Post 8: Professional Selling - Contact Methodology

Qualification Questions

Qualifying customers is arguably one of the most important parts of the selling process, as spending time pursuing those who can’t afford or simply don't have a need for your product is time wasted.

Key qualification questions include:

• Will your business make a difference to the client
• Does the client need/want your product or service
• Can the client afford / is willing to pay for your product or service.
• Is it the right point in the buying cycle

The key to effectively qualifying prospects as discussed during the second sales workshop is to really listen to prospects and ask plenty of open questions such as, who, what, where, why, how.

Further reading since the workshops had identified that good qualification questions fall into three main categories: Money, Method and Motivation.

http://www.allbusiness.com/sales/selling-techniques/373097-1.html

Applying the theory covered in this workshop gave the following qualification questions for my business:

Money:

• How much of your budget it assigned to tackling obesity, and specifically for preventative medicine products such as these?

• What is the source of your funding and when is it renewed?

• How much do you normally pay for VTA products?

Method:

• What criteria does this product need to meet to be approved

• What steps do I need to make to convince you to purchase – product pictures or full personal demonstration?

• If you were to purchase, when would you need delivery?

Motivation:

• Why do you need this type of product? (core business function i.e. schools with specific healthy eating targets)

• What happens if you don’t get this product?


Features VS Benefits

Every product or service available offers the purchasers features and benefits. Demonstrating these to prospects can be an excellent method of generating credibility, sales, and a gaining competitive advantage.

The two can however often be confused. For an explanation of the difference please see the example of an electric toothbrush below:


During the workshop, Steve explained that by putting yourself in the shoes of your clients and understanding their needs you are able to recognise the features and benefits that will be of interest to them.

The features and benefits of the VTAs I am looking to distribute are;


Objection Handling

A major problem encountered by sales people are objections like;
“I don't want or need your product”
“I can't afford it”
“I already have one”
“We have a Preferred Supplier List (PSL)”

Being able to overcome these types of objections will massively increase the chances of making a sale, although to do this effectively your response must be instant, convincing, and confident. It was therefore highly recommended by Steve that we prepare for objections before making sales calls. The result of which are:


I have found since the workshop that keeping an accurate list of objections given during live calls is an excellent way of being prepared for any objection posed.

Closing Sales

For many sales appointments signing the order can be a formality. Likewise, at the end of an appointment a salesperson may realise that this prospect is never going to agree to a deal.

There are however times when a prospect is still unsure, and can be swayed into the decision the seller is looking for, this process is known as closing.

For many salespeople this can be the most difficult part of the process even though it is simply down to asking the question; Can I have the business?

Asking this will give either a yes or no answer, if no then it’s time to go back to the objection handling process discussed earlier, and if yes then fantastic, a sale has been made!

During the second sales workshop Steve described the closing process as:

- Ask a question
- Overcome any objections and push them aside
- Repeat asking for the business

As my company is currently at a pre-trading stage I have been unable to put this theory into practice although I fully appreciate that closing sales is more a question of effective objection handling which can be practised in advance.

Recommended links:

• Objection handling – www.changingminds.org
• Objection handling script - http://www.avnmembers.co.uk/knowledgebase/Business/pdf/priceobjections.pdf
• Closing sales – www.entrepreneur.com and www.allbusiness.com and www.24techniquesforclosingthesale.com

Post 7: Professional Selling Process

Everyone knows that to do business and succeed it all about the sales and closing deals, but how do you turn yourself from being a novice to someone "that could sell ice to the eskimos"?

Some people are born salespeople, but there are some simple steps to follow to drastically improve the chances of closing deals if you are not one of the lucky few natural sellers.

During the first workshop it was discussed that start-up business should initially sell to people they know, and make use of effective networking to source further prospects. Steve explained that generating sales is much like a funnel whereby many initial sales calls must be made in order to close a far smaller number. This is best demonstrated in the picture below:


Steve also explained that there is a framework used when selling professionally which can be seen below:


Step 1 of the Professional Selling Process - Prospecting
The first step of the professional sales process is prospecting. This involves compiling a list of potential purchasers for your product or service who are most likely to be interested. As the VTAs I am looking to sell target a very specific niche market, a focus must be paid to the quality of records as opposed to the quantity, the main sources of prospecting data include:

• Telephone directories
• Trade listings
• Chamber of Commerce
• Purchased information from a market researchers
• Business reports

To get people thinking about where to find prospecting data the following table was provided by Steve and has been completed for my company, The Ethnic Diet Association:


Unsurprisingly the largest source of prospecting data comes from the internet given the various telephone directories and government information websites available on-line. From the workshop I also came to realise how easy it is to purchase data from places such as the Chamber of Commerce and local councils. Steve mentioned that these records can cost as little as 18p each, and are usually up to date and accurate.

