based on the company’s unique requirements and then offer the solution.”

Approaching clients at the right time goes a very long way on the road to making a sale. If you offer a consulting service on increasing sales and market share, it is obviously in your interest to approach a role player in a market when it is faced with a new competitor. “Work the situation and the circumstance,” says Gibson. “Knowing that a hot spell is predicted for a month or two will help an air-conditioning sales person for example – knowledge is power, know the situation that surrounds prospective clients.”

Do the right presentations when you get the opportunity. There is no point in presenting CEO’s and others in top management with just a colourful story about you and your company. They want to know what you can do for them. What do you offer? “Get to the bottom line as quickly as possible,” says Gibson. “Thereafter you can elaborate on the history of your company and such if asked to do so.”

Customer Product Presentations

Customer

Product Presentations

The presentation should be based around the customer’s needs, not a general dealer history and product overview. Have they analysed the business before making appointment? Have they qualified the prospect (MAN – Money, Authority, Need) Did they identify the right person (buyer, CEO, MD)? Do they know why the company needs the vehicles and the application thereof? When doing the presentation, it should ideally be customised to the customer’s need.

Building Loyalty

Building Loyalty Treat your clients the way they want to be treated. •Use personalized treatment – People have particular needs. It’s in your best interest to make them feel special and respected. They will certainly stay with you for the long haul •Be reliable – Keep your promises and deliver on time to build trust. •Be flexible – Lose the phrase “company policy” from your vocabulary. Be ready to make changes to your schedule and business approach to accommodate clients. Don’t turn yourself into a “corporate entity”. •Be consistent in your approach – Treat customers with respect and always be truthful. There’s no better way to build trust. •Get personal – Make your customer your friend. Ask about their family, important events in their lives and follow up on this information. •Set yourself up for the long haul – be sure to tell them you intend to be of service after the sale has been made if they need you, whenever they need you. Treat them like people, not like deals and they’ll be sure to come back.

Maintaining Loyalty

Maintaining

Loyalty

The basis of maintaining loyalty is continued, consistent communication.

Focus the majority of your marketing efforts on your current clients because they are more likely to use your services than new ones. •Make all forms of communication and contact personal. For this, you need their names as well as personal data on important things and events in their lives: hobbies, birth date, birthdates of family members, marriages and funerals. •Thank you notes. This should be a given step but so many forget to thank their clients for bringing their business to them. Don’t be that kind of person. •Phone. Give them a call now and then either to congratulate them on their birthdays, or to wish them happy holidays, and don’t forget to inquire whether they need your services.

Maintaining Loyalty

Maintaining

Loyalty

Newsletter. Keep in constant contact by sending them newsletters chockfull of interesting and useful articles. •Direct mail. Make sure to include all of your old clients on your mailing list for promotional material and offers. •Holiday greetings. People love to be called upon on holidays. Send them beautiful postcards at Christmas and Easter, or any other date you feel it’s appropriate. •Incentives. Reward your old clients for sticking with you. Send them freebies, small gifts and services, either on a special occasion or as a part of a campaign especially focused on maintaining their loyalty. •Keep your service standard up or even raise it if possible. Don’t slack off just because you know them. •Ask for feed-back. Old clients are a very valuable source of feed-back. Even more so, asking for feed-back let’s them know you are sensitive to their needs. It is very likely that the next time they bring their business to you, your services will be even better than the last time.

•Throw a party for your old customers. This is a great way to maintain relationships. Who doesn’t love parties? •Get together every now and then. Meet for lunch or coffee, it will be a good opportunity to find out if they still need you.

Handling Objections

Handling

Objections

Many sales people struggle with objections, especially those that are new to the profession. They don’t know how to handle them, they get flustered when a customer or prospect states an objection and some simply fear even hearing them. Sometimes it prevents them from contacting a customer at all…“oh, he’ll just say our price is too high. Why should I call him?”

