Professional Basic Selling

Skills

Professional Salesman

Professional Sales call

Prepared by:
Pharmacists_coffee magazine

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 Upon completion of the course,
participants will be able to :
- Understand the meaning of the sales call.
- Practice sales call planning.
- Identify buying motives.
- Practice sales call planning.
- Implement different approaches and presentation
techniques.
- Transform features into benefits that satisfy partner’s
needs.
- Sharpen questioning techniques.
- Handle customer’s responses and resistances.
- Develop various types of closes.
- Use visual aids.
- Utilize observation skills.
- Practice how to sell to a busy customer ( short call ). 2
 Objectives
• To sharpen the skills, abilities &
behavior in selling for participants
in order to sell better & improve
professionalism.

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 What is selling?
- Act of persuading another person.
- Process of inducing & assisting.

Selling a situation of persuasion

Personal or Impersonal
Based on WIN – WIN situation

Personal : Face to Face communication.

Impersonal : Involve no face to face communication. 4
 Need / Motive

Need Creation or Uncover

Need Satisfaction

Motive Is what causes people to act

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 Features / Benefits

Features:
Specifications of a product or service.

Benefits:
Value to the customer.

Customer always buy Benefits

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 Buying Motives
• To buy = To satisfy a need.
• We know 6 buying motives which are
EQUAL IMPORTANCE.
• To find out buying motives, ASK
QUESTIONS.
• Let customer buy for HIS reasons, not
yours!

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 Buying Motives
Possession 1- Making a Gain

2- Avoiding a Loss

3- Having pleasure, enjoyment, comfort ,convenience

Experience
4- Avoiding pain, worries, problems

Recognition 5- Boosting self-satisfaction, pride

6- Gaining social approval, prestige

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Steps of a Sales Cycle
Before the call
1- Prospecting.
2- preparation.

During the call

1- Approach
2- Presentation
3- Responses
4- Close

Post call
1- Analyze 9
 Before the call

Prospecting
Qualifying, classifying / categorizing them

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 Before the call
Preparation
First part : Setting your objectives
What do you want to sell?

S Specific

M Measurable
A Ambitious

R Realistic

T Timely limited

Objective 11
 Before the call
Preparation
Second part : Planning the call
Prepare :
1- Approach
2- Questions to uncover needs & verify assumptions
3- Benefits to satisfy needs
4- Responses to possible reactions
5- Use of visual aid
6- Ways of closing / gaining commitment

Plan your work then work your plan 12

 During the call
1- Approach
2- Presentation
Probing ( Open & closed )
Reinforcing
3- Customer Responses
4- Closing

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 Approach ( Opening )
What is Approach ?
Skill of capturing the customer’s
Why Questioning in
attention & focusing on the Approach?
sales call.
Why ? 1- To gain attention
Secure access
Gain attention 2- Brings customer into
Create positive interest presentation
Parts ?
1- Greeting / Introduction 3- To confront the
2- Techniques customer with a topic
Address buyer’s needs
Step 1 : Identify a known or
of his interest
presumed customer need
Step 2 : Propose a feature &
benefit that satisfy this need
3- Ask a questions 14
 Presentation
-The purpose of this step :
To satisfy the customer’s needs / buying
motives with the features & benefits of our
proposal ( product ).

-Built on :
Positive Two-Way communication.

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 Presentation
First step of presentation :
-To uncover customer’s need by
Effective use of QUESTIONS
Second step of presentation :
-To start matching product BENEFITS with
customer’s NEED / WISHES in order
(Reinforcing)
-To find the decisive BUYING MOTIVE
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 Presentation
We help the customer to make a buying decision!

We know: The feature of our product ( What it is/has ).

We define: As many BENEFITS of our product as needed or

as enough ( 6 buying motives! ) ( What it can do ).

We look for: The customer’s BUYING MOTIVE and match our

benefit with his need.

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 What is probing?

Probing is the skill of questioning

To uncover customer needs &

concerns

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 Type of Probes
Open probe : A question that invites as
extended explanation.

Closed probe : A question that can be

answered in a single word, often “YES” or
“NO”

Never start with closed probe

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 Forms of probes
Form Objective Construction
Open-ended -Find/Clarify needs. Who Which
-Check assumptions. Where When
-Obtain information in
breadth. What How
-Demonstrate interest. Careful with: WHY
Closed-ended -Get precise, quick Yes / No
response/decision.
-Ask for information. I Do not know
-Give information.

