04 - The Sales Process

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SALES AND DISTRIBUTIONMANAGEMENT

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04

The Sales Process

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The Sales Process or The Personal Selling Process

All selling processes contain the same basic steps.

Personal selling can adjust the manner in whichfacts are communicated and can consider factors

such as culture and behaviour in the approach.

The sales representative can ask questions to

discover the specific need of the customer, getfeedback and adjust the presentation.

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The Sales ProcessThe sales or the selling process is defined as the process by whicha salesperson identifies and locates the prospects, separates theprospects from the suspects, approaches them and makes a sales

presentation, handles their objections and closes the sale.Prospecting &

QualifyingPreapproach /

Precall planningApproach

Presentation &

Demonstration

Follow-up &Service

Trial close /Closing the sale

OvercomingObjections

The end result of this planned process is a sales realisation for thesalesperson, satisfaction for the customer and positive word of

mouth for the firm as a quality product or service manufacturer.

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The Sales Process

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Prospecting The selling process begins with

prospecting or finding qualifiedpotential customers.

Prospecting involves two majoractivities:

Identifying potential customers or

prospects

Qualifying prospects

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Identifying prospects The identification of potential customers is not an

easy job, especially for a new sales person.

Rejection rate is quite high and immediate payoffs

are usually minimal.

In some consumer goods businesses, identification

of prospects usually come from friends and

acquaintances, other sales people, formercustomers, present customers, etc.

Up to 20% of a firm's customer base can be lost for

reasons like transfer, death, retirement, takeovers,

dissatisfaction with the company and competition.

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Identifying prospectsEndless chain

For prospecting, companies use satisfied customers

as source of referrals.

Sales representatives ask current customers for

names of friends or business associates.

Then the sales person contacts and sells to those

prospects and solicits more referrals.

Centre of Influence

A center of influence is a person with information

about other people or influence over them. Some frequently used centers of influences are

housewives, bankers, local politicians etc.

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Shakti Entrepreneur Programme

Hindustan Unilever's Shakti Entrepreneurial Programme helps

women in rural India set up small businesses.

The scheme equips women with business skills and a way out

of poverty as well as creating a crucial new distribution channel

for Unilever products in the large and fast-growing global

market of low-spending consumers.

By 2010 the Shakti network aims to have reached 600 million

consumers.

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Project Shakti is a rural distribution initiative of Hindustan

Unilever Limited (HUL) that targets small villages populated by

less than 5000 individuals.

This is a sales and distributive initiative which recruites village

women as sales persons called Shakti Amma and trains them

to communicate and sell HUL products in villages.

The idea is to be able to reach those villages which do not have

good road connectivity and where the penetration of media ispoor.

Armed with micro-credit, rural women become Shakti

entrepreneurs: direct-to-home distributors in rural markets.

This micro-enterprise offers low risks and high returns.

The products distributed are some of the countrys mosttrusted brands of consumer goods and include a range of

mass-market products especially relevant to rural consumers.

HUL invests its resources in training the entrepreneurs, helping

them become confident, business-savvy professionals.

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The Shakti Entrepreneur is also called as Shakti Amma

Shakti means Power/Empowered and Amma means Mother

in Telugu the language spoken in Andhra Pradesh where

Project Shakti was first piloted in 2000.

The project started in a few pilot villages in Andhra Pradesh in

2000.

Today there are about 45,000 Shakti Ammas across 15 states in

India. Shakti Vani now covers 15 states in India with over 45,000

women entrepreneurs covering over 100,000 villages and 3

million households every month.

On an average, a Shakti Amma sells Rs 10,00015,000 worth of

HUL products providing her a regular income of Rs 700-1,000every month.

Shakti distributors now account for 15 percent of the

company's sales in rural India.

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Questions

What led to the launch of Shakti EntrepreneurProgramme?

What processes are followed to make the

programme successful?

What are the special features of the programme thatmake it unique and successful?

Are there any other ways HUL could have sold its

products in rural India so effectively?

Is the programme recognised by the Government ofIndia?

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Identifying prospects

Spotters

Spotters are usually sales trainees who helpsalesperson identify prospects, thus saving time and

qualifying sales lead.

Cold call

Cold call is an unsolicited sales call. This

prospecting technique involves knocking on doors.

Directories

Membership directories of trade associations,professional societies and civic and social

organizations are good sources for prospects.

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Identifying prospects

Mailing lists

In India, specialized companies compile lists ofindividuals and organizations for direct mailers.

Trade shows and exhibitions

A cost effective way to make personal contacts and

locate prospective buyer is to participate in trade

shows and exhibitions.

India International Trade Fair organized by Trade Fair

Authority of India every year provides a good

example of usage of trade shows for prospecting.

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Qualifying prospects

Once the sales person has identified potential

customers, he or she must qualify them to

determine, if they are valid prospects.

Money: Does the prospect have the money or

resources to purchase a product or service?

