Hafeez Rajudin
Your
face to face selling skills provide the pay off in your territory. You sell
when you contact consumers and when you contact the retailers.
In
your face to face conversation with retailers and consumers, your product
knowledge, selling skills, and your company's marketing tools are all focused
to accomplish the overall sales objective: that is, to increase the sales of
your company's products.
Planning
the sales call
Planning
starts with setting objectives. Objectives are the specific tasks you want
accomplished during the call. Once objectives are set, the way to accomplish
them must also be planned.
Advantages
of setting objectives
1.
Setting a good objective or objectives for a
sales call gives you several advantages.
2.
It enables you to do a better job of planning
the call.
3.
It saves time.
4.
It gives you a yardstick to determine whether or
not the call was successful.
5.
Most important, it increases your sales success
rate - more of your calls will be successful calls.
Examples
of call objectives
In a
typical call, you might have several objectives. Your main objective, for
example, might be to get the retailer to increase the inventory of your
"Product A". You might have an equally important objective, to get
the retailer to display poster of "Product A-Sold here" sign.
Characteristics
of Objectives
An
objective, to be really useful, must have certain characteristics:
1.
It must be specific.
Which
point of sales material (POSM) do you want to place? What distribution gaps are
you going to fill? Be specific as to quantities, brands, number of displays,
etc.
2.
It must be ambitious
If
the call is worth making aim high. On the other hand be realistic. Don't set
impossible goals.
3.
Keep the objectives action oriented
State
the objectives in terms of what you want the retailer to do as a result of your
call, not what you intend to do during the call.
4.
Your objective must be customer oriented
It
is the nature of our business that what is good for our dealer is also good for
us. By tailoring your objectives to assist the retailer in building business,
you will also be strengthening your relationship with him.
On
the spot Objectives
Some
objectives cannot be set in advance; we call these on the spot objectives.
After you are actually in the retail sales outlet you may uncover a need for
additional objectives. For example, a competitor sales representative may have
taken some of your company's space on the shelf and you must adjust the
situation immediately.
Once
you learn how to do it well, planning doesn't usually take much time. You can
do it by going through your call cards the night before (which is preferable)
or spending a few moments prior to each call.
The
presentation plan
After
you have set your objectives for a particular call, you are now ready for your
sales presentation. The sales presentation plan consists of four phases:
1.
The Opener
2.
The benefit story
3.
Handling Objections
4.
The Close
1.
The Opener
Types
of Openers
Generally,
there are three types of openers:
- The opener might be the mention of a specific benefit
- Or it may zero in on a Problem
- It could be a Provocative Question
To
be even more effective, you can show something, or even put something in the
retailer's hand, to reinforce what you are saying.
Examples
of Openers
Let
us take a few examples:
"This
sold here" sign will tell people that "Product A" is available
in your outlet and therefore increase your sales from impulse buying, wouldn't
you like that?" (Benefit opener - for POSM placement, lighted signboards
etc)
"You
are probably losing some of your "Product A" customers to another
store. You don't want that to happen, do you?" (Problem opener - for
keeping more stocks to avoid out of stock situations)
As
you can see from the above examples, the opener should be direct, short, and simple
to get the retailer's attention, arouse curiosity or get interest. A good
opener will make your selling job easier and with a greater chance of success.
2.
The benefit story
It
is a fact that people do not buy products, they buy what the product will do
for them. With this in mind, you should state the benefits or what your product
will do for the retailer.
Definition
of benefit
First
of all, let's see exactly what a benefit is. In simple terms, a benefit answers
a question that is always on a retailer's mind: "What is in it for
me" The retailer always wants to know, "What do i get out of it if i
follow your recommendation?" If the retailer doesn't gain anything, there
is no benefit.
Profit
The
ultimate benefit to a retailer, the one ultimate benefit is net profit. When we
explain how our proposal can increase sales and profit, we are talking about
benefits - in a language the retailer can understand. These are business
benefits in the truest sense - they relate directly to the benefit itself.
personal
Benefits for Retailers
In
addition to business benefits, the services you provide may offer personal benefits
to the retailer. If you point out ways in which our merchandising efforts will
help the retailer make his job easier an solve his problems, then we are
talking about personal benefits.
When
you plan your presentation, you should list the benefits that match the
retailers needs. Opposite each benefit, briefly list the ways you can explain or
prove or dramatize the benefits you are selling:
- An explanation of the facts (advertising budget, major promotional events in support of the brands etc.)
- An exhibit (show POSM, magazine advertisement etc.)
- Sales statistics (market share)
- Pencil and appear evidence (projected annual loss in sales and profits due to out of stock conditions, etc.)
Supporting
evidence reinforces the benefit claims and makes the presentation even more convincing.
Features
Versus Benefits
Not
only must you convince the retailer of the features of your product, you must
arouse in him a desire for your product. Retailers will not desire your
company's products or your ideas merely because of their high quality.
Arousing
Desire
How
do you develop the retailer's desire? Quite simply, it is by telling the dealer
what's in it for him. E.g. last year in the US, over two million quarter inch
drills were sold. The people who bought these two million quarter inch drills
did not want quarter inch drills, they wanted quarter inch holes.
