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The following is a summary of page contents for non script browsers. For full contents please use a browser which supports scripts.sales training, sales training London, sales training company, sales training uk, telesales, presentation skills, advanced sales training, intermediate sales training, sales training in London, sales training, customer service training, sales management training, online courses, web-based, coaching, certification, seminars, programs, telemarketing, negotiation, selling technique, objection handling, prospecting, online, internet based, e-learning, blended, sales skills, sales and marketing, presentation skills training, advanced sales training, key account management training, sales training London, sales training courseProgressive sales training are an award winning London based sales training company offering sales programmes and sales courses. Sales Training courses are available in Central London, South East London, South West London, North London, East London, South London, Surrey, Kent and Berkshire, Birmingham Bradford Bristol Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle-upon-Tyne Oxford Portsmouth Sheffield Southampton Wolverhampton We deliver sales training, customer service training, leadership training and sales management We also deliver advanced telesales course, advanced presentation skills, advanced sales training, intermediate sales training, sales training in london, sales training in surrey, sales training in Manchester, advanced sales training sales skills, sales and marketing, presentation skills training, advanced sales training, key management training sales training london, leadership training, advanced sales training, telesales training, lead development, team buildingsales training, sales training london, sales training company, sales training uk, sales course, sales training courses, sales training programme, free sales training, free online training uk, telesales, presentation skills, advanced sales training, intermediate sales training, sales training in london, sales skills, sales and marketing, presentation skills training, advanced sales training, sales training, sales training uk, sales team training, sales training courses, sales training consultancy, sales management training, sales courses uk, negotiation skills training, customer care training, customer support training, call centre training, sales coaching, customer complaints training, senior management training, sales consultants, sales nlp, sales training, consultancy, consultant, selling, courses, sales training, training, sales training uk, sales consultancy, uk sales training, key account management training, sales training london, sales training course, presentation skills training, advanced sales training, key account management training, sales training london, sales training coursesales training london

sales and selling - training and techniques
a free guide to selling methods, sales techniques, models, and processes
New sales techniques, sales training, online sales training and selling methods are continually developing. This free sales training section covers sales and the selling process from its early beginnings, through to the most modern selling techniques and ideas. Sales and selling terms, and early sales and selling theories appear first in this article; the most advanced sales methods and ideas are at the end of the section. While early sales processes still contain some useful techniques and fundamentals, successful selling today relies on modern selling using collaboration, facilitation, and partnership.

Successful selling also requires that the product or service is of suitable quality for its target market, and that the selling company takes good care of its customers. Therefore it's helpful for the sale person (or anyone else in business for that matter) to work for a professional, good quality organization. Product development, design and production, service delivery, and the integrity of the selling company's organization are also necessary for successful selling, and typically are outside the formal control of the salesperson, hence why internal selling is an increasingly important aspect of the modern sales role.

Glossary of sales and selling terms

accompaniment visit/accompaniment report - when a manager or supervisor or trainer accompanies a salesperson while working on the sales territory, usually while meeting prospects or customers. Typically the manager would complete a an accompaniment visit report on the performance of the salesperson, which would be discussed, and suitable follow-up actions or training agreed.

account - a customer, usually a B2B organization; a major account is a large organization; a national account is a customer with branches or sites that constitute a nationwide coverage, which typically requires special pricing and senior sales attention.

active listening - term used to describe high level of listening capability and method, in which the salesperson actively seeks to understand how the speaker feels, and what their issues are, in which the type of listening extends far beyond common inattentive listening. Related to empathy and Stephen Covey's principles of seeking to understand before attempting to be understood.

added value - the element(s) of service or product that a salesperson or selling organization provides, that a customer is prepared to pay for because of the benefit(s) obtained. Added values are real and perceived; tangible and intangible. A good, reliable, honest, expert, informed salesperson becomes a very significant part of the selling organization's added value, as perceived by the customer, if not by the selling organization.

advantage - the aspect of a product or service that makes it better than another, especially the one in-situ or that of a competitor.

advertising/advertising and promotion/A&P - the methods used by a company to publicize and position its products and services to its chosen market sectors, including product launches, image and brand building, press and public relations activities, merchandising (supporting and promoting the product in retail and wholesale outlets), special offers, generating leads and enquiries, and incentives distributors, and agents, and arguably sales people. A&P methods are sometimes described as above-the-line (media advertising such as radio, TV, cinema, newspapers, magazines) or below-the-line (non-media' methods or materials such as brochures, direct-mail, exhibitions, telemarketing, and PR); advertising agencies generally receive a commission (discount 'kick-back') from above-the-line media services, but not from below the line services, in which case if asked to arrange any will seek to add a mark-up.

benefit - the gain (usually a tangible cost, but can be intangible) that accrues to the customer from the product or service.

buyer - most commonly means a professional purchasing person in a business; can also mean a private consumer. Buyers are not usually major decision-makers, that is to say, what they buy, when and how they buy it, and how much they pay are prescribed for them by the business they work for. If you are selling a routine repeating predictable product, especially a consumable, then you may well be able to restrict your dealings to buyers; if you are selling a new product or service of any significance, buyers will tend to act as influencers at most.

buying signal - a buying signal is a comment from a prospect which indicates that he is visualizing to whatever extent buying your product or service. The most common buying signal is the question: "How much is it?" Others are questions or comments like: "What colors does it come in?", "What's the lead-time?", "Who else do you supply?", "Is delivery free?" "Do you use it yourself?", and surprisingly, "It's too expensive."

buying warmth - behavioral, non-verbal and other signs that a prospect likes what he sees; very positive from the salesperson's perspective, but not an invitation to jump straight to the close.

call/calling - a personal face-to-face visit or telephone call by a salesperson to a prospect or customer. Also referred to a sales call (for any sales visit or telephone contact), or cold call (in the case of a first contact without introduction ).

canvass/canvassing - cold-calling personally at the prospect's office or more commonly now by telephone, in an attempt to arrange an appointment or present a product

close/closing - the penultimate step of the 'Seven Steps of the Sale' selling process, when essentially the sales-person encourages the prospect to say yes and sign the order. Previously a salesperson's expertise was measured almost exclusively by how many closes he knew. See the many examples of closes and closing techniques in the Seven Steps section, but don't expect to fool anyone.

collaboration selling - also known as collaborative selling and facilitation selling - very modern and sophisticated, in which seller truly collaborates with buyer and buying organization to help the buyer buy. A logical extension to 'strategic' or 'open plan' selling. See collaboration and partnership selling at the end of the section.

concession - used in the context of negotiating, when it refers to an aspect of the sale which has a real or perceived value, that is given away or conceded by seller (more usually) or the buyer. One of the fundamental principles of sales negotiating is never giving away a concession without getting something in return - even a small increase in commitment is better than nothing. See the negotiation section.

consultative selling (consultation selling) - developed by various sales gurus through the 1980's by David Sanders among others, and practiced widely today, consultative selling was a move towards more collaboration with, and involvement from, the buyer in the selling process. Strongly based on questioning aimed at gaining useful information.

cycle - see sales cycle.

deal - common business parlance for the sale or purchase (agreement or arrangement). It is rather a colloquial term so avoid using it in serious company as it can sound flippant and unprofessional.

decision-maker - a person in the prospect organization who has the power and budgetary authority to agree to a sales proposal. On of the most common mistakes by sales people is to attempt to sell to someone other than a genuine decision-maker. For anything other than a routine repeating order, the only two people in any organization of any size that are real decision-makers for significant sales values are the CEO/Managing Director/President, and the Finance Director. Everyone else in the organization is generally working within stipulated budgets and supply contracts, and will almost always need to refer major purchasing decisions to one or both of the above people. In very large organizations, functional directors may well be decision-makers for significant sales that relate only to their own function's activities. See influencer.

deliverable(s) - an aspect of a proposal that the provider commits to do or supply, usually and preferably clearly measurable.

demonstration or demo - the physical presentation by the salesperson to the prospect of how a product works. Generally free of charge to the prospect, and normally conducted at the prospect's premises, but can be at another suitable venue, eg., an exhibition, or at the supplier's premises.

demographics - the study of, or information about, people's lifestyles, habits, population movements, spending, age, social grade, employment, etc., in terms of the consuming and buying public; anyone selling to the consumer sector will do better through understanding relevant demographic information.

discipline - within the context of an organization this means the same as function, ie job role.

