Sales Training Tutorials: Small Business Sales How-to Series

SALES TRAINING

TUTORIALS

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25 tutorials include:

consultative selling skills;

getting past screens or gatekeepers to speak and meet with the prospect;

spotting buying signals;

handling questions and objections, including looking through to the deeper concern;

telephone sales etiquette;

types/use of proof sources;

closing sales;

following up after the sale, and other customer care.

Use these tutorials self-instructionally, or as the core of sales meetings or sales training courses.

Michael McGaulley

Champlain House Media

Copyright © 2009-2014, Michael McGaulley.  All rights reserved. Champlain House Media.

ISBN-10: 0615922554

ISBN-13: 978-0615922553

ASIN:  B003UNKZAO

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No part of this book, whether delivered electronically  (e-book) or in conventional paper form (p-book),  may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the written permission from the author, Michael McGaulley, the publisher, or  affiliated companies. This book is intellectual property. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to digital copying and printing without the prior agreement and written permission of the author and publisher.

Necessary legal disclaimers, provisos, and related issues

The contents of this book reflect the author’s views acquired through experience in the areas addressed.  The author is not engaged in rendering any legal, financial or accounting advice.  Business customs, courtesies, and legal implications vary with the context, and with geographic region or country.  Accordingly, anyone reading this material should not rely totally on the contents herein, and should seek the advice of others.  The author has made his best effort to ensure that this is a helpful and informative manual.  The contents are recommendations only, and the author cannot take responsibility for loss or action to any individual or corporation acting, or not acting, as a result of the material presented here.

While the information contained within the pages of this electronic book, other related books and e-books,  and the related web-site, is  periodically updated, no guarantee is given that the information provided is correct, complete, and/or up-to-date.

The materials contained in this e-book and related website are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. Neither the author nor publisher accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information contained in this book or related website.

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Sales Training Tutorials 5.3 P - 418

The book cover was designed by Russ Shoemaker russhoemaker@mac.com

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Table of Contents

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Sales Training Tutorials  www.SellingFacetoFace.com

Introduction

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1.  Run a small business? Going off on your own? Starting-up a new venture? Independent contractor? Consultant?  Free-agent?

2.  Got a new idea, product  or service that you want to bring to the marketplace?  See yourself in the mold of  the classic profile, two guys/two gals in a garage with a world-changing creation?

3.  In career transition, re-aligning and packaging your skills and experience in a new way to meet the needs of our ever-changing economy?

Unfortunately, the old wisdom, Invent a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door— is wrong . . . if, indeed, it ever was true.  Buyers do not come to your door. 

The reality is that  you need to find and persuade them: that is, you need to sell those prospects, converting them to satisfied customers.

That is how the 25 Tutorials in this book will help you: by guiding you, step-by-step through the process of defining your key selling messages, then finding and getting through to prospects,  meeting face-to-face, developing their awareness of  needs  for what you offer, and responding to their questions and objections.

If you’re new to selling, the idea of phoning prospects and sitting down face-to-face to make your case may seem intimidating. But it’s not difficult . . . provided you have done your home-work, as we show here.

Some background on these Sales Training Tutorials

As a management consultant, my work has focused on helping organizations—and the people who make up those organizations—work more effectively and productively.  My clients included some of America's most successful sales and marketing organizations, companies such as  Xerox in the United States and overseas, Kodak, Bank of America, GTE/Sylvania, and others.

Several of these consulting projects  gave me the chance to ride along with, observe in action, and interview some of the best sales people, then boil down those practical how-to sales techniques into sales training and sales management courses for the new people coming along.

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What we’ll be covering in these Tutorials

Here are some of the practical selling skills you will develop:

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Ways of moving past those who can only say No in order to get to the real Prospect–that is, the person or team who can say Yes.  (In the terminology of the book, we call that person or team the Prospect, with capital P.)

When to work by appointment, and when to cold call.

How to break through the Screen or Gate-keeper. How to make the secretary or other Gate-keeper an ally.

How to use referrals from others—and how to get those referrals.

What to say in the crucial first 30 seconds with the Prospect, both on the phone and in person. Hot-buttons to convince this Prospect that it is essential to meet with you, ASAP.

What to look for in the reception area, and how to use that information to guide you in touching the themes that are of current special interest to this potential client.

Some common last-minute objections to be prepared for at the start of the call, and how to turn those objections into positive selling points.

The three most important ways of helping the Prospect feel a strong sense of need for what you are offering . . . and the most useful of those three approaches.

How to ask the questions that lead the Prospect to put into words  why she needs what you are offering, why it will pay for itself, and why she should buy from you, now.

When and how to use samples, brochures, and other aids to enhance your message, not distract from it.

Handling the awkward subject of price. The factor that is more important than cost, and how to help the Prospect concentrate on it.

Ways of showing how your work or your product will more than pay for itself.

Recognizing and dealing with the no money objection, both when it is a real objection as well as when it is used as a cover for deeper, hidden  issues.