Objections take many forms: price concerns, competitive concerns, people not interested in your company’s products, etc. These “objections” are the bumps in the road that prevent sales people from ultimately winning a customers business. Without an effective strategy to work through objections, salespeople find themselves facing insurmountable obstacles assuring them of major struggles and most likely, failure. So, how should you handle objections? There are many ways to handle objections, but here is one very easy framework that sales people can use when they encounter objections

What are Objections?

What are

objections?

The customer's way of getting a different view of the situation. Customers want to make the right buying decision for their needs. A solid response to an objection could give your prospect a different way of looking at your product and the one they may be using.

The customer’s way of collecting more information to evaluate the product. Questions demonstrate a greater interest in your product and the customer sees you as a resource. REMEMBER: You are the only professional journal some healthcare professionals read.

The Prospect's way of asking you to help him "bridge the gap". Look at objections as "gateways" to your customer's thought process! Don't let prospects put you on the defensive. You will lose your power, you will lose your influence and you will compromise your edge. You are the product expert. Act like it!

Objections will reveal the customer's primary needs or areas of interest. If someone resists a feature of your product, they are telling you an important buying motive. If you demonstrate how this feature is actually a benefit or insignificant to other advantages in your product you are that much closer to the sale. The customer's way of getting to the bottom line. Customer's that object to particular aspects of your product or service really want details to make a buying decision. Objections move the sales process forward. Expressions of the customer’s interest and involvement. They show the customer is moving closer to the sale: it is a buying signal! When was the last time you took the time to object to a product you weren't interested in?

Handling Objections

Handling

Objections

Step 3: Align with the customer This means you need to put yourself in their shoes and relate to their concerns. Aligning with a customer shows that you and the customer are more alike than different. It shows that you would have the same concerns if the tables were turned and demonstrates that you are looking out for their best interests. Aligning with the customer focuses on creating a long term relationship, not just trying to "push your product". Continuing from our previous example: Salesperson: "….In fact, I am also very particular about getting the best value for my money. It’s important that I’m not over-paying for what I get."

Step 1: The first step is for the salesperson to realize that objections are good. Yes, that’s right, objections are a positive, not a negative, outcome of a sales call. Most sales people view objections as something they want to steer away from. Great sales people know that it is not an objection that is bad, it is indifference that is the real killer. Customers who take the time to tell you what they want are much easier to close than those that don’t tell you anything at all. Gaining information is one of the keys to closing potential customers. Think of it this way, customers that have objections must be interested in your services. Otherwise, wouldn’t they just hang-up the phone? Objections allow sales people to engage in conversation about something that the customer is interested in.

Step 2: Acknowledge the objection Acknowledging the objection tells the customer a few things. •You have listened to their concern. •Their concern is understood. •It’s o.k. for a customer to have concerns. •Concerns do not have to be confrontational. Example: Customer: “Your price is too high.” Sales Person: “I understand your concern about the price of our product and your desire to get the best value for every cent you spend.”

Handling Objections

Handling

Objections

Step 4: Counter proposal This is your counter proposal to the objection. There are many different ways to counter objections. Some counters are: clarifying the objection, presenting specific benefits, probe for other objections/benefits, pre-closing, using an example, and asking the customer for the solution. The appropriate counter depends on the salesperson’s style and the customer situation. Here are examples of counters. Again, these counters are to be used after you "acknowledge and align", not before, or on their own. Clarify - "You mentioned that our price was too high. Can you give me a little more information on that? Such as, is that because of what you’ve paid in the past? Essentially, how did you arrive at that?" Benefits - "Although our price may be higher than the competition’s, our value to our customers is also much higher. Let me explain..." Probe for other Objections/Benefits - "What are your other thoughts on our proposal? Are you concerned about any other specifics in regards to it?" Pre-closing - "If we are able to alleviate your concerns about our price to your satisfaction, would you buy our product?" Using an Example - "Mr. Customer, what car do you drive? I’m sure that’s not the cheapest car you could have bought. Why did you choose to purchase that car instead of a cheaper car?... Well, those are the exact reasons our customers choose to buy our product as opposed to our competitors. We believe the key for all of our customers is the benefits and value that our company brings to them." Customer solution - "Mr. Customer, do you have any possible solution in mind that might help us alleviate this concern?" The counters mentioned in step four can be used together or separately. You can combine any of these depending on the situation and the benefit you feel it will bring to the conversation.