FAB's - features advantages benefits - the links between a product description, its advantage over others, and the gain derived by the customer from using it. One of the central, if now rather predictable, techniques used in the presentation stage of the selling process.

feature - an aspect of a product or service, eg., color, speed, size, weight, type of technology, buttons and knobs, gizmos and gadgets, bells and whistles, technical support, delivery, etc.

field - means anywhere out of the sales office. Field sales people or managers are those who travel around meeting people personally in the course of managing a sales territory. To be field-based is to work on the sales territory, as opposed to being office-based.

forecast/sales forecast - a prediction of what sales will be achieved over a given period, anything from a week to a year. Sales managers require sales people to forecast, in order to provide data to production, purchasing, and other functions whose activities need to be planned to meet sales demand. Sales forecasts are also an essential performance quantifier which feeds into the overall business plan for any organization. Due to the traditionally unreliable and optimistic nature of sales-department forecasts it is entirely normal for the sum of all individual salespersons' sales annual forecast to grossly exceed what the business genuinely plans to sell.

function - in the context of an organization, this means the job role or discipline, eg., sales, marketing, production, accounting, customer service, delivery, installation, technical service, general management, etc

gestation period - sale gestation period typically refers to the the time from enquiry to sale, the Sales Cycle in other words, (see Sales Cycle). Awareness and monitoring of Sale Gestation Period/Sales Cycle times are crucial in sales planning, forecasting and management, for individuals sales teams and sales organizations.

influencer - a person in the prospect organization who has the power to influence and persuade a decision-maker. Influencers will be generally be decision-makers for relatively low value sales. There is usually more than one influencer in any prospect organization relevant to a particular sale, and large organizations will have definitely have several influencers. It is usually important to sell to influencers as well as decision-makers in the same organization. Selling to large organizations almost certainly demands that the salesperson does this. The role and power of influencers in any organization largely depends on the culture and politics of the organization, and particularly the management style of the two main decision-makers.

intangible - in a selling context this describes, or is, an aspect of the product or service offering that has a value but is difficult to see or quantify (for instance, peace-of-mind, reliability, consistency). See tangible.

introduction - first stage of the actual sales call.

lead-time - time between order and delivery, installation or commencement of a product or service.

listening - a key selling skill, rarely used!

major account - a large and complex prospect or customer, often having several branches or sites, and generally requiring contacts and relationships between various functions in the supplier and customer organization. Often major accounts are the responsibility of designated experienced and senior sales people, which might be formed into a major accounts team. Major accounts often enjoy better discounts and terms than other customers because of purchasing power leveraged by bigger volumes, and lower selling costs from economies of scale.

marketing - perceived by lots of business people to mean simply promotion and advertising, the term marketing actually covers everything from company culture and positioning, through market research, new business/product development, advertising and promotion, PR (public/press relations), and arguably all of the sales functions as well. It's the process by which a company decides what it will sell, to whom, when and how, and then does it. See the marketing section.

margin/profit margin - the difference between cost (including or excluding operating overheads) and selling price of a product or service. Percentage margin is generally deemed to be the difference between cost and selling price, divided by the selling price ex tax (eg something that costs £1 and is sold for £2 plus tax produces a 50% margin - gross margin that is - net margin is after overheads are deducted).

mark-up - this is the money that a selling company adds to the cost of a product or service in order to produce a required level of profit. Strictly speaking, percentage mark-up refers to the difference between cost and selling price as a factor of the cost, not of the selling price. So a product costing £1 and selling for £2 has been given a mark-up of 100%; (at the same time it produces a margin of 50%).

needs-creation selling - a selling style popularized in the 1970's and 80's which asserted that sales people could create needs in a prospect for their products or services even if no needs were apparent, obvious or even existed. The method was for the salesperson to question the prospect to identify, discover (and suggest) organizational problems or potential problems that would then create a need for the product. I'm bound to point out that this is no substitute for good research and proper targeting of prospects who have use of the products and services being sold.

negotiation/negotiating - the trading of concessions including price reductions, between supplier and customer, in an attempt to shape a supply contract (sale in other words) so that it is acceptable to both supplier and customer. Negotiations can last a few minutes or even a few years, although generally it's down to one or two meetings and one or two exchanges of correspondence. Ideally, from the seller's point of view, negotiation must only commence when the sale has been agreed in principle, and conditionally upon satisfactory negotiation. However most sales people fall into the trap set by most buyers - intentionally or otherwise - of starting to negotiate before the selling process have even commenced. See the section on negotiation for negotiating theory, rules and techniques.

objection - a point of resistance raised by a prospect, usually price ("it's too expensive"), but can be anything at any stage of the selling process; overcoming objections is a revered and much-trained skill in the traditional selling process.

open/opening - the first stage of the actual sales call (typically after preparation in the Seven Steps of the Sale). Also called the introduction.

opening benefit statement/OBS - traditionally an initial impact statement for sales people to use at first contact with prospect, in writing, on the telephone or face-to-face - the OBS generally encapsulates the likely strongest organizational benefit typically (or supposedly) derived by customers in the prospect's sector, eg., "Our customers in the clothing retail sector generally achieve 20-40% pilferage reduction when they install one of our abc security system " - N.B. The OBS is a relatively blunt instrument for modern selling - use it with extreme care for fear of looking foolish.

open plan selling - a modern form of selling, heavily dependent on the salesperson understanding and interpreting the prospect's organizational and personal needs, issues, processes, constraints and strategic aims, which generally extends the selling discussion far beyond the obvious product application; (in a way, it's rather like combining selling with genuinely beneficial, free, expert consultancy). In 'open plan selling' the seller identifies strategic business aims of the sales prospect or customer organization, and develops a proposition that enables the aims to be realise. The proposition is therefore strongly linked to the achievement of strategic business aims - typically improvements in costs, revenues, margins, overheads, profit, quality, efficiency, time-saving and competitive strengths areas. There is a strong reliance on seller having excellent strategic understanding of prospect organization and aims, market sector situation and trends, and access to strategic decision-makers and influencers.

open question - a question that gains information, usually beginning with who, what, why, where, when, how, or more subtly 'tell me about..'

package - in a selling context this is another term for the product offer; it's the whole product and service offering at a given price, upon given terms.

partnership selling - very modern approach to organizational selling for B2B sales - see collaboration and partnership selling.

perceived - how something is seen or regarded by someone, usually by the prospect or customer, irrespective of what is believed or presented by the seller, ie what it really means to the customer.

preparation - in the context of the selling process this is the work done by the salesperson to research and plan the sales approach and/or sales call to a particular prospect or customer. Almost entirely without exception in the global history of selling, no call is adequately prepared for, and sales that fail to happen are due to this failing.

presentation/sales presentation - the process by which a salesperson explains the product or service to the prospect, ideally including the product's features, advantages and benefits, especially those which are relevant to the prospect. Presentations can be simply verbal, but more usually involve the use of visuals, Can incorporate a video and/or physical demonstration of the product(s).

product - generally a physical item being supplied, but can also mean or include services and intangibles, in which case product is used to mean the whole package being supplied.

product offer - how the product and/or service is positioned and presented to the prospect or market, which would normally include features and/or advantages and also imply at least one benefit for the prospect (hence a single product can be represented by a number of different product offers, each for different market niches (segments or customer groupings). One of the great marketing challenges is always to define a product offer concisely and meaningfully.

proposal/sales proposal - usually a written offer with specification, prices, outline terms and conditions, and warranty arrangements, from a salesperson or selling organization to a prospect. Generally an immensely challenging part of the process to get right, in that it must be concise yet complete, persuasive yet objective, well specified yet orientated to the customer's applications. An outline proposal is often a useful interim step, to avoid wasting a lot of time including in a full proposal lots of material that the customer really doesn't need.

proposition - usually means product offer, can mean sales proposal. The initial proposition means the basis of the first approach.

professional selling skills PSS - 'Professional Selling Skills' - highly structured selling process pioneered by the US Xerox photocopier sales organization during the 1960's, and adopted by countless B2B sales organizations, normally as the 'Seven Steps of the Sale', ever since. PSS places a huge reliance on presentation, overcoming objections and umpteen different closes. Largely now superseded by more modern 'Open Plan' two-way processes, but PSS is still in use and being trained. The regimented one-way manipulative style of PSS nowadays leaves most modern buyers completely frozen

prospect - a customer (person, organization, buyer) before the sale is made, ie a prospective customer.

questioning - the second stage of the sales call, typically after the opening or introduction in the Seven Steps of the Sale. A crucial selling skill, and rarely well demonstrated. The correct timing and use of the important different types of questions are central to the processes of gathering information, matching needs, and building rapport and empathy. Questioning also requires that the salesperson has good listening, interpretation and empathic capabilities. See the questioning section.

research/research call - the act of gathering information about a market or customer, that will help progress or enable a sales approach. Often seen as a job for telemarketing personnel, but actually more usefully carried out by sales people, especially where large prospects are concerned (which should really be the only type of prospects targeted by modern sales people, given the need to recover very high employment costs of sales people).

retention/customer retention - means keeping customers and not losing them to competitors. Modern companies realise that it's far more expensive to find new customers than keep existing ones, and so put sufficient investment into looking after and growing existing accounts. Less sensible companies find themselves spending a fortune winning new customers, while they lose more business than they gain because of poor retention activity.

