Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Make sales calls with Sue Cameron Session 3

2. Agenda Session 3 • Time management & Interpersonal skills • Prospecting and managing your territory • Implementation and selling techniques • Reports and feedback

3. Effective Time Management • Set goals that are important to you • Allocate priorities • Set realistic time frames for the goals • Regularly analyse how you are spending your time

4. Time Management • Make decisions how to more effectively spend your time • Schedule appointments and task into a diary • Use a to-do list daily • Regularly check your progress

5. Interpersonal Skills • Important factors to check before you go to the appointment are: • Appearance • Poise • Knowledge of customer and service/product • Communication skills (both verbal and non verbal)

6. Operating a sales territory • Most common method is to divide market territory by geographical boundaries • Consider travel time and time spent with prospective customer (s) • Establish a sales call pattern with the emphasis being on your A class clients

7. Prospecting • Classify prospects in some sort of order (potential customers) e.g. A - C • Usually based on expected revenues • Largest potential customers should be your biggest priority

8. Preparing and delivering sales calls • Making an appointment Ensure that you see the right person (who makes the decision) Always be very pleasant to the receptionist or the prospects PA Ensure that the date and time are clear and that the prospect knows how long the appointment shall be (10 to 20 mins)

9. Implementation • Is the part of the plan that ties together the preparation carried out in analysis and the direction identified in commitment • Once you have identified the amount of time required for your sales activities you then organise your diary in priority and appropriate time allocation for your activities

10. Selling Techniques • These techniques include: • Retail selling • Industrial and trade selling • Direct selling

11. Selling Techniques • In Tourism and Hospitality you need a broad range of sales techniques • Retail Selling is selling directly to the customer or consumer and what makes it different from other methods of selling is: • the customer generally comes to the sales person rather than the reverse • the retail sales person is always visible

12. Retail Selling • the consumer does not generally or necessarily know a lot about the service or product • there is usually a greater choice for the consumer (products & services) than other types of selling • the service or product is almost immediately available (rather than order and wait situation)

13. Industrial & Trade Selling • Usually involves selling the components that make up a service or product • An example of B2B business • They can be either the manufacturer or the wholesaler

14. Selling Direct to Consumers • Not to be confused with retail selling (which have premises to sell from) • They include: • Direct mail (catalogues, brochures and leaflets) Ordered by mail, telephone or email • Mail order – Goods not usually available in retail stores and are often considered exclusive by the consumer

15. Selling Direct to customers • Telephone selling – uses the personal abilities of the caller to sell the product/service to the prospect without face to face contact Also used to make appointments with prospects e.g. Travel wholesalers to RTA’s • Door to Door – uses the skills of the sales person to secure a sale, build rapport and a relationship quickly This is one of the oldest methods of selling

16. Direct Selling to Customers • Network selling – uses both part time and full time consultants to sell This system encourages consultants to enlist other consultants to work for them to create an ever growing network e.g. Amay

17. Direct Selling to Customers • Television and Radio – the most expensive method of selling is advertising through these media • Internet such as Ebay and on line selling has taken a large part of the market as they are less expensive than TV and radio

18. Direct selling to customers • Party Plan – is a direct to the consumer. Often put on by friends in a home environment • Companies such as Glassons (women’s fashions) tested the market by using party plans to see what sold and to check their price points before opening retail outlets • Incentives are often used to promote sales and to encourage people to attend

19. Customer Feedback • Important for sales people to build a long term relationship with customers so they will purchase again in the future • It is always easier to sell to an existing customer than find and sell to a new one

20. Customer Feedback • Customer feedback can be gathered in many different ways such as • questionnaires (hotels or cruises) • follow-up letters asking for feedback • conversations with customers (remember to record in writing)

21. Customer Feedback • If it is constructive feedback (either positive or negative) you use this for your future sales and marketing plans • You often receive useful suggestions and ideas for improvement from customers (such as a clock on the ship’s sundeck)

22. After sales service • A technique used to determine the customer’s satisfaction with their buying decision and to offer additional service • Whether formal or informal, an after-sales follow up will help build goodwill

23. Identifying the customer’s needs Questioning techniques • An open-ended question is one that makes it difficult to answer yes or no • These are the most useful questions for extracting information from our customers • They also assume that the customer is going to purchase and usually begin with why, which, how, what and who

24. Identifying the customer’s needs • Closed questions, on the other hand are those that make it easy for the customer to say ‘no’ or to make non-buying decisions • Question structure for personal selling (page 341 Table 9.1) Read Questions and responses

25. Identifying the customer’s needs Listening skills - these are a vital part of the communication process and include the following: • Concentrate fully on what the customer is saying by eliminating distractions • Encourage the speaker by using positive sounds and body language • Only interrupt to seek clarification on key points

26. Identifying the customer’s needs • Clarify in our own mind the key points and pertinent facts • Always appear interested but keep control of the conversation • Use the customers’ names whenever possible. This indicates that we recognise them as an individual, and infers we are tailoring the product to them

27. Applying selling techniques • There are 5 different selling techniques • They are: • Suggestive selling • Visual suggestive selling • Up selling • Down selling • Add - on and or extras

28. Applying selling techniques • Suggestive selling - is selling by suggesting alternatives and describing features that create a desire in the customer to purchase Video on Suggestive selling in a restaurant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajid9WdxffE

29. Applying selling techniques 2. Visual suggestive selling – thisrefers to the descriptive words and pictures used in brochures, advertisements, posters or Internet sites create a graphic image to tempt customers; they can appeal to a customer’s needs or desires, their wants or their budget. Some visual suggestive selling aids adopted in many hospitality operations include: • Suggestive logos and pictures (sun, beach, palm tree)

30. Applying selling techniques • Photographs in brochures (exotic locations, sexy, smiling, relaxed people) • Resort/room design (presenting the product features in an attractive or enticing manner) • Use of popular personalities (we like to relate to the image or sex appeal of sports heroes, movie and TV stars) • Exotic displays of food and beverages (we often buy these because they look good rather than because of what is in them!)

