Sales Training Programme. Module 4. Pre call planning and structure workbook

Transcription

1 Sales Training Programme. Module 4. Pre call planning and structure workbook

2 Workbook 4. Pre-call planning and structure Introduction This workbook is designed to be used along with the podcast on pre-call planning and structure. It is a self learning tool for people in sales and should take about an hour to complete. (Although you can go at your own pace) It has been designed for: People new to sales wanting to get a brief but focused look at the principles of selling Experienced salespeople wanting a refresher of their key skills Sales managers wanting to coach or train team members How it works First, download the podcast to your mp3 player, or computer. Give yourself an hour or two of uninterrupted time and have a pen and paper handy. Print off the workbook and read the first few pages that talk about the objectives and content for the session. Write down your own objectives. Listen to the podcast. You can follow the theory in the workbook as the podcast plays. When you have listened to it you can complete the exercises in the workbook. If there is something you are not sure about refer back to the podcast. At the end of your session, complete your action plan. Good luck with the session and good luck with your selling. 1

3 Pre-call planning and structure. Objectives and content Objectives The purpose of today s session is to look at pre-call planning and preparation and structuring the sales meeting. Content Preparing for the sales interview Setting objectives Preparing visuals Planning questions Preparing an agenda Positive attitude Structuring the sales meeting 2

4 My personal objective This is a statement of what you want to achieve as a result of completing this module. The best salespeople have clear objectives. It gives them focus and leads to better results. Write your objective in the box below: My object for today is: Having written down your objective you can review it at the end of the session. 3

5 Preparing for the Sales Interview How to plan and prepare a face-to-face sales visit When we meet with a potential customer it is important for us to plan and prepare effectively for the meeting. One important aspect of planning is the setting of sales call objectives Sales Call Objectives should be set prior to the call taking place. To be effective your sales call objectives should be SMART: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time bound Also, it is important to have at least two objectives for each call Primary Objective What you wish to achieve from the call. This is your main objective, such as, `to sell a specific product to the customer'. Also, before you go into the call, think of the person who you are about to visit. What do you know about them? Based on the information you have, think about things like: What questions do I need to ask? What kind of products is this person most likely to need? What would motivate this person to buy those products? What would I be looking for from the sales call, if I were the customer? What assumptions can I make, before the call that can be tested out during the call? Secondary Objectives These are `back-up' objectives in case you fail to meet your primary objective. For example, `to gain the customer agreement to a follow-up call, in three months, to review their position', or `to update the customer on our existing product range' By having both sets of objectives you are able to be successful even if your primary objective is not achieved Visuals Being well prepared also means having a supply of the appropriate literature plus any equipment or sales aids that you will require to carry out the call successfully. 4

6 Questions To be thorough and well structured with our questions is important. We need to base our questions around the following key areas: The contact The organisation Current supplier Problems Needs The decision making process Competition Finance Agenda You need to have a think about your agenda for the meeting. This basically tells the customer who you are, where you are from and what is going to happen during the meeting. The purpose of the agenda is to gain control and earn the right to ask questions. An example of an agenda which we will look at again later is: Thank you for seeing me today Mr. Smith. As you know my name is Frank Atkinson from Toyota SA. I m sure you are aware that at Toyota we have a wide range of cars in our portfolio with lots of different options. In order to see whether any of these might be of interest to you, I need to begin by asking you a few questions. Would that be okay? Firstly, is there anything specific that you would like to discuss at today s meeting? Attitude The final part of preparation is to be positive about how you envisage the final outcome of your sales visit. Think success! Successful people often visualise a positive outcome before even meeting the customer. They are confident and expect to do well. Think positively and imagine yourself after the call is over, with a positive result. You will not always be successful, but thinking positively will make you successful more often. 5

7 Structuring the Sales Call Using a structure to gain control When selling, face-to-face, we need to be in control of the Sales Call without dominating the interview and making the other person feel under pressure. In order to achieve this we work to a structure Structuring the sales call is important because it gives us confidence it gives the other side confidence in us it provides a reference point should the call move away from the structure it keeps us in control The structure we will recommend is simple and can actually be used for any product or service that is being sold. The structure is: Open the Call Set the Agenda Ask Questions Identify Needs Present the Solution Gain Commitment Looking at the structure in more detail: Open the Call This should be kept to a realistic timescale. The purpose is to introduce yourself to your customers and establish rapport before moving into the business part of the call. Avoid being too familiar at this stage unless you know the customer well. Ask low risk questions. Be friendly, but not over familiar. Set the Agenda This phase signals to the other side that you are doing business. The purpose is to put you in control and establish how the sales interview will be structured. It also gains you the right to ask questions. An example of an agenda statement is: Thank you for seeing me today Mr. Smith. As you know my name is Frank Atkinson from Toyota SA. I m sure you are aware that at Toyota we have a wide range of cars in our portfolio with lots of different options. 6

8 In order to see whether any of these might be of interest to you, I need to begin by asking you a few questions. Would that be okay? Firstly, is there anything specific that you would like to discuss at today s meeting? This gives the customer confidence in you and the opportunity to contribute to the meeting. It can also identify specific needs early on in the call Ask Questions Selling is about identifying and then solving problems. The next stage therefore is to ask questions in order to identify and explore customer problems Identify Needs The process of asking questions will clarify the customer's problems in his or her mind and give you a clear idea on whether a feature or features of your product could solve those problems and satisfy the customers' needs Present the Solution Having clarified the customer's problems and identified needs, present the Features, Advantages and Benefits of your own product in such a way that the solution meets the needs of the customer Gain Commitment Having presented a solution that meets the customer's needs the next phase is to gain commitment, from the customer, to go ahead or else for some future action that will move you nearer towards the sale being made. You may well meet with objections at various stages of the sales process and techniques will be developed for dealing with objections later in the programme The next stage is to practise using the sales structure and become familiar with this approach, so that it becomes second nature. The structure takes into account that there may be more than one sales visit made before the actual sale takes place. At each stage the salesperson should seek some commitment from the customer to advance the sale to the next stage in the process. 7

9 Development exercise. Agenda setting Practising the skills Using the example on the previous two pages, write down your agenda statement for two types of call; new business, with a customer you have just met and existing business, with a customer you know well. Remember that the purpose of the agenda is to gain control of the meeting, agree what is going to be discussed and earn you the right to ask questions. New business call 8

10 My personal action plan Having completed the module set yourself some points you will put into practice. Write your action plan in the box below: My action plan for today is: 9