Sales Fundamentals Instructor Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ..............................................................................................................................................5 What is Courseware? ................................................................................................................................ 5 How Do I Customize My Course? .............................................................................................................. 5 Materials Required ................................................................................................................................... 7 Maximizing Your Training Power .............................................................................................................. 7 Module One: Getting Started .............................................................................................................9 Housekeeping Items.................................................................................................................................. 9 The Parking Lot ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Workshop Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 10 Action Plans and Evaluations.................................................................................................................. 11 Module Two: Understanding the Talk ............................................................................................... 12 Types of Sales.......................................................................................................................................... 12 Common Sales Approaches..................................................................................................................... 14 Glossary of Common Terms .................................................................................................................... 15 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 17 Module Two: Review Questions.............................................................................................................. 18 Module Three: Getting Prepared to Make the Call ............................................................................ 20 Identifying Your Contact Person ............................................................................................................. 20 Performing a Needs Analysis .................................................................................................................. 21 Creating Potential Solutions ................................................................................................................... 22 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 23 Module Three: Review Questions ........................................................................................................... 24 Module Four: Creative Openings ...................................................................................................... 27
A Basic Opening for Warm Calls ............................................................................................................. 27 Warming up Cold Calls............................................................................................................................ 29 Using the Referral Opening .................................................................................................................... 30 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 31 Module Four: Review Questions ............................................................................................................. 32 Module Five: Making Your Pitch ....................................................................................................... 34 Features and Benefits ............................................................................................................................. 34 Outlining Your Unique Selling Position ................................................................................................... 36 The Burning Question That Every Customer Wants Answered............................................................... 38 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 39 Module Five: Review Questions .............................................................................................................. 40 Module Six: Handling Objections ...................................................................................................... 42 Common Types of Objections ................................................................................................................. 42 Basic Strategies....................................................................................................................................... 44 Advanced Strategies ............................................................................................................................... 46 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 47 Module Six: Review Questions ................................................................................................................ 48 Module Seven: Sealing the Deal ....................................................................................................... 50 Understanding When It’s Time to Close ................................................................................................. 50 Powerful Closing Techniques .................................................................................................................. 52 Things to Remember ............................................................................................................................... 54 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 55 Module Seven: Review Questions ........................................................................................................... 56 Module Eight: Following Up ............................................................................................................. 58 Thank You Notes ..................................................................................................................................... 58 Resolving Customer Service Issues.......................................................................................................... 60
Staying in Touch...................................................................................................................................... 62 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 63 Module Eight: Review Questions ............................................................................................................ 64 Module Nine: Setting Goals .............................................................................................................. 66 The Importance of Sales Goals ............................................................................................................... 67 Setting SMART Goals .............................................................................................................................. 69 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 70 Module Nine: Review Questions ............................................................................................................. 71 Module Ten: Managing Your Data .................................................................................................... 73 Choosing a System That Works for You .................................................................................................. 73 Using Computerized Systems .................................................................................................................. 75 Using Manual Systems............................................................................................................................ 76 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 78 Module Ten: Review Questions .............................................................................................................. 79 Module Eleven: Using a Prospect Board ............................................................................................ 81 The Layout of a Prospect Board .............................................................................................................. 82 How to Use Your Prospect Board ............................................................................................................ 84 A Day in the Life of Your Board ............................................................................................................... 85 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 86 Module Eleven: Review Questions .......................................................................................................... 87 Module Twelve: Wrapping Up .......................................................................................................... 89 Words from the Wise .............................................................................................................................. 89 Parking Lot .............................................................................................................................................. 90 Action Plans and Evaluations.................................................................................................................. 90
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. Chinese Proverb Preface What is Courseware? Welcome to Courseware.com, a completely new training experience! Our courseware packages offer you top-quality training materials that are customizable, user-friendly, educational, and fun. We provide your materials, materials for the student, PowerPoint slides, and a takehome reference sheet for the student. You simply need to prepare and train! Best of all, our courseware packages are created in Microsoft Office and can be opened using any version of Word and PowerPoint. (Most other word processing and presentation programs support these formats, too.) This means that you can customize the content, add your logo, change the color scheme, and easily print and e-mail training materials.
