SALES FORCE
MANAGEMENT
MKT 205
Main references
Joseph F. Hair (Jr.), Rolph E. Anderson, Rajiv Mehta, Barry J. Babin (2020) Sales Force
Management, Wiley.
Johnston, Mark W. and Marshall, Greg W. (2016) Sales Force Management, 11th ed,
McGraw-Hill
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CHAPTER 3:
THE SELLING PROCESS
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Introduction
• How do salespeople prospect and qualify potential customers?
• How should salespeople approach potential customers?
• How should salespeople present and demonstrate their products and services?
• How should salespeople negotiate customer resistance and objections?
• How should salespeople close the sale and service accounts?
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Organizational Buying
Stage 1 Stage 7
Anticipation /Recognition of Performance evaluation
problems or needs &feedback
Stage 2 Determination of traits
Qualifying the needed items Stage 6
Selection of order routine
Stage 3
Search and qualification of the
potential suppliers
Stage 5
Evaluate proposal & selection of
Stage 4 suppliers
Acquisition & Analysis of
proposal Source : Johnston & Marshall 2011 4
Participants in Organization Buying
• Initiator : people who perceived a problem that require product/item
purchase
• Users: who must use the product
• Influencers : provide info for evaluating alternative suppliers and
products. Play a major role in product specification & criteria in making
decision.
• Gatekeeper: control the information flow to other people involved in the
purchasing process
• The buyers: the person that actually contact the selling organization and
placing the buying orders
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Participants in Organization Buying
• The decider : is the person with the final authority to make a purchase
decision. It could be the CEO or to executives in an organization. Normally
dependent on the amount of relation money incur to purchase the item.
• Thecontroller : the one determine the budget for the purchase. to keep
within approved budget.
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Stages of the Selling Process (SP)
There are 7 interacting, overlapping steps in the
selling process:
1. Prospecting and qualifying
2. Planning the sales call (preapproach)
3. Approaching the prospect
4. Making the sales presentation and demonstration
5. Negotiating sales resistance or buyer objections
6. Confirming and closing the sale, and
7. Following up and servicing the account
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Step 1: Prospecting and Qualifying
The initial stage of the SP is known as prospecting and
qualifying.
• Prospects: Potential new customers
• Prospecting requires salespeople to first obtain
leads.
• A lead or potential buyer refers to a person or
organization that may have a need for a product or
service.
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Step 1: Prospecting and Qualifying
• Sales Leads are the names and addresses and details of a person or
organization that may have a need for a product or service.
• To become a prospect, a lead must be qualified in terms of four basic
criteria that can be remembered by the acronym N A M E, as follows:
1. Need or want
2. Authority to buy
3. Money or ability to buy
4. Eligibility to buy
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The Importance of Prospecting
Prospecting, the initial stage, is necessary for several reasons:
• Firms need to increase total sales.
• Customers switch to other suppliers.
• Customers’ businesses are taken over by another company.
• Customers have only a one-time need for the product.
• Relationships with some customers deteriorate, and they stop buying from you.
• Your buying contacts are promoted, demoted, transferred, or fired, or they retire or resign.
• Customers move out of your territory.
• Customers go out of business.
• Customers die.
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Random-Lead Searching
Sometimes called “blind” searching, random-lead searching generates leads by randomly
calling on businesses.
Examples of random-lead searching include the following:
1. Door-to-door canvassing and cold calls
2. Territory blitz of organizations
• A territory blitz refers to an intensified version of door-to-door canvassing in which several salespeople join efforts
to call on every organization in a given territory or area.
3. Advertising
Advertising can use broadcast, interactive, or print media.
4. E-mail and websites
This method involves sending e-mails and using websites to look for leads.
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Selective-Lead Searching: Direct Sources
This refers to systematic strategies to generate leads from
predetermined target markets.
• friends, neighbors, and • personal observation
acquaintances • centers of influence
• satisfied customers and • spotters, or “bird dogs”
former customers • endless chain
• junior salespeople and • networking
sales associates
• Internet (e-mails)
• professional sales
organizations • newsletters
• mailing lists and • Surveys
directories
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Selective-Lead :Searching: Indirect Sources
General announcements or calls Examples
• postal or electronic sales letters
to potential markets are made,
hoping that prospects will come • trade shows, fairs, and exhibits
forward and identify themselves. • professional seminars and workshops
• contests
• free gifts
• unsolicited inquiries
• telemarketing for proposals
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Step 2: Planning for the Sales Call
(7 Steps to Pre-approach Success )
1. Prepare the prospect for the initial sales call
2. Sell the sales call appointment by prenotification
3. Gather and analyze all relevant information about the prospect
4. Identify the prospect’s problems and needs
5. Identify the product features, advantages, and benefits
6. Choose the best sales presentation strategy
7. Plan and rehearse your approach
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Step 2: Planning for the Sales Call :(7 Steps to Pre-approach Success )
1. Prepare the prospect for the initial sales call
• To prepare the prospect for the sales call, salespersons
can use “seeding,” which refers to prospect-focused
activities carried out several weeks or months before a
sales call.