Benefit-Tag -Present one benefit Closed-ended

matching a need. questions following
-Obtain decision if one benefit
benefit appeals. 20
 Probing Strategy
With With non
Begin with an open probe
communicative communicative
customer customer

Customer
Need Input signals
No Need Input

Selling
Switch to a closed probe
Continue to use open probe Skills To direct conversation to
A presumed need

Confirmation of presumed
Stated clear need
need
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 Sequence of Questioning
Questioning phase
discover customer
needs/buying
Open-Ended
motives
Questions

Here you should

know enough
Closed-Ended Questions
If answer
is NO ask
another
Presentation open-
phase, Check Ended
if specific
Benefit of Tag Questions Question
benefit meets
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Close ,Ask for order/Commitment
 Correlation
Sales Success/ % of Questions
Versus Statements
80% questions 20% statements
100
Ideal for most
90
successful sales calls!
80
70
%
60
Sales
50
Success 40
30 Average

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Most sales reps
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% Questions Ideal composition of 23
a conversation
(versus statements)
 Reinforcing
Reinforcing is:
The skill of satisfying customer needs with
product features & benefits.

Reinforcing firmly establishes you as a

problem-solver and shows the customer
why your product is needed.

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 Reinforcing
What are the signals that tell you when to
reinforce?
- A clear need stated by the customer in his
own words.
- Confirmation by the customer of a
presumed need that was first expressed
by you in a closed probe.

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 Reinforcing
Steps of Reinforcing :
Step 1: Paraphrase the customer need
-Express direct agreement
-Restate the customer need

Step 2: Propose a feature and benefit that

satisfy this need.

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 Customer Responses
1- Positive customer responses.
2- Positive / Negative customer responses.
3- Negative responses.

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 Positive customer responses
A) Prospects voice inflections and
positive comments.
Seller’s reaction:
Praise and show approval for “Nice”
comment / answer
Examples:
- I’m very glad you mentioned this.
- I’m very pleased to hear that.
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 Positive customer responses
B) Statements which show hesitation
Using terms or starting statements like:
-” I suppose that…”
-” I probably should…”
-” I hardly believe that…”
-” May be…” -” Perhaps..” -” It seems...”
These statements are not rejections of your proposal. They
only express hesitation, doubts ,misgivings ,but are also
signs to keep selling; the prospect wants to know more
about your product/proposal. Perhaps move on to
another benefit.
Seller’s reaction:
Isolates doubt by questioning, then eliminate it and change
to another benefit / advantage.
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 Positive customer responses
C) Prospect continues talking, but makes
statements not appealing to you
That means he is talking without dissatisfaction.
If the prospect is still talking about the product, he
has some interest in it. Statements that do not
directly state a dislike or a disapproval of your
proposal or product, should be considered
positive.
Seller’s reaction
Let the prospect talk, then point out another
benefit; might also be an opportunity to close.

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 Positive customer responses
D) Non-verbal customer behavior
- If he is looking at your visual aid, sample, plan.
- Keep an eye on body language, whether it
expresses rejection, inquisitiveness, approval.
- He will often signal interest through body
language while being verbally skeptical.
Or
- He makes a verbal positive statement and signals
disinterest through body language.
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 Positive / Negative
Customer response
Statements with a positive and negative aspect
Examples:
- “Yes, but…”
- “I agree although…”
- “I like that, however…”
- “It’s an excellent product, but…”

Seller’s reaction:
Pick up on the positive only use it, just ignore the
negative portion!

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 Negative response
There is four types of customer resistance:
- Misconceptions.
- Real objections.
- Lack of interest.
- Skepticism.

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 Negative response
Definition
Misconceptions An incorrect negative
assumption about your product
due to a lack of information or
misinformation.
Real Objections Legitimate shortcoming or
disadvantage of your product.
Lack of interest Disinterest in your product
because of satisfaction with a
competitor product.
Skepticism Disbelief that your product can
provide the stated benefits. 34
Strategies for dealing with resistance
Resistance Usually General Strategy
occurs..
Misconceptions Anytime Provide correct information.

Real Objections Anytime Reduce shortcomings and

emphasizes benefits.

Lack of interest At the beginning of Turn an area of

the call, after your dissatisfaction with a
initial open probe. competitor product into an
area of need for your
product.
Skepticism Directly after a Offer proof.
benefit statement
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 Misconception
A misconception is a customer’s incorrect negative
assumption about your product or company, due
to a lack of correct information.

Strategy for dealing with Misconceptions:

Step 1: Probe to clarify the customer’s concern.
Step 2: Tactfully provide the correct information to resolve
the misconception.
Step 3: Emphasize the positive information you have
provided.

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 Real objection
A real objection is resistance based on a legitimate
shortcoming or disadvantage of your product.

Strategy for dealing with real objections:

Shift the balance in favor of your product benefits.
Step 1: Probe to clarify the customer’s concern.
Step 2: Acknowledge the customer’s concern.
Step 3: Reduce the impact of the shortcoming on
the customer.
Step 4: Emphasize the benefits of the product.