How Do I Customize My Course? Customizing your course is easy. To edit text, just click and type as you would with any document. This is particularly convenient if you want to add customized statistics for your region, special examples for your participants’ industry, or additional information. You can, of course, also use all of your word processor’s other features, including text formatting and editing tools (such as cutting and pasting). To remove modules, simply select the text and press Delete on your keyboard. Then, navigate to the Table of Contents, right-click, and click Update Field. You may see a dialog box; if so, click “Update entire table” and press OK.
(You will also want to perform this step if you add modules or move them around.)
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If you want to change the way text looks, you can format any piece of text any way you want. However, to make it easy, we have used styles so that you can update all the text at once. If you are using Word 97 to 2003, start by clicking the Format menu followed by Styles and Formatting. In Word 2007 and 2010 under the Home tab, right-click on your chosen style and click Modify. That will then produce the Modify Style options window where you can set your preferred style options. For example, if we wanted to change our Heading 1 style, used for Module Titles, this is what we would do:
Now, we can change our formatting and it will apply to all the headings in the document. For more information on making Word work for you, please refer to Word 2007 or 2010 Essentials by Courseware.com.
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Materials Required All of our courses use flip chart paper and markers extensively. (If you prefer, you can use a whiteboard or chalkboard instead.) We recommend that each participant have a copy of the Training Manual, and that you review each module before training to ensure you have any special materials required. Worksheets and handouts are included within a separate activities folder and can be reproduced and used where indicated. If you would like to save paper, these worksheets are easily transferrable to a flip chart paper format, instead of having individual worksheets. We recommend these additional materials for all workshops:
Laptop with projector, for PowerPoint slides
Quick Reference Sheets for students to take home
Timer or watch (separate from your laptop)
Masking tape
Blank paper
Maximizing Your Training Power We have just one more thing for you before you get started. Our company is built for trainers, by trainers, so we thought we would share some of our tips with you, to help you create an engaging, unforgettable experience for your participants.
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Make it customized. By tailoring each course to your participants, you will find that your results will increase a thousand-fold. o
Use examples, case studies, and stories that are relevant to the group.
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Identify whether your participants are strangers or whether they work together. Tailor your approach appropriately.
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Different people learn in different ways, so use different types of activities to balance it all out. (For example, some people learn by reading, while others learn by talking about it, while still others need a hands-on approach. For more information, we suggest Experiential Learning by David Kolb.)
Make it fun and interactive. Most people do not enjoy sitting and listening to someone else talk for hours at a time. Make use of the tips in this book and your own experience to keep your
participants engaged. Mix up the activities to include individual work, small group work, large group discussions, and mini-lectures. 
Make it relevant. Participants are much more receptive to learning if they understand why they are learning it and how they can apply it in their daily lives. Most importantly, they want to know how it will benefit them and make their lives easier. Take every opportunity to tie what you are teaching back to real life.
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Keep an open mind. Many trainers find that they learn something each time they teach a workshop. If you go into a training session with that attitude, you will find that there can be an amazing two-way flow of information between the trainer and trainees. Enjoy it, learn from it, and make the most of it in your workshops.
And now, time for the training!
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Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it. Winnie the Pooh Module One: Getting Started Welcome to the Sales Fundamentals workshop. Although the definition of a sale is simple enough, the process of turning someone into a buyer can be very complex. It requires you to convince someone with a potential interest that there is something for them in making their interest concrete – something that merits spending some of their hard-earned money. This workshop will give participants a basic sales process, plus some basic sales tools, that they can use to seal the deal, no matter what the size of the sale.
Housekeeping Items Take a few moments to cover basic housekeeping items.
If you need an opening or a way to introduce the participants to each other, utilize the Icebreakers folder to begin or between breaks during the day.
Let participants know where they can find washrooms, break facilities, and fire exits.