So
let's not sell drills - let's sell holes.
Don't
sell "Product A" sell profits
Don't
sell extra POSM - sell impulse sales related items.
Don't
sell extra stocks - sell extra sales, satisfied customers
In summary,
speak in terms of your retailer's interests. It is a natural tendency for
retailers to postpone and action or a decision. But it is a rare retailer who
takes offense at a sales representative who asks for a sale with the interest
of the retailer uppermost in his mind. Never forget that in asking for the
order, the retailer is willing to be sold if it is to his interests.
3.
Handling Objections
Not
every sales situation goes as smoothly as we'd like. There is a high likelihood
of running into a sales resistance. Everyone has a built in resistance to being
sold something.
So
you should expect objections and not be afraid of them. When a retailer throws
an objection, he is in fact saying, "if you expect me to accept your
proposal you'll first have to satisfy me about..?"
So
objections must be treated like requests for information. A well handled
objection can be the springboard to the sale.
Approaching
Objections
When
you get an objection, the answer should be ready in your mental file. But,
before giving it, you should set the stage, establish an agreeable climate in
which to present his answer. Here's the basic approach that will help build
this climate.
An objection
should always be listened to and never interrupted. An objection is the
retailer's opinion; you should show that you recognize its importance.
- When necessary, questions should be asked. Why does the retailer feel that way? it the objection is less than perfectly clear question should be asked to get all the facts.
- Sometimes the objection should be restated. Restating the objection before attempting to answer it assures the retailer that you do infect understand it. It also ensures that you will answer the right objection and not a misunderstood version of it.
- The retailer should always be assured that his objection is reasonable. You should show that you understand the retailer's point of view. You should use expressions like "That's an important point" or " I can understand how you feel"
Techniques
of Answering Objections
As
for answering objections, there are many techniques available.
- Acknowledge but keep going.
Some objections are best handled by bright acknowledgement and
nothing more. The best time to use this tactic, is when the objection is minor.
Example:
Comments like: "I don't like the color of this
ticket" or "It's too big" can best be handled by this technique.
You may say:" I understand how you feel. But think of the benefits of
increased impulse sales increased profits etc.
- Turn it into an Advantage
Some objections can be turned into an advantage. Usually, when
you use this tactic you can obtain a psychological advantage because you have
converted an obstacle into a reason for "Buying"
Example:
Consider the retailer who objects to displaying your products on the shelf. In
this instance you can turn the objection into an advantage by saying "I
understand your problem, but by displaying this product on the shelf you will
ensure maximum exposure to your customers and this will actually increased your
sales."
Offset
the benefit
Occasionally,
you will run into perfectly valid objections. The best tactic is to agree with
it, concede the disadvantages then go on to offset it with benefits.
Example:
In
the situation where a retailer objects to a counter display by saying "It's
too bit and I don't have room on the counter," you can utilize this
technique very effectively. Here's how "I'd have to agree that the space
on your counter is important, before we consider the location let's consider
the benefits, that compensate for it; extra impulse sales, extra profits,
higher turnover, etc.
- The "Third party" method
You can put more muscle in your objection handling techniques
if you use satisfied customers as examples whenever possible. Instead of
attempting to put in your own ideas against those of the retailer, you could
shift the burden of proof from your shoulders to those of a "neutral"
third party - neutral because that party has no interest in the transaction.
When you use this technique, you should select a third party
the retailer knows about. You then describe how this third party voiced the
same objection but decided to accept your idea and is now very satisfied.
Example:
Suppose you encounter this objection:"I don't want to
display on my counter. I'll have to watch it all the time." you might
say:"That's the same point another of my customer raised about six months
ago. I asked him to give it a try since it would increase sales. I saw him last
week and he is completely satisfied with the display. He said he doesn't have
the problem he thought he would and sales are up"
4.
The Close
When
you achieve your objective, you have to close. It could mean getting the retailer
to accept a counter display, getting approval for POSM or persuading the
retailer to place a product display case.
The
key to an effective close is a well planned question, one that tells you
whether you have achieved your objective. The close can and should be planned.
Characteristics
of a good close
A
good closing question must:
- Ask the retailer to do something and
- Relate to your call objective
Types
of closes
There
are various types of closes you can try out:
I.
The assumptive Question
This
type of question demonstrates a more positive attitude, since it implies that
you have succeeded in your objective.
Example
"Where
do you want me to set up the display?"
II.
The choice Question
The
theory in using the choice question is to give the retailer a choice between
two things (not between "yes" or "no")
Example
"Should
I set up the display on the counter or would you prefer it next to the cash
register?"
III.
The Action Close
A
good way to close is to assume that the retailer is going to buy and start
taking some action based on that assumption.
Example:
Start
to write up the agreement while the retailer is still saying, 'I don't think.."
IV.
Planning Closes
In
planning closing questions, you should strive for variety in both choice of
questions and timing. There is no magic time for closing, and you must know how
to spot closing questions so that they are available when opportunities arise.
Planning several closes will help you achieve your objectives more quickly and
effectively.
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