Selling: Process of Selling

The actual selling process starts with prospecting and qualifying. However before this step, there is something called pre-sale preparation which identifies prospects and makes sales presentations where sales people attempt at convincing customers that a specific product can satisfy their needs.

There are many sales people who believe in following this step after the prospecting process which has to be done in a planned and scientific manner. Actually the pre-sale preparation phase is a phase of selling process-where sales people are found to prepare themselves with adequate knowledge about the products they are supposed to sell.

They are supposed to be aware of the competition and the category and profile of customers they are supposed to target. It is this phase that helps sales people present a credible picture of the product to the customer.

It is generally observed that sales people who are well prepared and have understood the complexity of the product and consumer buying behavior do have stronger communication ability than those who do not possess adequate understanding on the above.

Customers as such are low on knowledge quotient about a particular product and it is supposed that sales people with knowledge about products, technology and markets will be enabling the customer to make an informed choice. To a large extent, customers depend upon sales people for product related information.

When sales people fail to provide relevant information, it gives an opportunity to sales people of competitors to cash in on the opportunity. Talking about sales people’s knowledge base, there are three areas on which sales people should have adequate knowledge and those areas are product, company and competitor.

In the context of product knowledge, history of the company, finances, size of the company and policies and procedures of the company are some of the information that sales people of a company should possess.

In the context of product, the features, benefits, styles, origin and price of the products should be well understood by sales people. In competitor’s context, it is the industry structure, market share, market behavior that sales people should be aware of.

Process of Selling

The process of selling involves the following steps:

1. Pre-Sale Preparations

A salesman has to serve the customer and must identify a customer’s problems and prescribe a suitable solution. For this, a salesman must be familiar with the product characteristics, the market, the organization and the techniques of selling. Also he must know the customer, himself and the company. He must know buying motives and buying behaviour of the customers or prospects. He should be aware of current competition and market environment.

2. Prospecting

A salesman has to seek potential customers who are his prospects i.e., probable buyers. A prospect has unsatisfied need, ability to buy and willingness to buy. Prospecting relates to locating prospects. They can be through present customers, other salesman, phone directories, or by direct cold canvassing. These prospects must, of course, be accessible to salesman. Thus, prospecting is similar to the seeking function for the total marketing activities.

3. Pre-Approach

After locating a prospect, salesman should find out his needs and problems, his preferences and behaviour etc. The product may have to be tailored to the specific requirement of customer. On the basis of adequate information of the customer’s wants and desires, salesman can prepare his plan of sales presentation or interview. The sales presentation should match to the needs of the individual prospect. It should enable the salesman to handle his prospect smoothly through the buying process, i.e., during, the sales talk.

4. Approach

The next step is approach where the salesman comes face to face with the prospect. The approach has two parts, i.e., obtaining an interview, the first contact. He may use for this, telephone, reference or an introduction from another customer; and his business card. The salesman must be able to attract the prospect’s attention and get him interested in the product. It is very important to avoid being dismissed before he is able to present his product.

5. Sales Presentation

After the salesman has found a prospect and he has matched the customer’s wants with his product, he becomes ready to make a sales presentation. The sales presentations is closely related to the buying process of customers. The sales interview should generally go according to AIDA theory (i.e., Attention, Interest, Desire and Action).

Attention is attracted and interest is gained. The salesman at this point can increase the interest through smart and lively sales talk together with proper demonstration. Sometimes, visual aids are used in sales demonstration. These are common for capital goods or machineries.

After explaining the product characteristics and expected benefits, the salesman should find out customer’s reactions. The prospective customer’s all queries and doubts must be clearly answered. The salesman should find the customer satisfied. A satisfied sales presentation must be clear, complete, assertive about product’s superior performance and be able to gain the confidence of the prospect.

6. Objections

At any stage of sales interview, the prospect may attempt to postpone the purchase or resist purchase. A good salesman must consider an objection as an indication of how the prospect’s mind is working. The clever salesman should welcome an objection, interpret it correctly and will avoid it tactfully, without arguing with the customer.

7. Close

The close is the act of actually getting the prospects’ consent to buy. It is culmination of the efforts so far made by the salesman and is the climax of the entire sales process.

It is very important for salesman to be alert and find out the right moment for closing the deal. This is the “Psychological or reaction movement”, at which the minds of salesman and prospect are tuned together.

The salesman watches every sign of prospect willing to buy and shall apply “the close”. A sale is never complete until the product is finally in the hands of a satisfied customer.

8. The Follow-up

This stage is the post sale contacts. The salesman after obtaining the order, arranges for despatch and delivery of the product, facilitate grant of credit, reassure the customer on the wisdom of his purchase decision, and minimize dissatisfaction, if any.

The salesman should contact the customer periodically to maintain his goodwill. A sale is made not in the mind of salesman, nor over the counter, but in the mind of the buyer. A salesman should have the quality of empathy, i.e., reading customer’s mind. This will provide the salesman accurate information of buyer’s motives, feelings, emotions, and attitude etc.