Knowledge of the customer

CUSTOMER

An individual or business that purchases the goods or services produced by a business. The customer is the end goal of businesses, since it is the customer who pays for supply and creates demand. Businesses will often compete through advertisements or sales in order to attract a larger customer base.

POTENTIAL CUSTOMER

The definition of Customer is “a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron”.

Therefore a Customer is someone who has already purchased your goods or services. Whilst it may seem obvious to deduct

that everyone else who hasn’t yet purchased your products or services is a Potential Customer, this is not the case.

Not everyone who hasn’t yet purchased your products or services is a Potential Customer for an organization’s products and/or services. They may be perfect for some kinds of people, completely inappropriate for other kinds and average for others. The definition according to Dictionary.com for Potential is “capable of being or becoming”.

Therefore a Potential Customer is someone who is capable of becoming a purchaser of product and/or services from an organization. By understanding your Potential Customers, those most likely to buy from your organization, you can target your Communication Material accordingly.

The key group of Potential Customers is known as your Target Audience, the group of people or organizations who are most likely to buy from your company.

IMPORTANCE OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMER

Customers are the most important people for any organization. They are the resource upon which the success of the business depends. When thinking

about the importance of customers it is useful to remember the following points

Repeat business is the backbone of selling. It helps to provide revenue and certainty for the business. Organizations are dependent upon their customers. If they do not develop customer loyalty and satisfaction, they could lose their customers. Without customers the organization would not exist. The purpose of the organization is to fulfill the needs of the customers. The customer makes it possible to achieve business aims.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction is at the heart of the selling process. One estimate is that it costs five times as much to attract new customers as it does to keep an existing one. The relationship between the customer and the organisation is, therefore, an important one.

Building customer relationships can be seen as moving up a ladder. At the top rung of the ladder are your loyal customers (advocates).

1.2 TYPE OF CUSTOMERS AND THEIR NEEDS

Customers play the most significant part in business. In fact the customer is the actual boss in a deal and is responsible for the actually profit for the organization. Customer is the one who uses the products and services and judges the quality of those products and services. Hence it’s important for an organization to retain customers or make new customers and flourish business. To manage customers, organizations should follow some sort of approaches like segmentation or division of customers into groups because each customer has to be considered valuable and profitable.

Customers can be of following types:

Loyal Customers- These types of customers are less in numbers but promote more sales and profit as compared to other customers as these are the ones which are completely satisfied. These customers revisit the organization over times hence it is crucial to interact and keep in touch with them on a regular basis and invest much time and effort with them. Loyal customers want

individual attention and that demands polite and respectful responses from supplier.

Discount Customers- Discount customers are also frequent visitors but they are only a part of business when offered with discounts on regular products and brands or they buy only low cost products. More is the discount the more they tend towards buying.

These customers are mostly related to small industries or the industries that focus on low or marginal investments on products. Focus on these types of customers is also important as they also promote distinguished part of profit into business.

Impulsive Customers- These customers are difficult to convince as they want to do the business in urge. They don’t have any specific item into their product list but urge to buy what they find good and productive at that point of time. Handling these customers is a challenge as they are not particularly looking for a product and want the supplier to display all the useful products they have in their tally in front of them so that they can buy what they like from that display. If impulsive customers are treated accordingly then there is high probability that these customers could be a responsible for high percentage of selling.

Need Based Customers- These customers are product specific and only tend to buy items only to which they are habitual or have a specific need for them. These are frequent customers but do not become a part of buying most of the times so it is difficult to satisfy them. These customers should be handled positively by showing them ways and reasons to switch to other similar products and brands and initiating them to buy these. These customers could possibly be lost if not tackled efficiently with positive interaction.

Wandering Customers- These are the least profitable customers as sometimes they themselves are not sure what to buy. These customers are normally new in industry and most of the times visit

suppliers only for confirming their needs on products. They investigate features of most prominent products in the market but do not buy any of

those or show least interest in buying. To grab such customers they should be properly informed about the various positive features of the products so that they develop a sense of interest.

An organization should always focus on loyal customers and should expand or multiply the product range to leverage impulsive customers. For other types of customers strategies should be renovated and enhanced for turning out these customers to satisfy their needs and modify these types of customers to let them fall under loyal and impulsive category

PLANNNG THE SALE PRESENTATION

2.1 PRE-APPROACH

‘Pre-approach’ means a salesman’ this preparation to approach a prospect that he would succeed in turning into a customer. At this stage, the salesman collects information about his different prospects with reference to their age, education, social status, usual habits, likes, dislikes, buying practices, etc. This additional information help a salesman to plan his ‘sales talk’, when he actually approaches the prospects. To put it in other words, the preparation to meet the prospect is known as “Preapproach”. By pre-approach, the salesman tries to make successful presentation of his goods and services before the prospect.

Objectives:-

The main objectives of pre-approach are:

(i) To provide additional information

Prospecting provides salesman only the names and addresses of prospects. But this information may not be sufficient to convert a prospect into customer. The salesman, at preapproach stage, requires some further information about the prospect- his likes and dislikes, habits, types, economic status, behavior, nature, etc. As a result, it becomes easier for him to deal with the real potential buyers.

(ii) To select the best approach to meet the prospects

All prospects are not equal in all respects. That is, all prospects can not be approached in one and same manner. Their nature are different and hence need different treatment by salesman. Some are easy to meet; while others are quite difficult to contact. Direct approach is suitable to some prospects, while some others prefer indirect treatment. In the light of these differences, the pre-approach aims at selecting the best approach to meet his prospects. As a result, chances of returning empty handed are very less.

(iii)To obtain information for planned presentation

Effective sales depend upon effective presentation and demonstration. Intelligent pre-approach is the pillar of successful presentation. A good pre-approach furnishes a salesman a clear idea into the buying motives of the prospects. As a result, he (salesman) approaches the right motive of the buyer to seek right action. The sales talk is fabricated to suit the individual tastes. Thus, pre-approach helps the salesman to make best presentation and proper demonstration of the product.

(iv) To avoid serious mistakes

By pre-approach, a salesman knows beforehand about the likes, dislikes, taste and temperaments of the prospects. For instance, some prospects may not like smoking during sales- interview. This advance knowledge of prospects helps the salesman to avoid any serious mistakes during sales talk. If he finds any fault with his pre-approach, he corrects it immediately to win the hearts of prospects.

(v) To meet the prospects with confidence and enthusiasm

A salesman, who presents his sales-talk without knowing prospect’s nature and the situation, may commit more mistakes out of fear and uncertainty. But a salesman armed with all possible information of customers’ wants and desires to plan his sales campaign intelligently. Thus person-approach makes a salesman more confident. It develops self-confidence and enthusiasm to convert a prospect into a customer.

(vi) To save time and energy

Time and energy is valuable for all, but these are more valuable for a salesman. In the absence of pre-approach a salesman may have to meet prospects and suspects, fake buyers and genuine buyers, china-eggs and cold-turkeys. By doing so, he consumes more of his energy and times unnecessary. However, due to pre-approach, the salesman approaches only selected prospects who are most likely to buy. To put it literally, instead of showering upon the cultivated plants for best results.

(vii) To be successful in the sales-interview

Pre-approach also helps the salesman to come out successfully in the interview with the prospect. As we have stated earlier buying is a mental process, therefore the mind of a customer moves in a definite direction from attention-interest – conviction-action- during the process of selling. Any disturbance in this path distracts a customer and he (customer) finds difficulty in arriving at a conclusion. If the salesman preplans his approach, he will definitely help the customers in his buying decision and will be successful in the sales-interview

APPROACH

Approach is an essential adjunct of pre-approach. It is the extended part of pre-approach. ‘Approach’ means meeting the prospect in person by the salesman. It is coming in to direct contact with the prospects. It is the second stage of the sales interview where he makes face-to-face contact with the prospect to understand him better. Success follows those salesmen who possess courage, courtesy and win the confidence.

However, the salesman really comes in contact or in the ambit of a prospect what results transfer would largely depend on his approach. Buyers often judge the mettle of a salesman mainly by the way in which the salesmen comes pack even after frequent rebuffs. Only with this stand, the prospects will form their opinion that the salesman has really something to offer. In other words, it is the salesman who attracts the attention of the prospect, gets him motivated or interested in the product or service and tries to continue that the product or service of his fits the frame of prospect. Approach is made on two stages namely, (a) a sincere and honest attempt to get an interview and (b) getting through fax interviewed with the prospect.

2.1 IMPORTANCE OF PRE APPROACH AND APPROACH

Pre-approach is important for the salesman due to the following reasons:

1. A salesman by means of pre-approach can save his valuable time, effort and energy by concentrating on those prospects exclusively who are most likely to buy In other words, he can distinguish between ‘most likely prospects and general prospects’ and confine his approach to genuine prospects by remaining selective.

