Selling

By Jonathan T. Scott

(All rights reserved. The following material is copyrighted. The information, text, and material in this document have been derived from university tutorials taught by Jonathan Scott and are also part of an upcoming book by the same author, which is due to be published in 2008. )

There is a big difference between marketing and sales. Marketing brings a buyer and a seller together. Sales finalizes the process. Reaching the point where a prospective customer hands over money in exchange for a product or service is the ultimate objective of every business. The ability to sell is therefore arguably the most important link in business success because everything hinges upon it. Strangely, however, despite the indisputable fact that sales can either make or break any business, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find business schools that offer courses on the art and science of selling in their curriculums. Few academics, it seems, will dirty themselves with what they consider to be a filthy vocation. Such thinking is a shame because there is nothing plebeian or disgraceful about selling. Selling is mostly about negotiation and like any business process it should be learned and improved upon.

The Art and Science of Selling
Business schools may not be interested in what successful businesspeople consider as one of the most vital parts of commercial enterprise, but that doesn’t mean that there is no shortage of courses and books ready and willing to fill the gap. Unfortunately, sales training on its own cannot work miracles. That’s because the art of selling is based on the aptitude and ability to connect with a customer. Stated differently, an introverted, detail-oriented, technical nerd or, a hyperactive, in-your-face, blabbermouth, may never be able transform themselves into a focused salesperson. Selling often requires the solid investigative work of tracking down potential customers, giving persuasive fact-based presentations, and closing a sale. Put another way, any idiot can take a sales order, but those who can squeeze money out of most sales prospects are truly in a league of their own.

Selling 101: Understanding Customer Motivation
They key to successful selling is in understanding customers and their motivation. Two factors are involved. The first is moving toward a goal or reward. The second is moving away from fear or loss. If you can work out which one of these motivates your customer (or you can figure out how both of them can), you are well on your way to making a sale (Parinello, 2003).

Doing Your Homework (or, Knowing Who Your Customers Are)
To a salesperson, a bonafide customer is someone who needs a product and has the financial resources to buy it. Customers therefore fit into two categories.

Potential customers are the individuals that walk into a business because of its location or those who respond to an ad or promotion. In other words, potential customers are those who use, show, or have shown, an interest in the type of product a business sells.
Prospective customers are the unnamed and as yet unseen individuals or groups that roughly fit and/or match the description of a potential customer. Prospective customers tend to live or congregate in similar areas and can therefore be tracked down. Sometimes their attention can be obtained by placing ads in the newspapers or magazines they read, by going through a local phone book (like-minded people tend to live in the same area), by talking with similar potential customers, by reviewing mailing lists, by conducting demographic research, and so on.

Successful selling begins with research. A good research investigation uncovers and records the whereabouts of prospective and potential customers. This makes it easier to target the people most likely to buy your product. The alternative is to waste time, energy, and money, on those who will not.

What Every Good Salesperson Learns
Most businesses find that by improving their selling abilities they also improve their marketing efforts, their relationships with customers, and their understanding of the marketplace. This is because selling is a learning process that can teach you:

How to listen. Through personal interaction a business can find out what its customers need, how they need it, when they need it, and if anything else is needed to go along with it.
What customers expect. Hard-selling (placing pressure on customers to buy quickly) sometimes repulses customers while the soft-sell approach (giving customers time to make up their minds) can result in lost sales. Knowledgeable businesses know what their past customers responded to and can therefore usually predict what their future customers will respond to.
About a product and its customers. Qualified salespeople know about the products they sell. They know their strengths, weaknesses, and differences as well as their features, advantages, and benefits. Equally as important, they know how to match these qualities to a customer’s needs.
The capabilities of the business you work for. Effective sellers constantly improve the policies and capabilities of their business to suit the needs of their customers. As a result, they never promise what their business can’t provide.
The art of persuasion. Winning salespeople master the skills of communication (accuracy, brevity, and clarity) and know how to obtain feedback by asking questions that begin with why, when, how, or where (try answering ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to them).
Presentation skills. A good salesperson practices how to connect with an audience in thirty seconds or less. Thirty seconds is usually enough time to build trust, get a customer involved, erase a few doubts the customer has, and prove any claims being made.
How to avoid wasting time. An experienced salesperson doesn’t spend time with people who do not have the ability or authority to buy a product. Although these individuals may be valuable in providing information about the person who can, good sales people know that their efforts are best spent on the person who has buying power rather than his or her underlings.
How to handle objections. Learning to deal with objections is crucial. Is the customer stalling or is he or she simply unable to make the next move? Does the customer have a genuine need for the product? Does the customer have enough money to buy the product? A well-trained salesperson will find out.

