Sales representatives of a company would have to follow a sales method, which help in dealing better with the customer.

Various stages are involved in conducting a prospect to a buyer of the product/ service. Personal selling generally involves six steps as described below:a) Pre-approach activities b) Approach activities c) Presentation d) Objection handling e) Closing the deal f) Follow up The above mentioned steps are just a general way of understanding and the number of steps may vary from company to company. Lets understand these in detail. 1.1.1 Pre-approach activities This includes all the activities a sales representative would perform before actually meeting the prospect. These activities may include the following:Knowing the details about the product/ service which is to be sold Knowing about the company which the product/ service represents Knowing the details of the prospect like name, family background, income status, employment, credit history etc Knowing the right place and time to meet the customer Knowing the right approach Identifying which products/ services are to be presented to the prospect and keeping sufficient manuals/ technical documents The level of activity depends upon the type of customer or market. If the sales are for the B2B market, then sales representative needs to have all the necessary documents which clearly explain all the technical details or benefits about the product/ service. If the sales are for the high value products like loan products, then knowing the credit history of the prospect is an important task. Knowing the right time, place and approach will be important if he/she is selling to top-level corporate like CEO of a company. Often people encounter sales representatives who come to sell the product/ services without even knowing the complete benefits or technical details. It is the job of the sales representative to clearly know the benefits or details of the product and also the about the company which they work for.

We already studied in the previous unit that the actual closing of the sale may not be necessarily handled by companys sales representative. The sales process may be outsourced where the reseller will sell you the product/ service. In such cases the reseller must have a clear idea about the company for which he/she is selling the product/ service. 1.1.2 Approach activities After identifying the prospect and gathering necessary informainformation, it is time to interact. It is said that the first impression would last longer and is critical for any future meetings. The aim of the sales representative should be in gaining attention of the customer and stimulate his interest in the product/ service. Opening remarks would play a major role interest creation. Sales representative start introducing his/her name and the company which they represent. Later on, they proceed with the product/ service which the sales representative have in to offer. Interest can be created by citing product benefits, giving referrals, repeated calling etc. In B2B markets, if you are the sales representative selling a workstation to the IT firm, a single meeting wouldnt be enough in getting to the presentation stage, so repeated calling would be required. It is the aim of the sales representative to create enough interest to transit to the presentation stage. In brief the task of a sales representative in this stage can be summed up as following:Gaining prospect attention Interest creation in the product/ service Gathering more information about the prospect Successful transition to the presentation stage 1.1.1 Presentation activities This is the stage where the sales representative will work to his level best to convert the prospect to a customer. The desire for the product/ service needs to be created by handling the presentation carefully. So this is a critical stage and if the presentation is not done effectively, the prospect might not be interested in listening to the presentation. We need to set the environment in the first few minutes of the presentation and get a

positive impression. Often when we walk into an office for presentation, the prospect would be busy in middle of some work, so its very important to get his attention in the first few minutes. Just as people often judge the book by its cover, in the same way looking at the sales representative people decide sometimes whether to entertain the presentation or not. Attire and grooming of the sales representative like clothing and grooming are very important. It is important to deal with a positive attitude while making the presentations. If you are dealing with PowerPoint slides, then there are some general guidelines which you have to follow in making the slides. We shall discuss more about this stage in subsequent units. Finally, to sum up, the important activities that you as a sales representative would perform in the presentation stage are as follows:Introduce yourself and the company by giving a business card Create an atmosphere for gaining the attention of the prospect Deal ethically with a positive attitude and never give any negative comments like those who didnt buy this product/ service are suffering and so on If you require more information about the prospect company then state the reason for the same. For instance, if you want to know the number of staff or the type of customers handled by the prospect, then provide a reason for the same. Ask some interesting questions in between just to check whether the prospect is really listening to what you say in the presentation In most of the cases, presentation stage would is not said to be successfully completed if the objections that arise from the prospect side are not handled properly. So in the next stage we understand about the objection handling. 1.1.4 Objection Handling Handling sales objections is as important as making a good presentation for the prospect. Objection handling is about handling the objections of the prospect when he/she says no the product/ service stating a reason. The prospect may say no, due to some of the following reasons:The product/ service which is offered is more expensive than other similar products in the industry If you require more information about the prospect company then state the Prospect may not interested in particular

reason for the same. For instance, if you want to know the number of staff or the type of customers handled by the prospect, then provide a reason for the same. Ask some interesting questions in between just to check whether the prospect is really listening to what you say in the presentation In most of the cases, presentation stage would is not said to be successfully completed if the objections that arise from the prospect side are not handled properly. So in the next stage we understand about the objection handling. 1.1.4 Objection Handling Handling sales objections is as important as making a good presentation for the prospect. Objection handling is about handling the objections of the prospect when he/she says no the product/ service stating a reason. The prospect may say no, due to some of the following reasons:The product/ service which is offered is more expensive than other similar products in the industry Prospect may not interested in particular feature of the product/ service Prospect may not have fully understood the benefits Prospect might not be interested in making a decision in buying a product in the first meeting itself Prospect might be willing to test you or need more information on the product/ service to be satisfied It is the job of the sales representative to know the exact reason for the objection and handle it carefully. Prevention is better than cure, it makes sense in this context as it is better to handle the presentation well, before discussions lead to the above mentioned objections by the prospect. So it is important that the sales representative have a check-list of the possible objections which can arise during the presentation. It is also important that the companies provide the checklist and train its sales persons in handling situations when the objections arise.Sometimes even a well trained sales person might go wrong in handling the objections as he/she might lose temper or may be for some other reason. So it is very important to know the ways in which the objections can be handled. Darryl Davis in his book How to be a power agent in real estate describes Ten Commandments of handling objections. Some of them are as follows:Objections shouldnt be taken personally Objections should be looked as an opportunity to increase your skill set in