2. Pre-approach makes the salesman more confident and enthusiastic while meeting the prospects and putting forth the sales proposition before them. This confidence and enthusiasm is the cumulative result of the detailed background information about the prospects collected during pre-approach.

3. Pre-approach enables the salesman to know beforehand about the needs and requirements of the prospects in the most detailed manner possible.

4. By pre-approach, the salesman’s knowledge about the prospects is considerably enhanced. As a result, serious lapses, vital mistakes by the salesman are automatically avoided. As the salesman has prior information about the likes, dislikes, tastes, financial status, and so on of the prospects, he is likely to commit the least number of mistakes at the subsequent stages of sales presentation.

5. On the other hand, equipped with all possible socioeconomic information about the prospects, the salesman is better placed in handling the prospects. Consequently, the salesman can plan out the sales talk in advance and present the same on scientific lines for assured success.

6. At the pre-approach stage, the salesman is able to gather all possible information about the prospects beforehand. In case of need, the salesman can seek advice and guidance from seniors and experienced colleagues for planning his approach on successful lines.

7. Pre-approach helps in saving valuable time, effort and energy of the salesman in the best interest of the organisation in which he works.

Approach is important for the salesman due to the following reasons:

Approach is one of the important steps in the selling process. It has been rightly said that a sale is won or lost during the interview. In fact, approach influences the prospects to keep their door either open or close.

During the first few minutes of the approach, the prospect decides whether he will purchase or not.

On the other hand, the salesman is also able to know whether the prospect is really interested in the product or not. Of course, the importance of the approach varies with the type of selling. For example, while selling cheap and necessary articles,

the importance of the approach is comparatively less, whereas for selling costly and luxurious goods and services, the importance of the approach is quite high. The importance can be described as follows:

1. Approach is most vital for the success or failure of the business because it directly contributes to increase sales.

2. In the competitive business world, approach is very important, because, if one approach fails, other competitors make successful approaches and win customers.

3. The approach increases the prospect’s knowledge about the product or service like quantum of his benefits and utilities.

4. Modern day people are so busy that they get little time to know about the products, new innovations, new features, new developments, in detail. As prospects they are able to get all such information from the salesman during the approach stage itself.

Approach can be broadly divided into:

(i) Approach by travelling salesman to those selling to middlemen and

(ii) Approach by the retail salesman.

The division is necessary owing to the different procedures adopted by the travelling salesman and counter salesman in approaching the prospects. In fact, the approach of the travelling and the retail salesman differ widely from each other

2.2 WAYS OF APPROACH

Approach means meeting of the salesman and prospect in person. Salesman makes face contact with prospects to understand the prospects better. Success follows the salesman who possesses courtesy and confidence. Approach aims (i) to gain favorable attention from the prospect so that he is interested enough to see the salesman; and (ii) securing the willingness of the prospect. Approach is completed if these two objectives are attained or when the prospect makes the first two decisions.

Objectives

An effective approach has the following important objectives:

(i) Approach helps the salesman to make a favorable impression upon his prospect to secure favorable attention.

(ii) The detailed information about the prospect obtained at the pre-approach stage must be amplified or substantiated.

(iii) The favorable attention of the prospect must be converted into a positive interest in a given product.

(iv) All attempts should be made by the salesman to lead the prospect easily and smoothly into the sales proposition.

Approach is a stepping Stone for sales presentation. If these four objectives are achieved and the prospect is prepared to listen, then the salesman can continue subsequent stages in the selling process.

Importance of approach

Approach is considered as the most important step in selling process. Sales are won or lost in the first few minutes of the interview, i.e., in the first few minutes of the interview, i.e., in the approach. The importance of approach varies with the type of selling. The importance of approach varies with the type of selling. The importance of approach is less in selling cheap articles, whereas its importance is more in selling costly articles. There are two methods of approach by salesman.

(i) Approach by travelling salesman and those selling to

middlemen.

(ii) Procedure of approach by retail salesmen.

The three important methods of approach usually used by a salesman are as follows:

(i)The introductory approach

The salesman uses this method of approach frequently. The salesmen starts with as “Good morning Mr. Agarwal, I am Mr. R. Agarwal representing BPL T.V. Company.” This is the most effective method of approach by the salesman. After the introduction, the salesman starts his sales proposition. If the salesman is not a representative of a reputed company, he cannot get a favorable attention of the prospect.

(ii)The product approach

The salesman places a product immediately in the hands of the prospect. This product is very attractive, popular and unique of its kind. This product will appeal to the sensual gratification of the prospect. When the prospect does not like the products so presented, he should retaliate by saying, “What other products do you have to offer?”

The curiosity approach- Here the salesman tries to appeal to the curiosity instinct of the prospect and thereby gets his immediate attention. While seeking an interview the salesman writes something either on the business card or on a slip to attract the prospect’s attention. For example, “Will you give me a few minutes of your precious time in solving business problems?” Such statements work as a trick to open the door of the prospect and arouse curiosity of the prospect.

2.3 PLANNING CALLS

Call planning consists of specifying which products each sales force has to promote to which customer segment, as time unfolds. The year is typically divided in sales cycles that range from 6 to 18 weeks. A good call plan comes close to management objectives, typically expressed as detail volume per customer segment. Those numbers may be broken out further by type of details: primary, secondary, and reminder

It's always good to have a plan for sales visits that can serve as a quick reminder of the essentials. We can use this checklist as a review before and after each sales call to make sure you cover all the bases. Leaving a sales call and wishing you had

remembered to ask a specific question or show the prospect another product idea is a horrible feeling; using this checklist may help you avoid that. Edit this list based on the type of sales cycle you're involved in.

2.4 SETTING OBJECTIVES FOR THE CALLS

The major factor responsibilities for setting objectives for the calls are as under:

1. Prospect. If you do nothing else but prospect for new business every day the chances are you will always be busy and seldom, if ever, experience peaks and valleys in your sales. 2. Improve your skill. Professionals in many industries require regular upgrading up skills. Selling is no different. The marketplace has changed and what worked five years ago is no longer relevant. Make the time and invest in regular self-improvement programs (workshops, conferences, books, audio programs, etc). 3. Listen more than you talk. People who listen more, learn more. The more you learn the more effectively you can position your solution or offering. Enough said. 4. Establish clear call objectives. Whether it’s a face-to-face meeting or telephone call, you need to have a clear objective of what you want to accomplish. Closing the sale is NOT an objective.

5. Create plans (yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly). I know very few sales people who actually create a business plan for the entire year. What sales do you want to achieve? How will you reach those targets? What daily, weekly and monthly activities do you need to execute to achieve your goals?

6. Study your products. How much time do you spend studying and learning your products? Do you know the key differences between similar products? Do you know how each product will actually benefit a customer? 7. Network. Effective sales networking means attending the events that your key prospects attend, not the events you enjoy going to. A friend of mine deals with high-ranking executives so he attends high-profile fundraising dinners. The cost of entry can be expensive but the return can be excellent.

8. Ask awesome questions. The ability to ask great questions, tough probing questions penetrating questions, is one of the most effective ways to increase your sales. 9. Deliver great presentations. Don’t confuse this with the ability to stand up in front of several hundred people and deliver a keynote presentation. The key to delivering a great sales presentation is ensuring that it addresses your prospect’s key issues and that it focuses on their needs and objectives, not your agenda.

10. Adapt your approach. Do you ever consider the personality style of the other person when planning your sales presentation? Do you know if your prospect prefers correspondence via email, texting, face-to-face or telephone? Is your prospect a 35,000 foot view person or do they like to know every detail?

11. Set high goals. People with the highest goals tend to achieve more. Are your goals challenging and motivating? Do you even set your own goals or do you simply take what’s given to you by your boss?

12. Be persistent. Four or five years ago it would take an average of seven calls to connect with a new prospect. Now it’s a safe bet to say that it can take as many as twelve or more, just to make that first contact. You need to be diligent and persistence.

13. Forge relationships. Developing and maintaining great relationships with prospects, customers, friends and other people in your network is one activity that will ALWAYS pay off. 14. Show respect. I have seen, firsthand, how poorly some sales people treat gatekeepers and receptionists and it always disappoints me because I am a firm believer in treating people with respect and dignity. Yes, that person may only be the receptionist in your eyes but they often hold the key to the Presidential Suite. Treat them accordingly.

SALES PRESENTATION

A sales presentation is an event at which a company representative meets with clients to demonstrate the company's products and services, with the goal of making a sale. Sales presentations are an important part of the marketing process, as they allow company representatives to meet directly with their customers, creating a personalized and individual sales approach. There are a

number of different styles and formats for sales presentations, depending on the industry and the product being sold.

In some cases, a sales presentation takes place at the customer's business, as when a pharmaceutical representative visits a doctor's office to discuss a new line of medications. Sales presentations can also be held in hotels and conference centers, in which case they are usually designed for a crowd, rather than a single client. Clients can also travel to a company for a sales presentation, a method which is sometimes used when products are bulky. Airline representatives, for example,

may travel to an aerospace company to inspect a new aircraft. Online sales presentations are also popular in some industries.