Two Basic Sales Approaches
If you can fake sincerity, said comedian George Burns, you’ll make it anywhere. Unfortunately, most people can’t fake sincerity and most customers can spot an insincere sales pitch a mile away. To avoid falling into the insincerity trap, make certain that your customers feel as if they are your only and best customer in the world. Following are two ways this can be achieved:

Relationship building means establishing a rapport between a seller and a buyer. For example, some customers hate socializing and only wish to talk business. Others need to be reassured that they’re talking to a sympathetic individual, which means that they may not want to ‘talk shop’ for quite some time. Good salespeople know how to measure up to each customer type by asking: Is the customer amiable, family-oriented, and affected by warmth, safety and security factors – or an analytical type impressed by facts and figures? Does the customer have a busy schedule and a short attention span – or is he or she easily impressed with the names of other clients that use our products? If an entrepreneur or his or her staff can’t read people in this manner than someone had best be find who can. Customers only buy from people they understand, connect with, and like.
Targeting customer problems involves identifying specific problems a customer faces and showing how your product will uniquely resolve it. As astonishing as it sounds, by using this personalized method some companies have increased their sales revenues by up to one thousand percent. For example, if you work for a business that manufactures first aid kits for factories, rather than bragging about their low cost, their accessibility, the materials they contain, or the design awards they have won, the entrepreneur should find out what injuries have been suffered in the past by the factory he or she wishes to target so this information can be used in the sales pitch. In a factory where employees are prone to burns this could be accomplished by saying, ‘studies show that by using the materials in our first aid kits, burn scars are reduced by sixty three percent and pain is reduced by up to eighty percent. Furthermore, by having our kits on your premises, your insurance premiums can be lowered by up to fourteen percent and your company will save an additional two thousand dollars per year because of the current discount we’re offering.’
This type of approach helps achieve three objectives. (1) it gets a customer emotionally connected to the product. (2) It targets real problems with real solutions, and, (3) it shows the client what is at risk by not using the product. Put more succinctly, in one fell swoop it shows a client how he or she can (a) move closer toward a goal or reward and (b) move away from fear or loss (Parinello, 2003).

Sales Calls
A sales call is a face to face meeting with a potential customer. Sales calls must be planned in advance - which means writing down and studying what needs to be said before you make the call. The next step is to pay homage to the customer’s ‘gatekeeper’. A gatekeeper is a secretary or assistant who answers the phone and makes appointments in the office of the person to whom you wish to sell. The task of selling will be made much easier if this person is treated well.
Once the perspective customer is on the phone, most professionals suggest that you should focus on making an appointment – not a sale. This shows respect for the client’s time. It also avoids making the all-too-common mistake of ‘pouring on the goods’ straight away. For an effective sale to take place a customer’s attention must be undivided. That’s why a face to face appointment is the first objective. You should then state your name, the name of your company, and the benefit of what you are offering. Then the following can be added, ‘I’d like to make an appointment to meet you. Fifteen minutes should do it. Will tomorrow morning at ten o’clock be okay?’ Some experts suggest saying this in a relaxed and informal manner. They also suggest arranging an alternative meeting if the customer is not available during the time offered.

The Do’s of Making a Sales Call
According to entrepreneur and author Jim Green (2002), an effective sales call should not last longer than fifteen minutes. Green goes on to say that every sales meeting should begin by thanking the prospect for agreeing to meet. Next, introduce yourself and the business you represent. Immediately thereafter, the product and its benefits should be briefly described in about thirty seconds. The rest of the time should be spent determining the needs of the customer (if this hasn’t been done in advance) and matching them to the product. A product sample, some photographs, or a brochure should be produced after the thirty-second presentation. If these are introduced beforehand the customer’s attention will be diverted from the sales pitch. Following are few more pointers:

Turn up for the appointment five minutes early (but not any earlier). As Woody Allen once said, ‘eighty percent of success is showing up on time’.
Have a positive outlook and attitude. What you believe before the sales meeting will probably determine how it ends.
Stay focused on the objectives of the meeting. Selling approaches should be practiced again and again until they can be delivered in a relaxed and casual manner that stays on track.
Listen to the customer. Ask him or her to describe their business (they will probably be very flattered and eager to do so) then sit back and learn about their needs.
Be prepared for a little give and take. Don’t lose out on a sale because your pitch or beliefs are chiseled in stone. Find a way to connect the benefits of the product being offered (including payment and delivery) with the needs of your customer.
Ask for the sale. At the end of the presentation it is unlikely that the customer will jump up and say, ‘Sounds great! I’ll take a hundred!’ If a ‘yes’ response is not forthcoming, the salesperson should respond to any objections and gently ask for the sale again. (There is more information on this topic later)
Always remember that an unclosed sale is not a lost sale. After the meeting write down what happened, what was discussed, and any objections that the customer made. With a little work this may be refashioned into a future sale.
Learn to handle rejection with dignity. Particularly at the beginning of one’s selling career, most salespeople lose more times than they win. Don’t take rejection personally.
Learn from any mistakes. Often the most powerful lessons in life come from failure.
Keep your sales records up to date. Doing so will improve your success rate and may lead to further sales.

The ‘Don’ts of Making a Sales Call

Never show up at a sales meeting reeking of garlic, alcohol, perspiration, etc. Doing so is highly unprofessional.
Don’t talk too much. This can be seen as threatening, unsettling, or just plain rude and/or tedious to a potential customer.
Don’t be ignorant about your product range. Always be prepared to answer any questions.
Don’t be overconfident. Unchecked eagerness is not an asset when it comes to making a sale.
Don’t skim over the benefits of a product by ‘going for the kill’ to quickly. Be measured and meticulous in your approach by showing an interest in the customer.
Don’t promise something that can’t be delivered. All future sales with the customer will be lost (and sales to other customers will also be lost) if word of the dishonesty spreads.
Never argue with a customer. Salespeople who argue with their customer lose sales.
Don’t knock the competition. Let the customer do that.
Don’t forget to ask for the sale. At the end of every presentation, ask for the sale (see below).
Don’t talking yourself out of the sale. Once the sale has been finalized, thank the customer, hand him or her your business card or brochure, and leave.

Approaching the Close of a Sale
Imagine for a moment that you are trying in the midst of a sale. You have done good research, found a potential customer, made an appointment, showed up on time, and made a strong presentation… now what? The answer to this question is for you to sit back and listen to what your customer has to say. One of four things can happen. (1) The customer will have an objection. (2) The customer will want to hear more (and will subsequently shows some positive buying signs). (3) The customer will say ‘no’, or, (4) the customer will say ‘yes’.

When the Customer Has an Objection
Very rarely will a customer give an abrupt ‘no’ to a sales inquiry. Usually an objection will be given instead. The golden rule with objections is to shut up and listen to them. Don’t interrupt with a machine-gunned, point-by-point rebuttal. Doing so will be seen as an eagerness to disprove or discredit the customer, which is very off-putting. The salesperson should place himself or herself in the customer’s shoes. By understanding what the objection (or fear) is, it can usually be dealt with. Chances are another customer has had a similar objection. If so, address it with a prepared response. If not, the salesperson will have to think quickly. According to sales genius Tony Parinello:

If the customer says, ‘Sorry, but we’ve decided to go with another company’ or, ‘We’ve been dealing with Company X for years now and we want to stay loyal.’
You should say, ‘Okay, but before I go, would you like to know how much your commitment to Company X is costing you?’ Then you should proceed to state the facts without knocking the competition.
If the customer says, ‘I don’t like (the inherent weakness) of your product.’
You should say, ‘That’s actually one of our strengths.’ Your job is then to turn the weakness into a strength. For example, if home burglar alarm systems are being sold and the customer believes that they are too complicated and take too long to turn off, a good rebuttal is to say, ‘We designed them like this because if they take time for you to turn off, they’ll also take time for a burglar to turn off.’
If the customer says, ‘Your product costs too much.’
You should say, ‘How much lower would our price have to be so you could meet your profit margins?’ This allows you to investigate the needs of the customer and puts you in a position to relay the strengths, added value, or uniqueness of the product. Be careful, however. Theoretically, no business should waste time with people who can’t afford a product and/or don’t want to pay for quality.
If the customer says, ‘Thanks. I’ll phone you next month and let you know what our decision is.’
You should say, ‘Okay, but before I go, what exactly do you want to hear or see during that time that will allow us to better meet your needs?’ or, ‘I’ve got an idea. How would you like to meet another customer of mine and talk to him or her about the product over lunch?’ The point here is to avoid the brush-off, which is what the customer is doing. You must try to provide some additional options without obediently skulking out the door.
If the customer says, ‘No way. Your product (or business) has a terrible reputation.’
You should say, ‘Sorry to hear that. Tell me, if one of your salespeople heard that comment from one of your customers, how would you ask them to handle it?’ Now sit back and let the customer dump on you. Take notes and take the heat. When he or she has finished speaking, articulate exactly what your company has done to correct the problems the customer just raised. (Parinello, 2004)