2. Sell the sales call
Salespeople “sell the sales call” and ask
for an appointment to meet with
prospective buyers by using pre-
notification methods that include:
1. E-mail
2. Fax
3. Mail, and
4. Telephone
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Step 2: Planning for the Sales Call : 7 Steps to Pre-approach Success
3. Gather and Analyze Information
Prepare for meeting by Salespersons should also gather
gathering information on information about target firms,
prospective clients by: such as:
1. The prospect’s name and 1. Trade Associations
pronunciation 2. Chambers of Commerce
2. Job title 3. Credit Bureaus
4. Mailing List Companies
3. Duties
5. Government and Public
4. The prospect’s senior manager Libraries, and
5. Education 6. Investment Firms
6. Work experience
7. Level of technical expertise
8. Purchasing authority
9. Personality 16
Step 2: Planning for the Sales Call : 7 Steps to Pre-approach Success
4. Identify the prospect’s problems and needs
• Salespersons identify prospects problems by:
1. Products previously purchased
2. Production difficulties, and
3. Productivity inefficiencies
• Salespersons should also identify prospects needs and goals, such as:
1. Increase market share, and
2. Lower the cost of production.
5. Identify the product features, advantages, and benefits (FAB)
Salespersons can use the FAB approach to convince prospects into buying products of their firm,
which encompasses:
1. Identify Features: them
2. Enumerate Advantages, and
3. Stress Benefits (discussed later in detail)
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Step 2: Planning for the Sales Call : 7 Steps to Pre-approach Success
6. Choose the best sales presentation strategy
• Customer-oriented salespeople identify and solve
customer problems by skillfully observing, listening,
and asking probing questions.
7. Plan and rehearse your approach
Finally, make it a point to rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse until you
have mastered your total sales presentation and feel comfortable
and confident about it.
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Step 3: Approaching the Prospect
The third stage of the SP entails approaching the
prospect.
Strategies that can be used for approaching prospects
include:
1. Non-product-related approaches
2. Piquing interest approaches
3. Consumer-directed approaches, and
4. Product-related approaches
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Non-Product Related Approaches
1.
Four non-product-related approaches Self-
include: Introduction
1. Self-introduction
2. Mutual acquaintance or 4. Non-product 2.
Related
reference Dramatic
Approaches
Free Gift Or
Act Sample
3. Free gift or sample, e.g., free
financial planning for a prospect,
and 3.
Mutual
4. Dramatic act, e.g., setting a Acquaintance
carpet on fire to show safety. Or Reference
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Piquing Interest Approaches
Piquing interest approaches include:
1. 2.
Piquing
Curiosity Approach Customer-Benefit
Interest Approaches
Approach
1. Customer-benefit, e.g., our computer will increase employee productivity
2. Curiosity, e.g., Would you be interested in learning about our hi-tech steel smelter which
has a low carbon footprint?
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Consumer-Directed Approaches
1. Consumer-Directed 2.
Question Approaches Compliment or praise
3.
Survey
Three consumer-directed approaches are:
1. Compliment or praise approach, e.g., I read about the award you recently received in the New York
Times. Congrats!!!
2. Survey approaches, e.g., a short study to ascertain, say, environmental remediation costs based on
amount of clean-up.
3. Question approaches, e.g., “I am aware your company buys a lot of steel. Would you be interested
about our high-tensile steel products?”
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Product-Related Approaches
1. Product-Related 2.
Product demonstration Approaches Product or Ingredient
1. Product or ingredient approach, e.g., Demonstrate product or statistical
software for CRM or Data Mining.
2. Product demonstration approach, e.g., Carry sample that shows how
product works, such as demonstrating a software package.
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Overall Sales Call Objectives
1.
Generate
sales
Sales calls should achieve one or
more of three overall objectives. Overall
Sales Call
Objectives
2. 3.
Develop Protect
the market the market
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Establishing Sales Call Objectives
• Primary objectives (targeted outcome)
• Minimum objectives (lowest acceptable outcome), and
• Optimal objectives (best possible outcome)
When Setting “S M A R T” Objectives :
Specific: Establish a specific, major objective for the sales call.