Recognizing the subtle buying signals that indicate the Prospect is ready to buy . . . often even before the Prospect  herself  realizes it.

Why it's to your advantage when the Prospect says no early. How to push for a decision without being pushy.

Ways of gently prodding the Prospect to take action . . . now. Two techniques for salvaging lost causes.

A five-step process for defusing questions and objections. Special techniques for handling both early and core objections.

Techniques for looking through the apparent objection to find the Prospect's real reason for hesitation.

Why the Prospect's objections are often questions in disguise, and how to respond to them.

Why I can't afford it may really mean, I'm ready to buy, but first tell me how to handle my boss or spouse.

Proof sources— what they are, and when, when not to, and how to use them.

Troubleshooting and unblocking stalled sales, or almost sales.

How to make sure that the Prospect's request for proof (such as for a demonstration, a proposal, or lower-cost  introductory discount) is not just a way of procrastinating, or of hinting at No without really saying it, or of getting something for nothing, or of playing you off against your competition.

How to handle it afterward.  That is, follow-ups,  thank-yous, and salvaging lost or wavering sales.

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Part one

Getting ready

For continually updated material,  notice of upcoming books

in this series, and contributions by other readers, check our website/blog:  www.SellingFaceToFace.com

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"Find an important need that your customers have, then show them how you can fill that need — that’s what good selling is really about.  A smart salesperson never starts with the product; you start by gaining agreement that there is a need, and that the need is significant enough to warrant filling."

Traditional advice

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You may already know  what you will be selling.  Perhaps it’s a product you’ve developed and want to bring to the world—maybe computer software, a new kind of tool, art-work . . . or whatever.

Or maybe you’re planning to take the skills you’ve developed and go off on your own,  marketing your services as a consultant, free-agent, fix-it person, or maybe a start-up shop offering web-design or technical writing or graphic design . . . or whatever.

But . . .  what if that product or service doesn’t turn out to be what real-world potential buyers actually need?  Suppose you’re close, but not quite there?

On the other hand,  suppose you’ve been cloistered within a specific job or organization for most of your career, and aren’t really sure how to translate your skills and experience into the larger world?

That is,  how can you translate or adapt what you have (a skill, a product, an idea) to something that potential buyers will feel a strong enough need for to induce them to actually pay money for?

And—no less important—how can you communicate an awareness of that need so they will act now?

In this first Tutorial, we’ll be working through five key questions to help you take a fresh, objective  look at the product or service you plan to offer.  But here we’ll be asking you to shift your perspective from that of the developer or provider to that of the Prospect—that is, the prospective buyer.

1. First, who (or what kind of group) makes up my target market?  What do they realistically need?

Your target market consists of the potential users of what you plan to sell.

If you’ll be selling to business or governmental organizations,  you’ll need to find your way to the person or team within that organization who can say yes to buying from you.  That is, the Prospect.

In this book, we’ll be referring to that person or team who can say Yes as the Prospect,  capital P.  A Prospect is the person or team who has the authority to buy what you sell, the need for it, and the dollars or budget authority to sign the order.

The point is this: there are a lot of people to whom you can make your sales presentation, but in most cases you’re wasting your time (and theirs) if they are not true Prospects, with authority, need and dollars.

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For the moment, think in general terms about who might need something like what you are planning to sell.

I say something like as a reminder that it’s not wise to get locked in on a particular idea just yet.  Your initial idea is a good starting point, but what really matters is not your idea for a product or service but rather the real-world needs of those who will be buying.

Put differently, buyers are NOT likely to be particularly interested in what your product or service IS.  What matters to them is what it DOES in filling real needs in the real world which they face.

Implication: in planning your campaign, you need to look beyond what your idea or product or expertise IS, and think more in terms of what it DOES for your future buyers and clients.

True, what it IS gets you started toward what it DOES: it puts you in the ballpark. 

But to really bring it into practical focus, you need to look from the prospect’s viewpoint, and to get that you need to get a sense of what real needs she or he or the organization face.

Look again at what you plan to offer, now asking questions like these.  (Adapt them to the particular field in which you are working.)

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What kind of real-world needs does it fill?  That is, what problems does it solve?

What kinds of bottlenecks can it break open?

In what ways can it make the Prospect’s work or life easier? More enjoyable?  More efficient?  Happier?

How can it increase the Prospect’s wealth? Sales? Profitability? (Or whatever might really matter to people who are among your target users.)

Ultimately: Why should someone spend  money to buy what you are offering?  What does it DO for them? What important NEEDS does it fill?

Template

Note: throughout this book, we’ll be using templates as frameworks for organizing information and ideas.  The templates are here to help you organize and record your thoughts.  Beyond that, they provide a written record for later as you fit the pieces from these tutorials together into the larger action plan.

Here’s an example of how this template is used:

Now try it yourself, using the template as a tool for focusing on your own