Although the sources mentioned have provided many names and numbers, I think only a very small fraction of these will actually be fit for purpose. I’m sure I’ll find out when I give them a call!

Initial Sales Contact

To offer the best chance of a sale with each new prospect a number of key points were discussed during the first workshop, these include:

1) Getting noticed by being prepared – use referrals and name drop to build instant credibility with a new prospect, or gather as much useful information as possible about each prospect before making the call as this will help to build rapport.

2) Send a mailer out to prospects before the first conversation - to get your company lodged in their mind.

3) Send a second mailer to remind people of your product/service – obviously this must be different to the first.

4) Telephone the prospect – using a warm, friendly and professional tone.
Steve suggested that steps 2, 3, and 4 should all be completed within approximately 1 week so as the information is fresh within a prospects mind upon the first conversation.

Although a lot of time is spent researching using this approach ultimately reducing the number of sales calls, it means that each call is well researched and professional which should have a positive impact on the number of sales, and the impression prospects are left with after the conversation.

Creating a Mailer

American studies have found that on average people are exposed to over 3000 adverts per day, www.ucsusa.org/publications/guide.ch1.html.

In order to make a mailer stand out Steve discussed some key principles for the design:

Addressing the correspondence personally – as people are always more likely to read on.

Grab their attention – use a picture or statement to gain intrigue to promote further reading.

Provide useful information – show you understand their issues to gain credibility

Prove you are worth talking to – demonstrate in the mailer that you are able to assist their business.

Ask them to take action steps – such as looking at your website or sending an email of their requirements.

Based on the information and approach suggested in the workshop a mailer for The Ethnic Diet Association can be seen below:



Preparing a Calling Script

Based on the professional sales approach discussed earlier, having sent prospects a couple of sales letters it is now time to begin cold calling. It’s no secret that this is one of the jobs people dislike, but it is a highly cost effective way of generating business.

Steve touched on the fact that 80% of the response gained from people you are calling is based on how you come across, as opposed to what you say. A happy, positive and professional approach will always get a better response than one where the salesperson sounds bored, nervous and amateur. It was suggested that practicing using a Dictaphone is an excellent way of perfecting tone and pitch.

As salespeople will tell you, selling is a numbers game and every “no” is another step towards getting a “yes”. Remember that good sales people don't take negative responses personally and are thick skinned to rejection.

The following was suggested as a good general plan for sales calls:

• Introduce yourself and your business
• Provide some form of context
• Ask them an open question
• Talk through their issues
• Ask for an appointment
• Thank them and end the call

To implement this strategy for The Ethnic Diet Association, the following calling script has been prepared:


I know that some of you will be scared by the thought of 'cold calling', but if you follow these steps you can make yourself as prepared as possible. I suppose I'm lucky in that talking to strangers has never phased me, and I've had experience of cold calling like this before, but this workshop still allowed me to add structure and utilise the calls effectively to gain my objectives.

For people that are worried think about it this way, the worse that can happen is they say no, or are rude - it may get you down a bit at first but remember that you are only a voice to them and you may never have to speak to them again. Don't take it personally, they're the ones that are missing out on your fantastic product!

For people who are struggling with making cold calls it is suggested that they:

• Allocate time to make the calls, and stick to this allocation

• Ignore negative responses, unless they have a good point which could help improve the later calls.

• Prepare for each call thoroughly which should build confidence

• If negative responses are still prominent then improve the prospecting list and calling script.

Another common problem with cold calling is overcoming objections, discussed in my next post.

Recommended Links:

• Writing sales letters – www.justsell.com
• Direct Selling Association – www.dsa.org.uk
• Institute of Direct Marketing - www.theidm.co.uk