Ask participants to turn off their cell phones or at least turn them to vibrate. If they must take a call, request that they do it outside.
Take this time to encourage the group to ask questions and make this an interactive workshop.
Write the words Respect, Confidentiality, and Practice on a piece of flip chart paper and tape it to the wall. Explain to participants that in order to get the most out of this workshop, we must all work together, listen to each other, explore new ideas, and make mistakes. After all, that’s how we learn!
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The Parking Lot Explain the concept of The Parking Lot to participants.
The Parking Lot is a visible place where you will “park” ideas that arise which are not on the agenda, may be off topic, or are better addressed outside of the program.
At the end of the session, we will review parked ideas and follow up, or make suggestions for your own investigation when you are back at work.
Suggestions for the trainer: 1. If you are working with a large group of participants, you may wish to nominate a recorder to park items as you are facilitating. 2. It’s a good idea to note the name of the contributor along with the parked item. 3. Items noted on the parking lot can be useful to you later as you plan future training sessions.
Workshop Objectives Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning that the learning occurs more easily and rapidly. With that in mind, let’s review our goals for today. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Understand the language of sales
Prepare for a sales opportunity
Begin the discussion on the right foot
Make an effective pitch
Handle objections
Seal the deal
Follow up on sales
Set sales goals
Manage sales data
Use a prospect board
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Action Plans and Evaluations Pass out the participant action plans and evaluations, available in the activities folder. Ask participants to fill these out throughout the day as they learn new things and have ideas on how to incorporate the things we discuss into their lives.
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In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. David Ogilvie Module Two: Understanding the Talk In this module, we will be looking at the types of sales, common sales approaches, and common sales terminology. Like any profession, sales has its own special vocabulary. There’s nothing particularly difficult about the language of sales. Mastering it just takes a little study and practice. Knowing the language will make you feel more confident and prepared to start selling.
Types of Sales Here are some characteristics of the different types of sales.
Telemarketing. In theory, the telephone allows you to reach just about anyone on the planet. In practice, however, many people screen their calls and it is often difficult to get through to a real person. If you use the phone for sales, have a brief curiosity-building message ready to leave on the voice mail of potential customers.
Direct mail. Believe it or not, a one percent response rate for direct mail is considered average. Despite these long odds, many companies still rely heavily on direct mail to generate sales.
E-mail. Legitimate e-mail selling is different from spam, the “carpet bombing” approach that sends messages to thousands or millions of people whether or not they have expressed any interest in the product being hyped. If you use e-mail for selling, try to put something in the “subject” line of your message that will attract attention and keep people from deleting the message without reading it.
The Internet. Most companies offer information about their products on their websites, whether or not they actually do any selling online. If you are in person-to-person sales, you need to be very familiar with what your company says about its products online. The growing interest in social networking sites, such as Facebook, offers new opportunities for online sales.
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Person-to-person. Most sales are still conducted face to face. When you eat at a restaurant, check into a hotel, or buy bananas in a grocery store, you are the customer in a person-toperson sales transaction. Since this is the most common type of sales, most of this workshop is devoted to it.
Estimated Time
15 minutes
Topic Objective
To understand what is involved in various types of selling The main types of selling are:
Topic Summary
Telemarketing
Direct mail
The Internet
Person to person
Despite the growth of online merchants, most selling is still done face to face. Materials Required
None
Planning Checklist
Before the workshop, write the five main types of sales listed above on a flip chart.
Recommended Activity
Divide participants into five groups. Assign each group one of the five types of sales and ask the group to think of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Have the each group report on what they discussed.
Delivery Tips
Explain that you are talking about selling, not advertising. A flier for a department store is advertising. It encourages you to visit the store. A letter asking you to apply for a credit card is selling. If you respond to the letter, the company has made a sale.
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Common Sales Approaches More on the three approaches discussed in this activity:
Consultative approach. This is a long-term approach to sales. It may not lead to sales right away, but by building a relationship with a client it aims to create sales opportunities in the future. The more you learn about a client, the better able you are to understand the client’s wants and needs. It is an approach which depends upon trust – you trust that the customer will see the benefits of buying from you and they trust that you will give them the correct steer. The danger with this approach is that you may spend a considerable amount of time building a relationship and then having nothing to show for it. By building a relationship, however, you increase the chances of large-scale and repeat business.
Hard sell. Many people are turned off by this approach. They consider it too pushy. This approach is used most often with clients who have a hard time making up their minds. It is only advisable to use the hard sell in a one-off setting where time is at a premium – if they don’t buy now; you are not likely to see them again. Therefore it is “now or never”.
Technical sales. This approach is used most often with highly technical products and services. Sales personnel need some technical knowledge so that they will be on an equal footing with clients. The client will have a clear idea of what they are looking for, and a checklist of priorities. You will point them towards a range of items which meet those priorities – if not entirely then as well as possible. You may offer a personal opinion based on an understanding that you know what they want and they know you have enough product knowledge to point them in the right direction
Estimated Time
15 minutes
Topic Objective
To understand how common sales approaches work.
Topic Summary
There are probably as many sales approaches as there are salespeople. The right sales approach is the one that works for you. Understanding common sales approaches, and experimenting with them, can help you refine your own approach. Before the workshop, write these three headings on a flip chart:
Planning Checklist
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Consultative
Hard sell
Technical sale
Briefly describe the three approaches you have listed on the flip chart.
Consultative. In this approach you act as a consultant to the client. You attempt to show that you have a vested interest in the client’s success. This approach builds a relationship with a client. It is sometimes called soft selling.
Hard sell. In this approach you tell the client in clear, positive terms that your product is the best option available. You stress the importance of making a decision now.
Technical sale. This approach treats the client as a fellow “techie.” You describe the technical specifications of your product and explain how its features match the client’s needs.
Recommended Activity
After you explain each approach, lead a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Glossary of Common Terms
Close/closing. It is the second to last step in the sales process. In this step, the salesperson encourages the customer to sign the order. In the past, salespeople often became pushy at this stage, but customers are more sophisticated these days and they don’t respond well to aggressive attempts to close a deal.
Cold calling. The first phone call made to a prospective client.
Customer relationship management (CRM). A system for managing the entire sales relationship with a client. Computerized CRM systems record all customer contacts, purchases, returns, etc.
Decision maker. The person in an organization who has the authority to agree to a sale.
Networking. An increasingly popular method of finding prospects based on referrals and introductions.
Prequalifying clients. Determining if potential clients are actually worthwhile prospects.
Qualifying clients. The process of getting to know potential customers — who they are, what they do, what they need.
Sales funnel. A pattern that describes the conversion of prospects into sales. Many prospects enter the funnel at the top, but only a few are converted to sales. (This analogy is actually
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flawed because in a real funnel everything that goes in the top comes out the bottom.) The term “sales pipeline” has a similar meaning.
Warm calling. Calls made after the initial contact with a customer, often in response to a call from the customer.
Estimated Time
15 minutes
Topic Objective
To become familiar with common sales terminology.
Topic Summary
Learning the language of sales will help you understand how the process works. Before the workshop, write the following terms on a flip chart:
Planning Checklist
Close/closing
Cold calling
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Decision maker
Networking
Prequalifying clients
Qualifying clients
Sales funnel
Warm calling
Ask two volunteers to come to the front of the room for a competition.
Recommended Activity
Tell them you are going to read definitions of each of the terms on the flip chart in random order. The first person to name the term you are defining wins a round. You can keep score, if you like, on the flip chart. All participants will have a copy of the Glossary on the next page.
Delivery Tips
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Be sure to read the definitions in random order!
Case Study Kim felt out her head with a case of the jitters before she dove into her first telemarketing cold call. She shook in her seat and chomped at the bit and hoped that the call would go well. The ground trembled under Adam's feet as he approached Kim to offer some sound advice and walked her through her first call. When the phone rang, Kim felt tongue tied and couldn't get the words out of her mouth. Her coach, Adam, jumped onto the line as soon as he heard and power housed his way through the call and allowed Kim to be a fly on the wall as she heard how to handle a call and not fall apart and wither away due to fright. Kim felt more confident and her voice rose back up in her throat and she felt ready for her first call.
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Module Two: Review Questions 1. Telemarketing, direct mail, the internet, and person-to-person are examples of types of ____________. a) b) c) d)
Sales Scams Marketing Dilemmas
2. What is considered to be the average response rate for direct mail? a) b) c) d)
50% 25% 1% 5%
3. Most companies offer information about their products on their __________. a) b) c) d)
Websites Magazines Outside Vehicles
4. How many main types of selling are there? a) b) c) d)
Four Six Five Seven
5. Which is not an example of a common sales approach? a) b) c) d)
Consultative approach Technical sales Subliminal messages Hard sell
6. Consultative approach is a ___________ approach to sales. a) b) c) d)
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Long-term Short-term Fast Structural
7. Which of the common sales approaches is considered pushy? a) b) c) d)
Technical sales Internet marketing Hard sell Consultative approach
8. What is the second to last step in the sales process? a) b) c) d)
Cold calling Closing Decision making Networking
9. What does qualifying clients mean? a) b) c) d)
Determining if they are worthwhile prospects Getting to know potential customers First phone call made to prospective client Encouraging the customer to sign the order
10. What is the term for a pattern that describes the conversion of prospects of sales? a) b) c) d)
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Sales funnel Networking Closing Pre-qualifying clients
The concept of “I’ll play it by ear” is a guarantee of mediocrity at best. David A. Peoples
Module Three: Getting Prepared to Make the Call Preparing to make a call begins with learning about your client — specifically, what your client needs, and how you can meet those needs. Before you even pick up the phone you need to have a clear impression of how not only you’re opening, but the following few stages of the conversation are going to go. In preparing this way you will be able to anticipate various reactions from the potential customer – enthusiasm, caution, reluctance etc. – and tailor your responses to their questions or expressions of reluctance. This will ensure that you can mold your selling tactics to get the best results time and again. As a salesperson, you will be required to make many phone calls to potential customers, whether they are “cold calls” or “warm”. The object of the calls will be to try and get a sales agreement in place as soon as possible, so you need to get as many facts nailed down as possible. Having a pen and paper nearby is obviously handy, and you should then decide on a strategy for going forward with the call. The more you know about the person to whom you are speaking, the nature of their business, and what you can do for them, the better for any eventual sales pitch.
Identifying Your Contact Person There are many ways to find a contact person. Perhaps the most valuable is through networking and referrals. A referral from a third party gives you instant credibility, especially if the third party is well-known and respected by the potential client. In looking for a contact person, it is often worthwhile to go through a “prequalifying” process. This involves doing some research to determine if the contact is really the appropriate person to talk to and if the contact’s business actually has a need for your products. There is no point wasting your time chasing contacts that won’t do you any good. Their position in the company and their closeness to the decision maker will decide this. Glean as much information from the third party as is appropriate.
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When you first speak to the contact it will be appropriate to let them know who referred you to them: “Hello, I’m from _______and I’ve been given your name by_______ from _______. I was wondering if you had a few moments to discuss _______”. By letting them know that you have dealt with and supplied a person they trust, you will immediately become more trustworthy in their eyes. Don’t go straight into a pitch, but make preliminary enquiries to strengthen your sales prospects.
Estimated Time
15 minutes
Topic Objective
To understand how to go about identifying an appropriate contact person.
Topic Summary
Your contact person is your “way in” to an organization. The contact person may not be a decision maker, but he or she will be able to tell you what the organization needs and wants. Lead a discussion about ways to find a contact person (for example, networking, referrals, trade shows, cold calling).
Recommended Activity
Which methods seem to work best? Lead a discussion about the characteristics to look for in a contact person (knowledgeable about company needs, close to decision makers, interested in your products).
Stories to Share
The closer a contact person is to a decision maker, the more efficient the sales process will be.
Performing a Needs Analysis Clients need many more things than you might be planning to sell them. The more you can do for a client, the more you will be seen as a valuble partner. Here are some suggestions about how it might be possible to meet some other client needs:
Information. You might be able to act as a consultant to a client, providing information about the latest developments in your field.
Training. If you provide a product that requires some training, make training part of the package.
Financing. If your company does not provide financing, put the client in touch with banks that do.
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Community. Communities often grow up around particular products, especially high tech products. Introduce clients to users groups or trade organizations.
Personnel. You probably know a number of capable people who are thinking about changing jobs. Helping a client find skilled employees can benefit everyone involved. If the people you recommend are hired, they will become some of your strongest advocates.
Estimated Time
15 minutes
Topic Objective
To understand how to determine a potential client’s needs.
Topic Summary
A needs analysis begins with research about what an organization does. That should give you a general idea of the organization’s needs. You can use this general idea as a basis for questions about specific needs. Divide participants into groups of four to six.
Recommended Activity
Explain that the best way to identify specific client needs is to ask questions. Ask each group to think of several questions they could ask to identify a client’s needs. Have the each group report on the questions they came up with.
Stories to Share
In determining clients’ needs, try to focus the discussion on needs that can be met by your company’s products or services.
Delivery Tips
If there is time, discuss some secondary client needs that you might be able to meet, such as the need for information, training, or financing.
Creating Potential Solutions Providing solutions is a matter of finding ways to address the problems identified through the questions you ask a client. If the client’s problems are fairly simple, you may be able to offer a solution on the spot. For more complex problems, you may need some time to study the situation before you come up with a way to deal with it. In addressing these more difficult problems, you might take the same approach you would use with a problem in your own organization. Assemble a group of knowledgeable staff and ask them to brainstorm solutions. Find the best ideas and implement them. A successful research of the problem will help you build a good reputation.
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Estimated Time
10 minutes
Topic Objective
To understand how to create potential solutions for clients’ problems
Topic Summary
Once you have identified a client’s needs, you need to work on ways to satisfy those needs through your company’s products or services. Divide participants into groups of four to six. Ask each group to:
Recommended Activity
Think of an instance in which their company was able to provide a solution to a client.
Think of an instance in which a vendor provided a solution to their company.
Or
Ask each group to describe their example.
Case Study George stumbled into the office with a mountain of files in his hands. Trevor gave him a hand and asked what in the world happened. George pulled out his magnifying glass and inspected the files up close and personal and explained that he wanted research on a potential client to find out what they needed. Trevor explained to George that he didn't have to become a private eye to learn about a client. He had to do to learn the art of conversation and Trevor just so happened to be an expert. Trevor walked George through the ins and outs and they discovered hidden gems about the client without being left to hoist a mountain of files to find it. Trevor showed him how a colorful conversation could gain him a wealth of information without a catastrophe to uncover it.
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Module Three: Review Questions 1. Preparing to make a call begins with ___________ about your client. a) b) c) d)
Wondering Learning Inventing Running
2. A good salesperson must __________ their contact person. a) b) c) d)
Like Identify Envy Alienate
3. In looking for a contact person, it is often worthwhile to go through a _____________process. a) b) c) d)
Prequalifying Problematic Persistent Purported
4. When you first speak to the contact it will be appropriate to let them know who _______ you to them. a) b) c) d)
Selected Questioned Referred Belittled
5. Your contact person is your ____ in to an organization. a) b) c) d)
Lead Contact Way Tunnel
6. The more you can do for a client, the more you will be seen as a ____________ partner. a) b) c) d)
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Valuable Reliable Dependable Remarkable
7. If you provide a product that requires ___________, make it part of the package. a) b) c) d)
Batteries Instructions Training Money
8. A needs ___________ begins with research about what an organization does. a) b) c) d)
Analysis Benefit Dilemma Problem
9. Providing _________ is a matter of finding ways to address the problems identified. a) b) c) d)
Cash Customers Solutions Clients
10. Find the best ideas and ___________ them. a) b) c) d)
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Pitch Disregard Implement Adore
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