The Salesperson - Assignment Example

1. Did the dialogue between buyer and seller seem natural to you? Yes, the dialogue between the buyer and the seller seem very natural. As a matter of fact, their conversation went in a fluid, uninterrupted manner that the reader thought it was just a normal conversation between two friends or acquaintances. Although some words used were technical, they were not difficult to understand. Further, the seller did not come off as very aggressive in the tone used with the way the questions were phrased. On the contrary, the seller seemed like somebody who expressed genuine concern for the welfare of the buyer’s company. The questions were probing, but not in an obtrusive manner that would make the buyer uncomfortable answering, especially since it is a concern for security of the company. 2. Did the salesperson use too many questions in her approach? Yes, she did, which were all essential and relevant to the topic—security system—that required thorough discussion. When it involvers a topic that is as sensitive and serious as security system, especially of an organization that largely depends on information and database programs, a salesperson should appear an authority on what the product is about, and how it can benefit the prospective buyer as far as the future of his company is concerned. Thus, eventually gaining the buyer’s trust and confidence in the product being sold is inevitable. In a nutshell, the salesperson presented all the right questions needed to introduce albeit unobtrusively the product’s capabilities and potentials to the buyer’s organization. 3. Analyze each of the salesperson’s questions and state whether it is a situation, problem, implication, or need-payoff type of question. Question no. 1: Do you have a burglar alarm system at present? Answer: Situation question Question no. 2: Could you tell me what’s the most valuable item in your building? Answer: Situation question Question no. 3: And is it fairly small? Answer: Problem question Question no. 4: Would it be difficult to run your business without it—if it were stolen, for example? Answer: Implication question Question no. 5: Could you tell me a bit more about the problem you would face without your computer? Answer: Implication question Question no. 6: But without a computer, wouldn’t your billing to your customers suffer? Answer: Implication question Question no. 7: You said the computer itself is insured. Do you happen to know if the software—the programs, the computer files—are also insured? Answer: Situation question Question no. 8: And do you keep backup records somewhere else—in the bank, for example? Answer: Situation question Question no. 9: Mr. Bell, in my experience, software isn’t left behind after a theft. Wouldn’t it be a serious problem to you if that software were taken? Answer: Implication question Question no. 10: And even worse, because software development can take a long time, wouldn’t that hold up your billings to customers? Answer: Implication question Question no. 11: What effect would that have on your processing costs? Answer: Implication question Question no. 12: And if you lost your software, wouldn’t it also make it harder to process customer orders? Answer: Implication question Question no. 13: Are there any other items in the building that would be hard to replace if stolen? Answer: Implication question Question no. 14: So, if you lost them, wouldn’t it hurt the character of your office? Answer: Implication question Question no. 15: This may sound like an odd question, but how many doors do you have at ground level? Answer: Situation question Question no. 16: And ground-level windows? Answer: Situation question Question no. 17: So there are 16 or 18 points where a thief could break in, compared with 1 or 2 points in the average glass and concrete office. Doesn’t that concern you? Answer: Implication question 4. Analyze each of the buyer’s responses to the salesperson’s questions and state what type of need the salesperson’s question uncovered. Was it an implied or minor need response, or was it an explicit or important need response? Why? Reply to Question no. 1: No, we don’t. We’ve never had a break-in here. Answer: Implied need. Buyer does not see any problem. Reply to Question no. 2: Probably the computer. Answer: Implied need. Buyer does not see any problem. Reply to Question no. 3: Yes, amazingly, it’s not much bigger than a typewriter. Answer: Implied need. Buyer does not see any problem. Reply to Question no. 4: Oh, yes, that would be quite awkward. Answer: Implied need. Buyer does not see any problem. Reply to Question no. 5: It would be inconvenient in the short term for our accounts and records people, but I suppose we could manage until our insurance gave us a replacement. Answer: Implied need. Buyer sees a need, but only a minor one. Reply to Question no. 6: Not if we got the replacement quickly. Answer: Implied need. Buyer sees a need, but only a minor one. Reply to Question no. 7: I don’t believe so; our insurance covers the equipment only. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer realizes a problem brewing. Reply to Question no. 8: No, we don’t. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer recognizes a bit serious situation. Reply to Question no. 9: Yes, you’re right, I suppose. Redevelopment would certainly cost a a lot. The original programs were expensive. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer recognizes consequences of a problem. Reply to Question no. 10: We could always do that manually. Answer: Implied need. Buyer sees a way to handle the problem. Reply to Question no. 11: I see your point. It would certainly be expensive to run a manual system, as well as being inconvenient. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer realizes financial woes could arise.. Reply to Question no. 12: Yes. I don’t have much contact with that part of the business, but without order processing and stock control I’m sure we would ground to a halt in a matter of days. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer sees negative result of a problem. Reply to Question no. 13: Some of the furnishings. I would hate to lose this antique clock, for example. In fact, most of our furnishings would be very hard to replace in the same style. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer recognizes a blow to their image. Reply to Question no. 14: Yes, it would be damaging. We’ve built a gracious, civilized image here, and without it we would be like dozens of other people in our business—the glass and concrete image. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer sees seriousness of situation. Reply to Question no. 15: Let me see… uh… six. Answer: Implied need. Buyer does not see much of a problem. Reply to Question no. 16: About a ten or a dozen. Answer: Implied need. Buyer does not see much of a problem. Reply to Question no. 17: Put that way, it does. I suppose we’re not very secure. Answer: Explicit need. Buyer realizes the gravity of the situation. 5. How would you improve on this salesperson’s approach? Although I see that the salesperson has successfully uncovered some serious concerns that the company has to address in its security system, her approach still leaves some room for improvement. If I were to handle and improve on her approach, I would ask questions that would make the buyer realize what his organization needs to beef up its security. So far, what the salesperson has done is to point out to the buyer his company’s grave security problems, but she has offered no solutions yet. The buyer has already realized the security problems that the company faces. What he needs now are solutions. 6. After the buyer’s last statement, which of the following would you do? After the buyer’s last statement, it is most logical to ask need-payoff questions. This would pave the way for the buyer to let himself realize what his company needs to attend to its security problem. As Rackham (1988) points out, need pay-off questions …focus the customer’s attention on the solution rather than on the problem… attention is given to solutions and actions, not just problems and difficulties… get the customer telling you the benefits. Reference Rackham, Neil (1988). SPIN Selling: Situation. Problem. Implication. Need-payoff. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=eOGwcJ4NYncC&pg= PA96&lpg= PA96&dq=need+pay-off&source=bl&ots=cZ-AW8Fdy4&sig=oZ9WZgu76vBY8uQPiiwPO0Mgc5I&hl=en&ei=gAf9SrH0HZWHkQWGwciIDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false Read More