Authority: Does the prospect have the authority to

make commitment?

Need: Does the prospect need the product or

service?

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Pre-approach or Pre-call planning

The preparation stage involves the two key activities,

that is, Pre-approach and Call Planning.

Pre-approachThis includes all the information gathering activities

necessary to learn relevant facts about the prospect

and his or her needs and situations.

Four necessary steps of pre-approach are: It should disclose the prospects need and ability

to buy.

It should provide information that will enable the

seller to tailor the presentation to the prospect.

It should provide information that may keep the

salesperson from making serious tactical errors

during the presentation.

It should increase the salesperson confidence.

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Pre-approach or Pre-call planning

Call planning

It involves a specific planning sequence. The

salesperson defines the objective of the call, devisesa selling strategy and makes the appointment.

The primary objective of any sales effort is to get an

order.

For some sales call intermediate objectives may beneeded.

To obtain more information about the prospect

To relate the prospects needs and concerns to

features and benefits of the product or service

To obtain permission for demonstration of the

product

To introduce a new distributor

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Approach

If the approach fails, the sales person often does not

get a chance to give a presentation or

demonstration. If it gets the prospect attention, it immediately

inspires interest in hearing more about the

proposition.

It makes easy transition into the demonstrationphase.

Four basic approaches are in common use:

The introductory approach

The product

The benefits

Referral approach

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Class Assignment

What methods will you follow for prospecting in the

following product sales?

Crazy Pen Drive

Washing Machine

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Class Assignment



Savings Bank Account giving 12% interest p.a.

Certification Course in Marketing at AIMT

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Class Assignment



Steam Iron

Nokia Smartphone

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Class Assignment



Caf Coffee Day opposite AIMT

Olay Anti-ageing cream

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Presentation and Demonstration

Presentation

The objective is to explain how the product meets

the special needs of the consumer. The job of the sales person is to inform the prospect

about the characteristics, capabilities and availability

of goods and services that are for sale.

Sales presentations are classified into four different

categories:

Fully automated

Semi-automated

Memorized

Organised presentation

Unstructured presentation

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Organised Presentation The organized approach best exemplifies the selling

process in which customers are moved through four

stages to a purchase decision, attention, interest,desire and action (AIDA).

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AIDAA - Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of

the customer.

Have you ever...? Are you noticing...?

Can you see...?

I - Interest: raise customer interest by focusing onand demonstrating advantages and benefits.

Listen to them; talk about their problems.

Tell them things that affect their problems.

Demonstrate things, rather than just tell.

Get them actively involved.

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AIDAD - Desire: convince customers that they want and

desire the product or service.

They can recognize that they have a need butthat is not desire.

Desire is like a fire and can be stoked:

Show them how the item to be desired will not be

available for long (Scarcity principle). Show how other people approved it and

acquired.

Show how offered item will solve some of their

problems.Feature and Benefits (FAB)

Build the prospects desire by linking features

and benefits.

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AIDAD - Feature and Benefits (FAB)

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AIDAA - Action: lead customers towards taking action

and/or purchasing.

The scariest point is where you ask for the sale or

ask them whether they actually do agree fully.

Are they asking you about when you can deliver or

what after-sales support you give? Summarize the problem you are solving for them.

Use the appropriate closing technique.

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Unstructured Presentation The buyer and seller together explore the problems.

Such presentation tends to be not too well-focused.

Points are often missed and time is wasted.

Salesperson does not usually anticipate objectionsbut may have to face surprise complaints from the

prospects.

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Demonstration The demonstration is the core of the selling process.

The sales person actually transmits the information

and attempts to persuade the prospect throughproduct demonstration.

The demonstration should be carefully rehearsed to

reduce the possibility of even a minor malfunction.

The demonstration should be designed to give

customers handson experience with the product.

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Overcoming Objections Sales resistance takes the form of an objection as

stated or hidden.

Prospects hide their real reasons for not buying. Their stated objection may be phoney.

Keep the prospect talking by asking probing

questions.

Use insights gained through experience, combinedwith knowledge of the prospects situation, to

perceive the hidden objection.

Product objections can be answered best when

sales people have extensive product knowledge of

both their own products and competitors.

Many times prospects may be misinformed or may

not understand some of the technical aspects.

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Trial Close/Closing the Sale Action close technique

Gift close technique

Yes close technique Direct close technique

Experienced sales people always try to close early.

If they are not successful, they continue thepresentation and then try a different closing

technique.

Closing is the most important aspect of the sales

process.

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Follow-up and Service The selling process is not completed by merely

making a sale.

Effective sales follow-up improves the chance forfuture business.

The complaint should be taken seriously and

handled with concern.

The customer must know that the company caresabout maintaining good customer relations.

The salesperson keeps customer informed about the

latest products or services.

A salesperson should analyse every call to

determine what factors influenced its eventual

outcome.

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04 - The Sales Process

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