2. When the Customer Displays ‘Buying Signals’
Almost every sales manual contains a list of signs that shows what customers say or display when they are ready to buy. Do these signals guarantee that a sale is ready to be finalized? Unfortunately, no. They do not guarantee a sale. What they usually reflect, however, is that the customer is interested in a product. Traditionally, a buying sign is made when a customer:

issues positive noises (i.e.: ‘Really?’ ‘Wow!’ ‘Hmm-hmm.’ ‘Ooh!’)
asks for a sample
asks for a reference from another customer
asks detailed questions about the product or service (i.e.: ‘When is the earliest it can be delivered?’ etc…)
mentions a bad experience with another company
repeats a question that has already been answered
comments (good or bad) about the price of the product
asks ‘test’ questions (i.e.: ‘What if I don’t like it? Can I bring it back? What if I can only pay by credit card?’ and so on…)
asks for your professional opinion

Again, when encountering buying signals keep in mind that a sale is not yet guaranteed. While it may be true that the customer is interested, he or she may still not be ready to sign on the dotted line. The entrepreneur should keep the process moving forward by listening to what the customer is saying and how it is being said. Then any remaining objections should be addressed.

When the Customer Says No.
Most unsuccessful sales attempts are a result of poor planning. Once again, before meeting with a potential client, do your homework.

What are the needs of the customer and/or the needs of his or her company? (i.e.: What are his past sales habits? How was her name obtained? Where is she located? Who are his current suppliers and customers?…)
What type of personality does the potential customer have? Do family and friends come first to her? Does he need to feel important? Is she impressed with facts and figures? Knowing this information can help you put together a presentation that fits your customer’s personality. For example, if the customer is family oriented, stress the fact that you and your company will stick with him or her through thick and thin.
Is the customer moving toward a goal or reward – or away from a fear or loss? The sales presentation should reveal how one or both can be accomplished.
Did you get the customer emotionally involved in the product (or with the situation the product can solve)? Did you prove how much money the customer or his or her company will save or, demonstrate the specific value that will be obtained? Did you discover a problem the customer was facing (or could face) and show how the product is the best solution? Was a free sample provided?
Remember that an unsuccessful sale is not lost forever. When a ‘no’ is given and nothing further can be obtained (or the salesperson is wearing out his or her welcome), he or she should get up, shake hands with the customer, present a business card and leave. The information collected from the meeting can be analyzed over the coming weeks and months. The salesperson should then stay in touch with the customer (without being a pain in the neck)and try again later.

4. When the Customer Says Yes
Congratulations. Now thank the customer, let him or her know how they can get in touch with you, and leave. Don’t oversell. Don’t accept an invitation for a cup of coffee. Don’t hang around. Don’t ask what the customer thought of the big game last weekend. Don’t do anything that will jeopardize in an instant what took a lot of hard work to obtain. Just leave.

Issues You Should Ponder as You Approach the Close of a Sale

Don’t appear too keen or nervous
Don’t ignore the strong points or nuances of the presentation and/or product
Don’t talk too much (listen to the customer)
Don’t ignore any buying signals
Don’t push it
Stay calm and relaxed

Closing a Sale
It may sound ridiculous, but many of the salespeople I speak with say that the best way to close a sale is to simply ask for it – and the best way to do that, they add, is by stating a question that cannot be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. In addition, the question should be tailored to imply that the customer has already reached an agreement. Suggestion include:

‘When would you like to get started?’
‘What type of payment would you like to make?’
‘Is this purchase being made for you or is it a gift for someone else?’
‘Would you like to put a twenty percent down payment on this purchase or is fifteen percent easier?’
‘We can ship this order today. Does that suit your needs?’

