CHAPTER 5SALES DIALOGUE:

CREATING AND COMMUNICATING VALUE

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE SALES DIALOGUE

The most effective sales dialogues:

• Are planned and practiced by salespeople.

• Encourage buyer feedback.

• Focus on creating value for the buyer.

• Present value in an interesting and understandable way.

• Engage and involve the buyer.

• Support customer value through objective claims.

ENCOURAGING BUYER FEEDBACK

CHECK-BACKS/RESPONSE CHECKS

- Questions salespeople use throughout a sales dialogue to generate feedback from the buyer.

ENCOURAGING BUYER FEEDBACK

Although, feedback can be sought at any point in the conversation, CHECK-BACKS are commonly employed at two key points:

• after a specific feature-benefit sequence in order to confirm the benefit and better assess the prospective buyer’s level of interest

• following the response to an objection in order to evaluate the level to which the salesperson has handled the problem.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF CHECK-BACKS

• “How does this sound to you?”

• “Does this make sense to you so far?”

• “Would this feature be useful to you in your current operations?”

• “What do you think?”

• “So is this something that would be valuable to you?”

• “Isn’t that great?”

• “Do you like the color?”

• “From your comment, it sounds like you would want the upgraded memory. Is that correct?”

• “Does that answer your concern?”

• “Would this be an improvement over what you are doing right now?”

• “Is this what you had in mind?

CREATING CUSTOMER VALUE

• Determine what the buyer considers to be of value. A salesperson can use the SPIN OR ADAPT questioning strategies to understand the buyer’s situation and to identify needs, problems, or opportunities important to the buyer.

• There are several factors that go into creating value for the customer, included in that is price (Price Value).

• CONFIRMED BENEFITS – The benefits the buyer indicates are important and represent value.

INTERESTING AND UNDERSTANDABLE SALES DIALOGUE

• The salesperson needs to present key selling points in a manner that is interesting and understandable to the buyer.

• The presentation should focus on the buyer and is intended to gain and hold the buyer’s attention, and to increase the buyer’s understanding and retention of the information.

• VERBAL SUPPORT – The use of voice characteristics, examples and anecdotes, and comparisons and analogies to make sales dialogue interesting and understandable.

VOICE CHARACTERISTICS

•The pitch and speed of speech, which salespeople should vary to emphasize key points.

•Voice quality can be used to bring excitement and drama to the presentation by doing three things:

varying the pitch

fluctuating the speed, and

altering the volume.

EXAMPLE

• A brief description of a specific instance used to illustrate features and benefits of a product.

• May be either real or hypothetical and are used to further explain and emphasize a topic of interest.

ANECDOTE

• A type of example that is provided in the form of a story describing a specific incident or occurrence.

• A salesperson’s use of examples and anecdotes keeps the buyer interested, brings clarity into the presentation, and improve the buyer’s understanding and retention of what the salesperson is presenting.

COMPARISON

• A statement that points out and illustrates the similarities between two points.

• Increase the buyer’s level of interest and understanding of the information.

ANALOGY

• A special and useful form of comparison that explains one thing in terms of another.

• Analogies are useful for explaining something complex by allowing the buyer to better visualize it in terms of something familiar that is easier to understand.

ENGAGING AND INVOLVING THE BUYER

• To maximize the effectiveness of the sales dialogue, salespeople utilize various sales aids to engage and involve the buyer throughout the sales interaction.

SALES AIDS

• The use of printed materials, electronic materials, and product demonstrations to engage and involve buyers.

• These sales aids also help to capture and hold the buyer’s attention, boost the buyer’s understanding, increase the believability of the claims, and build the buyer’s retention of information.

TYPES OF SALES AIDS

•VISUAL MATERIALS - Printed materials, photographs and illustrations, and charts and graphs used as sales aids.

•ELECTRONIC MATERIALS – Sales aids in electronic format such as slides, videos, or multimedia presentations.

•PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS

GUIDELINES FORPRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS

• Ensure that the appearance of the product is neat and clean.

• Check for problem-free operation.

• Be confident and able to demonstrate the product skillfull.

• Practice using the product prior to the demonstration.

• Anticipate problems and have back-up or replacement parts on hand.

• Make sure that setup and knockdown are easy and quick.

Using the SPES sequence can facilitate the effectiveness of presentation tools and sales aids:

State the selling point and introduce the sales aid;

Present the sales aid;

Explain the sales aid; and

Summarize

SUPPORTING PRODUCT CLAIMS

PROOF PROVIDERS

•The use of statistics, testimonials, or case histories to support product claims.

•Claims of benefits and value produced and provided to the buyer need to be backed up with evidence to highlight their believability.

PROOF PROVIDERS

• STATISTICS – Facts that lend believability to product claims and are used as proof providers.

• TESTIMONIALS – Proof providers that are in the form of statements from satisfied users of the selling organization’s products and services.

• CASE HISTORIES – A testimonial in story or anecdotal form used as a proof provider.

GROUP SALES DIALOGUEPRESELLING

• Salespeople present their product/service to individual buyers before a major sales dialogue with a group of buyers.

• SALES TACTICS can enhance presentations to groups. Sales tactics for group presentations fall into three categories:

ARRIVAL TACTICS

EYE CONTACT

COMMUNICATION TIPS

THREE CATEGORIES OF

SALES TACTICS

1. ARRIVAL TACTICS – Try to arrive at the location for the meeting before the buying group arrives.

2. EYE CONTACT - The most effective eye contact is to try to connect with each individual or small subgroups for only a few seconds, moving through the entire group over the course of the presentation.

3. COMMUNICATION TIPSWhen selling to groups:

•Make all members of the group feel that their opinions are valuable.

•Avoid being caught in the middle of disagreements between members of the buying group.

•Salespeople must be diplomatic as a participant in discussions that might develop between members of the buying group.

3. COMMUNICATION TIPS

In delivering group presentations:

•Maintain contact with group members.

•Think of slides and other audio-visual aids as support tools, not as a “roll-and-scroll” presentations to be read to the group.

•When possible, salespeople should stand to the left of visual aids, as people read right to left.

3. COMMUNICATION TIPS

Body language:

•Can add or detract to sales effectiveness in the group setting.

•Posture should reflect an energetic, relaxed person.

•Conventional wisdom dictates that presenters should avoid contact with their own bodies while presenting.

HANDLING QUESTIONS IN

GROUP DIALOGUE

•In answering questions during a group dialogue, salespeople should listen carefully, answer directly, and address the individual asking the question as well as the others in the group.

THANK YOU!!