MAJOR SALES Who really does the Buying?

MAJOR SALESWho really does the Buying?By Group 1, Kumar Ankit (60018)Kumar Priyank (60020)Saurabh Kumar Singh (60034)Govinda (50012) IntroductionMany companies selling efforts are models of marketing efficiency.Account plans are carefully drawnKey accounts receive special management attentionSubstantial resources are devoted to the sales processFrom prospect identification to post sale services.Even such well-planned and well-executed selling strategies often fail, though, because management has an incomplete understanding of the buying psychology the human side of selling.Getting at the Human FactorsMost of the companies business comes from a small minority of its customers.Retaining these key accounts is getting increasingly difficult as buyers constantly look not only for the best deal but also for the vendor that best understands them and their needs. 1. Whos in the buying Centre?InitiatorRecognizes that some problem of company can be solved or avoided by acquiring a product or service.InfluencerThese are those individual who have a say in whether a purchase is made and about what is bought.GatekeeperThese individuals usually act as a problem or product experts. They are paid to keep up on the range of vendor offerings.DeciderThese individuals say yes or no to the contemplated purchasePurchaser and UserThese are those concerned, respectively, with obtaining and consuming the product or service.2. Who are the Powerful Buyers?

Six behavioural cluesOn the basis of the preceding analysis of power centres, six clues for identifying the powerful:Power & formal authority other clues about buying power. Identify buying center holders observe communications inside company. Express concern strong clues to identity of powerful buyer. High power buyers one way info centers Most powerful buying center not easily identified No correlation between functional area of manager and his power inside company. 3. What do they want?Decompose the product/service into various benefits such as Product features Price Reliability Segment the potential benefits into various categories

4. How do they perceive Us?Method: Continuum ranging from negative to positive The placement of the companys products and people on two axes perpendicular to each other

Gathering Psychological IntelligenceMake productive sales calls a norm, not an oddity.Key selling assessments involveIsolating the powerful buying-centre members,Identifying what they want in terms of both their hot buttons and specic needs,Assessing their perceptions of the situation.Additionally, gathering psychological information is more often a matter of listening carefully than of asking clever questions during the sales interview.

Listen to the sales forceUse of simple, clear and accurate sales control form of the sort suggested in the matrix exhibit.

Emphasize homework and detailsHaving techniques for acquiring sales intelligence and attending to reports is not enough.Sales management must stress that yours is a company that rewards careful fact gathering, tight analysis, and impeccable execution.This message is most meaningful when it comes from the top.Cautionary NotesThe group that influences a purchase doesnt call itself a buying center.Nor do decision makers and inuencers think of themselves in those terms.Managers must be careful not to mistake the analysis and ordering process for the buyers actions themselves.