sales cycle - the Sales Cycle term generally describes the time or process between first contact with the customer to when the sale is made. Sales Cycle times and processes vary enormously depending on the company, type of business (product/service), the effectiveness of the sales process, the market and the particular situation applying to the customer at the time of the enquiry. The Sales Cycle time is also referred to as the Sale Gestation Period (ie from conception to birth - enquiry to sale). The Sales Cycle in a sweet shop is less than a minute; in the international aviation sector or civil construction market the Sales Cycle can be many months or even a few years. The funnel diagram and sales development process on the free resources section show the sales cycle from a different perspective, (and actually prior to enquiry stage). A typical Sales Cycle for a moderately complex product might be: receive enquiry / qualify details / arrange appointment / customer appointment / arrange survey / conduct survey / present proposal and close sale

sales funnel - describes the pattern, plan or actual achievement of conversion of prospects into sales, pre-enquiry and then through the sales cycle. So-called because it includes the conversion ratio at each stage of the sales cycle, which has a funneling effect. Prospects are said to be fed into the top of the funnel, and converted sales drop out at the bottom. The extent of conversion success (ie the tightness of each ratio) reflects the quality of prospects fed into the top, and the sales skill at each conversion stage. The Sales Funnel is a very powerful sales planning and sales management tool. A diagram of a typical basic Sales Funnel appears on the free resources section. Also referred to as the Sales Pipeline.

sales pipeline - a linear equivalent of the Sales Funnel principle. Prospects need to be fed into the pipeline in order to drop out of the other end as sales. The length of the pipeline is the sales cycle time, which depends on business type, market situation, and the effectiveness of the sales process.

sales training: online sales training, sales training course, in house or defined courses at a sales trainig company, sales training is the adoption of various schools of thought to change salespeolpe behaviour (hopefully for the better) by introducing new concepts, skills and sales behaviour to help sales people influence and alter a clients buying pattern into a postive and more regular occurance.

sector/market sector - a part of the market that can be described, categorized and then targeted according to its own criteria and characteristics; sectors are often described as 'vertical', meaning an industry type, or 'horizontal', meaning some other grouping that spans a number of vertical sectors, eg., a geographical grouping, or a grouping defined by age, or size, etc.

segment/market segment - a sub-sector or market niche; basically a grouping that's more narrowly defined and smaller than a sector; a segment can be a horizontal sub-sector across one or more vertical sectors.

solutions selling - a common but loosely-used description for a more customer-orientated selling method than the Seven Steps; dependent on identifying needs to which appropriate benefits are matched in a package or 'solution'. The term is based on the premise that customers don't buy products or features or benefits - they buy solutions (to organizational problems). It's a similar approach to 'needs-creation' selling, which first became popular in the 1970's-80's. Solutions selling remains relevant and its methods can usefully be included in the open plan selling style described later here, although modern collaborative and facilitative methodologies are becoming vital pre-requisites.

SPIN and SPIN Selling - A popular selling method developed by Neil Rack ham in the 1970-80's: SPIN is an acronym derived from the basic selling process designed and defined by Rack ham: Situation, Problem, Implication, Need, or Need Payoff. More detail about SPIN and SPIN Selling appears in the Consultative Selling and Needs Creation Selling methods section. Note that SPIN and SPIN SELLING® methods and materials are subject to copyright and intellectual property control of the Huthwaite organisations of the US and UK. SPIN and SPIN SELLING® methods and materials are not to be used in the provision of training and development products and services without a licence. See SPIN copyright details.

steps of the sale - describes the structure of the selling process, particularly the sales call, and what immediately precedes and follows it. Usually represented as the Seven Steps of the Sale, but can be five, six, eight or more, depending whose training you've had.

Strategic Selling - when used in upper case and/or in the context of Miller Herman's Strategic Selling methodology (which features in their books of the same name, first published in 1985) the Strategic Selling term is a registered and protected product name belonging to the American Miller Herman training organisations - so be warned. LAMP® and Strategic Selling methods and materials are subject to copyright and intellectual property control of Miller Heiman, Inc., and again be warned that LAMP® and Strategic Selling methods and materials are not to be used in the provision of training and development products and services without a licence. See LAMP® and Strategic Selling copyright details below.

strategic selling - you will also hear people referring to 'strategic selling' in a generic sense, and not specifically referring to the Miller Heiman methods and materials. In a generic 'lower case' sense, 'strategic selling' describes a broad methodology which began to be practiced in the 1980's, literally 'strategic' by its nature (the principles involve taking a strategic view of the prospective customer's organisations, its markets, customers and strategic priorities, etc), which is described below and referred to as 'open plan selling'. When using the 'strategic selling' terminology in a training context you must be careful therefore to avoid confusion or misrepresentation of the Miller Heiman intellectual property. If in any doubt don't use the 'strategic selling' term in relation to providing sales training services - call it something else to avoid any possible confusion with the Miller Heiman products, (see the Miller Heiman Strategic Selling copyright details below.

tangible - in a selling context this describes, or is, an aspect of the product or service offering that can readily be seen and measured in terms of cost and value.

target/sales target - in a sales context this is the issued (or ideally agreed) level of sales performance for a salesperson or team or department over a given period. Bonus payments, sales commissions, pay reviews, job grading's, life and death, etc., can all be dependent on sales staff meeting sales targets, so all in all sales targets are quite sensitive things. Targets are established at the beginning of the trading year, and then reinforced with a system of regular forecasting and reviews (sometimes referred to as 'a good rollicking') throughout the year.

telemarketing - any pre-sales activity conducted by telephone, usually by specially trained telemarketing personnel - for instance, research, appointment-making, product promotion.

telesales - selling by telephone contact alone, normally a sales function in its own right, ie., utilizing specially trained telesales personnel; used typically where low order values prevent the use of expensive field-based sales people, and a recognizable product or service allows the process to succeed.

tender - a very structured formal proposal in response to the issue of an invitation to tender for the supply of a product or service to a large organization or government department. Tenders require certain qualifying criteria to be met first by the tendering organization, which in itself can constitute several weeks or months work by lots of different staff. Tenders must adhere to strict submission deadlines, contract terms, specifications and even the presentation of the tender itself, and usually only suppliers experienced in winning and fulfilling this type of highly controlled supply ever win the business. It is not unknown for very successful tendering companies to actually help the customer formulate the tender specification, which explains why it's so difficult to praise the business away from them.

territory - the geographical area of responsibility of a salesperson or a team or a sales organization.

territory planning - the process of planning optimum and most cost-effective coverage (particularly for making appointments or personal calling) of a sales territory by the available sales resources, given prospect numbers, density, buying patterns, etc., even if one territory by one salesperson; for one person this used to be called journey planning, and was often based on a four or six day cycle, so as to avoid always missing prospects who might never be available on one particular day of the week.

trial close - the technique by which a salesperson tests the prospect's readiness to buy, traditionally employed in response to a buying signal, eg: prospect says: "Do you have them in stock?", to which the salesperson would traditionally reply: "Would you want one if they are?" Use with extreme care, for fear of looking like a clumsy desperate fool. If you see a buying signal there's no need to jump on it - just answer it politely, and before ask why the question is important, which will be far more constructive.

unique/uniqueness - a feature that is peculiar to a product or service or supplier - no competitor can offer it.

UPB - unique perceived benefit - now one of the central strongest mechanisms in the modern selling process, an extension and refinement of the product offer, based on detailed understanding of the prospect's personal and organizational needs.

USP - unique selling point or proposition - this is what makes the product offer competitively strong and without direct comparison; generally the most valuable unique advantage of a product or service, for the market or prospect in question; now superseded by UPB.

variable - an aspect of the sale or deal that can be changed in order to better meet the needs of the seller and/or the buyer. Typical variables are price, quantity, lead-time, payment terms, technical factors, styling factors, spare parts, back-up and breakdown service, routine maintenance, installation, delivery, warranty. Variables may be real or perceived, and often the perceived ones are the most significant in any negotiation. See the section on negotiation.

the changing face of selling
Please note that where reference is made to the customer 'organization' this reflects a B2B scenario, however, the principles in all other respects apply for business-to-consumer scenarios.

