Sales Strategies & Product Knowledge: A Comprehensive Guide
Understanding Customer Relationships & Communication
Empathy & Ego Drive
Empathy involves imagining yourself in someone else’s position and understanding their feelings. Ego drive is the inner force that motivates salespeople to make the sale. Balancing these two aspects is crucial for building strong customer relationships.
Etiquette & Relationship Building
Etiquette, or good manners, plays a significant role in improving relationships. Avoid using first names prematurely, refrain from offensive comments, be punctual, and minimize cell phone use. Show genuine interest in people, be a good listener, allow others to talk about themselves, offer compliments, and find mutual interests.
Self-Improvement & Planning
Focus on self-improvement to build long-term relationships using the CARE approach: Customize your interactions, Appreciate your customers, Respond to their needs, and Execute your promises. Plan effectively by setting goals, using visualization and positive self-talk, and rewarding your progress.
Style Flexing & The Platinum Rule
Style flexing involves adapting your communication style to match the preferences of the other person. The Platinum Rule takes this further by suggesting that we treat others how they want to be treated, based on their communication style.
Product Sales & Pricing Strategies
New vs. Mature Product Selling Models
Selling new products involves creating new expectations, changing habits, setting new standards, and generating desire for the product. Selling mature products relies on brand/company superiority, unique features, and outstanding customer service.
Pricing Strategy Objectives
Common objectives include maximizing profit and market share. When pricing professional fees, consider experience, exclusivity, target market, and value.
Product-Selling Strategies to Add Value
Transform a generic product into a value-added solution by exceeding customer expectations and offering more than anticipated. Consider the potential product and its future possibilities.
Communication Styles & Adaptive Selling
Understanding Communication Styles
Communication style refers to the pattern of behavior that others observe. Bias can occur when interacting with someone whose communication style differs from our own. Adaptive selling involves altering sales behaviors to improve communication with the customer.
Communication Style Model
The model identifies two key dimensions: Dominance (the tendency to control others) and Sociability (the amount of control we apply over our emotional expressiveness).
Four Communication Styles
- Emotive: High dominance and sociability, expressive and opinionated.
- Directive: High dominance, low sociability, take-charge and controlling.
- Reflective: Low dominance and sociability, reserved and observant.
- Supportive: High sociability, low dominance, quiet and good listeners.
Product Expertise & Solutions
Becoming a Product Expert
Building strong product knowledge is essential for building trust with customers. Customers seek out “product experts” to make informed buying decisions.
Product Information Categories
Key categories include product development and quality improvement processes, performance data and specifications, maintenance and service contracts, price, and delivery.
Product, Solution, & Solution Selling
A product provides the right solution to meet customer needs. Product strategy emphasizes knowing your product well, promoting its benefits, and providing value-added solutions. A solution is a shared answer to a customer problem. Solution selling involves identifying the customer’s problem, collaborating on improvements, and creating an implementation plan.
Tailoring Product Strategy & Configuration
Match the customer’s buying needs, whether transactional, consultative, customized solution, or strategic alliance partner. Product configuration involves assembling different parts of the product mix to create a custom solution.
Proposals, Sales Letters, & Product Positioning
Preparing Written Proposals
Proposals are detailed action plans based on facts, assumptions, and supporting documents. They typically include a budget overview, objective, strategy, schedule, and rationale.
Effective Sales Letter Writing
Sales letters describe product features and benefits and build relationships. Use a professional format, proper white space, correct punctuation and grammar, and minimal personal pronouns.
Feature-Benefit Strategy
Translate product features into benefits that address customer needs. Features are product data and characteristics, while benefits provide customers with personal advantages.
Product Positioning
Product positioning shapes the customer’s perception of a product compared to competitors.
Differentiation & Value Proposition
Salesperson’s Role in Product Differentiation
Differentiation involves distinguishing oneself, the product, or the company from competitors. Sources of differentiation include quality, price, convenience, economy, service, and other factors that provide benefits and value to customers.
Quantifying the Value Proposition
Communicate how the solution will impact business results, such as increased reliability or reduced maintenance costs.
Dimensions of Service Quality
- Tangibles
- Reliability
- Responsiveness
- Assurance
- Empathy
3D Product Selling & Positioning Strategies
3D Product Selling Solutions
Create value-added solutions to meet and exceed each customer’s individual needs. Consider the expectations of today’s customers, the role of the salesperson as a partner, and the company’s role in providing service and support.
Product Positioning Strategies
Consider strategies for positioning new/emerging products, pricing strategies, and value-added strategies.
Considerations in Product Positioning
Factors include the product life cycle stage, advantages over substitutes, benefits and needs fulfilled, competitive activity, and changes in technology, fashion, or demographics.