Sales & Distribution

Management
IIFT MBA (IB) 2020
Elective

Session 3 The Selling Process

Dr. Jones Mathew, PhD

1
 Recap of the previous session – Sales Organizations
• Different types of sales organizations – based on geography, product, segment,
matrix
• Determinants of a sales organization – using limited / full range product offerings and
similar / dissimilar customer needs
• Sales organizations is a grouping of individuals – with delineated roles,
responsibilities, rights, and duties – for efficiently achieving the organization’s sales /
revenue goals
• Factors influencing org. structure – internal(prod, life cycle stage, culture) & external
(speed of mkt change, reduction in number of suppliers, proximity to customers,
changes in regulations)
• Structural elements of top-down versus horizontal sales organizations
• Org principles – SoC, UoC, HoA, Specialization
2
 The Selling Process

• Understanding the overall sales process

• Concepts in Selling
• Pre-sale preparation
• SPIN selling
• Solution proposals and doubt handling
• Negotiation (concept of BATNA and negotiation approaches)
• Sales closure & post sales follow up
• Conceptualizing personal selling & salesmanship
• Decision of using personal selling or outsourcing sales function
• Buyer- seller dyad and personal selling situations
• Sales effectiveness drivers
 Learning Objectives

• Learn and apply the basic steps in the selling process

• Understand the needs of a prospect and the method of prospecting
• Learn about sales approach to the customer and SPIN selling
• Take note of various approaches to sales presentations
• Learn various methods of handling objections
• Apply various methods of closing a sale and follow-up action
• Understand the concept and approaches of systematic selling

4
The Selling Process

5
 Salesperson’s Knowledge Universe

Self Knowledge

6
 Prospecting

There are 2 essentials in sales: NUMBERS & TIME. Prospecting is the phase of selling that often consumes the most time and
energy... and is the most crucial to get right. Prospecting is the process of initiating and developing new business by
searching for potential customers. What is the goal of prospecting? The Goal: To move “prospects”, through the sales funnel
till they transform into revenue-generating customers.

7
Process of Prospecting

8
 Methods of Prospecting

Cold canvassing – e.g. door to door, cold calling, yellow pages, databases
Direct mail – e.g. e- or snail-mail to a cust-list
Prospect pool – e.g. student pool for selling laptops
Centers of influence – e.g. renowned doctors for new molecule pharma sales
Observation – e.g. mall intercept
Endless chain customer referral - e.g. Amway MLM, insurance sales
Customer sales lead clubs
Non-competing sales force – e.g. Castrol lubricants borrowing list of car owners from spare parts
shop owners
Trade shows/demonstration – e.g. Kirloskar engines at trade exhibitions
Telemarketing – e.g. HDFC selling financial products
Networking – e.g. high end cruise sales
9
The Selling Process

10
 The Selling Process

• Step 1: Plan to Win at Selling – Business Knowledge, Industry Knowledge, Company

knowledge, Product knowledge, Selling Knowledge, Attitude
• Step 2: Strategize - Do a TIME AUDIT – manage time, prioritize, TWT, CCT
• Step 3: Prospect - Find the business – be a businessperson, keep track of market
changes, tap existing customer base, tap the “NO, thank you”s of today, tap past
enquiry lists, newspapers, e-news, home sales, referrals, follow your customers,
research, company data base, channel partners, etc.
• Step 4: Get the appointment – identify the M.A.N (Money. Authority. Need); make
contact, pitch the prime desire statement, be enthusiastic.
• Step 5: Sell – to people, yourself, ask the right questions, listen, F.A.B., So What?,
Sell the results, don’t rely on logic (focus on the ‘want’); don’t oversell product
knowledge, avoid priceitis, UVPs, price-condition, more show/less talk,
11
 The Selling Process

• Step 6: The Sales Presentation: Get yourself accepted opening prime desire
statement ask the right questions  check & pre-close  sell (product,
features, benefits, results) the final check  close
• Step 7: Close the Sale – can happen at any stage; look for buying signals; pre-
close, close often, a NO is better than a MAYBE (5NOs to 1 YES); persist;
AIDA; once you have asked the closing question SHUT UP; Closing is the
whole of the process, not just the end; 3 types of closes: “let’s do the
paperwork”, “the choice close”, “the minor point close”. Types of difficult
closes: “the buck passer”; “the procrastinator”, “the deferred decision”, “do
you have it in red?”, “the indecisive buyer” (for & against chart); walkout if
needed.

12
Handling Objections
• An objection is a signal that the buyer is not convinced.
• Focus on prevention, not cure
• Inability to handle objections is a salesperson’s weakness
• Use a 3 step process: Ask back; Agree (with the thought) & Outweigh; Provide the Answer
• Common objections:
• Price (help the customer to focus on the price diff rather than on the absolute price, break it down into small
bytes);
• “I’m not convinced” – offer referrals/testimonials; offer explanation of monetary benefits
• “No budget” – get creative and help the prospect find the money, remember that a budget is a control tool not a
business building tool-ask the prospect to speak to the CEO.
• “I have been getting my supplies from XYZ for 10 years” – “maybe just take a look at the latest offerings”
• Delivery – get them to wait an extra few days for your better product
• Another opinion – pre-close and seek to present it to the other opinion maker yourself
• “I want to see the competition” – “by all means, but do call me in after they are all done”
• “I want to think about it” – make a list of all the things and share it with the prospect after ticking each one

13
Methods of Handling Price Objections

14
B2B Selling / Buying – Key Characteristics

• Clustered geographically
• Team selling – Team buying
• Purchase managers are highly skilled
and knowledgeable
• Many tiers before final close
• Buying done for organizational
purposes – high stakes
• More fact based buying
• Relatively lesser use of social media
• Long empanelment process

15
Thank You!

16