handling them. As Warren Buffet who is the greatest investor and one of the richest persons in this world says in his autobiography, success is a terrible teacher, because you only learn from your failures Take your time when handling objections and do not rush into giving an answer for the objection. The better you present, the less number of objections arise in the later stage of your presentation. So objections should be thought of as an opportunity in gaining more attention of the prospect and should be handled carefully. After the objections are handled properly there should a smooth transition into the next stage closing the deal 1.1.5 Closing the deal After successful presentation and effective objection handling it is time for the sales representative to close the deal by obtaining a purchase commitment from the customer. Various closing techniques can be employed by the sales representative in requesting an order for the product/ service. Sales representative must know the right time for closing the deal during the presentation. If closing technique is used at an appropriate time during the presentation, an objection may arise from the prospect. Sales representative can know the right time by observing the prospect carefully and looking for some buying signals from prospect such as:Positive statements about the product/ service Enquiry about other customers who are using the product/ service Willingness to test the product/ service Discussion with finance team about the product Enquiry about the warrant period, price, installation time, after sale service etc Playing with the company order form and a pen Enquiry about the discount rates Enquiry about the terms, mode of payment and any installments provided. Enquiry about any loan facility is available with the product The list can include many more items and it is the job of the sales representative to know the right time for closing the deal. After identifying the right time, we can apply some of the closing techniques as described by Ralph W Jackson and Robert D Hisrich in their book sales and sales management". Some of them are as follows:Trial close: This technique can be used at any stage during the presentation. Once some buying signals are identified, the sales representative should attempt

a trial close and see if a positive response is received from the prospect. If a positive response is received then he can go for closing the deal. If he is selling a car to the customer, the trial close can be Would you be interested in buying a Maruti Alto or Zen. If the prospect says any one of them, you can proceed with the actual closing and discussing the terms and payment methods of the product. Asking for an order: This includes directly or indirectly requesting the prospect to make the purchase. Assumption close: In this the sales representative assumes that the decision to buy is already made by the customer and proceeds to close the deal. For example he can say Having found the product/ service to be beneficial, when would you like it to be delivered? Summary-of-benefits close: Here the sales representative summarize the benefits of the product/ service and then go for the sale. T-account close: This includes describing the advantages and disadvantages of the product/ service by putting them side by side in a T-table format. This form can help the prospect easily understand about the product/ service. Special deal close: Here the prospect would be given a one-time special offer on the product/ service such as We would like to offer a 15 percent discount if you place an order for the product/ service today. If you are interested in various other closing techniques, you may refer to the books listed in references and suggested readings. Various problems might arise during closing, such as the sales representative having no idea of how many times does he/she have to attempt a closing technique. Another problematic situation would be a No from the customer after using a closing technique. After using a trial close, if you find the prospect is not giving enough response or says no, then try to use another trial close. There isnt any fixed number but another two to three times can be reasonable after the first trail close. This wouldnt offend the prospect if it is done professionally. Most of the sales wouldnt happen in the first closing, especially if it is for B2B markets. So, maintaining a calm and positive attitude would work for the sales representative in closing the deal. After closing the deal, the next activity in the personal sale would be follow-up after the sale. 1.1.6 Follow-up activities If you are a sales representative, your duty doesnt finish once the deal is closed and the order is received by the customer. It is your job to ensure that the customer is fully

satisfied with the product/ service. If there are any problems faced by the customer, it has to be resolved by identifying it and referring to the right team in the company. We face such problems a lot when we deal with technical products. You might have promised certain features of the products and those features might be interpreted differently by the technical team in the company. As a result, some of the features wouldnt be made as per the customer requirement, resulting in low customer satisfaction levels. It is your duty as a sales representative to ensure that these problems are resolved and make sure the customer is satisfied. It is very important to understand that customer satisfaction is very important, because it has direct effect on loyalty and trust. Low customer satisfaction levels may make it difficult for you to have future sales possibilities and repeated business. Companies do know the value of a customer when he/she is lost. In most of the businesses, making a sale to a new customer is a costly affair when compared to making the sale for an existing customer. So the follow up techniques plays an important role in maintaining the relationship between the customer and the company. Repeated calling to know how the products/ services have benefited the customer would work in keeping up the relationship. During these calls, you can describe the new products/ services launched by your company and try to get a sales opportunity. Lets understand with an example, some of the important follow-up activities that can be associated after closing the sale. If you are selling a software product to the telecom company, like a billing management software which would help in managing the bills of the subscribers, various follow up activities may include as follows:Checking the date of delivery and ensuring the product is delivered. Ensuring that the product is installed properly in the required number of systems Making a call to find out how comfortable are the employees with the product Identifying if any training is required for the employees in handling the product Providing necessary information on who to contact if any technical problems arise in future Repeated calling after some period as per the company guidelines, to know for any problems and try to describe about any new products/ services launched