During a sales presentation, the company representative provides information about what the company is selling. He or she creates a pitch which is tailored to the customer and designed to draw the customer in, promoting the company's reputation and product and showing customers how the company's product will suit their needs. The representative also answers questions during the sales presentation, often using questions as marketing opportunities.

3.1 METHOD OF SALES PRESENTATION

Typically, all salespeople use one of the following types of sales presentations.

CANNED PRESENTATION Canned presentations are those presentations where text of the presentation is carefully worded, tested and finally written down. Each sales person is expected to memorize it and strictly follow the contents in the defined order, while making a presentation. This presentation method is most commonly used in non technical product selling, like, Pharmaceuticals, telephone selling, door to door selling, etc.

The disadvantage of such technique is that the prospect has limited participation. He might view it, as a high pressure selling and defer taking a purchase decision.

PLANNED PRESENTATION

It is, no doubt carefully planned and organised but still it has a personal touch of the individual making the presentation. In this method, the training

department provides just a format and the individual sales person then writes explanations, descriptions and illustrations.

The advantage of this presentation method is that it appears more conversational and less formal, as the sales person is using his own wordings. As a result, in this presentation method the prospect also gets involved and his doubts and questions can be carefully handled.

AUDIO-VISUAL PRESENTATION For such presentation the sales persons heavily depend on the A V aids. These aids range from charts, slides, video films, prototypes, computer based presentations to the use of actual product. In advertising industry, computer software industry, such presentation methods are used. In these presentations the speaker of the salesperson takes the back seat and the prospect attention remains centered around the A V aids.

Such aids are typically used, not only to gain the attention but in the absence of these it might be difficult to explain or demonstrate .

PROBLEM SOLVING PRESENTATION

This is a two step presentation method. The first stage is to study the individual prospect needs and the second is suggesting a proposition. Thus helping the prospect to solve the problem. Such method is commonly used in insurance sector where the insurance agent asks the prospect about the requirements and accordingly, he proposes a specific policy, its advantages and benefits.

Similar methods are also used in management consultancy assignments relating to all functions or high-tech customised products.

Having understood the various types of presentation methods being following in different product categories, we appreciate the relevance of it in the sales job. Let us now systematically discuss the structure of a typical presentation, presentation strategy and the skills required at the end of each speaker

3.2 STEPS IN SALES PRESENTATION

Making a sales presentation can be nerve-wracking. If you prepare thoroughly and do a few practice runs, you can boost your confidence and sell your product or service to the best of your ability.

Step 1 Research your prospect's company as well as your own. Know everything you can about the company you're pitching to so you can tailor

your sales presentation to fit its needs. You can use the Internet for this as well as talk to a company representative. In addition, you'll need to know your own company's history and every detail about the product or service you're selling so you can answer questions accurately

Step 2 Design a presentation that best fits the needs of your prospective client. For example, if you're selling a product, bring a sample or prototype along with you. If your product or service is very detailed, use charts, pictures and handouts to help emphasize your point. A slide presentation is helpful no matter what you're selling; just make sure to tailor it to your client and not to use a generic slideshow for every sales presentation you make.

Step 3 Start your presentation by giving a brief company history. It's better if this isn't too detailed because businesspeople often have limited time to listen to sales pitches. Be engaging to hold your client's attention.

Step 4 Tell the client how your product fits his company's needs. Identify several ways that your product can fill a void or boost profits for his company. Be specific and focus on what the company values; for example, if the client's main goal is to improve customer service, don't just tell the representative how your service can increase his bottom line.

Give as many details as possible to answer the client's questions before he asks them. If your product is very technical, make good use of visual aids to walk the representative through this section of the presentation. Give real-life examples of how your product has helped similar customers.

Step 5 Make a comparison between your product and others that are available. By directly addressing the competition, you answer some questions the client may not feel comfortable asking.

Step 6 Explain your company's process for delivering the product, turnaround time, customization, invoicing and cost. Give brief details about these items to round out your business presentation.

Step 7

Be flexible. Be a problem solver by offering several options. Offer creative financing, a volume discount or, perhaps, a low introductory offer. Recommend different levels of service to fit the customer’s budget. Never argue or tell a customer he or she is wrong. Instead, always provide new information. When you educate your customers and provide new data, they may change their minds. Always let them save face

Step 8

Answer questions the customer has. It's best to prepare responses to objections and hard questions before you start your presentation so you can answer each question thoroughly. If you don't know an answer, tell the client you'll find out and get back to him promptly. Make sure you follow through. Many sales professionals lack good listening skills. No one appreciates being told what to do. Try asking questions to uncover what a person needs. The more needs you uncover, the more motivated the customer will be to solve their problems. By listening instead of talking, you will build empathy and trust. Listening builds relationships. Too many people talk themselves out of a sale

Step 9 Close your presentation by thanking your prospect and End the conversation with an action step. People usually remember the last thing they hear. So, don’t just say, ‘thank you for your time.’ Instead, tell them what you expect them to do next. You may not close the deal on the first meeting, so advance the sale with the next step. Try saying, “I’ll give you an estimate. Take it home and look it over. I will call you on Wednesday to work out the best plan for you.” Action steps have two parts: a “what” and a “when.” If you tell someone what you want them to do without a time frame, you’ll have no commitment.

3.3 ESTABLISHING RAPPORT

Customers, whether individual consumers or major multinational clients, generally prefer to do business

with companies with which they have a good relationship. Companies that have earned good reviews for meeting customers’ expectations often benefit from this word-of-mouth advertising. Though rapport costs very little, business owners can develop a considerable strategic advantage by developing and maintaining rapport with both actual and potential customers

One of the most important aspects to creating personal interest and being liked is successfully building rapport with your prospect.

When you build rapport, keep in mind you want to make a sincere connection. All too often chit-chat before a sales call seems contrived…because it is. Assuming you want to build solid and real relationships with people, consider the following:

Be genuine. Before the first day of school, first jobs, camp, and any family get-together, Dad always said, “Just be yourself and everything will be fine.” This lesson applies to generating rapport with prospects and customers. Be genuine. Be yourself. Don’t try to be anything you are not, create a new persona, or adopt a sales-like tone. Relax, smile, and go in with a positive attitude. Good things will follow. As Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Be warm and friendly. Chilly people get chilly reactions from other people. Approach rapport building with the intent to be warm and friendly. Smile, give a firm handshake, make eye contact, and engage.

Show interest. No surprise to anyone, people are self-focused. This is quite helpful to those of us in selling because we need to learn about

our prospects before we can provide the best solutions. People want to feel like they have an opening to share what they’re thinking, including their desires, fears, and problems. The more genuinely interested you appear the more relaxed and willing to share they’re likely to be.

Don’t seem too needy. Most of us know someone who wanted to be liked, so he “tried hard,” but it didn’t work. In trying to be liked, he appeared needy and

conspicuous. You cannot force rapport. Show interest, but don’t act subservient, overly friendly, or too pushy or you will only turn the other person off. Don’t come on like gangbusters.

Give genuine compliments. Sycophants get nowhere, but genuine compliments are endearing. If you like the office, someone’s web site, or are impressed with their book, say so. If your prospect had a recent accomplishment, relay your authentic congratulations. They’ll appreciate it.

Calibrate the rapport to “just right.” New salespeople are often overly sensitive to the time of a potential buyer. They often think, “I have an hour for this meeting and she’s a CEO of a mid-size company. I need to use the whole time to get my points across. No time for chitchat.” So he dives right in with no ice breaking conversation and it doesn’t go well. Others can spend too much time chatting, and the prospect might get antsy to get down to business. Do your best to read the other person and find the right amount of rapport-focused conversation.

Read the culture. Always be yourself but, at the same time, you can adjust your approach to the other person and company. Don’t change who you are to fit the culture, but be aware of how the culture works and how it best responds. For example, if they’re a suit and tie joint, showing up with your Grateful Dead ’95 tour tie-dyed shirt won’t fly so well. (Unless you’re meeting with me, then I’d be impressed.) And if there’s a jeans and sneakers place with a “Never Lose Your Whimsy!’ sign on the wall…you get the idea.

If you’re curious to know where to start with rapport building, the following questions will help. They’re pretty basic and straightforward, but rapport building is an area that doesn’t need over complication.

3.4 UNDERSTANDING NEEDS

THE SOLUTION: “NEEDS AS UNDERSTOOD”

These three words succinctly and effectively communicate a message that works. They say

I care about your needs I care about understanding you I don’t pretend to know your needs, only to understand them, and only as well as I am about to explain I welcome you improving my understanding

While or after you explain your understanding of their needs, you can ask them to help you understand their needs better. If you leave anything out or include something irrelevant, that’s okay, you’re asking for their thoughts.