values/expectations of the sales organization and the selling process
traditional (typified by 1960's through to 1980's and amazingly still found today) modern (essential today to sustain success in B2B and consumer markets)
standard product customized, flexible, tailored product and service
sales function performed by a 'sales-person' sales function performed by a 'strategic business manager'
seller has product knowledge seller has strategic knowledge of customer's market-place and knows all implications and opportunities resulting from product/service supply relating to customer's market-place
delivery service and supporting information and training are typical added value aspects of supply strategic interpretation of the customer organisations' market opportunities, and assistance with project evaluation and decision-making are added value aspects of supply
good lead-time is a competitive advantage just-in-time (JIT) is taken for granted, as are mutual planning and scheduling; competitive advantages are: capability to anticipate unpredictable requirements, and assistance with strategic planning and market development
value is represented and judged according to selling price value is assessed according to the cost to the customer, plus non-financial implications with respect to CSR (corporate social responsibility), environment, ethics, and corporate culture
the benefits and competitive strengths of the products or service are almost entirely tangible, and intangibles are rarely considered or emphasis ed the benefits and competitive strengths of the product or service now include many significant intangibles, and the onus is on the selling organization to quantify their value
benefits of supply extend to products and services only benefits of supply extend way beyond products and services, to relationship, continuity, and any assistance that the selling organization can provide to the customer to enable an improvement for their staff, customers, reputation and performance in all respects
selling price is cost plus profit margin, and customers have no access to cost and margin information selling price is market driven (essentially supply and demand), although certain customers may insist on access to cost and margin information
seller knows the business customers' needs seller knows the needs of the business customers' customers and partners and suppliers
salesperson sells (customers only deal with sales people, pre-sale) whole organization sells (customers expect to be able to deal with anybody in supplier organization, pre-sale)
sales people only sell externally, ie, to customers sales people need to be able to sell internally to their own organization, in order to ensure customer needs are met
strategic emphasis is on new business growth (ie, acquiring new customers) strategic emphasis is on customer retention and increasing business to those customers (although new business is still sought)
buying and selling is a function, with people distinctly responsible for each discipline within selling and customer organizations buying and selling is a process, in which many people with differing jobs are involved in both selling and customer organizations
hierarchical multi-level management structures exist in selling and customer organizations management structures are flat, with few management layers
authority of salesperson is minimal, flexibility to negotiate is minimal, approvals must be sought via management channels and levels for exceptions authority of salesperson is high (subject to experience), negotiation flexibility exists, and exceptions are dealt with quickly and directly by involving the relevant people irrespective of grade
selling and buying organization are divided strictly according to function and department, inter-departmental communications must go up and down the management structures selling organization is structured in a matrix allowing for functional efficiency and also for inter-functional collaboration required for effective customer service, all supply chain processes, and communications
supplier and customer organization functions tend to talk to their 'opposite numbers' in the other organization open communications to, from and across all functions between supplier and customer organization
the customer specifies and identifies product and service requirements the selling organization must be capable of specifying and identifying product and service requirements on behalf of the customer
the customer's buyer function researches and justifies the customer organization's needs the selling organization must be capable of researching and justifying customer organization's needs, on behalf of the customer
the customer's buyer probably does not appreciate his/her organization's wider strategic implications and opportunities in relation to the seller's product or service, and there will be no discussion with the seller about this issues the seller will help the buyer to understand the wider strategic implications and opportunities in relation to the seller's product or service
the buyer will tell the seller what the buying or supplier-selection process is the seller will help the buyer to understand and align the many and various criteria within their own (customer) organization, so that the customer organization can assess the strategic implications of the supplier's products or services, and make an appropriate decision whether to buy or not

These days more is demanded from the selling process. The analysis below refers both to the development in recent decades of what customers require from the selling function, and also to the progression of a relationship between supplier and customer.

the development of the selling function
1. pure transaction basic early selling - standard commodities products, price and reliability - there is little to build on, business may be spasmodic, hand-to-mouth and unpredictable
2. relationship and trust continuity, consistency, sustainability, and some understanding of the customer's real issues are seen to have a value by both selling and buying organization; intangibles begin to be regarded as relevant benefits
3. management and information a longer-term supply arrangement is seen as an advantage by seller and buyer, because it brings extra intangible benefits of co-operation and support other areas of the customer's business - eg., training, technology, product development - which improve the customer's own competitive strengths and operating efficiencies
4. partnership activities of the buying and selling organization become almost seamless where connected; the supplier is virtually part of the customer's organization and treated as such; 'out-sourcing' generally require this degree of collaboration, which involves a level anticipation, innovation and integrated support that is very difficult to un-pick, even if it were in the customer's interests to do so - not surprisingly, in terms of selling relationships this is the pinnacle to aim for.

History of Sales Training

AIDA is the original sales training acronym, from the late 1950's, when selling was first treated as a professional discipline, and sales training began. AIDA is even more relevant today. If you remember just one sales or selling model, remember AIDA. Often called the 'Hierarchy of Effects', AIDA describes the basic process by which people become motivated to act on external stimulus, including the way that successful selling happens and sales are made.

A - Attention I - Interest D - Desire A - Action

The AIDA process also applies to any advertising or communication that aims to generate a response, and it provides a reliable template for the design of all sorts of marketing material.

Simply, when we buy something we buy according to the AIDA process. So when we sell something we must sell go through the AIDA stages. Something first gets our attention; if it's relevant to us we are interested to learn or hear more about it. If the product or service then appears to closely match our needs and/or aspirations, and resources, particularly if it is special, unique, or rare, we begin to desire it. If we are prompted or stimulated to overcome our natural caution we may then become motivated or susceptible to taking action to buy.

Attention

Getting the other person's attention sets the tone: first impressions count , so smile - even on the telephone because people can hear it in your voice - be happy (but not annoyingly so) be natural, honest and professional.
If you're not in the mood to smile do some paperwork instead. If you rarely smile then get out of selling.
Getting attention is more difficult than it used to be, because people are less accessible, have less free time, and lots of competing distractions, so think about when it's best to call.
Gimmicks, tricks and crafty techniques don't work, because your prospective customers - like the rest of us - are irritated by hundreds of them every day.
If you are calling on the telephone or meeting face-to-face you have about five seconds to attract attention, by which time the other person has formed their first impression of you.
Despite the time pressure, relax and enjoy it - expect mostly to be told 'no thanks' - but remember that every 'no' takes you closer to the next 'OK'.
Interest

You now have maybe 5-15 seconds in which to create some interest.
Something begins to look interesting if it is relevant and potentially advantageous. This implies a lot:
The person you are approaching should have a potential need for your product or service or proposition (which implies that you or somebody else has established a target customer profile).
You must approach the other person at a suitable time (ie it's convenient, and that aspects of seasonality and other factors affecting timing have been taken into account)
You must empathize with and understand the other person's situation and issues, and be able to express yourself in their terms (ie talk their language).
Desire

The salesperson needs to be able to identify and agree the prospect's situation, needs, priorities and constraints on personal and organizational levels, through empathic questioning and interpretation.

You must build rapport and trust, and a preparedness in the prospect's mind to do business with you personally (thus dispelling the prospect's feelings of doubt or risk about your own integrity and ability).

You must understand your competitors' capabilities and your prospect's other options.

You must obviously understand your product (specification, options, features, advantages, and benefits), and particularly all relevance and implications for your prospect.
You must be able to present, explain and convey solutions with credibility and enthusiasm.

The key is being able to demonstrate how you, your own organization and your product will suitably, reliably and sustain ably 'match' the prospect's needs identified and agreed, within all constraints.

Creating desire is part skill and technique, and part behavior and style. In modern selling and business, trust and relationship (the 'you' factor) are increasingly significant, as natural competitive development inexorably squeezes and reduces the opportunities for clear product advantage and uniqueness.
Action

Simply the conversion of potential into actuality, to achieve or move closer to whatever is the aim.
Natural inertia and caution often dictate that clear opportunities are not acted upon, particularly by purchasers of all sorts, so the salesperson must suggest, or encourage agreement to move to complete the sale or move to the next stage.
The better the preceding three stages have been conducted, then the less emphasis is required for the action stage; in fact on a few rare occasions in the history of the universe, a sale is so well conducted that the prospect decides to take action without any encouragement at all.

early selling and sales training ideas
Much of the early development of selling skills and conventional sales training theories is attributed to American writer, speaker and businessman Dale Carnegie (1888-1955). Carnegie, from humble beginnings and several early career failures, started his training business in the early 1900's, initially focusing on personal development. Later, Carnegie's 1937 self-help book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' became an international best-seller, and probably the major source of the ideas and theory which underpinned traditional selling through the 20th century. Carnegie's book remains a highly regarded and widely read work on human motivation, relationships and 'influencing' others.

Carnegie's ideas contain a huge amount of useful learning relating to understanding other people and their motives. As such the theories are well worth reading. In this respect, Carnegie's concepts, and other similar methods based on them, are helpful in understanding that people are all different and therefore all have different perspectives (and different to those of the seller, or influencer). This is a vital concept within selling - to appreciate that people have their own views, feelings, values, and aims. The more we can understand the other person's situation, aims and feelings, the more likely we will be able to develop rapport and trust with them, and then hopefully to arrive at suitable solutions and agreements with them. As far as this goes all is well.

However, as with all early and 'traditional' sales persuasion techniques and methodologies, the purpose of 'influence' is in the hands of the 'influencer' (or seller), and this purpose (product or service) may or may not be in the best interests of the customer. In other words, early thinking (and much current thinking still unfortunately) primarily focuses on influencing the other person (customer) to adopt an opinion or to take action in the direction which favors the influencer, irrespective of whether this is in the genuine best interest of the other person. Indeed, some modern criticism suggests that Carnegie's and other similar traditional selling methodologies and sales training systems lack honesty and integrity, which in my view many do.

Traditional methods - most of which continue to draw on the ideas and concepts contained in Dale Carnegie's 1937 book, tend to encourage sales people, or others seeking to persuade and influence, to use knowledge about the other person's (or customer's) perspective as a means of gaining their trust and flexibility, so that the customer can be led in a certain direction. Used unethically this amounts to manipulation and is therefore wrong and not sustainable.

