Consultative Sales Process: A Comprehensive Guide to Building Customer Relationships and Driving Sales
2)NEED DESCOVERY
3 dimentions= ask appropate questions, listen & acknowledge customer response, establish bying motive.
Consultative Sales Process and Value:
Increased customer satisfaction, More sales closed, Fewer order cancellations, Fewer returns, Increased repeat business, Increased referrals.
Need discovery time varies based on:
Sophistication of product, Selling price, Customer’s knowledge, Product applications, Time available.
SPIN Selling=
Situation questions, Problem q, Implication q, Need-payoff q.
Questions help clarify the exact dimensions of the problem, help customer evaluate a range of solutions, and assist the customer in evaluating the potential outcome of the solution that is used.
Types= survey (general or specific) (reveal customer problems), probing (uncover pain & clarify circumstances), confirmation (seeks agreement or validation, ensuring mutual understanding or accuracy) , need satisfaction (seeks to understand if someone’s requirements or desires/pleasure are met).
Active Listening=
To fully understand the customer, one must listen closely and acknowledge every response. Process of sending back to the prospect what you as a listener think the person meant, both in terms of content and feelings.
Use the following three practices:
Focus your full attention, Paraphrase the customer’s meaning, Take note.
Strategic planning for the need discovery and product selection=
Review the consultative sales presentation model, Review existing prospect information, Preplan questions, Review product options, Plan to use time wisely.
Actions taken during the need discovery and product selection process=
Re-establish relationship if appropriate, Ask appropriate questions, Record customer response, Acknowledge and summarize customer needs, Select and recommend appropriate product solutions.
3) PRESENTATION
Strategies for need-satisfaction presentation= select informative/ persuasive/ reminder presentation.
Strategic planning for the presentation=
Review prospect information, Review buying motives, Review product selection, Select need-satisfaction
presentation strategy, Develop consultative presentation plan that adds value, Rehearse presentation.
Actions taken during the presentation=
Re-establish relationship, Confirm buying conditions, Present specific benefits, Conduct appropriate demonstrations, Confirm customer understanding, Negotiate concerns, close and service the sale.
Valuable Presentations=
Canned Presentations (pre-packaged speeches delivered to all customers interested in a product, following a fixed/memorized script), Consultative Presentation (Customized, personalized presentation built around specific needs of each customer).
Effective Presentations=
Adapt the presentation to meet unique needs of the customer, Cover one idea at a time, Demonstrate buyer benefits, Appeal to as many senses as possible, Balance telling, showing, and interest, Develop creative presentations sales, use humor (in moderation), Choose the right setting/location for the presentation, Summarize major points.
Quantify the Solution=
The process of determining whether or not a sales proposal adds value.
Technical communication= conveying info clearly & concisely, impersonal, objective, intellectual response, emphasizes features, info driven.
Persuasive comm= influence attributes & behaviours, personal, subjective, emotional respnse, emphasizes benefits, influence driven.
Guidelines for preparation of a persuasive presentation:
Place special emphasis on the relationship, Target emotional links, Use a persuasive vocabulary, Sell benefits , Minimize negative impact of change, Place strongest appeal at start or end, Use power of association with stories.
Methods of Negotiating Buyer Concerns=
Direct denial (refuting the opinion or belief of a prospect), Indirect denial (bend a little and acknowledge that prospect is partially correct), Questions, Superior Benefit, Demonstration, Trial Offer, Third-Party Testimony, Postpone Method.
4) NEGOCIATION= working to reach an agreement that is mutually satisfactory to both buyer and seller
Strategically planning for negotiation of buyer concerns=
Anticipate buyer concerns, Review common types of resistance, Review methods of negotiating buyer resistance, Prepare a negotiations worksheet.
Activities during negotiations=
Recognize and understand verbal and nonverbal clues, Validate the problem, Find some point of agreement, Do not allow anger to surface, Answer customer’s concern, Be alert for closing clues.
Planning for Formal Negotiations=
Gather information before, Decide team versus individual negotiations, Understand the value of what you are offering, Determine your goals and financial objectives, Prepare an agenda, Review adaptive selling styles, Prepare a negotiations worksheet.
B A T N A—
Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement (best altern if neg fails), Z O P A—
Zone of Possible Agreement (range where mutually acceptable agreement can be reached).
Rules for success in formal negotiations=
Understand the problem, Create alternative solutions that can add value, Periodically review acknowledged points of agreement, Do not make concessions too quickly, Remember most negotiations will conclude in the final 20 percent of time allowed, Know when to walk away.
Types of Buyer Concerns=
Concerns related to the need for the product, about the product or services, related to source /time /price.
– Methods of Negotiating Buyer Concerns
5) CLOSE
Buyer’s Remorse=
Buying often causes emotional stress. Typical buying anxieties explaining why some customers are reluctant to commit to your proposal include: Loss of options, Fear of making a mistake, Social or peer pressure.
Strategic planning for closing the sale=
Review possible barriers to closing the sale, Review closing guidelines, Prepare several closing methods, Plan to ask for the order more than once, Practice closing.
Actions during the close=
Recognize closing clues, Focus on point of greatest interest, Handle tough points early, Avoid surprises, Keep prospect involved, Display confidence, Accommodate buyer’s communication style, Ask for order more than once.
Guidelines for Closing the Sale=
Focus on dominant buying motives, Achieve incremental commitments throughout the sales process, especially situations involving long selling cycles, Negotiate the tough points before attempting the close, Avoid surprises at the close, Display a high-degree of self-confidence at the close, Ask for the order more than once.
Recognize Closing Clues= indication, verbal or nonverbal, that the prospect is preparing to make a buying decision. “buying signals” Verbal clues: Questions, Recognitions, Requirements. Nonverbal clues: Body movement, Facial expression, Tone of voice.
Methods for Closing the Sale= Trial close (closing attempt made at an opportune time during the sales presentation to encourage the customer to reveal readiness or unwillingness to buy, “minor point close”, appropriate when you are reasonably sure that the prospect is about to make a decision but is being held back by natural caution, confirmation question)
.
Direct appeal close (close involves simply asking for the order in a straightforward manner, most direct closing approach, not come to early).
Assumptive close (asks for a minor decision, assuming that the customer has already decided to buy, take-it-for-granted close, subtle way to ask for a decision when you are quite certain the customer has already decided to buy).
Multiple options close (steps- Make more than one product solution, Stop presenting product options when prospect has been given ample selection, Remove products prospect not interested in and concentrate on options of interest).