Preparation for Success in Selling

1. Preparation for Success in Selling Learning Objectives: • Study what type of information makes up the product knowledge needed for success in selling. • See how sales technology tools impact the salespeople and how to use them to your advantage. • Examine the various types of social media available. • Understand the concept of product positioning. • Identify the three types of motivation and how they operate in affecting human behavior. • Recognize the importance of setting and achieving goals for personal success. • Chapter 6

2. Preparing to Sell • Effective sales training involves: • Knowledge of the product or service • Information about the company • Motivation and goal setting • Sales force automation • Knowledge and application of the sales process

3. Product Knowledge: Know Everything! Areas of Product Knowledge • The Product Itself • Performance • Manufacturing • Distribution Channels • Company Information • Service Available • Product Knowledge Application • Knowledge of the Competition

4. Product Knowledge • The Product Itself • External characteristics • How to use • All available options • Adaptability • Performance • Life expectancy • Tolerance to wear and stress • Maintenance and supplies needed

5. Product Knowledge • Manufacturing • How is it made • Quality control • Service available • Service policies • Service personnel • Distribution Channels • Distribution strategy • Pricing policies • Media support

6. Product Knowledge • Application of Product Knowledge • Know when to use it • Can be a hindrance if you talk too much • Don’t assume that it is solely the company’s responsibility to educate you • Information About the Company • History • Product evolution • Present customers • Benefits of Gaining Product Knowledge • Gives you pride and self-confidence in product • Allows you to diagnose customer’s problems • Enables better customer service • Gives you an air of competence

7. Gain a Differential Competitive Advantage Through… Product Superiority Service Superiority Versatility Design Efficiency Mobility Storage Packaging Handling Time Life ExpectancySafety Adaptability Appearance Delivery InstallationInventory MaintenanceCredit MerchandisingTraining Source Superiority People Superiority Time EstablishedCompetitive StandingCommunity ImageLocationSizeFinancial SoundnessPolicies and Practices Personal Knowledge and SkillsKnowledge and Skill of SupportPersonnelIntegrity and CharacterFlexibility of Call ScheduleInterpersonal SkillsMutual Friends

8. Sales Force Automation Sales forces will become automated…they must to survive. The virtual office is carried on a computer.

9. The Impact of Technology Tools • Personal Productivity • Laptops and Handhelds • Contact Management Software • Mapping programs and GPS • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

10. The Impact of Technology Tools • Improved Communication • Smart Phones • Internet and videoconferencing • Telecommuting • Transactional Processing • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for order processing • Corporate contact management • Internet Database Development Technologies

11. CRM Software • CRM Software • CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management • Used to manage relationships with customers • Surado CRM Online • Cloud-based software • Use it from any web-based device • Maintain contact with your customers, even on the road.

12. Social Networking • Social Media Sites • Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Specific Niche Sites

13. Product Positioning • Key Points for Developing a Powerful Market Position • Put together a marketing strategy built around benefits that are important to your customers. • Remember the way you service your customers or sell to them can be a powerful difference. • Recognize that focusing on the few attributes that really set you apart means you can’t be all things to all people. • Keep an eye on how your competitors are positioning themselves.

14. A Closed Loop Integrated Marketing Communication System

15. Integrated Marketing Communication • Using computer databases to coordinate all marketing functions • A firm will use input from each functional area to deliver communications tailored to the needs of the market

16. Motivation and Goal Setting Motivation is the impetus to begin a task, the incentive to expend the necessary time, and the willingness to sustain the effort until the job is done.

17. Designing Your Own Self-Motivation • Motivation arises as a response to either an external or internal stimulus: • Fear motivation is external, temporary, and negative. • Incentive motivation is external and temporary. • Attitude motivation is internal and permanent.

18. The Million Dollar Personal Success Plan • Crystallized Thinking. You must know what you want to achieve. • A Plan of Action with Deadlines. Develop a plan for achieving your goal, and a deadline for its attainment • Sincere Desire. Develop a sincere desire for the things you want in life • Supreme Confidence. Develop supreme confidence in yourself and your own abilities • Dogged Determination. Follow through on your plan, regardless of obstacles, criticism or circumstances, or what other people think, say, or do!

19. Success and the Total Person Success is the progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined, personal goals. • Success is… • …progressive throughout life. • …different for different people.