Carnegie and others who have interpreted and developed his early ideas, commonly provide a good framework for understanding other people's needs and motives, but arguably the matters of ethics, honesty, integrity, sustainability, are omitted.

The purpose of using the techniques, and what to do with the understanding was, and remains, open to use or mi s-use by the seller.

The question is - as sales-people - is our purpose (and responsibility) to exploit people - or to help people?

Therein lies the major difference between early (and still) traditional selling, and modern collaborative, facilitative ideas, which in my opinion are the most effective, sustainable and ethically sound concepts for today's business world.

Look at the old ideas like Carnegie's, learn the Seven Steps, understand consultative and needs-creation selling - they all contain useful learning - but most importantly, ensure you work within a strong and ethical value-system. These days selling should more than ever focus on helping people, which of course has additional implications for your choice of organisations, product, or service that you choose to represent

the seven steps of the sale
The Seven Steps of the Sale is the most common traditional structure used for explaining and training the selling process for the sales call or meeting, including what immediately precedes and follows it. This structure is usually represented as the Seven Steps of the Sale, but it can can be five, six, eight or more, depending whose training manual you're reading.

This structure assumes that the appointment has been made, or in the instance of a cold-call, that the prospect has agreed to discuss things there and then. The process for appointment-making is a different one, which is shown later in this section. Aside from the questioning stage, this structure also applies to a sales visit which been arranged for the purpose of presenting products/services or a specific proposal following an invitation, earlier discussions or meetings. For these pre-arranged presentations it is assumed that the salesperson has already been through the questioning stage at prior meetings.

NB The Seven Steps of the Sale remains a helpful structure for sales and sales training, but do bear in mind that the concept is over forty years old, and these days the modern collaboration and facilitation methods are a lot more effective.

the seven steps of the sale
planning and/or preparation
introduction or opening
questioning
presentation
overcoming objections/negotiating
close or closing
after-sales follow-up

the seven steps of the sale in summary

planning and preparation - the seven steps - 1

Generally, the larger the prospect organization, the more research you should do before any sales call at which you will be expected, or are likely, to present you company's products or services.

ensure know your own product/service extremely well - especially features, advantages and benefits that will be relevant to the prospect you will be meeting
ascertain as far as you can the main or unique perceived organizational benefit that your product or service would give to your prospect
discover what current supply arrangements exist or are likely to exist for the product/service in question, and assess what the present supplier's reaction is likely to be if their business is at threat
understand what other competitors are able and likely to offer, and which ones are being considered if any
identify as many of the prospect organization's decision-makers and influencers as you can, and assess as much as far as you can what their needs, motives and relationships are
try to get a feel for what the organizational politics are
what are the prospect's organizational decision-making process and financial parameters (eg., budgets, year-end date)
what are your prospect's strategic issues, aims, priorities and problems, or if you can't discover these pre-meeting, what are they generally for the market sector in which the prospect operates?
prepare your opening statements and practice your sales presentation
prepare your presentation in the format in which you are to give it (eg., MS Power point slides for laptop or projected presentation) plus all materials, samples, hand-outs, brochures, etc., and always have spares - allow for more than the planned numbers as extra people often appear at the last minute - see the presentation section for more detailed guidance on designing formal sales presentations
prepare a checklist of questions or headings that will ensure you gather all the information you need from the meeting
think carefully about what you want to get from the meeting and org anise your planning to achieve it
introduction/opening - the seven steps - 2

smile - be professional, and take confidence from the fact that you are well-prepared
introduce yourself - first and last name, what your job is and the company you represent, and what the your company does (ensure this is orientated to appeal to the prospect's strategic issues)
set the scene - explain the purpose of your visit, again orientate around your prospect not yourself, eg "I'd like to learn about your situation and priorities in this area, and then if appropriate, to explain how we (your own company) approach these issues. Then if there looks as though there might be some common ground, to agree how we could move to the next stage."
ask how much time your prospect has and agree a time to finish
ask if it's OK to take notes (it's polite to ask - also, all business information is potentially sensitive, and asking shows you realise this)
ask if it's OK to start by asking a few questions or whether your prospect would prefer a quick overview of your own company first (this will depend on how strongly know and credible your own company is - if only a little you should plan to give a quick credibility-building overview in your introduction)
questioning - the seven steps - 3

the main purpose of questioning is to confirm or discover the strongest or unique perceived organizational benefit that would accrue to the prospect from the product/service - it may be one (usually) or two (occasionally) or three (rarely) key things, which may be obvious to seller and buyer, or not obvious to either, in which case questioning expertise is critical
questioning must also discover how best to develop the sale with the organization - how they decide, when, people and procedures involved, competitor pressures, etc.
good empathic questioning also builds relationships, trust and rapport - nobody wants to buy anything from a salesperson who's only interested in their own product or company - we all want to buy from somebody who gives the time and skill to interpreting and properly meeting our own personal needs
you will have prepared a list of questions or headings - now use it
use open questions to gather information - eg. , questions beginning with Who, What, Why, Where, When, How
when training or learning the skills of using open questions it helps to refer to the Ruddy Kipling rhyme: "I keep six honest serving men, They taught me all I knew; Their names are What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who'd." - from Just So Stories, 1902, The Elephant's Child. (other useful training quotes)
use "can you tell me about how'd.." if you are questioning a senior-level contact - generally the more senior the contact, the bigger the open questions you can ask, and the more the other person will be comfortable and able to give you the information you need in a big explanation
'what..? and how wouldd..?' are the best words to use in open questions because they provoke thinking and responses about facts and feelings in a non-threatening way
use 'why?' to find out reasons and motives beneath the initial answers given, but be very careful and sparing in using 'why' because the word 'why?' is threatening to most people - it causes the other person to feel they have to defend or justify themselves, and as such will not bring out the true situation and feelings, especially in early discussions with people when trust and rapport is at a low level
listen carefully and empathically, maintain good eye-contact, understand, and show that you understand - especially understand what is meant and felt, not just what is said, particularly when you probe motives and personal aspects
interpret and reflect back and confirm you have understood what is being explained, and if relevant the feelings behind it
use closed questions to qualify and confirm your interpretation - a closed question is one that is answered with a yes or no, eg., "Do you mean that when this type of machinary goes down then all production ceases?", or "Are you saying that if a new contract is not put in place by end-May then the existing one automatically renews for another year?"
when you've asked a question, SHUT UP - do not interrupt
your prospect should be doing 80-99% of the talking during this stage of the sales call; if you are talking for a third or half of the time you are not asking the right sort of questions
do not jump onto an opportunity and start explaining how you can solve the problem until you have asked all your questions and gathered all the information you need (in any event never be seen to 'jump' onto any issue)
all the time try to find out the strategic issues affected or implicated by the product/service in question - these are where the ultimate decision-making and buying motives lie.
if during the questioning you think of a new important question to ask note it down or you'll forget it
when you have all the information you need, acknowledge the fact and say thanks, then take a few moments to think about, discuss and summa rise the key issues/requirements/priorities from your prospect's organizational (and personal if applicable) perspective
questioning is traditionally treated by conventional sales people and conventional sales training as a process to gather information to assist the salesperson's process, and this is how it is typically positioned in the old-style 'Seven Steps of the Sale'; however, modern sales methodology treats questioning in a radically different way - as an essential part of a facilitative process whose purpose is to help the buyer decide (see the information about Sales Revisited for explanation)
presentation - the seven steps - 4

the sales presentationmust focus on a central proposition, which should be the unique perceived benefit that the prospect gains from the product/service
during the questioning phase the salesperson will have refined the understanding (and ideally gained agreement) as to what this is - the presentation must now focus on 'matching' the benefits of the product with the needs of the prospect so that the prospect is entirely satisfied that the proposition
the salesperson therefore needs an excellent understanding of the many different organizational benefits that accrue to customers, and why, from the product/service - these perceived benefits will vary according to the type of customer organization (size, structure, market sector, strategy, general economic health, culture, etc)
the sales presentation must demonstrate that the product/service meets the prospect's needs, priorities, constraints and motives, or the prospect will not even consider buying or moving to the next stage; this is why establishing the prospect's situation and priorities during the questioning phase is so vital
the above point is especially important to consider when the salesperson has to present on more than one occasion to different people or groups, who will each have different personal and organizational needs, and will therefore respond to different benefits (even though the central proposition and main perceived benefit remains constant)
all sales presentations, whether impromptu (off the cuff) or the result of significant preparation, must be well structured, clear and concise, professionally delivered, and have lots of integrity - the quality and integrity of the presentation is always regarded as a direct indication as to the quality and integrity of the product/service
it follows then that the salesperson must avoid simply talking about technical features from the seller's point of view, without linking the features clearly to organizational context and benefit for the prospect - also avoid using any jargon which the prospect may not understand