Handling Objections

Handling

Objections Step 5: Ask the customer if you’ve

answered his objection, if he has further questions, if he understood your points, and/or if he’s ready to move forward.

This gives you a true test of whether or not you were effective in discussing his objection. It also allows you to plan your next course of action with the customer. It’s really easy to “feel” what the customer is thinking when you ask him directly. Don’t be afraid to do it. Handling objections comes down to having a strategy going into the conversation, remaining confident, and being optimistic during the course of your conversations with the customer. You’ll be amazed at the results when you put all of these together.

Negotiation

Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. Negotiation is something that we do all the time and is not only used for business purposes. For example, we use it in our social lives perhaps for deciding a time to meet or where to go on a rainy day. Negotiation is usually considered as a compromise to settle an argument or issue to benefit ourselves as much as possible. Communication is always the link that will be used to negotiate the issue/argument whether it is face-to-face, on the telephone or in writing. Remember, negotiation is not always between two people: it can involve several members from two parties.

Disruptive and Integrative If your reason for negotiation is seen as 'beating' the opposition, it is known as 'Distributive negotiation'. This way, you must be prepared to use persuasive tactics and you may not end up with maximum benefit. This is because your agreement is not being directed to a certain compromise and both parties are looking for a different outcome. Should you feel your negotiation is much more 'friendly' with both parties aiming to reach agreement, it is known as 'Integrative negotiation'. This way usually brings an outcome where you will both benefit highly.

Negotiations

What is involved (money, sales, time, conditions, discounts, terms, etc)? Know your extremes: how much extra can you afford to give to settle an agreement? Although you are not aiming to give out the maximum, it is worth knowing so that you will not go beyond your limits. Know what your opposition is trying to achieve by their negotiation. This is useful information that could be used to your benefit and may well be used to reach a final agreement. Consider what is valuable to your business, not the costs. You may end up losing something in the negotiation that is more valuable to your business than money. It could be a reliable client or your company reputation.

Planning and How to Negotiate: Pre-Negotiation Before you decide to negotiate, it is a good idea to prepare. What is it exactly that you want to negotiate? Set out your objectives (e.g. I want the customer to give me a confirmed order). You have to take into account how it will benefit the other party by offering some sort of reward or incentive.

Negotiation

It is always important that you keep the negotiation in your control, this can mean within your price range, your delivery time or your profit margin. If you fail to do so, you will end up on the wrong side of the agreement, and with nothing more out of the deal other than maintaining trading relationships. When negotiating, aim as high as you feel necessary in order to gain the best deal for yourself. The other party may bring this down but it is a good tactic, as it is always easier to play down than to gain. Make sure that you remain flexible throughout the negotiation in case the other party decides to change the direction of the agreement (they may want different incentives or even change their objectives).

This is where your preparation comes to good use, knowing your limits and the other party's needs. If you're a quick thinker then you've got an advantage. You'll need to turn it around quickly if things start to go against you without putting your objectives at risk. Confidence comes from knowing your business, your product, what its worth, and being able to communicate this well to the other party: these people are almost impossible to get the better of, as some of you will know only too well.

It is important that you approach the other party directly to make an appointment to negotiate should it be in person, writing or by phone (not through a phone operator, receptionist, assistant etc) as this will allow you to set the agenda in advance, and improve the prospects of the other party preparing sufficiently enough to make a decision on the day. Try to be fairly open about your reason for contact or they may lose interest instantly and not follow up on the appointment. Save all your comments for the actual appointment, don't give away anything that will give them a chance to prepare too thoroughly, it's not war, but it is business!