Now when you get to the pitch part of your presentation instead of describing how great your product is, you focus on how well it meets their needs. Now you’re solving their problems instead of selling your stuff.

3.5 PROVIDING INFORMATION

The sales presentation provides information about the product and the producer but does not provide any information about the tastes and mood of the consumers. The personal selling provides two way communications between the buyer and seller. Apart from providing information to the buyer about the product and producer, it provides knowledge about the tastes, habits, and attitudes of the prospective buyers. Any complaint about the firm or its product may be prospective buyers. Any complaint about the firm or its product may be registered with the salesman as the basis, the company can determine the strengths and weaknesses of the marketing programme.

Advantages to Consumers

A salesman helps the consumers in many ways. He informs the customers about the new products introduced the market, by suggesting to him the use of a product that will best satisfy his needs by awakening and kindling various needs and convening then into needs. The purchaser thinks himself an honorable person in whom the producer is interested. If consumer has any doubt about the product, its use etc., he can ask the seller of the doubt about and remove it to his satisfaction.

3.6 HIGHLIGHTING BENEFITS OF THE PRODUCTS

Business owners who develop or market a new product often have a justifiable pride in what they are selling. When selling a new piece of technology they can probably go into great detail about all the features of that technology.

However, you don’t necessarily want that kind of detail when you’re marketing. Your clients are generally only interested in product features that translate into benefits.

The first step in emphasizing the benefits you offer is to identify the product features that will provide the benefit.

Think about the form of the product — its size, shape, texture, consistency and color. For some products, taste or smell could be relevant.

Then think about how these features translate into benefits. If a product is small, is that a good thing? It could make it portable.

Think of practical features. Suppose you’re making office chairs. How do your chairs rate in terms of adjustability, support, tilting and general ergonomics?

Quality is a feature that can easily be turned into a benefit. Quality speaks for itself, so that even with limited marketing, quality can generate good word-of-mouth.

But beware of claiming that you have a high-quality product unless you’re sure that’s true. People hate to be disappointed and negative word-of-mouth travels very fast.

“Identify product features that will provide benefits.”

Simplicity is another product feature that easily translates into a benefit. For example, you can market simple technology as easy-touse. Safety is another important feature. For example, children’s toys might need to fit into age-related safety guidelines. However, safety is a feature that is difficult to convert into a competitive advantage. All your competitors should be providing safe goods as a minimum requirement.

Clearly understand the benefits and you have a significant advantage when it comes to marketing.

3.7 DEMONSTRATION Demonstration is not a physical manifesto but a psychological tactics of convincing to prospect that the salesman has the best product that fills the need of prospect. It is such powerful way of appealing

that the product sinks in the mind of a prospect and sells well. It owes with proof and illustration as to how the product benefits the prospect. It is the task of proving the statements made by salesman about quality, utility, performance, service and the like of a product by means of tests, experiments and operations as the essential mark of evidence.

If sales presentation is the road to desire from convincing the demonstration has the role of converting desire into a decision. One should not get confused with die two phrases namely, sales presentation bid sales demonstration. They are closely linked and can be undertaken after one mother or simultaneously. It is very difficult to say when sales presentation ends and sales demonstration starts depends on the situation. Customers want to see to hear, to touch, feel and smell. The prospect to members more when more senses are involved. The aim of salesman is that customer should remember his product.

Hence, it always pays to demonstrate what a salesman wants to sell. Demonstration stands for showing and explaining the various factors of the product very clearly to the prospect with proofs. It is demonstration through which the customer or prospect is to known as to how product works. Demonstration is the description and explanation with the help of specimen and experiments to prove the facts logically. It is showing and pointing out clearly or proving with highest degree of certainty. In simple words, demonstration means and includes proving the quality, utility, performance, service of a product by means of operation, experimenting i-d testing to prove the worth so that prospect makes up his mind to take the product without hesitation.

Objectives of Demonstration

1. Creating of a Strong Desire:

The basic aim of demonstration is to create a very strong desire is the mind of prospect to possess the product, which he wants to sell. It is demonstration that has the ability, to desire to a strong sense of possession.

2. Generation of Positive Attention towards the Product:

Many a times the prospects have a state of wavering mind, as they are not fully attentive of product. Creation of positive attitude towards the product is the part and parcel of persuasion process in the game of selling.

3. Helping the Prospect to Come to Definite Decision to Buy:

Mere presentation is an oral expression or description of the product. It has effect. However, the effect is not generating any positive change of attitude and action. It is demonstration that applies multi-sense approach, which definitely helps the customer or prospect to come to positive conclusion. That is, he may be deciding to buy or going for a product.

3.8 NOTICING BUYERS INTEREST

A buying interest can be seen as a customer expressing interest in a product to the extent that the salesperson feels they will be able to sell the product.. The interest can be as simple as; a client saying "Yes, that sounds great", to a non-verbal nodding of the head to indicate agreement with your recommendations or a more certain signal like "May I pay for this by credit card?

HANDLING CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS AND CLOSING SALES

CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS

An Objection is not a compliant. An Objection is simply a request for further information, a sign showing that the customer is interested in a product/service.

Most sales professionals fear customer objections. But objections are a reality and they are healthy. It just means that the customer is thinking of every possibility as they consider your solution. But it also means you have their attention [a critical step] and they are interested in engaging in a dialogue [a critical next step]. Now you can work toward framing the discussion. So expect and welcome when customers raise objections; provided you are prepared to respond effectively, in a manner tuned to their personality style.

It is inevitable that in every sales situation there will be objections at some point in the sales cycle. These cannot be ignored. They must be handled for the sales cycle to move forward towards closure. Handling customer objections

properly builds strong momentum toward success. While some sales training programs believe that objections

can be prevented, we see objections as an opportunity to dialogue with the customer. We believe the negative effects of customer objections can be minimized by focusing on the needs of the customer – and specifically, not pushing features. You are selling to a person. Address the needs of the customer and remember their needs reflect their personality types. Use this information on style and preferences as you convey the benefits of your products and services.

First with every objection we encounter we need to acknowledge the customer’s concern. We do that by simply stating: “we hear what you are saying, I understand, I see.” We are not agreeing with the customer, but simply acknowledging we have heard their concern.

Next we need to address the objection. If it’s factual we must try to refocus or redirect the customer back to their most important need which will hopefully outweigh the objection in terms of importance. If the objection is emotional we must clarify or prove to the customer that their concern is not a valid one or they should not have the concern.

Once the objection is addressed we must ask for acceptance. “Are you satisfied with our answer to your concern?” If we don’t ask for acceptance the customer likely will return to this later in the sales cycle.

If they said yes, the objection is alleviated and cannot be brought up again. The next time your customer has an objection, consider their personality style when addressing their concern! Now apply this lesson – I am an Orange, if you were selling to me, turn me to your

side; if I am an asset on your team, I’m coaching you and not your competition. Ask for our training on selling to specific personalities.

4.1 NATURE OF OBJECTIONS

Before the sale is closed you may need to overcome objections, questions, or excuses raised by a customer who needs more information. It's quite typical for a customer to ask questions or make objections before a decision to buy is

made. Objections don't mean the customer dislikes your product. This last minute haggling is simply a way customers use to find out more information about your product. It's a way of reinforcing their decision to make a purchase. Handled properly, such negotiating will move your customer from the sales floor to the cash register.

OBJECTIONS

An objection may arise from facts and knowledge the customer brings to the transaction -- from prior experience, from information passed on by friends or relatives, or from something read in a consumer product review. Don't get defensive or angry when you have to handle objections. Objections actually will help you to get a better grasp of the customer's needs. In sales you always need more information, so listen carefully to the objections and try to use them to your advantage. By bringing up an objection, a customer may be revealing a problem. Perhaps you are the one with the solution to that problem. Listen to the objection and try to explain how your product will solve the problem or need. Turn the objection into a positive situation.

THE FOUR MAIN TYPES OF OBJECTIONS ARE:

1. Price

2. Quality

3. Competition

4. Disadvantages

5. Genuineness

1. PRICE OBJECTION

A price objection is any objection relating to the price or charges of a product/service. These are the easiest objections to overcome.

When a customer objects to the price it means that they: .

Cannot afford it at the time ,

or

do not think the product is good value for the price.

If the customer cannot afford the product or service at the time, you may suggest a payment option plan, or for them to pay it on their next bill.

If the customer does not perceive sufficient value, you can overcome the objection by making the customer aware of the benefits of that product or service.

Compare the following two customer statements that reflect how an agent has described the product or service.

2. QUANTITY

Quality

"I am not sure that this product is good enough to do what I want."

With this kind of objection you are getting the message that you haven't filled in all the blanks. Stress the quality features of your product. If it's pertinent, bring up the warranty and guarantee statement.

Some customers may raise objections regarding the quality of the products. The salesman can overcome such objections by comparing it with that of competitors. He can also show them laboratory reports, expert opinions by promising to take back the article if found unsatisfactory.

3. COMPETITION

We are in some very competitive times. Upon hearing that your clients are thinking of changing vendors immediately ask for an opportunity to talk with them. If you’ve been serving their needs well and there aren’t any unresolved challenges this shouldn’t be difficult. In fact, they may feel they owe it to you. Your goal is to talk with them before they get emotionally involved with another sales representative. Before your meeting refresh your memory on everything that has happened in the course of business with this client. Not to say you’ll be rattling off a litany of every order and every conversation, but you

need to know what may be in the backs of their minds. It could be that the competition has touched a hot button that you were unable to provide in your initial sale.

Also, study the competition’s offering. Be certain your client is comparing products or services “apples-toapples.” Even though there are many competitors in every industry not all of them provide product information in a specific manner. It can be confusing to anyone and your job is to help your client see that they’re making a true comparison. If your business is slow, consider using some of your down time gathering information on your two or three top competitors and verifying the true comparisons yourself. Every product has its strengths and weaknesses. You not only need to know theirs, you need to know what they see as your product’s weaknesses.

Formulate a strategy to keep the client’s business or to win them back. Be prepared to remind them that by switching, they’re not only changing brands but they’re losing whatever you, personally, have brought them–your expertise, advice, perhaps some leads for their own business.

4. DISADVANTAGES

This occurs where there is a feature of your product or service that is genuinely less advantageous than a feature of a competitor's product

or service. For example, the customer could say: We use a local company with an office in the high street.

There is a disadvantage here because you don't have a similar office in this location and is a genuine disadvantage, which needs to be put in perspective.

We try to overcome the disadvantage by stating the advantages of dealing with your company, in the hope that the advantages will outweigh any disadvantages.

This is often called the 'Balance Sheet Method'. To do this successfully you need to be aware of your main selling points and the services you can provide that are superior to those provided by others.

However, before we deal with the objection we need to clarify why having a local office is important to the customer and whether other parts of our service might outweigh the disadvantage that has been identified.

5. GENUINENESS

Meaning of Genuineness The word Genuineness refers to the qualities of genuineness, truth, and reality . Its synonyms include terms such as "ethical, natural, honest, simple, unspun, sustainable, beautiful, rooted, and human" . Modern consumers often define it with words such as "original, genuine, unique, traditional, and real"

and reflects that individual's concerns about having his or her real experiences, thoughts, true emotions, and "the process captured by the injunction to know oneself . Genuineness, therefore, corresponds to how the behavior of individuals is consistent with their thoughts and feelings, which express their true inner self, as opposed to the outward roles they play. In short, Genuineness connotes the display of a real situation rather than an artificial context.

Genuineness helps individuals to develop self-concept . People are stimulated by Genuineness to realize the elements that constitute their true self. Self-actualization is the "intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more accurately of what is the organism itself". Some consumers have ascribed this need-fulfillment gap to the fact that contemporary consumption of commercial goods has its limits. Recognizing this limitation, these consumers began to decrease consumption and to shift their need fulfillment from consumption to other activities, such as interpersonal relationships or hobbies. The majority of consumers, however, still seek Genuineness need fulfillment by continuing or increasing consumption, rather than reducing it .

An increasing number of consumers today are asking for authentic products and services and are shunning fake and artificial ones. For many years, consumers have enjoyed the benefits of convenience and availability of consumption in a material world where most products are mass-produced in a standardized production process; lately, however, they are pondering questions such as who they are (based on what they consume) and what their existence means .

In a post-modern society, consumption is associated, in part, with the symbolic meaning of products and with hedonic fulfillment. Often, consumers experience hedonic pleasure through the possession of money and materials. Consumers' fantasies and daydreams of hedonic pleasure prompt marketers to

promote products using this appeal, which use, in turn, stimulate the materialistic quest of consumers.

Increasingly, however, consumers notice the gap between actual and desired pleasure when they consume products. This gap causes consumers feel that their fantasy is unfulfilled. They then switch from one product to another in search of the intended pleasure. This restless search fuels their repeated cycle of consumption and drives their materialistic quest. Their quest encourages consumers to seek more and more material goods in order to maintain a constant level of pleasure, resulting in a ceaseless cycle of acquisition and unfulfilled desires. As a result, consumers become discontented, unhappy, and dissatisfied in the material world. They ascribe these feelings to the shallowness of material culture and the mendacious commercial environment. The result is an increased need among consumers for Genuineness. As a result, consumers have begun to seek alternatives to the need for Genuineness, and to reveal, in the last two decades, their need for Genuineness in various kinds of consumption.

Observing this need on the part of consumers, some marketers have begun to use Genuineness as a brand-positioning strategy and a product appeal. A number of studies have investigated a variety of Genuineness issues. These studies show that Genuineness is an important topic in both practical and academic areas.

Genuineness is a complex topic that can be explored with different intents in various contexts. Consumers who seek to satisfy their need for Genuineness constantly make subjective judgments on the authentic value of goods and their consumption. Genuineness thus becomes an evaluation and decision-making criterion that guides consumer choice. For this reason, it is imperative to identify and understand, from the viewpoint of consumers, the perceived characteristics of Genuineness, beyond the boundary of specific brand or product category. Knowledge relating to consumer need for Genuineness would be beneficial to researchers and marketers. Such knowledge would enable them to identify the property of authentic goods and the characteristics of consumers who are in need of Genuineness. The primary purpose of the present study, therefore, is to identify and broaden Genuineness properties from the perspective of consumers.

Consumers who satisfy their personal need for Genuineness through consumption have different consumption values and criteria than consumers who do not have the same need. The consumption behavior and preferences of consumers who look for authentic value have been explored. This study aims to investigate further the attributes of consumers of this kind, and also to identify the idiosyncrasies and propensities. This study focuses, therefore, on these research questions:

• From the consumers' viewpoint, what are the properties of Genuineness in consumption? • Which idiosyncrasies and propensities best characterize consumers with the need for Genuineness? To answer these questions, this study took a two-stage approach. First, we conducted personal interviews of 10 consumers; and, second, for validation, we conducted three sessions of focus group interviews of 17 consumers. From these, we deduced the properties of Genuineness and the idiosyncrasies of consumers with the need for Genuineness.

TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GENUINENESS The need of individuals for Genuineness is not new. It is a long-standing factor in consumer choice of consumption. It has been suggested, in fact, that consumption of authentic products manifests a search for Genuineness in what is perceived as a fictitious world and is a counteraction to threats of in Genuineness in the post-modern world.

Consumers rely on different cues to assess the properties of Genuineness and to enjoy the different benefits of Genuineness. Consumers seek not only indexical and iconic Genuineness , but also existential Genuineness . Indexicality is used to indicate an object's Genuineness when it is believed to be the original one or the real thing. On the other hand, when an object has an icon or an appearance that makes it appear like something indexically authentic, it is said to have iconic Genuineness, or "authentic reproduction" and "authentic re-creation." Authentic products are by no means imitations. Although the consumer's perception sometimes focuses on one type of Genuineness over another, every perceived authentic cue has indexical and iconic attributes. Some post-modern consumers, however, seem to care less about the originality symbols since they believe that inauthentic attributes can be transformed by man-made techniques into sensorial Genuineness,

which is sufficient to provide pleasure and fun against the modernist's rationality.

In any sales relationship, it is important to build trust with the client. If the early part of the relationship is focused on this trust building - getting to know the prospect and his/her situation - establishing your own credibility and showing that you truly care about him or her as an individual - then you'll be able to judge the genuineness of the objection more clearly.

4.2 USING APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES TO OVERCOME OBJECTIONS

During the sales process most people will raise objections. Objections are raised for many reasons. At some stage, customers

• Misunderstand something you have said • Feel pressurized • Are not convinced about your claims • Haven't yet made up their mind • Have to go back and justify their buying decision to others

One of the most common times objections are raised is just before the decision to purchase. In this case the customer is often looking for reassurance that the decision to buy is the right one.

Objections form a natural part of the buying process. Just before making a buying decision the buyer worries about making a mistake. If an objection is raised at this stage it means that the buyer has an unanswered question, or concern that the salesperson has to deal with. It can be a positive rather than a negative situation when a customer raises an objection.

There are different emotions that come into play when a customer raises an objection depending on what the objection is and how it is raised. We can feel:

• frustrated • angry • confused • irritated • worried • frightened

And this can lead to us losing control.

Most salespeople when faced with an objection tend to react too quickly. Because we have heard the objection before, in our enthusiasm to help the customer, we interrupt and often deal with the objection, in effect, by making a statement that effectively says the customer is wrong.

The customer says we are a bit expensive and our reaction is to say in effect "No we're not and I can prove it"

This is a bad tactic since none of us like to be wrong and all of us hate to be proved wrong. This method, therefore, of responding to an objection with a statement of fact is unwise since it puts the customer in the wrong frame of mind.