sales presentations must always meet the expectations of the listener in terms of the level of information and relevance to the prospect's own situation, which is another reason for proper preparation - a vague or poorly prepared sales presentation sticks out like a sore thumb, and it will be disowned immediately
when presenting to influencers, which is necessary on occasions, it is important to recognised that the salesperson is effectively asking the influencers to personally endorse the proposition and the credibility of the selling organization and the salesperson, so the influencers' needs in these areas are actually part of the organizational needs of the prospect company
the presentation must include relevant evidence of success, references from similar sectors and applications, facts and figures - all backing up the central proposition
business decision-makers buy when they become satisfied that the decision will either make them money, or save them money or time; they also need to be certain that the new product/service will be sustainable and reliable; therefore the presentation must be convincing in these areas
private consumer buyers ultimately buy for similar reasons, but for more personal ones as well, eg., image, security, ego, etc., which may need to feature in these type of presentations if they form part of the main perceived benefit
while the presentation must always focus on the main perceived benefit, it is important to show that all the other incidental requirements and constraints are met - but do not over-emphasis or attempt to 'pile high' loads of incidental benefits as this simply detracts from the central proposition
presentations should use the language and style of the audience - eg., technical people need technical evidence; sales and marketing people like to see flair and competitive advantage accruing for their own sales organization; managing directors and finance directors want clear, concise benefits to costs, profits and operating efficiency; and generally the more senior the contact, the less time you will have to make your point - no-nonsense, no frills, but plenty of relevant hard facts and evidence. See the presentation section for more guidance on this.
if the salesperson is required to present to a large group and in great depth, then it's extremely advisable to enlist the help of one or two suitably experienced colleagues, from the appropriate functions, eg., technical, customer service, distribution, etc., in which case the salesperson must ensure that these people are properly briefed and prepared, and the prospect notified of their attendance.
keep control of the presentation, but do so in a relaxed way; if you don't know the answer to a question don't waffle - say you don't know and promise to get back with an answer later, and make sure you do.
never knock the competition - it undermines your credibility and integrity - don't even imply anything derogatory about the competition
if appropriate issue notes, or a copy of your presentation
use props and samples and demonstrations if relevant and helpful, and make sure it all works properly
during the presentation seek feedback, confirmation and agreement as to the relevance of what you are saying, but don't be put off if people stay quiet
invite questions at the end, and if your are comfortable, at the outset invite questions at any time - it depends on how confident you feel in controlling things
whether presenting one-to-one or to a stern group, relax and be friendly - let your personality and natural enthusiasm shine through - people buy from people who love and have faith in their products and companies
overcoming objections/negotiating - the seven steps - 5

decades ago it was assumed that at this stage lots of objections could appear, and this would tend to happen, because the selling process was more prescriptive, one-way, and less empathic; however, successful modern selling now demands more initial understanding from the salesperson, even to get as far as presenting, so the need to overcome objections is not such a prevalent feature of the selling process
nevertheless objections do arise, and they can often be handled constructively, which is the key
if objections arise, firstly the salesperson should qualify each one by reflecting back to the person who raised it, to establish the precise nature of the objection - "why do you say that?" is usually a good start
it may be necessary to probe deeper to get to the real issue, by asking why to a series of answers - some objections result from misunderstandings, and some are used to veil other misgivings which the salesperson needs to expose
lots of objections are simply a request for more information, so definitely avoid responding by trying to re-sell the benefit - simply ask and probe instead; the best standard response is something like "I understand why that could be an issue, can I ask you to tell me more about why it is and what's important for you here?.."
try to avoid altogether the use of the word 'but' - it's inherently confrontational
an old-style technique was to reflect back the objection as a re-phrased question, but in a form that the salesperson is confident of being able to answer positively, eg. : the prospect says he thinks it's too expensive; the salesperson reflects back: "I think what you're really saying is that you have no problem with giving us the contract, but you'd prefer the payments staged over three years rather than two? - well I think we could probably do something about that.."
another old-style technique used to be to isolate the objection (confirm that other than that sticking point everything else was fine), then to overcome the objection by drawing up a list of pro's and con's, or analyzing to death all the hidden costs of not going for the deal, or re-selling the benefits even harder, and then to close powerfully, but these days such a contrived approach to objection handling is likely to insult the prospect and blow the salesperson's credibility
it is important to flush out all of the objections, and in so doing, the salesperson is effectively isolating them as the only reasons why the prospect should not proceed, but then the more modern approach is to work with the prospect in first understanding what lies beneath each objection, and then working with the prospect to shape the proposition so that it fits more acceptably with what is required. See the section on negotiating.
avoid head-to-head arguments - even if you win them you'll destroy the relationship you'll go no further - instead the salesperson must enable a constructive discussion so that he and the prospect are both working at the problem together; provided the basic proposition is sound most objections are usually overcome by both the seller and the buyer adjusting their positions slightly; for large prospects and contracts this process can go on for weeks, which is why this is often more in the negotiating arena than objection handling
you've handled all the objections when you've covered everything that you've noted down - it's therefore important to keep notes and show that you're doing it
by this stage you may have seen some signs that the prospect is clearly visualizing or imagining the sale proceeding, or even talking in terms of your working together as supplier and customer; this is sometimes called buying warmth. Certain questions and comments from prospects are described as buying signals because they indicate that the prospect may be visualizing buying or having the product/service. In the old days, sales people were taught to respond to early buying signals with a 'trial close', but this widely perceived as clumsy and insulting nowadays. Instead respond to early buying signals (ie those received before you've completed the presentation to the prospect's satisfaction, and answered all possible queries) by asking why the question is important, and then by answering as helpfully as possible
close/closing - the seven steps - 6

in modern selling, even using the traditional Seven Steps process, every salesperson's aim should be to prepare and conduct the selling process so well that there are few if any objections, and no need for a close
the best close these days is something like "Are you happy that we've covered everything and would you like to go ahead?", or simply "Would you like to go ahead?"
in many cases, if the salesperson conducts the sale properly, the prospect will close the deal himself, and this should be the another aim for the salesperson - it's civilized, respectful, and actually implies and requires a high level of sales professionalism
the manner in which a sale is concluded depends on the style of the decision-maker - watch out for the signs: no-nonsense high-achievers are likely to decide very quickly and may be a little irritated if you leave matters hanging after they've indicated they're happy; cautious technical people will want every detail covered and may need time to think, so don't push them, but do stay in touch and make sure they have all the information they need; very friendly types may actually say yes before they're ready, in which case you need to ensure that everything is suitably covered so nothing can rebound later
for the record here are some closes from the bad old days - the traditional golden rule was always to shut up after asking a closing question, even if the silence became embarrassingly long - (a who-talks-first-loses kind of thing) - use them at your peril:
the pen close: "Do you want to use your pen or mine?" (while producing the contract and pen)
the alternative close: eg. - "Would you like it delivered next Tuesday or next Friday?", or "We can do the T50 model in silver, and we have a T52 in white - which one would you prefer?"
the challenge close: "I know most men wouldn't be able to buy something of this value without consulting their wives - do you need to get your wife's permission on this?.." or "Most business people in your position need to refer this kind of decision to their boss, do you need to refer it?"
the ego close: "We generally find that only the people who appreciate and are prepared to pay for the best quality go for this service - I don't know how you feel about it?..."
the negative close: "I'm sorry but due to the holidays we can't deliver in the three weeks after the 15th, so we can only do it next week, is that OK?"
the guilt close: "Over three years it might seem a lot of money, but we find that most responsible people decide they simply have no choice but to go for it when it's less than a pound/dollar a day to protect you r.../safeguard you r.../improve you r... (whatever)."
the sympathy close: "I know you have some reservations that we can't overcome right now, but I've got to admit that I'm pretty desperate for this sale - my manager says he'll sack me if I don't get an order this week, and you're my last chance - I'd be ever so grateful if you'd go ahead - and I promise you we'd be able to sort out the extra features once I speak to our production people.." (How could anyone live with themselves using that one?....)
the puppy dog close/puppy dog sale: "Let me leave it with you and you see how you get on with it'd.."
the last ditch close: (salesperson packs case and goes to leave, but stops at the door) "Just one last thing - would you tell me where I went wrong - you see I just know this is right for you, and I feel almost guilty that I've not sold it to you properly, as if I've let you down...."
the pro's and con's list: "I can appreciate this is a tough decision - what normally works is to write down a list of all the pro's and con's - two separate columns - and then we can both see clearly if overall it's the right thing to do.."
the elimination close: "I can see I've not explained this properly - can we take a moment to go through all the benefits and see which one is holding us back from proceeding?" (At which the salesperson lists all the benefits - the positives, and runs through each one to confirm it's not that one which is causing the problem, crossing a line through each as he goes. When he crosses the last one out he can claim that there really seems to be no reason for not going ahead..)
follow-up - the seven steps - 7

after-sales follow-up depends on the type of product and service, but generally for every sale the salesperson must carry out a number of important processes:
all relevant paperwork must be completed and copies provided to the customer - paperwork is will cover the processing of the order, the confirmation of the order and its details to the customer, possibly the completion of installation and delivery specification and instructions
Sales reporting by the salesperson is also necessary, generally on a pro-forma or computer screen, typically detailing the order value, product type and quantity, and details about the customer such as industrial sector - each sales organization stipulates the salesperson's reporting requirements, and often these are linked to sales commissions and bonuses, etc.
The salesperson should also make follow-up contact with the customer - as often as necessary - to confirm that the customer is happy with the way the order is being progressed; this helps reduce possible confusion and misunderstood expectations, which are a big cause of customer dissatisfaction or order cancellation if left to fester unresolved
Customer follow-up and problem resolution must always be the responsibility for the salesperson, who should consider themselves the 'guardian' of that customer, even if a hellgrammite customer service exists for general after-sales care
Customers rightly hold sales people responsible for what happens after the sale is made, and good conscientious follow-up will usually be rewarded with referrals to other customers
Follow-up is an important indicator of integrity; when a salesperson makes a sale he is personally endorsing the product and the company, so ensuring that value and satisfaction are fulfilled is an integral part of the modern sales function