Negotiation

Enhancing Negotiation Skills

Enhancing negotiation skills

Be conscious of the difference between positions and interests. If you can figure out why you want something - and why others want the outcome - then you’re looking at interests. Interests are the building blocks of lasting agreements.

Be creative. Anyone can do things the same old way. Using brainstorming techniques, listening to outlandish proposals and opening up to unanticipated possibilities expands agreement opportunities. If you respond with new ideas and do the unexpected, you can open doors to far greater gains than when you behave predictably. Creativity can make everyone look good.

Be fair. If people feel a process is fair, they’re more likely to make real commitments and less likely to walk away planning ways to wriggle out of the agreement. Sometimes things are helped when a neutral, external authority is used to measure fairness.

Be prepared to commit. You shouldn’t make a commitment unless you can fulfil it. Commitment isn’t likely to result unless all parties feel the process has been fair.

Enhancing Negotiation Skills Be an active listener. Communication takes place when information passes from a source to a receiver. If you spend all of your listening time planning how to zing the other party, then, when they finally stop talking, you haven’t heard them. Focus on what others say, both on their words and their underlying meaning. This will help you understand the interests upon which agreement can be based. When your response makes it clear that you’ve really been listening (and the other party gets over the initial shock), they, too, may be more prepared to listen. Active listening can change the rules of the game and raise the level of civility in the negotiation.

Be conscious of the importance of the relationship. Most of your negotiation is with repeaters (people you run across time after time such as your spouse and kids). The same is true for borrowers, directors and representatives of affiliated institutions. If you understand the relative priority of the relationship, it can be easier to know when giving on a particular point may yield short-term costs but long-term gains.

Be aware of BATNA’s. BATNA stands for the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. Your BATNA is the situation you want to improve by negotiating with a given party or set of parties. If you can improve things on your own, you don’t need to negotiate. But BATNA is not your bottom line. It’s a measure of the relative value of negotiating a particular issue with a particular party - or whether you can fall back on better alternatives. Be prepared. In order to negotiate effectively, efficiently and wisely, it’s crucial to prepare. Your job isn’t to outline a perfect, total solution; that would be a positional approach. Preparation means studying the interests and BATNA’s of every possible party. It means understanding the short- and long-term consequences you use and the substantive results you pursue. Doing your homework can save a lot of time.

Enhancing negotiation skills

Conflict Management Skills

Conflict M

anagement

skills

Where Does Conflict Come From •Our personal fears and insecurities. •Misunderstandings in communication. •Lack of information or communication. •Need for control and predictability in our lives.

Conflict is a state of disagreement or opposition between two parties regarding ideas, interests, needs, values, desires or wishes. Conflict is an inevitable and natural part of everyday life and in every workplace.

Cost to Self •Creating professional stress and burnout. •Decreasing your productivity. •Quitting your job. •Getting into fights at home with friends, family and significant others. •Decreasing physical well-being: tension headaches, increased blood pressure or abdominal pain. •Decreased emotional well-being: stress, depression, mood swings or irritability.

Cost to Company •Absenteeism. •Poor customer outcomes. •Stressful environment. •Reduced morale. •Dissatisfied customers.

The Conflict Resolution Pyramid

Conflict Resolution Pyram

Basic Response to Conflict

Basic Response to Conflict Basic Responses to

Conflict •Confronting Using aggression, passive aggression or violence. •Avoiding Withdrawing or giving in. •Accommodating Smoothing or submitting. •Compromising “Splitting the difference”. •Collaborating Working to solve the problem

Interpersonal Interactions

Interpersonal Interactions Creating a Conducive Environment

•Creating this environment by showing respect for the other person and the topic. •A sense of safety. •Little or no distractions. •A sufficient level of privacy. •Adequate time to address the issues.

Actively Listening/Communicating •This shows understanding through your words. •Clarify. •Paraphrase. •Summarize. •Ask questions.

Actively Attending •Show interest through your body language. •Good eye contact. •Ignore outside distractions. •Use natural, calm tone of voice. •Positive gestures (head nodding, smiling). •Awake body posture (alert, leaning forward, attentive).

