Professional Sales Training: the answer to increased sales'

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Professional Sales Training the answer to
increased sales.

• Karen M. Videtic
• Associate Professor
• Virginia Commonwealth University

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The purpose of sales people today is to build the
business and influence customer loyalty.
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Top Complaints about salespeople today.

• Dishonest.
• Do not understand my specific concerns.
• Lack interpersonal skills.
• Unwilling to really listen to me.
• Do not educate me beyond what I already know.
• Do not follow thorough or keep me informed of
  changes.

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What does it mean to be a sales professional?

• Product knowledge
• Enthusiastic, open, positive
• Good listener
• Problem solver
• Long term relationship builder
• Honest
• Responsive

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What should your sales staff know?

• Product knowledge
• Features
• Materials
• Value
• Performance
• Features and Benefits
• Most likely objections
• Service
• Guarantees

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Example a pair of riding boots

• Type of leather
• Sole/ leather upper
• Heel height
• Construction
• Comfort
• Fit
• Performance
• Guarantee
• Customer testimonials

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Steps of the sales encounter

• Approach
• Listening to your customer.
• Uncover their needs and goals (questions)
• Discussing the benefits
• Overcoming objections
• Closing the sale
• Follow up

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The Approach

• What do you say to someone when they enter your
  home?
• Welcome
• Smile
• Body language
• Start the relationship
• Do you ask what do you want?

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Active Listening

• Listen
• With your eyes body language.
• With your ears most people say they are just
  looking.
• Repeat back to clarify and develop an
  understanding.
• Ask questions to understands needs and wants.
• Focus on what the customer thinks is important

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Active listening how do I do that?

• Verbal clues
• I want
• I need
• Its important to me
• Listen for understanding
• Put away perceptions or prejudices based on
  appearance

• What the sales person needs to do
• Be ready to listen
• Be interested rather than interesting
• Strike an attentive pose
• Take notes mental or written

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The art of selling is gathering facts.

• Ask good questions that build trust and
  understanding.
• Good questions create
• A clear understanding of needs
• Why their important
• A complete understanding
• All of the needs
• Rank of importance.
• A mutual understanding
• Share the perspective

• The sales person becomes a problem solver and a
  consultant.

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A few tips.

• Ask yourself
• Is there a need behind this need?
• Are the needs changing here? Does that need to
  be addressed?
• Why has this need presented itself now?
• Can you establish more than one need?

• Things to avoid
• Too many questions
• Not allowing the customer time to answer
• Technical jargon
• Using the wrong terminology or poor grammar

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Discussing the features and benefits

• Consumers buy benefits.
• Get them to try it on!
• Based on what youve learned
• Give the features but explain how the benefit
  meets their needs.
• Example
• 100 white cotton shirt
• Cooler
• Washable
• Breathable
• Reflects the light/heat

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Delivering solutions

• Feature a fact about a product or service
• Benefit a value or what it does for the
  consumer.
• Dont rattle it sound like your selling, not
  solving!
• Customize the benefits to their needs.
• Try to determine how your customer likes to buy
  impulsive, decisive, influential.

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Overcoming objections

• Price is not the only objectionbut it is most
  often the one expressed.
• Acknowledge their concern as valid.
• Yes, and.rather than yes, but
• Can you make the negative a positive?
• Look for the clues?
• Body language, voice and facial expressions.

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Close the salepatience please!

• Whose in charge here anyway?
• Ask for the sale
• Ask for others opinions.
• Know when to close
• Change in facial expression
• Change in body language
• Acknowledgement
• Asks questions about delivery, costs and
  quarantee.

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And while youre at it.

• Tell them what youre going to do next..
• Ill write that up right now.
• Suggestive selling
• What else might meet their needs.
• Think accessories

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Now its time to cement the relationship?

• If you get flowers after the first datehes a
  keeper!
• Follow upa notea call or an email.
• Make a file for each customer with their
  preferences.
• Notify them when an items goes on sale or
  something new arrives that fits their needs.

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Growing the relationship

• Get to know your customer.
• Create an alliance that includes
• Referrals
• loyalty
• Trust and honesty
• Appreciation
• Dont knock the competition.

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Sales Training requires

• Practice
• Imitation
• Practice
• Role Play
• Practice!
• Practice
• Practice

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Thank you.Karen M. VideticAssociate
ProfessorVirginia Commonwealth University