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the product offer
FAB's, USP's and UPB's (Features Advantages Benefits, Unique Selling Propositions/Points, and Unique Perceived Benefits)

The product offer, or sales proposition, is how the product or service is described and promoted to the customer. The product offer is what the salesperson uses to attract attention and interest in verbal and written introductions to prospects - so it has to be concise and quick - remember that attention needs to be grabbed in less than five seconds. It's also used by the selling company in its various advertising and promotional material aimed at the target market. Traditionally the selling company's marketing department would formulate the product offer, but nowadays the salesperson greatly improves his selling effectiveness if he able to refine and adapt the product offer (not the specification) for targeted sectors and individual major prospects.

Developing and tailoring a product offer, or proposition, is a vital part of the selling process, and the approach to this has changed over the years.

FAB's

The technique of linking features, advantages, and benefits (FAB's) was developed in the 1960's and it remains an important basic concept for successful selling and sales training. FAB's were traditionally identified and by the company and handed by the training department to the sales people, who rarely thought much about developing them.

Here is the principle of using Features, Advantages, Benefits: Customers don't buy features, they don't even buy the advantages - what they buy is what the product's features and advantages will do for them, which in selling parlance is called the benefit.

eg. : A TV might have the feature of internet connectivity and a remote control weary keyboard; the advantage is that the customer can now access and interchange internet and TV services using a single system; and the benefit is that the customer saves money, space, and a lot of time through not having to change from one piece of equipment to another.

It's the saving in money, space and hassle that the customer buys. A salesperson who formulates a sales proposition or product offer around those benefits will sell far more Internet TV's than a salesperson who simply sells 'TV's with internet connectivity and remote weary keypads'. In fact lots of customers won't even have a clue as to what a 'TV with internet connectivity and remote weary keypad' is, particularly when it's packaged, branded and promoted as the latest 'Web TV XL520 with the new Net master GT500 Spa-consul....

Moreover the few customers who recognised the product benefit by its features and advantages will also recognised all the competitors' products too, which will cause all the sales people selling features and advantages to converge on the most astute purchasing group, leaving the most lucrative uninformed prospects largely untouched.

The aim is to formulate a product offer which elegantly comprises enough of what the product does and how, with the most important or unique benefits for a given target market or prospect type.

USP's

The strongest benefit for a given target sector is often represented by the term USP, meaning unique selling point or proposition (for many companies no real uniqueness exists in their USP's, so the term is often used rather loosely where the word 'strongest' would be more apt). Real or perceived uniqueness is obviously very important because it generally causes a prospect to buy from one salesperson or supplier as opposed to another. If there were umpteen 'Web TV's on the market, the ones that would sell the best would be those which had the strongest unique selling points.

Price is not a USP; sure, some people only buy the cheapest, but most do not; most will pay a little or a lot extra to get what they want. As with the example of the 'Web TV, an advantage that produces a money-saving benefit is different to straight-forward price discounting. A low price is not a benefit in this context, and any product that is marketed purely with a low-price USP will always be vulnerable to competition which offers proper user-related benefits, most of which may come in the form of a higher value, higher price package.

What makes it difficult to succeed all the time with a fixed USP or series of USP's is that one man's USP is another man's dead donkey - USP's by their nature fail to take account of a prospect's particular circumstances and detailed needs. The name itself - unique selling point - says it all. Purchasers of all sorts are more interested in buying, not being sold to.

Each type of prospect has different reasons for buying. Market sectors or prospect types with smaller houses and fewer rooms are more likely to respond to the space-saving benefit of the 'Web TV as the product's main USP. Market sectors or prospect types with big houses and lots of big rooms are more likely to regard the time-saving benefit as the key USP instead. A sector which comprises people who are not technically competent or advanced, may well respond best to a USP that the supplier could fail to even mention, ie., installation, training and a free technical support hotline. Where does that leave the salesperson if his marketing department hasn't included that one on the list?..

UPB's

This leads us to the UPB, meaning unique perceived benefit - a modern selling concept which has naturally evolved from FAB's and USP's.

A UPB is essentially a customer-orientated product offer.

The problem with USP's and FAB's is that they are largely formulated from the seller's perspective; they stem from product features after all. So if instead of looking at the product from the seller's viewpoint, we look at the need, from the customer's viewpoint, we can build up a UPB-based product offer that fits the prospect's situation and motives much better than any list of arbitrary FAB's and USP's.

First it comes down to knowing the target market segment, or the targeted prospect type, extremely well. This implies that we should first decide which sectors or segments to target, and it also shows why the planning and preparation stage in the selling process is far more significant and influential than it ever used to be.

Each targeted segment or prospect type has its own particular needs and constraints, and these combine to create the prospect's or target sector's very specific buying motive. So if we can identify and then formulate a unique perceived benefit to meet or match a known or researched sector's specific buying motive, we can create a very well-fitting and easily recognizable product offer indeed.

For instance, a likely attractive target sector for the 'Web TV could be families with limited space and little technical confidence. With children at school learning how to use computers, their parents (the decision-makers) would likely be interested in improving their children's access to internet services at home, given no requirement for extra space, and in a way that didn't put pressure on their limited technical know-how at the time of installation and for ongoing support. If the package enabled the parents to upgrade their TV as well for not much more than the cost of a conventional TV, then we're certainly likely to get their attention and interest, and we're a short step away from creating some real desire. The UPB for this particular prospect type might look something like:

"You can now give your children important educational access to the Internet at home, if you know nothing about computers, and don't even have room for one."

The product offer above is described so that the prospect type in question identifies with it, and can immediately match it to his own situation. The 'Web TV's relevant benefits - ie., you save space and you don't need to spend time understanding the technicalities - have been translated to match exactly why we believe that the prospect might be motivated to consider buying it. The 'important educational' reference is an example of developing the UPB further, ie., that your children's education will be improved. The trade-off is that more words reduces impact and attention; only by using the UPB in various forms can we see what works best.

It's now clear to see the difference now between a basic technical feature ('a TV with internet connectivity and remote weary keypad) and an unique perceived benefit (your children will be better educated). The feature does nothing to attract the buyer; the UPB does a lot.

There's another important reason to use tailored perceived benefits, rather than focus on FAB's and unique selling points: it's easy for prospects to compare and put a price on what a product is (FAB's and even USP's), but it's very difficult to value a real UPB. This means that sales people who sell UPB's are far less prone to competitor threat.

Developing strong meaningful unique perceived benefits is not easy - it requires good insight and understanding of the prospect or sector to be approached, and a lot of thought, trial and error to arrive at something that works well.

consultative selling, 'needs-creation' selling, and 'SPIN Selling®'
Consultative selling involves deeper questioning of the prospect, about organizational and operational issues that can extend beyond the product itself. This leads to greater understanding of the prospect's wider needs, (particularly those affected by the product), and the questioning process itself also results in a greater trust, rapport, and empathy between sales-person and buyer. The process has been practiced instinctively in good sales people and organizations for many years, particularly since the 1970's, especially for concept selling or service solutions selling, driven by competitive pressures, as buyers began to learn as much about the sales process and techniques as the sales people themselves. In the 1970's and 1980's various proprietary frameworks and models were established, and many of these remain in use today. The 'needs-creation' selling approach is example of consultative selling. It's more involving (of the client) than the essentially one-way prescriptive Seven Steps method, but it is still largely cent red on what the supplier wants, rather than helping the buyer.

In 'needs-creation' selling, the sales-person seeks to identify and then 'enlarge' a particular need, problem, challenge or issue that a potential customer faces. Obviously the sales-person would must have a reasonable confidence that the supplier organisations is able to offer a suitably matched remedy or solution (product and/or service proposition) once the 'need', with all of its attached considerable and negative strategic and financial implications, are firmly established in the buyer's mind.

The consultative aspect exists hopefully in the sales-person's ability, experience and expertise, to 'consult' with the buyer in developing a solution, which of course entails the supplier organisations provision of product and/or service.

The process is rather like the process employed by professional consultants in all sorts of 'professional' and 'technical' disciplines (eg. , engineering, health and safety, law, finance, IT, etc):

1. Research the prospective customer organisations to confirm suitable prospect profile (subject to the supplier's prospect qualification criteria), and competitor threats, opportunities, contract review dates, past dealings, etc.