31. Applying selling techniques 3.Upselling- is selling technique that starts at the lowest priced product or service and progressively moves up the price and quality levels 4.Downselling - is when we start at the most expensive item and work down to the lowest price until the customer chooses the products or services they require This would mean beginning with the executive suite and then working down to the deluxe room and then the standard room

32. Applying selling techniques 5. Add-ons or extras – these are items we can attach to the product to make it more desirable or to sell other products or services • These may include items such as breakfast, late check out etc.

33. Capturing the customer’s attention Creating a good first impression is fundamental to this process so the meeting and greeting techniques we use initially will be vital. Techniques include: • Acknowledging the customer • Maintaining eye contact • Displaying a pleasant, natural smile • Avoiding pre-judging them (particularly on their appearance)

34. Capturing the customer’s attention • Introducing yourself • Engaging them in polite conversation • Focusing on their needs and how you can assist • Using their name Never forget that first impressions often have a lasting influence and can affect the entire sales process Customers lost are usually lost forever

35. Creating a desire to purchase • To enhance the customer’s desire to purchase, we need to convince them that: • We have been listening to them • We have been treating them as individuals • We are suggesting/helping them select products just for them

36. Creating a desire to purchase • To reassure customers they have made the correct choice we can: • Relating our own knowledge and experience • Using positive language that reinforces the fun and relaxation elements • Showing them visual features of the product • Explaining the real benefits of the product

37. Closing the sale • The whole purpose of selling is to make a sale. We can ensure we close the sale by: • Overcoming objections – accept and acknowledge there will be objections and try to determine their basis in order to suggest alternatives • Closing the sale Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCySzmoxKEc

38. Closing the sale • Recognise buying signals - Buying signals are positive verbal statements or questions. Non-verbal buying signals include: • staying close to us and not walking away • open body language • eye contact that indicates interest; and • bringing out their wallet

39. Closing the sale • Finalise the sale – to close the sale means having the customer make a purchase. The following techniques can be used: • Trial close • Assumptive close • Summary close • Eliminate concern close.

40. Finalising the sale There are a few hints to remember when attempting to close a sale: • We should always expect to make the sale; be confident in our approach, otherwise the customer will suspect we lack credibility • We should stay focused on the subject at hand and the details of the sale

41. Finalising the sale • We should not be too pushy or put undue pressure on the customer. We should allow them to become part of the decision making process • We should create a win-win situation; meet the customer’s needs and expectations but balance the input of your time and effort with profitability on each sale • If we cannot close the sale, we should always remain friendly and courteous as they may well reconsider at some time in the future

42. Sales and call reports • In order to monitor the performance of an organisation’s sales force there must be a good reporting system • Usually in the form of weekly sales reports • Preparing reports for management is a part of every sales person’s job

43. Sales and call reports Most of these reports are on MS excel (see handout on e-learning) • The types of information contained in a sales report can be: • Sales for the month • Number of orders • Volume of sales • Revenues (income) • Customer feedback (market intelligence) • Competitor activity (market intelligence) • Forecasted revenue

44. Reviewing & reporting sales • Reports are used for a variety of analysis and organisation decisions • Typical reports are: Daily work plan Activity report Weekly summary report Monthly expense report

45. Sales Meetings • Used in conjunction with good reporting system meetings can provide the means to monitor performance , advise about new products/services, training, motivation, give feedback, set goals/targets and to keep up to date with the market place • They can be daily or weekly, usually first thing in the morning

46. Sales Team Management • Before entering into a sales management position, sales people should be aware of the requirements for the job. Both personal attributes and function – related skills • A balance of sales and managerial skills such as analytical, organisational , leadership and excellent communication skills

47. Customer feedback • Customer feedback is a useful tool that helps us evaluate our products, services and selling activities • It helps us identify customer preferences and provides us with ideas from which we can formulate strategies to enhance our products and services to improve sales

48. Sales Activity • In pairs, role play selling a product or service at your place of work, or that you have good knowledge of • One person is the customer and the other the seller and use these steps: • Get their attention and keep their interest • Use open questions to ascertain your partner’s needs • Sell the benefits • And close the sale • Change partners

49. Exam revision • What does ‘market intelligence’ mean what sort of information might it include? • When you have a great deal of market intelligence would you share it with your colleagues or keep it to yourself? If so ? • What would you do if a prospect asks you a technical question and you don’t know the answer what would you say to them?

50. Exam revision • Before making a sales call, what support material and information would you have and take with you? • How would you get customer feedback and what would you do with it? • How can you develop trust and confidence in a new prospect? • What sort of information would you have in a sales report and how would you use it in the future?