Rather than attacking our customer's beliefs or opinions we should try to get them on our side. The golden rule should be that, whatever the objection, you should never openly contradict a customer. It may be that the customer has misunderstood something you have said previously or maybe feels it is his or her duty to question some of your claims about your product or service in

order to test their validity. Whatever the objection and whatever the circumstances the least powerful way to answer a sales objection is with a statement of fact.

There is a simple process that can be used to answer any sales objection.

1. Listen to the objection. 2. Clarify the objection. 3. Deal with the objection.

1. LISTEN TO THE OBJECTION

Resist the temptation of interrupting the customer. You may have heard the objection a hundred times before but not from this particular customer. It may also be that the customer has more than one objection, or that this particular objection is slightly different than the ones you usually hear.

By listening you show the customer you are interested in his or her problems and enhance your own professionalism. It also gives you time to think of a way of answering the objection.

2. CLARIFY THE OBJECTION

It is very easy in the heat of the moment to mishear what your customer has said and begin to answer the wrong objection.

So, for example, when the customer says you are too expensive it can mean different things. The customer could mean:

I've had another quote I'm checking you out I'm negotiating with you I have to go back and convince others It's more than I expected It's more than I have in my budget I don't want to buy from you

It could also be that when you test your understanding of the objection you find that your customer has another objection that is fairly trivial and can be handled with ease.

To clarify the objection you could say something like:

" When you say we are a little expensive, can you be more specific? "

We then need to probe and find out the real reasons behind the objection, before moving to the next stage. It could be that by the end of this stage of the process you identify, for example, they have had a slightly cheaper quote from a competitor. Once you have enough information it is now time to deal with the objection.

3. DEAL WITH THE OBJECTION.

Once you fully understand the nature of the objection then it can be answered in different ways depending on whether it is

• a misunderstanding by the customer

• disbelief over claims you are making • a product disadvantage

MISUNDERSTANDING.

Where the objection is based on a misunderstanding of something you have said then you must:

• take responsibility for the misunderstanding • give information to clarify the true position • gain agreement to proceed

For example the customer says:

I don't wish to see anyone from your company as I am working full-time and can't afford to take time off work during the day.

The customer has clearly misunderstood the fact that someone will be available to call outside normal office hours.

I obviously haven't made myself clear Mr Smith. I will be pleased to call at any time in the evening to suit yourself. I will actually be in your area on Thursday. Would 7.30 be convenient or would you prefer a slightly earlier time.

DISBELIEF.

This occurs where you have made a statement and the customer does not believe you, or at least doubts some of the claims you have made.

For example:

I think you are too expensive

To answer this and other types of objection there is a method called Feel, Felt, Found, which is very effective for dealing with objections without attacking your customer. Let's use the previous example. After clarifying, we could say:

I understand how you feel Mrs Smith. Other people have felt exactly the same. People in the same business as yourself who are now our customers. When we first made contact there were often other companies who were able to provide quotes that were a little bit cheaper than ours.

However, what they found was that because we have invested heavily in new technology and are able to guarantee a 3 hour response to any problems that may occur during implementation, it was very much more cost effective in the longer term to pay a little bit more up front.

4.3 HELPING CUSTOMERS IN MAKING CHOICES

Every organization’s end goal is to sell a product or service to customers and employees will do anything to maximize these sales figures. But is it only about achieving sales targets? What about the hapless customer who has already been bombarded with a multitude of advertisements from every possible source, each more attractive than the other. While the customer is in a quandary over which car to buy or the right house or which insurance option, he is further subject to high-pressure selling with the salesperson literally bearing down on him to make a purchase.

Well, the employee may just about be successful in closing the sale, but think - is the customer satisfied with his purchase, will he return and more importantly, will he recommend it to others? The answer is almost always a no! What's more, often unconvinced prospects may even back off from buying the product/service.

The result – you lose a potentially valuable customer! And the prime cause – paying little or no regard to the customer's needs!

A CUSTOMER ORIENTED APPROACH

Well, instead of further confounding an already confused customer with all the ‘sales talk', why not genuinely try to help him make the right choice. Enabling a customer to choose right will not only make the buying easier but prove more fulfilling for him as well.

By making the customer experience a more personalized, engaging and above all satisfying purchase, it is bound to build repeat sales too.

So, the next time instead of blindly ‘bulldozing' a customer into purchasing your product/service, take the time to examine the situation from his perspective.

Begin by sounding him out on his needs and preferences. Ask questions to identify his unique requirements and encourage him to share his tastes, inclinations and experiences.

Present an appropriate product and if needed provide a choice of alternatives along with suitable recommendations. Bear in mind that your suggestions should not be based on what will earn you the highest revenue but what will really best fit the customer's needs.

Patiently explain the factors and discuss the strengths/weaknesses of the options vis-à-vis similar choices (other brands, models, etc.) as well as provide a realistic assessment of some of the consequences of a selection, but without actively discouraging a sale.

When asked for an opinion, be straightforward and honest instead of merely making the ‘right noises'. If necessary you should also be sincere enough to skim over the drawbacks of your product/service.

Then again, remember that customers are smart and will ask detailed questions before making a final choice. Your job is to provide valid answers, requisite information and knowledgeable guidance as you steer the customers towards the right choice.

Once you have done your best, step back and leave the selection to the customer. This in no way guarantees that the customer will finally settle on your recommended product, he may even walk away without making a sale. But he is bound to remember the exceptional customer experience.

So, not only will he keep coming back again and again, but also spread the good word about your service.

Organizations should consider that they cannot expect all employees to adopt this customer-oriented behavior on their own. There is a need for providing requisite employee training. Moreover, marketing initiatives should be designed in tandem with this approach.

To sum up, help customers make the right choice by presenting not just a sale, but a solution to a problem - be it by helping them get results, be successful or save money. It serves as a very valuable service which demonstrates both your integrity and commitment.

This customer-oriented approach will shine brightly as people start relying on you and your organisation to help them choose the best fit for their needs.

TIPS FOR BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE

What's the most common customer service situation? A customer or client seeking help. So it's extremely important to get this customer service interaction right. Properly done, a customer seeking help will not only feel that she or he has been treated well but will be more favorably disposed towards buying products and/or services from your business. Use the following tips for better customer service to educate your staff and evaluate their customer service performance.

Tips for Better Customer Service: How to Help a Customer

When a potential customer walks into your store or office you and/or your staff need to:

1) Be available in a timely manner.

The first way that you make your customer feel valued is by acknowledging her as soon as possible.

So when someone enters your store or office, you need to look up from your computer, stop stocking shelves or whatever else you're doing as soon as possible. If your work involves being away from the floor, such as working in stockroom or workshop area for part of the time, you need to have some system that alerts you when a customer enters so you can attend to her.

2) Greet the customer in a friendly but appropriate way.

Make eye contact, smile and say something such as, "Hello. How may I help you today?"

Stop there. Allow the customer to respond.

3) Appear eager to help (but not in such an aggressive or rote fashion that the customer is turned/driven off).

Doing points one and two properly are often all that's required to appear eager to help to a customer. Do not encourage staff to continually trail customers about the premises or to interrupt them every two minutes and ask them how they’re doing.

Customers who have responded to the initial question by saying something such as, "I just thought I'd take a look around" should be approached after an acceptable period of time (which will vary depending on the type of business, floor layout etc.) and asked if they have any questions or if they've found what they're looking for.

4) Help the customer by directly addressing the customer's request/solving the customer's problem.

This may involve:

Actively listening to the customer. Show that you're actively listening to the customer by making eye contact, nodding, or even jotting down a note. Ask clarifying questions when the customer is finished speaking if necessary to get more details that will enable you to solve the customer's problem. Do not

interrupt a customer when he or she is speaking. You can't listen when your mouth is moving.

Showing a knowledge of the business's products and/or services. Be sure that you and your staff know your products and services inside out. And be sure that all staff know the difference between "showing a knowledge" and "showing off". Customers do not

come in to hear lectures about particular products or services. For good customer service, tell customers what they want to know, not everything you know about it.

Showing a knowledge of related products and/or services. Customers commonly compare products and/or services, so you and staff need to be able to do this, too. After all, you may be able to save them a trip to another store. You also need to be aware of any accessories or parts related to your products so you can tell customers where they can get them if you don't supply them.

Being able to offer pertinent advice. Customers often have questions that aren't directly about your products or services but are related to them. For instance, a customer interested in hardwood flooring might want to know what the best way of cleaning hardwood floors is. The answers you give (or aren't able to give) can be a big influence on buying decisions and how the customer feels about your customer service.

5) Be cheerful, courteous and respectful throughout the customer service interaction.

6) Close the customer service interaction appropriately.

You should finish helping a customer by actively suggesting a next step. If he or she is ready to make a purchase at this point, escort or direct the customer to the checkout where you or someone else will go through the payment procedure with the customer. If the customer is not ready to buy at this point, your suggested next step might be a further invitation to engage with the merchandise or service such as, "Is there anything else I can help you with?", "Would you like a brochure?", or "Would you like to try that on?" You should never just say something such as, "Here you go" or "Okay, then" and move on.

4.4 OBTAINING ORDERS AND CLOSING SALES

A market order is an order to buy or sell a stock at the best available price. Keep in mind that a market order guarantees execution but does not guarantee a particular price. Traders should consider using a market order only when their primary concern is getting the trade done .

To understand how market orders work, keep in mind that a stock has both a bid price and an offer price. Typically a trader buys a stock at the offer and sells at the bid. The quote on a stock usually includes the last trade price, the highest bid and the lowest offer. Please note that the last trade price may not be "current"—with less-liquid stocks, the last trade may have occurred several minutes, several hours or even longer ago. (An illiquid stock is one that typically averages fewer than 250,000 shares traded per day over the previous month). It's the current bid and offer prices that are important—not necessarily the last trade price.

Note that a market order should not be placed outside of normal trading hours. If there's a news story after the market closes today or before it opens tomorrow, the market's reaction can cause a significant move in the stock price, resulting in your paying a price considerably different from what you intended. This is known as a gap in price, and we'll cover how gaps affect Stop and Limit orders later

Whether you're a sales associate at a retail store or a small business owner, getting a customer to buy a product or service you have to offer means financial success for you and satisfaction for your customers. Anyone can sell a product or service, but making the most of a sale and getting customers to come back to you takes some practice and skill. Here are some simple steps to get you on the right track to being a good salesperson.

STEP 1 TO CLOSE SALES

Greet and engage your customer. Even though you are participating in a business transaction, there's nothing wrong with befriending the person you will be selling to.

Making a customer welcome will give them comfort in purchasing what you have to offer to them.

Smile with your eyes. The human subconscious can easily detect a fake smile from a real one. How? Real smiles activate the eyes, whereas fake smiles don't.

Be careful about maintaining too much eye contact. Researchers at Harvard University have found that salespeople who maintain eye gazes actually may discourage would-be buyers. The theory here is that eye-contact signifies dominance — not something that makes you wants to buy.

Step 2

Qualify their needs. Spend as long as necessary qualifying a customer so that you sell them what they need. There's nothing worse than selling a product or service that the customer is later dissatisfied with. The best and most commonly used question in qualifying is, "What will you be using this for?" Continue to ask questions to narrow down the search for what the customer really wants. This shows a willingness to learn and a legitimate interest in the needs of the customer.

Step 3

Recommend the right product or service. It is important to understand how all of the products and services you have to offer work. By understanding this, you'll be able to offer the one that best fits your customer's needs. Be sure to offer as many relevant products or services that you have to enhance customer satisfaction.

Many successful restaurants allow servers to sample each item in the menu — free of charge — in order to develop a feel for what they are selling. That way, they can combine expertise and experience in their sales pitch when a diner asks "What do you recommend?"

Make it your job to test many, if not all, of the items you are selling. Customers can smell amateurism and disinterest from a mile away. Even if the item(s) you're offering don't come discounted or free of charge, make it part of your job to test them out.

Step 4

Listen and watch for buying signals from your customer. Buying signals can be both verbal and non-verbal. Questions like, "How may this benefit me?" or

"What product most suits my needs?" are classic examples of verbal buying signals. Non-verbal buying signals (if you are dealing with a customer in person) might include the customer holding or using a product as if they already owned it.

Step 5

Close the sale. Once you observe buying signals, stop selling and close the sale. A common mistake that can lose a sale is to continue to sell and offer products/services after the customer has already indicated that they are willing to make the purchase.

Step 6

Think about opening with a direct or indirect close. These are two of the most basic closes. You may want to learn toward the indirect close at first. Unless you are pretty sure that the customer is chomping at the bit and is ready to make the deal, the direct close is somewhat discouraged among sales circles.

Direct Close: "May I write this up for you?" or "Should I forward a contract so you can get started?"

Indirect Close: "How do these terms look to you?" "Is this agreeable to you?"

STEP 7

Learn to appeal to emotions. Emotions are an extremely powerful thing, especially when coupled with money. If you learn to massage the emotions of your potential customers without making them feel manipulated, you're in for a payday: Try the possibility of loss close: This is where the salesperson tries to close a sale by noting that the product is going to run out or that it won't be available at its rock-bottom price for much longer. This appeals to customer's sense of regret. Try the cradle to grave close: This close also appeals to a customer's sense of regret. In it, the salesperson rebuts a potential customer's objection that it's too soon to buy by saying that it's never too soon to make a major life purchase. Try the sales contest close: This is where the salesperson offers a small incentive to the customer, such as a modest rebate, justifying it by mentioning that you stand to gain if you close. "If I make this sale, my wife

and I get to go on a cruise." This appeals to the customer's sense of guilt; their fate is interlocked in yours

4.4 AFTER SALES SERVICES, COMPLAINTS AND FOLLOW UP

After Sale Service According to Adrian, in today's marketing environment, an increasingly important source of competitive advantage is the way we serve customers. In recent years, more and more organizations focus their attention on retaining existing customers rather than attracting new ones. According to Kotler attracting a new customer is five times greater than the cost to keep a current customer happy. Gaiardelli, et al. define after sale service as those activities taking place after the purchase of the product and devoted to supporting customers in the usage and disposal of the goods to make them loyal. While according to Rigopoulou, et al. After-sales services are often referred to as "product support activities", meaning all activities that support the product-centric transaction. Furthermore, as stated in Potluri and Hawariat the term "after-sales services" has been approached in the literature under two broad perspectives. When referring to service providing companies,

after-sales services are being treated as one among several supplementary service elements provided. On the other hand, when referring to tangible goods, they are mostly seen as operative activities of some or all members of the distribution chain.

OBJECTIVES OF AFTER SALE SERVICE

The main objective of the after-sales is to keep the customer satisfied through trust, credibility and sense of security conveyed by the organization, and building lasting relationships that contribute to increased performance for sustainable results. Forooz and Rostami have shown after sale service advantages like:-

■ Competitive advantage ■ Customer satisfaction ■ Long- term customer relationship , customer retention and loyalty ■ New product success and development ■ High profit ■ Differentiation ■ Branding

Gaiardelli said an effective after-sales service protocol is essential to streamline service management and meet customer's expectations, it can let you experience customer delight, while also saving on your bottom-line and it

generates profit. Henley center headlight vision shows more than 1,800 customers who had purchased all the automotive brands sold in the U.S, Excellent service not only reinforces relationships with customers who already feel loyal to a brand. It can also defuse ill will that causes disaffected customers to bad-mouth the brand. According to Potluri and Hawariat , delivery of after-sales service is becoming increasingly critical as businesses do everything in their power to be more costeffective, boost profit margins, and meet customer demand for a product or service.

However, most of the business organizations are not aware about the after-sales service factors and its impact towards the customer satisfaction. Failing to realize the importance of the factors can lead to a disastrous and threatening business relationship. This may lead

dissatisfied customers switch to a competitor or the company lose potential for new customers due to negative word-of-mouth effect. Hence, every business should know the objective and importance of having after sale service and implement it to satisfy customers and make them loyal.

COMPONENTS OF AFTER SALES SERVICE

Goffin explains seven elements of after sale support which must be provided to customers over the working lifetime of product as follows.

❖ Installation: - for many products the first element of product support following the sale is installation. This is usually performed for complex product or where personnel from the manufacturing company or their representatives involve safety issues.

❖ User training: - the complexity of some type equipment necessitates that manufacturers provide good training for users. Many computers based and complex products include functions that help users learn to use them more efficiently.

❖ Documentation: - most products have some form of documentation and industries such as medical electronics plays key role. Typical form of documentation covers equipment operation, installation, maintenance, and repair. Good documentation can lead to lower support cost.

❖ Maintenance and repair: - maintenance and repair are an important element of product support, which has required companies to invest significant resource. Preventive maintenance is undertaken to clean, refurbish or replace parts of equipment which otherwise would be liable to fail. Mechanical parts, for example, normally require regular maintenance as in the case of cars.

❖ Online support: - telephone advice on product is a major element of customer support in many industries. Product experts give online consulting to customers to help them use products more or, sometimes to trace the cause of fault (troubleshooting).

❖ Warranties: - manufacturers of most products offer warranty and, in some markets such as automobiles. Manufacturers try to gain a competitive advantage by offering longer warranty periods. Warranty reduces the financial risk of owning products and therefore it is an important element of customer support.

❖ Upgrades: - offering customer the chance to enhance the performance of the existing products can be an important aspect of support. For example, computer manufacturers offer upgrades, because they increase the working lifetime of products and can be a significant source of revenue. Original equipment manufacturers have a competitive advantage in this because they normally have records of where equipment has been sold which could benefit from upgrading.

