Post on 17-Jan-2016
CHAPTER 8CHAPTER 8
ExaminationExamination
“To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in
the art of conversation”
“To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in
the art of conversation”
Francois de La RochefoucauldFrancois de La Rochefoucauld
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8The Examination StepThe Examination Step
The basic goal of the examination step
To confirm the salesperson’s understanding of the prospect’s/customer’s situation
To uncover the prospect’s/customer’s latent needs
If your prospect does not havesome want or need in his mind,
you don't have a prospect!
If your prospect does not havesome want or need in his mind,
you don't have a prospect!
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8Uncovering Wants and NeedsUncovering Wants and Needs
This question-asking/listening step must be psychologically structured to help determine:
The prospect's primary concern
The prospect’s dominant buying urge
“If someone speaks and no one listens, there has been no communication”
“If someone speaks and no one listens, there has been no communication”
Sometimes our egos get in the way Sometimes our egos get in the way
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8EgoSpeakEgoSpeak
Ego speak is the art of boosting our own egos by speaking only about what we want to talk about, and not being sensitive to what the other person wants to say
“…few people, other than psychiatrists and women, have had much training in listening.”
Dr. S.I. Hayakawa
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8Dominant Buying UrgeDominant Buying Urge
That inner urge or drive that motivates your prospect to take the action required to consummate a sale
Dominant - ruling or controlling
Buying - acquiring or purchasing
Urge - motive or impulse
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8A Structure For ExaminingA Structure For Examining
Before you can present your solution you must thoroughly understand the prospect’s problem
Ask buyers needs-assessment questions early in the presentation
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8Two General Types of QuestionsTwo General Types of Questions
Open-ended questions
Can’t be answered with a yes or no
Closed-ended questions
Can be answered with a yes or no
A general rule of thumb is 80:20 A general rule of thumb is 80:20
Your prospect speaks 80% of the time
You speak 20% of the time
Your prospect speaks 80% of the time
You speak 20% of the time
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8Questioning Techniques Questioning Techniques
Diagnostic and Surgical Inquiries
Inquiring Questions
Satisfied Customer Survey
The “What If” Technique
S*P*I*N (Situation-Problem-Implication, and Need-Payoff)
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Figure 8.1Diagnostic and Surgical Inquiries
Figure 8.1Diagnostic and Surgical Inquiries
NARROW
Open-ended Questions- OR -
Closed-ended Questions
Open-ended Questions- OR -
Closed-ended Questions
Diagnostic Inquiries
Surgical Inquiries
BROAD GENERAL
SPECIFIC
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8Inquiring QuestionsInquiring Questions
Inquiring questions are depth-probing questions that can be open-ended or closed-ended Use a questioning sequence
Carefully listen
Evaluate the customer’s answer
Determine the dominant buying urge
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8The "Satisfied Customer Survey"The "Satisfied Customer Survey"
The satisfied customer survey is an examination that is conducted to poll satisfied customers (not prospects) to determine why they do business with the salesperson
The salesperson reviews the survey and asks the prospect to choose which item he thinks is most important
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8The “What If” TechniqueThe “What If” Technique
The “what if” technique consists of a series of questions to help salespeople determine exactly what a prospect wants and why
The salesperson prefaces the answer to the prospect’s apparent problem with an “if”
Figure 8.2 The SPIN Questioning Strategy
Figure 8.2 The SPIN Questioning Strategy
Source: Rackham, Neil (1989), Major Account Sales Strategy. New York: McGraw Hill
Situation Questions
• Achieve fact-finding objectives
Problem Questions
• Achieve objective of uncovering• Current satisfaction
Implication Questions
• Achieve objective of developing and channeling dissatisfaction
• Have high selling impact
Need-payoff Questions
• Achieve objectives of rehearsing and selectively channeling customer attention
• Have high selling impact
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Reacting Duringthe Questioning Stage
Reacting Duringthe Questioning Stage
Question-based presentations are the link between salespeople’s ability to listen and to uncover buyer motivations
Salespeople who are empathetic are better able to understand their prospects’ motives
“Check the pulse” of prospects regularly
Remain alert for any signals that prospects may send
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8Responding to Tough QuestionsResponding to Tough Questions
When your prospect asks you tough questions
Restate the question
Ask• “What do you think?”
