Page 617 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

eobf_P 7/5/06 3:18 PM Page 594

Personal Selling

senting the sales information in a professional manner. In calls, letters, or personal interactions. A sales representa-
the presentation step, the sales representative should relate tive can contact the buyer to see if there are any questions
customer benefits for each product feature presented. The or concerns about a purchase, to make sure the buyer
sales representative should also ask questions to assess received the delivery, to make sure the product was prop-
needs and involve the buyer, and use active listening, erly installed and in good working condition, or to give
which is listening carefully to the buyer and using what the buyer additional requested information.
the buyer says to help guide the direction of the sales pres- Follow-ups do not always have to be business related.
entation. For example, if a sales representative discovers that the
buyer is an avid golfer, the sales representative can mail the
HANDLING OBJECTIONS buyer an article about an upcoming golf event in the
The fifth stage of the sales process is handling objections. buyer’s area. The idea of the follow-up is to satisfy the cus-
In this stage, sales representatives anticipate objections tomer’s needs and to build a strong business relationship.
that can be encountered during a sales call, such as those
relating to price, product, source (company), and service. SALES INTERACTIONS
Sales representatives should learn to welcome objections Sales representatives have three basic types of sales interac-
because it shows that the buyer is involved in the presen- tions with buyers: transactional, consultative, and rela-
tation and because objections help focus the presentation tionship selling situations. Transactional selling is where
on the buyer’s concerns. If sales representatives success- the sales representative does not have an established rela-
fully overcome a buyer’s concerns, they are that much tionship with the buyer. Transactional selling tends to
closer to a sale. There are no magical techniques for over- happen when sales representatives are first calling on buy-
coming objections. Sales representatives overcome objec- ers or when buyers intentionally avoid developing a rela-
tions by being prepared and knowing the appropriate tionship with the sales representative.
information about the company, products, and related Consultative selling occurs when the sale representa-
services. tive is beginning to build a stronger working relationship
with the buyer. The buyer begins to trust the sales repre-
THE CLOSE sentative, but still tends to use the sales representative as
The close is the sixth, though not final, step of the sales just an adviser.
process. When trying to close the sale, sales representatives With relationship selling, the sales representative has
need to observe the customer and use active listening to developed a strong trusting relationship with the buyer.
recognize buyers’ closing signals. Closing signals can be The sales representative becomes almost like a partner
verbal or nonverbal. Once sales representatives identify a with the buyer, working side by side with the buyer to
closing signal, they use one of a variety of closing tech- help solve the buyer’s problems. In return, the sales repre-
niques to try to close the sale, such as the alternative sentative gains long-run sales from the relationship. As a
choice, extra-inducement, or standing room only close. sales representative progresses from transactional selling to
The alternative choice close is when the sales representa- relationship selling, the number of competitive sales rep-
tive closes by offering the buyer choices, such as “Will that resentatives seen by the buyer tends to decrease.
be MasterCard or Visa?” With the extra-inducement
SEE ALSO Marketing
close, the sales representative attempts to close the sale by
offering to give the buyer something extra of value if the
buyer agrees to buy; while in the standing room only BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Rolph E., and Dubinsky, Alan J. (2004). Personal sell-
close, the sales representative informs the buyer that some ing: Achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Boston:
future event will change the terms of the product offering,
Houghton Mifflin.
for example, an upcoming price increase.
Futrell, Charles (2005). ABC’s of relationship selling through serv-
ice (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
FOLLOW-UP Manning, Gerald L., and Reece, Barry L. (2004). Selling today:
The final step of the sales process is the follow-up. The Creating customer value (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
follow-up step is essential for building a long-lasting rela- Pearson Prentice Hall.
tionship with the customer. A sales representative can Weitz, Barton A., Castleberry, Stephen B., and Tanner, John F.,
build a good relationship with the buyer in many ways. A Jr. (2004). Selling: Building partnerships (5th ed.). Boston:
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
sales representative can send the buyer a thank-you note
for a purchase or make sure that a purchase is delivered
when expected. Follow-ups can be e-mails, telephone Joseph D. Chapman

594 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION