“The point to remember about selling things is that, as well as creating atmosphere and excitement around your products, you’ve got to know what you’re selling.”
Stuart Wilde
The third step of the sales process is known as the pre-approach. This selling step involves the task of collecting information and finding out all you can about a prospect before attempting to set up an interview or appointment. In other words, the pre-approach is simply doing your homework. A Lawyer will spend days preparing a case before going to court. Contractors create a bid that includes every nail, board, machine, and the manpower that will be used before they submit a bid for a building job. A student talks to other students to find out the best instructors to take next semester for specific class. Sales professionals must also do their homework before beginning a presentation with a potential buyer. The success of your effort depends heavily on the amount of preparation or homework that takes place before the sale.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PRE-APPROACH
Like any other step in the sales process, the pre-approach has some basic objectives. The amount of time and effort spent in achieving these objectives will enhance the success of the sales professional. Three major objectives are:
TYPES OF INFORMATION
With the exception of special situations like door-to-door selling, you should possess some prior information about the prospect you are planning to contact. All information collected on a prospect should be reviewed before making a sales call. This will serve as a reminder to you about capitalizing on the customer’s interests as well as spotting topics that might best be avoided. When doing pre-approach work, make sure all information is recorded and written down; don’t trust your memory. We will look at two different areas for pre-approach work:
(1) Company information for organizational buyers, and (2) Personal information for the ultimate consumer.
Company Information
If your customer is an organizational buyer, you will need industry and company information in addition to personal information. With regard to industry information, you should have some insight into the history of the industry, its current status and economic environment, the major competitors in the industry, the relationship between this industry and other industries, and any current problems facing the industry and its member companies. Also, attempt to find out the size of the company, the growth potential, key personnel and executives, the person with the authority to make buying decisions, the financial condition of the organization, purchasing practices, target markets the company serves, the type of management used, and the present suppliers selling to the company.
If you can obtain all of the above information, you will probably be the first sales professional in history to do so. Any bit of information is better than none at all. Attempt to find as much as possible. At least find out three additional items about the company with the person who has the authority to make the buying decision as priority number one. This is the person you will be contacting and persuading to purchase your products or services.
The Most Important Company Information Item
Finding out the key person who has the final decision-making authority is the most important
company information item you need to obtain.
Personal Information
You should attempt to find out as much as possible so that you can approach the buyer with confidence and warmth. The personal information to maintain in your customer files should include the customer’s name, age, education, occupation, family status, interests, hobbies, memberships, personal traits and characteristics, and anything else that might be of use during your sales approach.
Again, if you can find all the above information then you will be in excellent shape. The better you use your friends and associates for information, the more information you will obtain. Some of the most important topics of information that have been mentioned are first, the buyer’s name. Find out the proper pronunciation, spelling, and initials used. In learning about the prospect’s family, attempt to find out the ages of all family members, the names, and the marital status of the buyer. As you find out the occupation of the buyer, you can then determine the best time to call on the buyer. If the buyer is a contractor, you’d better contact him before 9:00 am; if the buyer is a banker, you’d better contact him before 10:00 am Knowledge of the customer’s occupation can be a significant asset. Remember that the correct pronunciation of the buyer’s first and last names is the most important personal item to obtain.
The Most Important Personal Information Item
The correct pronunciation of the buyer’s name is the most important personal information item you should obtain.
“The point to remember about selling things is that, as well as creating atmosphere and excitement around your products, you’ve got to know what you’re selling.”
Stuart Wilde
The third step of the sales process is known as the pre-approach. This selling step involves the task of collecting information and finding out all you can about a prospect before attempting to set up an interview or appointment. In other words, the pre-approach is simply doing your homework. A Lawyer will spend days preparing a case before going to court. Contractors create a bid that includes every nail, board, machine, and the manpower that will be used before they submit a bid for a building job. A student talks to other students to find out the best instructors to take next semester for specific class. Sales professionals must also do their homework before beginning a presentation with a potential buyer. The success of your effort depends heavily on the amount of preparation or homework that takes place before the sale.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PRE-APPROACH
Like any other step in the sales process, the pre-approach has some basic objectives. The amount of time and effort spent in achieving these objectives will enhance the success of the sales professional. Three major objectives are:
TYPES OF INFORMATION
With the exception of special situations like door-to-door selling, you should possess some prior information about the prospect you are planning to contact. All information collected on a prospect should be reviewed before making a sales call. This will serve as a reminder to you about capitalizing on the customer’s interests as well as spotting topics that might best be avoided. When doing pre-approach work, make sure all information is recorded and written down; don’t trust your memory. We will look at two different areas for pre-approach work: (1) Company information for organizational buyers, and (2) Personal information for the ultimate consumer.
Company Information
If your customer is an organizational buyer, you will need industry and company information in addition to personal information. With regard to industry information, you should have some insight into the history of the industry, its current status and economic environment, the major competitors in the industry, the relationship between this industry and other industries, and any current problems facing the industry and its member companies. Also, attempt to find out the size of the company, the growth potential, key personnel and executives, the person with the authority to make buying decisions, the financial condition of the organization, purchasing practices, target markets the company serves, the type of management used, and the present suppliers selling to the company.
If you can obtain all of the above information, you will probably be the first sales professional in history to do so. Any bit of information is better than none at all. Attempt to find as much as possible. At least find out three additional items about the company with the person who has the authority to make the buying decision as priority number one. This is the person you will be contacting and persuading to purchase your products or services.
The Most Important Company Information Item
Finding out the key person who has the final decision-making authority is the most important
company information item you need to obtain.
Personal Information
You should attempt to find out as much as possible so that you can approach the buyer with confidence and warmth. The personal information to maintain in your customer files should include the customer’s name, age, education, occupation, family status, interests, hobbies, memberships, personal traits and characteristics, and anything else that might be of use during your sales approach.
Again, if you can find all the above information then you will be in excellent shape. The better you use your friends and associates for information, the more information you will obtain. Some of the most important topics of information that have been mentioned are first, the buyer’s name. Find out the proper pronunciation, spelling, and initials used. In learning about the prospect’s family, attempt to find out the ages of all family members, the names, and the marital status of the buyer. As you find out the occupation of the buyer, you can then determine the best time to call on the buyer. If the buyer is a contractor, you’d better contact him before 9:00 am; if the buyer is a banker, you’d better contact him before 10:00 am Knowledge of the customer’s occupation can be a significant asset. Remember that the correct pronunciation of the buyer’s first and last names is the most important personal item to obtain.
The Most Important Personal Information Item
The correct pronunciation of the buyer’s name is the most important personal information item you should obtain.
The fourth step in the sales process is called the approach. This step is when the sales professional delivers a brief sales message to the potential buyer. This is the first time in the sales process when the sales professional meets the prospect face-to-face. The approach has been described as doing what has to be done in order to get in to see the customer. A sales professional may have an outstanding product and know that the customer needs the product, but having a good product does not guarantee that the sales professional will have buyers. A sales professional needs to develop a sound approach that will motivate the prospect to want to see the seller. We will discuss in this chapter the purpose of the approach and nine approach techniques that will make it easier to obtain an appointment for the presentation.