Measurable: Ensure that your major objective is measurable or quantifiable, for example, a certain number of units
or dollar sales volume.
Achievable: Make sure the goals you set are realistic and achievable.
Relational: Always try to develop a long-term relationship with the prospect even if the major objective on this sales
call is not achieved.
Temporal: If you can, establish with the prospect a specific timeframe for achieving the major objective.
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Step 4: The Sales Presentation and Demonstration
The fourth stage and “heart” of the SP is the Sales Presentation and
Demonstration
• Critical center stage or “showtime”
• Remember the following issues during the presentation:
1. Ask the customer qualifying questions to uncover specific needs,
2. Present the products and services that will best satisfy those
needs,
3. Stimulate desire for the offerings with a skillful demonstration,
and
4. As using the F A B approach can be very powerful during a
presentation.
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Features Advantages and Benefits (FAB) Approach
• Discuss products’ features, advantages, and benefits:
1. F—Features are the obvious characteristics of the product. 1.
Features
• Remember to highlight features!
2. A—Advantages are the performance traits of the product
that show how it can be used to help the customer better
solve a problem than present products can. FAB
Approach
• Don’t forget to enumerate advantages relative to competitors’
products. 3. 2.
Benefits Advantages
3. B—Benefits are what the customer wants from the
product.
• And don’t fail to stress benefits of the product to the prospect.
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Sales Presentation Strategies
Several sales presentations strategies, but employ
that will best “fit” the audience.
1.
Stimulus-
1. Stimulus-response, in which the salesperson asks a series of Response
positive leading questions. 6. 2.
Team Selling Formula
Sales
2. Formula approach where the salesperson leads the Presentation
prospect through the mental states of buying that include Strategies
3.
attention, interest, desire, and action. 5.
Need
Depth Selling
Satisfaction
4.
3. Need satisfaction, in which the salesperson tries to find Consultative
Problem
dominant needs of the buyer. Solving
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Sales Presentation Strategies
4. Consultative problem solving is considered to be the most successful sales
presentation strategy.
• Focus on buyers problems, not seller's products.
• Emphasize partnership and "win-win" outcomes.
5. Team selling presentations are made to a group of decision makers from different
functional areas, e.g., when selling the new state-of-the art Boeing B-787
Dreamliner, the sales group will consist of various experts from avionics, jet engines,
flight training, and commercial managers, who work as a sales team.
6. Depth selling employs a combination of several sales presentation methods
discussed above.
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Adaptive Versus Canned Sales Presentations
• Adaptive selling
– Adaptive selling stresses the adaptation of each sales presentation and
demonstration to fit each individual prospect.
• Canned selling
– Canned selling is any highly structured or patterned selling approach.
Both adaptive and canned sales presentations can be effective when
matched with the appropriate prospect in a designated sales situation.
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Step 5: Negotiating Sales Resistance or Buyer Objections
• The fifth stage of the SP deals with negotiating sales resistance or
buyer objections.
• Objections are statements, questions, or actions by the prospect that
indicate resistance or an unwillingness to sign a purchase
agreement.
• Indeed, without sales resistance, there would not be any need for
salespeople. What’s more, objections should be seen as a sign of
buyer interest.
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Step 5: Negotiating Sales Resistance or Buyer Objections
Forms of
1. Valid Objections 2. Invalid Objections
Objections
Sincere concerns that the
prospect needs answered Used by prospects to stall the
before making the commitment sales process
to buy Irrelevant, untruthful,
delaying, or latent reasons
negotiate
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Different Forms of Valid Objections
There are at least seven types of valid objections.
1.
Product
Objections
7. 2.
Needs Price
1. Product objections usually concern the features, Objections Objections
advantages, and benefits associated with a product or
service. When prospects use this form of resistance to Valid
purchasing, salespeople should provide additional 6. Objections 3.
Source Promotion
information to reassure them. Objections Objections
5. 4.
Capital Distribution
2. Price objections are the most frequently raised form Objections Objections
of initial resistance. To counter price resistance,
salespeople must show that their product or service
offers the prospect higher value per dollar spent than
competitive offerings. 33
Different Forms of Valid Objections
3. Promotion objections are commonly used as a resistance tactic when the seller is known not to promote
products aggressively.
4. Distribution objections typically involve the physical movement of products through the channels of
distribution. These forms of buyer resistance include concerns about long delivery time, high delivery
costs, and large-quantity stocking requirements.