• “What makes you ask?”
Start with a general reply
Don’t fake it
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8How Well Do We Listen?How Well Do We Listen?
People use 1/4 of their listening capacity
People use 1/10 of their memory potential
People forget 1/2 of what they have heard within eight hours
Eventually, people forget 95% of what they have heard unless cued by something later on
People usually distort what little they do remember
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8In a Selling ContextIn a Selling Context
Put in a selling context, if you spend six hours a day with prospects, you might spend three hours listening to them. Then you would...
... Hear about 90 minutes worth
... Listen to 45 minutes worth
... Understand 22 1/2 minutes of it
... Believe only 11 minutes of it,
... Remember only 5 5/8 minutes of it
Put in a selling context, if you spend six hours a day with prospects, you might spend three hours listening to them. Then you would...
... Hear about 90 minutes worth
... Listen to 45 minutes worth
... Understand 22 1/2 minutes of it
... Believe only 11 minutes of it,
... Remember only 5 5/8 minutes of it
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8ListeningListening
Listening is a trainable skill requiring three things
1. A sense of how well you listen
2. Some motivation to improve
3. Practice
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8Listening StrategiesListening Strategies
Good listening is an art
Push something aside
Nod/tilt your head on important points
Take notes
Show your interest without interrupting
Table 8.1 lists ninetypes of poor listeners
Table 8.1 lists ninetypes of poor listeners
Which one best describes your listening style?
Which one best describes your listening style?
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8Listening versus HearingListening versus Hearing
How many people get lost because they only half listen to a set of travel directions?
Although a person must hear in order to listen, a person who is hearing is not necessarily listening
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8Stages in the Listening ProcessStages in the Listening Process
Sensing
The actual receipt of messages
Processing
Activities that occur in the mind of the listener
Responding
Acknowledgement of the receipt of the message
Ramsey, Rosemary P. and Ravipreet S. Sohi (1997), “Listening to Your Customers: The Impact of Perceived Salesperson Listening Behavior on Relationship Outcomes”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 25 (2), 127-137.
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8Three Levels of ListeningThree Levels of Listening
Marginal
Evaluative
Active
Alessandra, Anthony J., Phillip S. Wexler, and R. Barrara (1987), Non-manipulative Selling, Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Company.
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8Marginal ListeningMarginal Listening
The most basic level of listening
Recipients hear the words but are easily distracted and may allow their minds to wander
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8Evaluative ListeningEvaluative Listening
An improvement over marginal listening
Listeners are concentrating on what is being said but do not sense what is being communicated nonverbally or through more subtle verbal cues
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8Active ListeningActive Listening
A process in which the listener receives messages, processes them, and responds so as to encourage further communication
The listener is using all of her senses
Refer to Table 8.2--Habits to Differentiate Good from Poor Listening
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8Listening AttentivenessListening Attentiveness
Consider how its meaning changes when the accent is placed on different words in the following sentence:
"I never said that I needed this product”
"I never said that I needed this product”
"I never said that I needed this product”
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8Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication
More information is communicated nonverbally than through any other form of communication
Tone of voice and accents
Body language (facial expressions, gestures, and attitudes)
Choice of dress, housing, and cars
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8Body LanguageBody Language
Success in sales requires that the salesperson observe gestures
A perceptive salesperson can read a person’s nonverbal communication and accurately match it to that person’s verbal communication
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Reading and Reacting to Nonverbal SignalsReading and Reacting to Nonverbal Signals
Nonverbal signals are processed at a sub- conscious level
There are five major nonverbal communication channels Body Angle Face Arms Hands Legs
Refer to Figure 8.4--Nonverbal signals
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8Is the Prospect Listening?Is the Prospect Listening?
The salesperson needs to know whether the prospect is listening
Effective salespeople look for “buying signals”
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8Interpret Body LanguageInterpret Body Language
Pay close attention to one’s own body language
Set aside at least fifteen minutes a day to read and study the gestures of other people