If the customer is still not quite there, but continues to show interest, another approach is to throw back the customer’s questions so that he or she is forced to answer back in a positive way. For example, if the customer asks, ‘Does this come in any other colors?’ the response can be, ‘Would you like it in another color?’ or ‘What color would you like it in?’
The options here are endless. The point is to keep the momentum going.

What To Do When the Customer Balks
Let’s assume the customer is still undecided. Your job is to find out why. Statistics show that roughly eighty-five percent of customers that walk out of a sales negotiation never return, therefore, it is a good idea to hang on to the prospect for as long as possible.

Determine the underlying reason for the hesitation and address it. Respond to and alleviate any uncertainties and fears by using positive comments to make the customer feel better about making the commitment.
Remind the customer why he or she was interested in the product (which should have been discovered earlier) and reinforce these interests.
Some professionals suggest guiding the customer to the end of the sale by asking close-ended questions that demand a ‘yes’ answer and get the customer in the habit of saying yes.
Don’t raise the hackles of the customer by issuing threats, dares, or insults. Examples include, ‘Well, if you want to pay a higher price for a worse product go right ahead,’ or ‘Fine, talk to our competitors. You’ll be back.’ Or ‘If you say no today, we won’t make this offer again.’ Remember, the objective is to sell the product – not force the customer to dance to a tune.
If all else seems to be failing, consider offering a trial run or a free sample. This develops a physical and emotional link between the customer, your business, and the product. Make sure you obtain the customer’s contact information when this offer is made. That way a follow up call can be made.
Ask for the sale again. Any salesperson that can’t openly ask for a sale in a straightforward manner may be suffering from a confidence problem. Does the salesperson believe in the product?

Advice from Successful Business Practitioners on Selling

All employees in every business should be taught how to sell. Ignoring the fundamentals of selling is akin to turning away countless sales opportunities every day.
Ensure your front-line employees fully know about, and believe in, the products you are selling. For example, if your business sells mobile phones, make sure your employees use your mobile phones. If you operate a restaurant, make sure your employees have sampled your menu items. If you own a fitness club, make sure your employees train on your equipment. Few things turn off customers faster than that millisecond pause between them asking an employee if he or she uses the product and the wide-eyed ‘yes’ lie that the employee stammers out.
You and your employees are a direct reflection of your business. No matter how good your product is, if you have a cluttered work area, a cluttered mind, and a cluttered life, customers will be turned off by what they see as rampant disorganization and sloppiness.
Remember that selling, like any human endeavor, often takes practice and time. Don’t be impatient and don’t give up. Some people take years to develop a great sales technique.
Don’t ‘cost-cut’ the human side of your business by relying only on advertising. Distancing yourself from customers only diminishes your chances of making a sale.
Be open to advice and feedback. It is the only way a sales technique will improve.
Read as much as you can about selling. Discuss the subject with others. Visit sales websites and/or attend sales-training workshops and meetings. You (and your employees) can never get enough sales training.
If the customer says no, don’t see this rejection or failure as an insurmountable obstacle. Learn from your mistakes, do some more homework, put together a different approach, and contact the customer again (after sufficient time has elapsed) with an improved performance.
Point out the extra benefits your customer will receive by doing business with you rather than just the product itself.
Don’t let a former bad experience with a customer affect your attitude. If your last customer turned you down, shrug off the disappointment, learn from what happened, and press on.
Similarly, if your last sale was a success, don’t come across in your next sales encounter as arrogant and cocky. Learn what was done correctly and stay grounded. Every sales encounter should be treated as if that particular customer is the business’s first and best of the day.

Sources
Dembo, Mark, ‘Buying Signals: Is Your Prospect Ready to Buy?’, www.sideroad.com/sales, December 2005.

Green Jim, Starting Your Own Business, How to Books, Oxford, UK. 2002.

Hoover, John & Sparkman, Bill, How to Sell to an Idiot, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken (New Jersey), 2006

Lustberg, Arch, How to Sell Yourself, Career Press, Franklin Lakes (New Jersey), 2002.

Parinello, Tony, Stop Cold Calling Forever, McGraw Hill, 2004.

Parinello, Tony, ‘Turning a Prospect’s No into a Yes’, www.entrepreneur.com/article/o,4621,309855,00.html,
14 July, 2003.

Ziglar, Zig, [i] Selling 101, /[i] Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, 2003.

(Note: The original material appearing in this document was collected by Jonathan T. Scott from a study of hundreds of successful small business owners in twelve different countries. The bulk of the results of this study are due out, in book form, in 2008.)

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