The Sales Process

Learn how to implement orderly and effective sales activities ... By: Ivan Thomp
son The sale is not a single activity is a set of activities designed to promote
the purchase of a product or service [1]. For that reason, the sale requires a
process to order the implementation of its various activities, otherwise it coul
d not effectively address the needs and desires of customers, or assist in the a
chievement of the objectives of the company.
Sales Process Definition
According to Stanton, Etzel and Walker, authors of "Foundations of Marketing", t
he sales process is a logical sequence of four steps undertaken by the seller to
deal with a potential buyer and that is intended to produce a desired reaction
on the client (usually the purchase) "[2].
Steps or Stages of Sale Process
It then details the four steps or phases of the sales process: 1. Prospecting: T
he prospecting or exploration phase is the first step of the sales process and c
onsists in finding prospective customers, ie those who are not yet customers of
the company but which have great potential to be. Prospecting involves a three s
tep process:
•
Step 1 .- Identify prospective customers [2,4]: At this stage the answer to the
question: Who can be our future clients? To find prospective customers can go to
various sources, including: - Data from the same company. - References from cur
rent customers. - References that are obtained in meetings with friends, family
and acquaintances. - Companies or companies that offer products or services. - I
nformation obtained from monitoring the movements of the competition. - Groups o
r associations. - Newspapers and directories. - Interviews with potential custom
ers.
•
Stage 2 .- Rate candidates according to their purchasing power [2,4]: After iden
tifying the prospective customers is necessary to give a
"Qualifying" individual to determine their importance in terms of their purchasi
ng power and the priority that requires the company and / or seller. Some factor
s to qualify prospective customers are: - Economic. - Authority to decide the pu
rchase. - Accessibility. - Willingness to buy. - Overview of growth and developm
ent. The value (eg. A number from 1 to 10) assigned to each of these factors dep
ends on the objectives of the company. There will be companies that give a highe
r score the economic capacity of the customer in mind, others however will give
a higher score to accessibility that have to reach the customer. After assigning
the score for each factor is scored for each prospective customer to order them
according to their importance and priority for the company.
•
Step 3 .- Make a list of prospective customers: Once qualified customers in the
future to make a list where they are sorted according to their importance and pr
iority. According to Allan L. Reid, author of "Modern Techniques and Application
s For Sale," "there is a difference between a list of potential customers and a
list of qualified prospective customers. The difference is that the first list c
onsists of customers who need product but can not necessarily afford it (lack of
resources or capacity to make decisions), whereas the second list is composed o
f potential customers who need and they can afford to buy "[4]. Note that the li
st of prospective customers is the heritage of the company not the seller and mu
st be constantly updated to be used at any time and for any person authorized by
the company
2. The previous approach or "prentrada": After the list of successful clients in
the future to enter the stage known as pre-approach [2] or prentrada [4], which
consists in obtaining more detailed information of each customer in perspective
and preparing the sales presentation adapted to the particularities of each cli
ent. This phase involves the following process:
•
Step 1 .- Investigation of the peculiarities of each client in perspective: At t
his stage, more specific search customer
perspective, for example: - Full name. - Approximate age. - Sex. - Hobbies. - Ma
rital status. - Level of education. Additionally, it is also necessary to seek i
nformation relating to the business side, for example - similar products current
ly used. - Reasons for using similar products. - What do you think of them. - St
yle of purchase, etc ...
•
Step 2.- Preparation of sales presentation focused on the prospect: With custome
r information in their hands, prepare a sales presentation tailored to the needs
and desires of each client in perspective. In preparing this submission, we sug
gest a list of all the product features it has, then turns them into benefits fo
r the customer and finally provides advantages over the competition. Also, it is
necessary to plan an entry that will attract customer's attention, the question
s that will keep your interest, issues that will awaken your desire, the answers
to possible questions or objections and the way in which the closure can be don
e by inducing action buy.
•
Step 3 .- Preparation of the appointment or planning cold calls: Depending on th
e characteristics of each client, the decision to request an appointment in adva
nce (very useful for business managers or purchasing managers) or making cold ca
lls, eg by touching the doors of each household in a given area (useful for deal
ing with housewives buying decision).
3. The sales presentation of the message [2]: According to Prof. Philip Kotler "
this step is to tell the history of consumer product, following the AIDA formula
to capture attention, maintain interest, cause I want and get the Action ( purc
hase) [3] The presentation of the sales message must be tailored to the needs an
d desires of prospective customers. Today, those presentations no longer work "c
anned" in which the seller had to memorize them and then "recite" to the custome
r (who assumed a passive position). Times have changed, one should promote activ
e participation of customers to achieve something more important than the sale i
tself, and is: your satisfaction with the product purchased.
The presentation of the sales message is based on a structure based on three pil
lars:
• • •
Product features: What is the product itself, its attributes Advantages: That ma
king it superior to competitive products that benefits the customer gets: That t
he client looks for in a conscious or unconscious
On the other hand, objections are no longer a hurdle to overcome by the seller,
on the contrary are clear indications of purchase (if the customer objects to so
mething it is because you are interested but first needs to resolve his doubts).
Finally, the closing of sale and is not a task left to the end of the presentat
ion, ie close to the famous finale was history. Today, the closure must be no so
oner there is an indication of purchase by the customer, and this can happen eve
n at the beginning of the presentation. 4. The authors servicing Stanton, Etzel
and Walker "the final stage of the sales process is a series of after-sales acti
vities that foster customer goodwill and laying the groundwork for future busine
ss" [1]. The after-sales services are intended to ensure the satisfaction and ev
en delight the customer. It is at this stage where the company can provide an ad
ded value that the customer does not expect but which may result in loyalty to t
he brand or company. After-sales services, may include some or all of the follow
ing activities:
• • • • • • • •
Verification of compliance with the terms of delivery times and shipment Verific
ation of correct installation advice for proper use in case of failures Guarante
es factory and Support Service Possibility of exchange or refund in case of not
meeting customer expectations Special Discounts future purchases