Sales Management: Products and Services. Dr Jae K Shim

      The first requirement for successful selling is product knowledge. The salesperson is responsible for explaining the benefits and uses of her product or service, showing how it fulfills or solves the prospect’s needs or problems, and answering the prospect’s questions and objections. If she is poorly prepared or inadequately informed about her product, she will do a poor job in meeting these responsibilities. It will also impair her ability to gain the prospect’s respect and confidence. Hence, successful selling begins with product knowledge. The salesperson needs to know something about the history and organization of the company; how the product is made; its benefits and uses; how it compares with competitor products; and how to operate, maintain, or care for it. She should be well informed as to prices: different sizes, styles, or models; payment methods; shipping or delivery procedures; guarantees and warranties; and service and adjustment polices.

Positive attitude

      Selling is not an occupation that is completely devoid of tension, frustration, and insecurity. On top of this, a sufficient number of social and economic problems plague our society to drive almost anyone to the brink of despair. However, if we approach our problems with a negative or defeatist attitude, we generally are licked at the start. Our attitude determines our behavior; and our behavior, in turn, will determine our performance. In practice, “a positive attitude” means to minimize worry about problems and to concentrate on ways and means to solve them. It means to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. If the salesperson is to make the prospect positive minded about her product or service, she herself must possess and manifest this feeling.

Enthusiasm

      Enthusiasm is the strong desire and interest a person feels when he believes that what he is doing or experiencing is exciting and worthwhile. It is a feeling of strongly liking something and being fervently absorbed in it. A salesperson who sells with enthusiasm is alive and dynamic. It is vital for her to feel this way; for if she has little enthusiasm for her product, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for her to convince the buyer of its merits. Enthusiasm is comparable to the fuel which fires the machine. It is a necessary trait for effective and successful selling, and as Lincoln once said, “Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.”

Confidence

      Confidence is a belief that you can achieve what you wish to accomplish. It is selfassurance, reliance, and faith. If you want to do something but believe you can’t, the chances that you will fail are much greater than if you approach your task with a determination to succeed. In order to develop confidence in the buyer, the salesperson must first have confidence in herself. Inevitably, the environment in which selling is done will challenge the salesperson, and if she lacks confidence in herself or her product, she will generally be unsuccessful.

Liking people

      A salesperson has to like people, because products and services are sold through and to people, and liking people means much more than just being friendly. For the salesperson it means continuing to like people even when she believes they are wrong or when they make her discouraged or angry. Liking people also means trying to understand them, and doing everything you possibly can to help them.

Empathy

      Empathy is “putting yourself in the other fellow’s shoes.” It means a sensitivity to the feelings and interest of others. Empathy also involves skill in analyzing how others are reacting to what you are saying and doing. A strong sense of empathy is an important quality for successful selling; and a salesperson who lacks it is at a serious disadvantage in attempting to convince the prospect on the merits of her product or service.

Ability to communicate and persuade

      The ability to communicate involves four phases:

      a)Getting the person’s attention.

      b)Getting her to understand you.

      c)Getting her to appreciate and believe you.

      d)And finally, getting her to do or act upon what you suggest.

      In this sense, communication is the ability to persuade and convince others. It is a very important skill in successful selling and includes a good voice, the ability to listen and observe, appropriate speech and grammar, acceptable manners and gestures, effective planning and organization, and showmanship.

Determination and persistence

      The number of sales a salesperson makes usually is directly dependent upon the number of calls she makes. Also, the number of calls will usually outnumber the sales, and in some cases the call-sales ratio may be as great as 5 to 1 or even higher depending upon the product or service being sold. In addition, several repeat calls on a particular prospect must often be made before a sale is achieved. To make and keep on making the large number of calls that success demands, a salesperson must possess a high degree of determination and persistence. She cannot allow herself to become discouraged and must continue her efforts until her objective is achieved. Not too many people can do this, for it is much easier to find excuses or to wait for buyers to come to them. However, such an approach will seldom work; for no matter how good your product or service might be, prospects generally will not beat a path to your door. Many other choices are usually available to the buyer, and the market for a given product is usually too competitive for this to happen. Consequently, the salesperson must work in a determined and persistent manner in order to be successful.

Self-starter

      Being a self-starter means having the capacity to do things on your own with little or no supervision from others. The salesperson has a high degree of freedom, as she generally works alone, with little interference or supervision; and in certain types of selling, the salesperson is completely free each day to decide when she will work, where she will work, and what she will do. Many find this freedom to be one of the advantages of pursuing a career in selling. However, it also means that the person out in the field selling is responsible for supervising herself. Those who lack initiative or are incapable of disciplining themselves will fail as salespeople. The work of selling is demanding and involves considerable time and effort if one is to succeed. Consequently, it requires a person who can operate on her own with little or no supervision; a person who can organize and complete her own work schedules. In short, selling is a highly individualized occupation; and in order to succeed in it, one should have a high degree of personal initiative and be a self-starter.

Sense of humor

      As previously discussed, considerable time and effort is often spent on calls which may never result in sales. Also, buyers, by what they say and do, can sometimes discourage or frustrate a salesperson. It is difficult and trying to operate in such an environment, and a salesperson without a sense of humor can easily be overcome by these circumstances. However, with a sense of humor she can see the lighter side of human nature and is less apt to take herself too seriously. She must learn how to live with frustration, how to be friendly in unfriendly environments, and how to adjust to discouragement and failure. A sense of humor will, therefore, not only help her to survive, but will also help her to be a more likable person.

Creativity

      All buyers tend to be different, and each sales situation requires a somewhat different approach. Furthermore, in an economy of increased competition, product qualities and prices tend to become more similar. In such an environment, the creative ability of the salesperson becomes an important factor in securing the sale. To be creative means being alert and looking for new approaches to solving persistent problems. It involves constant experimentation in an attempt to find new ideas to help and serve the buyer. Selling is an art of adaptation to varying circumstances, and there is a great need in today’s marketplace for the creative salesperson.

Appearance

      Much that