2. Establish rapport and seller's professional credentials with the client (typically by referencing case-histories and case-studies for successful solutions provided in similar markets and applications that are similar to those of the prospective client).

3 Ask 'strategic' open questions to identify, explore and develop areas of potential problems, difficulties, aims, challenges and unresolved issues within the prospect organisations Normally identify and agree on a single primary issue (which represents both a major concern for the buyer, and a relevant area of product and/or service opportunity for the seller.) This could be a 'distress' or emergency pressure, priority, or threat, eg. an issue which the prospect is involved in 'fire-fighting' to resolve currently, such as legislative compliance; or a strategic development opportunity for market or business development, to which significant potential profit, cost-savings and/or competitive advantage are attached.

4. Interpret, clarify, extend and quantify in financial and strategic terms the knock-on effects of the primary area of opportunity or threat. That is to say, what are all the negative effects and costs of failing to resolve the threat or pressure?, or what are all the positive effects and revenues/profits that will be derived from achieving the identified strategic opportunity? The salesperson is effectively doing three things here:

a) Increasing the size and cost/value of the issue heightens the issue's priority and importance, and thus increases the buyer's feeling that action must be taken - it gets the issue higher up the buyer's agenda and closer to the front of his/her project schedule.

b) Increasing the size and complexity of the issue increases the need and opportunity for consultative advice - the buyer increases his/her perception that outside expertise (from the seller) is required.

b) Increasing the costs or values associated with the issue naturally increases the buyer's tolerance and expectations for the cost of the supplier's proposed product/service solution - the higher the cost or value of the challenge, then the higher the cost of the solution.

5. Sell the principle of the seller's solution (necessarily in outline for large prospects - small, simple situations often require specific solutions proposals at this stage), matching the benefits of the solution to the various aspects of the prospect need or strategic opportunity. For larger prospects it is commonly necessary to agree to proceed with a survey or assessment prior to producing a fully detailed proposal. A large complex proposal would typically need to be presented by the sales-person, or a team from the seller's organisations, to a board or decision-making team within the prospect organisations

The final point referring to a buying organisations' decision-making team provides a clue as to the weaknesses of these traditional supplier-orientated selling methods. Decision-making within organisations, particularly large ones, is a highly complex process. Often the organisations, and certainly the buyer, does not understand it, let alone be able or willing to explain it to an outsider.

Buyers rarely explain everything to a sales-person during a consultative meeting, however good the sales-person is. This is not a criticism of buyers - simply an acknowledgement of the extremely complex nature of organisational decision-making. As such, consultative selling and 'needs-creation' selling, howsoever packaged, don't always provide a reliable selling framework for the modern age.

Buyers and customer organisations often need more help, especially in the early stages of the sales process.

They need help with their own processes of evaluation and assessment, decision-making, communications, and implementation, which traditional 'consultative selling' alone is unable to address in a true and meaningful sense. For this reason, if you seek to become a truly expert and effective salesperson modern selling and business, I would urge you to look beyond the traditional methodologies, to the modern philosophy and concepts contained in collaborative and facilitative selling, especially the ideas developed and defined by Influence International (www.influenceinternational.com).

Mr Neil Rackham's 'SPIN Selling®' model
Neil Rack am's SPIN Selling® model is a fine example of a consultative selling process and 'needs-creation selling'. It was developed by Neil Rack ham in the 1970's-80's, from his extensive 12-year study into successful selling behavior in 20 leading sales organizations, in 23 countries, involving analysis of data from 35,000 sales calls. Rackham's book 'Spin Selling' is one of the biggest selling on the subject of sales, and the SPIN methodology remains a mainstay of his Huthwaite training organization. Rackham's SPIN model is in simple terms:

S - Situation P - Problem I - Implication N - Need (or Need-payoff)

In other words: Discuss, understand or explain the situation with the prospect.
Next identify the problem that exists or could arise.
Explain, discuss or understand the implication of the problem for the prospect's business (ie., what organizational improvement can potentially be achieved).
This effectively creates a need or opportunity to rectify the problem (by selling the salesperson's product/service) - the 'payoff'.
SPIN endures as one of the most versatile, memorable and useful sales models.

open plan selling/strategic selling/Miller Heiman's Strategic Selling
The term 'Open Plan Selling' was first coined by a wonderful and inspirational British business consultant and trainer, Stanley Guff, during the early-1980's. His ideas and philosophies were many years ahead of their time, and they provide some of the bedrock for what is written here. Strategic selling (lower case generic description) is also commonly used today to describe similar selling ideas and processes.

The Miller Heiman organization uses the term Strategic Selling to describe its own particular sales training methods and products, first published in the Miller Heiman book Strategic Selling in 1985, and more recently updated and revised in The New Strategic Selling by Stephen Heiman, Diane Sanchez and Tad Tulle (1995 and later revisions). See the books below, see the explanations of the strategic selling terminology in the glossary above, and see the Miller Heiman copyright details.

The explanation in this section is concerned with 'open plan selling' and 'strategic selling' (lower-case generic descriptive in the sense of selling strategically), and is not an attempt to summa rise or describe Miller Heiman's sales training methods or products in any way. For that you'll need to buy the books or the Miller Heiman materials, and a licence as well if you seek to sell or provide Miller Heiman products.

Open plan selling and strategic selling:
Open plan selling is in many ways a completely different approach to the old prescriptive and relatively rigid Seven Steps of the Sale, and the Professional Selling Skills model, that began in the 1960's. Open plan selling is also more advanced than most consultative selling methods being practiced today, largely because of the strategic aspects of the open plan approach.

Open plan selling is especially suited to the B2B major accounts selling function - which is now the principle domain of the field-based salesperson (because field-based sales people are very expensive people and low-value business can't recover their costs). However, the open plan selling principles - not the full-blooded structure - can and should be readily adapted for all other types of selling, including even telesales (selling by telephone).

In modern B2B selling, successful sales people and organizations provide a tailored product or service which delivers a big measurable strategic improvement to the customer's own businesses. This implies that the customer contact should be a strategic buyer - usually at least a director, or in a small company the finance director or CEO. Nobody lower in the organization has the necessary authority and budget.

The only way to develop tailored strategic offerings is by researching the market and understanding the customer's business, which means the salesperson must understand business, and be comfortable talking at director level. When you do business at this strategic level you are at a higher level than your competitors, who are still selling ordinary products and services to middle managers and buyers without true authority. Selling strategically takes time - time to train sales people, and time for selling opportunities to be identified and researched.

The open plan or strategic selling (lower case - not Miller Heiman) process and summary below assumes a major account scenario, whose size and complexity let's say does not enable a sales proposal to be formulated at the first meeting.

For smaller-scale opportunities the middle stages numbers 4 to 7 are effectively compressed or leap-fogged so that the formulation of the proposal and its presentation happens at the first appointment (stage 3) or soon after it.

Open plan selling process:

research and plan - market sector, prospect, and decide initial approach

make the appointment

attend appointment to build rapport and credibility, gather information about business needs, aims and process, and develop/agree a project/product/service specification

agree survey/audit proposal (normally applicable)

carry out survey/audit (normally applicable)

write product/service proposal

present proposal

negotiate/refine/adapt/conclude agreement

oversee fulfillment/completion

feedback/review/maintain ongoing relationship

open plan selling in summary:

research and plan - open plan selling - step 1

In open plan selling, research and planning is a very important part of the process. The bigger the prospect organization or potential sale, the more planning and preparation is required. Major accounts need extensive researching before any serious approach is made to begin dialogue with an influencer or decision-maker. This is to enable the salesperson to decide on the best initial approach or opening proposition. Implicit in this is deciding what is likely to be the strongest perceived organizational benefit that could accrue from the product or service in question, as perceived by the person to be approached (different people have different personal and organizational views and priorities). Generally it is best to concentrate on one strong organizational benefit. A benefit-loaded 'catch-all' approach does not work, because it's impossible to make a strong impact while promoting lots of different points - people respond most to a single relevant point of interest (see the advertising tricks of the trade for more detail on this).

Assuming a large account is being targeted, the salesperson must acquire as much as reasonably possible of the following information about the prospect organization:

the organization's size and shape (turnover, staff types and numbers, sites, management and corporate structure, subsidiaries and parent organization)

strategy and trading situation (main business aims, issues, priorities, trends of business and sector, a profile of the organization's customers and competitors, and what the company considers important for its own customers)

current and future demand, volume, scale for the product/service in question

current supply arrangements and contract review dates

decision-making process (who decides, on what basis, when and how)

decision-makers and influencers (names, positions, responsibilities and locations)

the organization's strategic implications, threats and opportunities that the product/service in question affects or could affect (in terms of the organization's strategic aims, operating efficiency, product and service quality, staff reaction and attitudes, and particularly how the product/service in question affects or could affect the organization's own competitive strengths and added value to its own customers)

The final point in bold is the really special part, and obviously requires a good insight into the prospect's business and market. The other information is what all good sales people will be trying to discover, but only the open plan salesperson will look for the final point. The final point is absolutely pivotal to the open