5. Capital objections generally revolve around budgetary issues that prospects give as an excuse for not
purchasing products now. This resistance tends to increase with the price of the product or service.
6. Source objections may result from negative publicity about unethical, illegal, or inefficient business
practices by the seller.
7. Needs objections are raised by prospects who feel they simply do not currently need or have use for the
products or services being offered.
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Different Forms of Invalid Objections
Stalling objections are
Latent objections are hidden usually delaying tactics
and sometimes too personal articulated by such
or embarrassing for the 1. 2. comments as “Around here,
prospect to reveal, so they Stalling all decisions are shared, so
Latent
remain unspoken. Objections
just leave your product
Objections literature for us to look over,
and we’ll get back to you if
Invalid we’re interested.”
Unethical objections are
Objections
actions or attitudes that
seem unprincipled or Time objections are delaying
immoral, such as 4. 3. tactics that usually surface in
resistance to buying Unethical Time prospect statements such as
include excuses about Objections Objections “I’ve got to prepare for a
soliciting bribes or meeting in ten minutes, so I
kickbacks. don’t have time to talk now,”
or “I’m just too busy for the
next several weeks with a
special project to meet with
you.” 37
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Specific Techniques for Negotiating Buyer Objections
• “I’m coming to
that”
• Pass-off
1. Alternative product
Put-Off strategies.
Feel, felt, found
strategies
Case history 5. 2. Comparison or
Demonstration Provide Switch contrast
Propose trial use Proof Buyer Focus Answer with a
Objections question
Techniques Humorous strategies
Agree and neutralize
strategies
4. 3.
Denial Offset
Indirect denial Compensation or counterbalance
Direct denial Boomerang 39
Step 6: Confirming and Closing the Sale
• The sixth step of the SP concerns Confirming and
Closing the Sale, where the salesperson tries to obtain a
purchase order from the prospect.
• The close is that stage in the selling process where the
salesperson tries to obtain a purchase order from the
prospect.
• The more closing strategies the salesperson knows and
can effectively apply, the greater the chances for closing
the sale.
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Step 6: Confirming and Closing the Sale
• Boomerang close
• Assumptive close
• Future order close
• Choice close
• If-when close
• Success story close
• Probability close
• Contingent close • Stimulus-response close
• Suggestion close
• Counterbalance close • Minor points close
1.
• Standing-room-only
Clarification
• Impending event close
• Turnover close Closes
• Advantage close
• Pretend-to-leave close • Puppy dog close
• Ask for help close 5.
2.
• Compliment close
Psychologically
Lost Sale • Reserve advantage close
Oriented
Closes
Closing Closes • Dependency close
Categories
• Ask for the order close
• No-risk close • Order form close
• Management close • Summary close
4. 3.
• Special-deal close • Repeated-yes close
Concession Straightforward
• Takeaway close • Benefits close
Closes Closes
• Action close
• Negotiation close 41
• Technology close
Step 7: Following Up and Servicing the Account
• The seventh and final step of the SP concerns Following Up and Servicing the Account, which will help
you retain your customers.
• After making the sale, top salespeople don’t disappear, instead they maintain close contact with the
customer to handle any complaints.
• Recall, CRM—it’s less costly to keep present customers satisfied than to search out and acquire new
customers.
• Frequent and comprehensive follow-up is a primary means of retaining long-run, satisfied, loyal, and
profitable customers.
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Applying CRM to the Selling Process:
Empowering Salespeople for CRM
Empower salespeople to:
1. Accept returns of unsatisfactory
products
2. Negotiate price discounts
3. Provide purchase incentives, and
4. Resolve customer complaints.
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Read Selling in Germany ( jobber pg 226)
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Practical : Read the case “The O’Brien Company” refer to Jobber ( pg 200)
Discussion questions
1 What are your sales objectives? What extra information about Mr Forbes would be useful
to have?
2 Prepare a sales presentation for the laptop bags.
3 Prepare a list of possible objections to the products, and your responses to them.
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Practical
Case: Supermarket versus superbrand: Cooperate to compete
Read jobber pg 230 and do the following :
Task
Students should form three teams representing Morrisco Markets, Morning Foods Ltd and a team
of observers. Each team has a set of objectives, ranked according to importance.
Teams spend20minutes developing a negotiation strategy, identifying the objections that the
other party is likely to make and preparing appropriate responses. Each team should nominate a
representative or negotiating group.
List the objectives that Must and would like to have
Each side is looking for a ‘win–win’ result. Each party has a fair idea of what the others’
negotiation objectives will be.
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