Summarizing Phrases •What you’re telling me is… •Let me see if I understand what you said… •As I understand your situation… •It seems to me that what you’re saying is… •Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I hear you saying…

Problem Solving and Negotiation

Problem solving

and negotiation

Problem solving and negotiation is a back and forth process for solving the problem created when two or more parties have conflicting interest.

The PRESO Process

Prepare Think through the situation, think about what you want and hope to accomplish, prepare what you are going to say.

Relate Focus on establishing and maintaining a good working relationship throughout the discussion, discover the interests and goals of your co-worker. Start off your discussion by asking 3 questions that you know will get a “yes” response. This will demonstrate that amidst the conflict there is common ground between you which helps to put the other person in a more agreeable state of mind.

Explore interests It’s important to understand the other person’s perspective and goals as it relates to the conflict, as well as your own. Without this understanding finding a win-win solution for both of you will be harder. Suggest options Brainstorm a variety of concrete solutions that help to satisfy both of your needs. Don’t worry about the content or clarity of your ideas while brainstorming. It is more important just to get the different options said and on paper.

Operationalise Next decide when the agreement will start, what you’ll do to make it successful, or how to avoid future conflicts. If you want, put your agreement in writing so that you’ll always have proof of what was agreed upon. You’re resolution to the conflict is more likely to work if it’s not too complicated, so keep it simple. In a couple of weeks set up some time to check in with each other to see if it’s working and see what changes, if any, need to be made.

Bumping it UP!

Bumping it U

P! Mediation, arbitration and litigation are the three options that can be used as an absolute last resort.

Mediation A process where a neutral third party helps individuals negotiate an acceptable resolution to their conflict.

Arbitration A process whereby a neutral third party has the authority to make decisions about how a dispute will be resolved. Arbitration typically lacks the legal power to enforce compliance with the decision made.

Litigation A process whereby people with disagreements go to court to have their dispute settled in a formal manner by a judge. Courts have the power to enforce their decisions.

Resolving Conflict with Co-workers

Conflict with Co-

workers

Initiate and Listen •If you are aware that something is wrong, be the first to bring it up. •Set the tone for the discussion by your calm attitude and willingness to discuss and resolve the situation. •Initiate discussion at a place and time that is safe and good for all. •Listen effectively. •Find out what is really being said – listen behind the words. •You don’t have to agree with everything that is said, but hear it out. •Clarify what you are hearing – restate what you hear, ask questions. •Respect differences in communication styles and cultural differences in approaching conflict.

Don’t Be a Trigger •Avoid using language that triggers. •Use I rather than you. •Don’t over react. •Don’t get sucked into side issues. •Be careful of your non-verbal communication.

of resolving the situation work?

Set Respectful Limits •Be clear about limits and consequences. •Don’t threaten. State facts, don’t make the person feel threatened. •If the discussion gets out of control, take a break. •Never use violence or physical means to set a limit. •Resume when things have cooled off. Find Win-Win Solutions •Generate solutions that meet the needs of each person. •Know that the real needs might not be what are initially stated. •Make sure everyone walks away with something. •Use a fair process for deciding – even when you need to exert authority. •Check in later – is the solution working, did the process of resolving the situation work?

Prospect and Company Information

Prospect and Com

pany Inform

ation Prospect and Company Information What do you know about your clients? What kind of information can you identify about your clients without having to ask them? Knowing more about your clients is a fabulous way to grow your business. Why is all of this important?

Here are four reasons:

1. If you know more about your clients (past and current), you will have a better idea about where and how to find more people like them.

2. You may also discover a trend that you were unaware of previously. Like the fact that most of your clients are mostly men, that they are all mothers of small children, or that many of them are from the same area. When you know more about your clients, you can create products and services that match what they really want.

3. When you know the most frequent ways that clients find your business, you can increase your marketing efforts in those areas.

4. When prospective clients ask you what kind of clients you serve, you will be able to answer clearly with confidence.

The End This concludes Prospecting

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