The Field of Selling: How to Be a Successful Salesperson - Essay Example

Your Full and Number The Field of Selling: How to be a Successful Salesperson Manypeople view the role of selling and salespeople as bad, negative, pushy, and things to avoid. However, as CIM (2000) quotes an anonymous sales director, "Nothing happens until something is sold". Without sales and salespeople, the majority of companies would be out of business for there would be no products and services sold, to be delivered, handled, etc. There would simply be no business. Sales are the livelihood of all businesses. Due to the negative reputation of sales (telemarketing, being pushy, hard closers, etc.) many view sales and salespersons as unnecessary, annoying, and untrustworthy. However, think of the many times you have needed a salesperson to assist you with a product or service, or to answer questions and direct you. Wellford (2005) suggests another title for the term salesperson and a realistic look at the roles of a salesperson, "What's needed is a trusted individual who can help a purchasing prospect make the right purchasing decision. That may be to buy from the competition or it may be to buy the best that's on the company range of Last Name 2 products. The salesman label sets up the dialogue on the wrong foot. Perhaps a better title might be something like "Customer Purchasing Assistant". Some of the main roles of a salesperson include the following as Arundel (1993) is quoted in "The Importance of the Role of the Salesperson" (2004): 1. Promote the name and reputation of the company in the marketplace. 2. Promote the company's products and services. 3. Identify and contact likely prospective customers for the company's products and services. 4. Examine the needs of the marketplace and identify opportunities for selling company's products and services. 5. Maintain regular contact with the company's customers. 6. Create and improve customer loyalty. 7. Demonstrate the products and services. 8. Deliver the products and services. 9. Negotiate contracts. 10. Feed back information on activities of your competitors and the emergence of new competitors. 11. Educate the customers, prospects, and influencers. 12. Set an example and standard for ethical selling practices. 13. Prepare quotations, illustrations, and proposals. Last Name 3 14. Provide feedback on how the company and its products are perceived in the marketplace. 15. Keep up to date with the latest developments that affect the company, its products, and its market. A characteristic is a feature that helps to identify, set apart, or pinpoint a distinguishing mark or trait (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.) All successful salespeople possess certain characteristics. According to Robertson (2005), the following characteristics are found in successful salespeople: --Persistency --Goal Setting --Asking Quality Questions --Good Listening Skills --Passion for What They Do --Enthusiasm --Taking Responsibility for their Results --The Ability to Follow Up and Keep in Touch --Knowing How to Create Value in the Product and/or Services A salesperson must also be highly motivated, trustworthy, and be ethical (follow business ethics). A positive attitude is the key in being motivated. If the salesperson does not have a positive attitude and is not motivated, then he/she will not represent the company and its products/services with energy and passion. Dedication will be lacking. Customers will also see this as a poor Last Name 4 attitude and lack of motivation is very easy to detect and highly contagious. Being trustworthy is extremely important because as with other things in life, if you do not trust someone, you will not believe him/her. People buy from those they trust. This goes along with behaving ethically and following standards of business ethics and conduct. Business ethics are the rules and principles within a commercial context; the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business setting; and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are engaged in commerce. Those behaving ethically ask themselves, "Is the conduct ethically right or wrong" (wikipedia.org, n.d.) In other words, it means to behave professionally and as the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (2005) reports, it means "to use good judgment when it comes to serving the best interests of your customers and working with your fellow employees and suppliers. In all these relationships, we must hold ourselves and others to the highest ethical standards." A successful salesperson should know his/her products and services. Without knowledge, a salesperson leaves the customer guessing and questioning. There are misunderstandings as questions cannot be answered and communication is limited. Presenting the product or service in the best way possible can only be achieved by truly knowing the company's products and services which will also provide ways to handle customers' objections. Knowledge is key and knowledge can help win the sale! Salespersons should also possess the characteristics of being flexible and creative. Flexibility and creativity go hand in hand as each and every sales opportunity is unique and requires various skills and tactics. Companies should have guidelines, handbooks, and training procedures. However, life is not textbook perfect. Successful salespeople possess creative selling procedures and are flexible in dealing with each customer and situation as they are not simple order takers and just Last Name 5 taking an order. Creative selling and flexibility obviously varies from company to company and salesperson to salesperson. Creative Selling Process (n.d.) lists one sample list of an eight-step creative selling process: 1. Pre-Customer Contact-salespeople should know the policies, procedures, and rules; operation of equipment; target market knowledge; and product/service knowledge 2. Prospecting-not waiting for the customer to appear but going to the customer 3. Initial Contact-Starting on a positive note and immediately responding to each customer that enters the sales area even if the customer cannot be tended to immediately 4. Presentation of Merchandise-use product knowledge to the best advantage, engage the customer, use showmanship (flexibility and creativity), and limit choices 5. Handling Objections-use various responses to handle objections 6. Closing the Sale-assist the customer in making the buying decision, if necessary, by offering a service, giving a choice, offering an incentive, using the "better not wait" technique with caution and honesty 7. Suggestion Selling-make a suggestion for a possible additional sale 8. Sales Follow Up-check on what was promised, ask if the customer is satisfied, etc. This will lead to repeat business and possible referrals as a long-term business relationship can only be developed via sales follow-up. Last Name 6 The Creative Selling Process mentioned in the last paragraph also encompasses the partnership process. Successful salespeople can build successful business partnerships with their customers, vendors, coworkers, employers, and other businesses by applying the previously mentioned characteristics. Successful partnerships are developed on trust, behaving ethically, assuming responsibility, possessing good listening skills, being flexible, being creative, etc. As with any relationship, these characteristics must be present in order to develop a business partnership and to keep it successful. The partnership process that helps make a salesperson successful requires that he/she prospects. Prospecting is important as you identify the most potential customers, one who are the most qualified and likely to buy as you do not want to waste their time and yours. Prospecting involves qualifying potential customers by asking questions that will help you determine their degree of interest, ability to purchase, determine who is the decision maker (if you are presenting your product or services to more than one person, or if an approval of purchase must be decided upon by someone other than the person you will be presenting the product or service to), and to determine if the potential customer has a valid need. (Prospect New Customers, Qualify, Cold Call, 2005.) Making sales calls is a huge role of the successful salesperson and planning the sales call is extremely important. Having a plan makes most things run more smoothly. Planning sales calls requires that a salesperson does some research. He/she must have company, product, and/or service knowledge. He must also research the market, potential customer, and sales skills and techniques. "The main purpose of good pre-call planning is to save time", as reported by How to Convert Prospects to Sales Faster with Pre-Call Planning (2004). This article suggests three steps in planning Last Name 7 the sales call: find the best sources, find out what you want to find out (know what you are looking for before you start looking for it), and find ways to locate the information faster. Tate (1998) suggests, "Never make a sales call without a written plan that includes your expectations of what you expect from the call. If you write it out in advance, you will be amazed at how it helps your thinking process in front of a prospect." Successful salespeople follow ethical practices when making sales calls. They are professional. They do not bring in topics of personal belief, make jokes that pertain to race, ethnicity, have a sexual nature, etc. They use the person's actual name and not nicknames or terms of endearment such as "Sweetie" or "Honey". (Tate, 1998.) The sales call must have a clear-cut objective and focus should be on reaching the company's goals and objectives as to not waste anyone's time and money. Treat each call as an investment. The investment is a potential sale so each call must be treated as such. With specific objectives in mind, or even written down, keep the phone call on track by keeping the objectives in mind and not losing control of the call. As stated earlier, motivation and a positive attitude (optimism)is detrimental to sales success. Customer objections can usually dampen a salesperson's motivation and spirit instantly, or eventually, if he/she is not prepared to handle them. Being able to handle customer objections by being prepared and by not taking objections personally (becoming discouraged) are skills that must be mastered in order to become a successful Last Name 8 salesperson. (Schlackman, 2006.) The author states that objections are either factual (based on evidence) or emotional (a personal concern which is not based on facts). Schlackman (2006) states, "An example of a factual objection is if you are trying to sell an SUV and your customer points out that it gets only 15 miles per gallon. Factual objections need to be redirected back to the original need of the customer. Why were they interested in an SUV in the first place If the customer's number one need is room in a vehicle for kids or space for large items, this need should outweigh concern about the mileage. Emotional objections are more challenging. For example, a customer might express concern that service at the dealership is not consistent, or that this model of SUV had problems with its air conditioning. To address such a concern, the sales person needs to either clarify the objection or prove that it is not valid. This can be done based on evidence from an article, a customer testimonial, or vehicle warranty information. Once the objection can be clarified and proven invalid in the eyes of the customer, the sale should be able to move forward." Successful salespeople will acknowledge and address the objection. Then they would clarify and provide feedback by redirecting the concern that is factual or by bringing up points that prove the emotional objection is not valid. When making the sale the salesperson should ask for the sale/order, ask what the next step will be, get the customer to list all possible problems that the product or service will solve, and assist the customer in seeing the value that the product or service offers. (Farber, 2003.) Last Name 9 After the sale, customer service and follow up should be done in order to insure that that all is well the customer. Thank you letters and calls and even customer visits, if necessary, should be performed. Keep communication going and earn future referrals to build a long-term partnership. Last Name 10 References CIM (2000). "The Changing Role of the Salesperson." 16 September 2000. CIM-Marketing. 28 April 2006 . Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (2005). 28 April 2006 . Creative Selling Process (n.d.). 28 April 2006 . Farber, B. (2003.) Having trouble remembering how to make a sale Let us jog your memory. Step by Step. 29 April 2006 . How to Convert Prospects to Sales Faster with Pre-Call Planning (2004). Hoover's White Paper Series. 29 April 2006 . Last Name 11 Prospect New Customers, Qualify, Cold Call (2005). Sales Training Programs. 29 April 2006 . Robertson, K. (2005). Top 10 Characteristics Of Successful Salespeople.. . Schlackman, S. (2005). Responding to Customers Objections (October 21, 2005). Competitive Excellence: 2006. 29 April 2006 . Tate, T. (October 1, 1998). Eighteen Things to Avoid When Making Sales Calls. . The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2000.) Houghton Mifflin Company: 2000. . The Importance of the Role of the Salesperson (2004). Arundel, R. (1993). Sell Your Way to Success. 28 April 2006 . Last Name 12 Wellford, B. (2005). Do We Really Need Salespeople 21 June 2005. Revenue Roundtable. 28 April . Wikipedia.org (n.d.). 28 April 2006 . Read More