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 Lack of interest
Lack of interest in your product is almost always
due to satisfaction with a competing product.

Strategy for dealing with lack of interest:

- Use series of closed probe to uncover areas of
customer need.
- Selling against the competition.
- Turn an area of dissatisfaction with the
competing product into an area of need for your
product .
- When you uncover a customer need your
product can satisfy, you reinforce it.
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 Skepticism
Skepticism is disbelief that your product can
really provide a benefit that you say it can.

Strategy for dealing with skepticism

Step 1: Emphasize the benefit in question.
Step 2: Prove the benefit.
Step 3: Explain the benefit.

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 Typical buying signals
- Yes, I like your product …
- I think I could use it …
- It sounds good to me …
- Who else is using it …
- I may need to order 100 packs.
- How about delivery.
- It’s easy to apply.
- Do I have to decide at once.
- How much does it cost …

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Closing ( Gaining Commitment )
It’s the skill of obtaining the customer’s agreement
to act by asking a closed ended question.
Type of requests:
Trial Use: to get the customer to use the product
on a trial basis.
Continued-Use: to get the customer to continue
using the product at the same level.
Extended-Use: to get the customer to use more of
the product.
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 Types of closes
1- Direct close.
“ How many packs of this product do you need this month?”
2- Either /or close.
“ Do you want red or blue one?”
3- Step-by-step close.
Help the customer to decide.
4- Summery close.
Review by summery the accepted benefits only ( Don’t add
anything new )
5- Incentive close.
“If you order now, you'll get additional 5% discount”
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Six Prerequisites before closing
1- prospect completely understood your offer.
2- Real buying motive found out and
addressed.
3- Customer has confidence in you &
company.
4- A well prepared close.
5- The right timing.
6- Customer has the authority to buy.
Win-Win Situation
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 Post call analysis
Main objectives of post-call analysis :
- To initiate action / follow through on
promises.
- To make a personal evaluation of your
sales call.
- To help you in your prospecting.
- Set sales call objectives for your next call.

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 Visual Aid
We remember 10% of what we hear

We remember 20% of what we see

We remember 65% of what we see & hear

simultaneously

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 Visual Aid
70% 65%
60% Hearing only
50%
40% Seeing only
30%
20%
20%
Hearing &
10%
10% seeing
simultaneously
0%
We remember

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 Visual Aid
When using a visual aid:
- Illustrate one point only.
- Relate to prospect’s needs.
- Keep control of visuals.
- Make it coincide with what you say/want to
stress.

Keep it clean & ready for use.

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 The Short Call
Purpose:
To male maximum use of limited time with
the customer.

Constraints:
A time-pressured customer will want
information, not conversation.

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 The Short Call
Strategy:
1- Present product features & benefits to
meet known or presumed needs;
2- Ask for action as soon as possible;
3- Attempt to expand the length of the call
whenever possible.

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Practical steps for Short Call
Introduce yourself

Customer gives a time limit signal

Open the call

Present additional features & benefits

Ask for action

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 Building Rapport
Keys to success :
Project competence, confidence, interest

Methods :
- Offer service.
- Be responsive to needs.
- Fulfill promises promptly.
- Be courteous and professional.
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 Bridging
What is Bridging?
The skill of managing the sales conversation
by making a smooth transition between
subjects.

Principles of Bridging:
Avoid abrupt transitions, and bridge
smoothly and naturally from one subject to
the next.
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 Putting it all together
The 10 Golden Rules of Successful Selling
1- The successful salesperson is not a “Good” or “Fast
talker” the opposite is true – he is a good listener.
2- The good salesperson does not sell to “anybody”; he first
finds and qualifies the right prospect.
3- The good salesperson does not go into a call “blindfold";
he is carefully prepares the call by setting objectives and
planning his strategy.
4- The good salesperson looks for dialogue right from the
start and therefore begins with an approach and
question.
5- The good salesperson does not present the product or
services until he has learnt what the prospect’s needs
and buying motives are.

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 Putting it all together
The 10 Golden Rules of Successful Selling
6- The good salesperson presents only those features and
benefits of his product or services that relate to the prospect’s
needs.
7- If the prospect raises an" objection” the good salesperson
does not view it as resistance but rather as an opportunity to
respond to the prospect’s needs in more detail. If it is a real
concern, he accepts it, deals with real concerns, satisfies the
customer’s need, responds by picking up on anything positive.
8- The successful salesperson tries to close whenever he hears
a buying signals indicating that the prospect could be ready to
buy.
9- The good salesperson knows that the post call review is
already the start of the next call.
10- All in all, the professional sales person’s goal is not to sell,
but to help his prospect buy and to arrive together with him at
a Win-Win situation.
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Thank you

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 Prepared by:

Pharmacists_coffee magazine
For all Arabian pharmacists

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