According to Potluri and Hawariat the major tasks related to after-sales services of fixed lines in ETC are: -

■ Provision of information. Customer may require information about products and services, availability, delivery dates, and prices. They may require information on progress, e.g. what is happening with their order or fault.

■ Service delivery. It is required that the service provider to undertake a series of tasks which may vary from product to product and from service to service. Delivery is the setting up, by the service provider, of all the components required for the operation and maintenance of a service as defined in the service specification and to be used by the customers.

■ Maintenance and repair service. This service function includes all activities associated with repair from the instant a service does not offer one or more of the specified features to the instant these features are restored for use by the customer. The process must also be consistent from the customer's perspective, irrespective of which product or service is being repaired.

■ Billing service. Billing is common to almost all services that are not provided free of charge. Inaccurate, illegible, or incompatible bills disappoint customers. Customers usually expect bills to be clear, informative, itemized in ways that make it clear how the total was computed.

■ Customer complaints handling. Complaint is the result of an organization's service failures that occurs for many reasons. Any type of service failures bring about negative feelings and responses from customers. Complaining customers need quick responses. Thus, if an organization welcomes and encourages complaints, it must be prepared to act on them quickly.

Challenges of After Sale Service

According to Gaiardelli the challenge of after sale service exists when the company gives after sale service to the third party by outsourcing.

> Increased chances of pilferage- While outsourcing your after-sales may help you reduce the operational issues relating to managing the service centers; it also increases the chances of pilferage on the flip side.

> Risk of non-compliance of regulatory terms and conditions- Since the service centers work on their own models and regulations, it may be difficult to streamline your business processes with theirs.

> Discontent with the automation solution used by your service partner- Some service providers use a service management solution that may not offer the results that you seek from your after-sales process; while some service providers may not use any automation technique at all.

As Yazijian shows, the challenges of implementing after sale service mostly happens if services deals with dried lubricant found in movement , possible dirt and dust in watch, normal wear & tear, possible damage from previous repair,

spare part quality control , staff training. Foss and Stone shows the following challenges faced in implementing after sale service.

Identifying today's customers and prospects

There is great scope for improving data usage. The key variables automotive suppliers need to include and have data on, to understand when customers are likely to buy, include not only data on the car owned, but also the current state of and changes in income and wealth and occupation.

Using today's data more effectively

The automotive industry is a massive investor in IT, including systems for sales and marketing. It is also a massive investor in market research, and a principal source of income for leading market research companies throughout the world. Typical source of information include;- new car buyer studies , new vehicle registrations, customer satisfaction indices (product, service, finance), measurements of car age and condition, warranty claims. Very little of those information have a customer's name attached to it, even if the customer would have been willing to have it attached.

Data quality and management

In all industries trying to improve how they manage relationships with customers, one of the first problems faced is the generally very poor quality of customer data. In general, the

less frequent the interaction between supplier and customer (this includes billing and payment as well as marketing and service actions), the greater the problem.

Customer Satisfaction

Definition of Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction can be experienced in a variety of definitions and connected to both goods and services. Mathe and Shapiro define customer satisfaction as a short-term emotional reaction to a specific service performance. Customers may be satisfied with a product or service, an experience, a purchase decision, a salesperson, store, service provider, or an

attribute or any of these. Kotler defined satisfaction as: „a person's feeling of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a product's perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations'. Neal cited in center for the study of social science defines customer satisfaction as the attitude resulting from what customers think should happen (expectations) interacting with what customers think did happen (performance perceptions). According to Rigopoulou, et al. customer satisfaction is the state of mind that customers have about a company when their expectations have been met or exceeded over the lifetime of the product or service.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASURES

Customer satisfaction measurement involves the collection of data that provides information about how satisfied or dissatisfied customers are with a service. This information can be collected and analyzed in many different ways. Many organizations regularly check the levels of customer satisfaction to monitor performance over time and measure the impact of service improvement.

Henley center headlight vision states the research carried out in the UK with public sector organizations suggests that there are five themes that are likely to be relevant to all organizations in measuring customer satisfaction.

❖ Delivery of the service (how problems were handled, reliability, outcome etc...) ❖ Timeliness (waiting times, number of times contacted) ❖ Information (accuracy, enough information, kept informed) ❖ Professionalism (competent staff, fair treatment) ❖ Staff attitude (friendly, polite, sympathetic)

According to Rizaimy et al. (2009), customer satisfaction measures should depend on the five following parameters.

1. Quality: - If defects are detected during the warranty period, the customer is happy. However, what is important is whether the defects fall into an acceptable range. Sometimes, customers specify what an acceptable defect is.

2. On-time delivery: - Nothing is more frustrating than not receiving a delivery on an agreed-upon day. This frustration may be eased if somebody calls to tell you that the delivery is going to be delayed, but the frustration is there just the same. 3. Money: - Obviously, no vendor can bill the customer for an amount

that was not agreed to by the customer that is if the vendor expects his invoice to be respected in full and without issue. Whenever the customer has to pay more than the purchase order value, the customer is dissatisfied.

4. Issue factor: - Issues crop up during project execution mainly because of unclear specifications or a lack of understanding the specs. Issues may also occur because of a conflict or an error in the requirements. When the vendor raises an issue whose origin is attributable to the customer, the customer's satisfaction is not usually affected. However, the customer's satisfaction does become affected if the issues raised are due to the vendor's improper understanding of the requirements.

5. Accommodation and cooperation: - Most projects would not be complete without a few change requests from the customer software maintenance projects run on these.

But since change requests are commonly implemented before delivery and it cause additional work for the vendor. Customer will be happy when change requests are accepted without impacting the price or the delivery schedule, but it is rare to happen.

FACTS ABOUT COMPLAINTS

73% of people will tell you if they are dissatisfied. 48% of the most serious problems are sales and delivery related. 52% of those who don't complain believed it wouldn't help to contact the retailer.

But it doesn't stop there. The most disturbing facts are:

66% of those who complain are not satisfied with the way their complaint was handled. 90% of those who are dissatisfied will not purchase from you again. Each dissatisfied complainant is likely to tell five others of their bad experience.

The simple fact is you are probably pushing profits out the door if you don't have an effective complaint handling policy and staff who are trained to handle complaints.

Why do customers get upset?

All customers are different, so it is normal to expect a difficult customer at some point of your working day. This customer may be either an internal customer or an external customer. How you deal with this situation is vitally important and turning an angry or difficult customer into a loyal customer is a skill that you will be required to use many times in the retail environment.

There are many reasons why customers become difficult. These could include:

Someone was rude to them, whether it was intentional or not. No-one listened to the customer. The customer’s needs were not met.

The customer may be intoxicated or affected by drugs. The customer may be responding to peer pressure to cause a problem.

Main types of customer complaints

Most complaints fall into 4 groups.

Value for money - a customer’s perception of value is very important. Store presentation and excellent customer service reinforce the customer’s perception of value. Price overcharge - mistakes happen, so the way a mistake is dealt with and corrected will determine customer satisfaction. Good customer service is essential. Product - faults or complaints are not necessarily the fault of the retailer but the way the complaint is handled determines the customer’s perception of the business. Service - is the essence of good retailing. Rudeness and poor service discourage customers from returning.

Process for Handling Complaints

It is a proven fact that generating new business costs time and money. Seeking new customers is costly. If your existing customer base is well serviced and any complaints are dealt with efficiently and to the customer’s satisfaction, then they will continue to be your customer in the future.

Handled correctly, complaints will lead to increased customer satisfaction, increased customer loyalty and increased business.

Techniques for handling difficult or abusive customers

Useful techniques for handling difficult customers include:

1. Listen to what the customer has to say. Use active listening skills to determine exactly what the customer complaint is about.

2. Remain calm and in control. Do not raise your voice at the customer. Ask questions to determine all the information. 3. Remove the customer from the service area. It is beneficial to remove the angry customer from other customers. Take them to the office area or the back of the store where they are not in the public view. 4. Clarify the complaint. Show the customer that you have understood the complaint by restating the facts of the complaint. 5. Take action. Suggest alternatives such as refund, repair or exchange of the item. The sales assistant needs to follow store policies and procedures in relation to returns and refunds. 6. Refer the complaint. If you do not have the authority to deal effectively with the complaint, refer it to a supervisor or manager who can resolve the problem. 7. Be polite and friendly. You may not be able to completely satisfy each and every customer, but your attitude will reflect the opinion the customer will have of the store. Thank the customer for bringing the problem to your attention. 8. Customer feedback. Sometime after a complaint has been dealt with, call the customer to ask if they are satisfied with the service that your retail store provides.

Following up customer complaints

This is a very important part of dealing with a complaint. Follow up procedures demonstrate to the customer that they are a valued part of your business. Follow up may take the form of formal documentation, as required by the policies and procedures of your employer, or a phone call to the customer to see if they are happy. Whatever forms of follow up is used; it helps to ensure customer loyalty.