Sales Training Course
Proactive Selling

Discuss - The proactive things that each of you does now.

Examples:

• A proactive salesperson reads financial and trade papers regarding his or her industry. When changes, announcements and so on are made the proactive salesperson looks for opportunities to build relationships with existing and prospective customers.
• A proactive salesperson in the Removalist industry reads the for sale ads every week and writes to all the owners offering moving services.
• A proactive salesperson networks actively and always thanks those who give leads whether they result in sales or not.
• A proactive salesperson fixes a problem before it becomes either a) an issue or b) a major problem.
• Brainstorm ways you and your team can become more proactive.
• Choose words that describe proactive salespeople

How does your own style compare?

Learn how others in your team describe you.

Tip 1 - Help solve your customer's problems

People are generally inwardly focused and motivated by pain-relieving and pleasure-giving emotions. You can help motivate your customers/prospects to want to solve their problems by uncovering the things that are causing their pains, or, by identifying what will bring them more pleasure.

You will win their hearts when you translate the features of your product or service into benefits that will solve their problems. For example, you might be selling sharp kitchen knives (features), but your customers want to buy well-sliced roasts and enjoyable cooking experiences (benefits).

The best salespeople focus their attention on solving other people's problems. Make this your passion and you will be viewed as a 'trusted consultant.' Then, people will seek you out for assistance and will refer you to their friends.

How do you solve your customer's problems?

How can you do this more often?

Tip 2 - Help Your Customers Make Logical Decisions

Emotion is the motivator that makes people want to solve their problems, but it's logic that helps them choose the best solution.

You should systematically demonstrate how the features and benefits make your products the absolute best choice. Do this by showing how it satisfies your customer's objectives. For example, if warranty is important, then show how you products have exceptional warranties and back it up with testimonials or statistics.

People love to know they are getting a "good deal," so give more than you promised. When an unexpected gift is delivered with the product along with a note thanking them for making a wise decision, your customers will remain loyal to you. This policy is often called the “third box” and can be a powerful motivator.

How can you help your customer's feel they have gotten a good deal?

Tip 3 - Help Customers Take Action On Their Decisions

The closing of a sale should be a natural progression that starts at the beginning of the presentation process. Ask lots of questions to get your customers used to making decisions that will solve their problems. "Where would you like to display the higher margin items?”

Remove objections during the presentation by giving your customers yes-or-yes choices. For example, "Would you be happy to trial the new mouse for two or three months?” This is often known as closing with an alternative of choice.

Complete the selling process with a follow-up plan. For example, "I'll visit you next week when your order arrives so I can train up the salespeople and talk to you about some ideas I have for displaying the new items.” Use the follow-up session to cement the relationship.

When you are passionate about helping your customers get the most from your goods or services and empower them to make good decisions and take action on their decisions, you will be viewed as a trusted consultant. Then you will know that you have mastered the highly prized skill of selling.

Discuss

Set an action plan to improve your close rates by an appropriate percentage over the next 3 months

Tip 4 - Building Trust

Selling is the process of building a trusting relationship with people. Proactive salespeople think of themselves as a partner with the customer. Their goal is service to the customer. They ask, "How can I help my client improve and grow their business?"

• They build long-term relationships with customers that result in a healthy sales dependency, verses short-term quick in and out approaches
• They understand that people have comfort zones and want to develop a relationship with someone who is dependable and meets their needs. In this way, the relationship becomes more important than the product or service.
• The relationship actually becomes a competitive advantage for the salesperson and a real benefit to the customer.
• The customer buys the salesperson, as much if not more, than the actual product or service. Trust is built by showing competence to get the job done right, better than competitors. The character, integrity and honesty of the salesperson builds trust.
• Trust is also built through frequent communications. The proactive salesperson contacts his or her customers on a regular basis always making sure there is value to the customer in the call. They inquire about the needs and thoughts of their customers. .

Discuss times when your clients trust has been eroded and create actions plans to prevent such problems in the future

Tip 5 - Stand out from the crowd

Proactive salespeople stand above their competition by:

• Sending thank you notes
• Doing something different and special
• Understanding customers on deep levels
• Handling complaints promptly with empathy
• Being extremely dependable
• Offering great customer service
• Showing sincere appreciation
• Valuing their customers

Brainstorm ways you and your team can stand out.

Tip 6 - Understanding why people buy

The proactive salesperson understands why people buy. The root of any buying decision is based on an emotional response that is based on perceived value or filling a need. People may rationalize a decision to buy, but buying is determined on an emotional level. This is especially important to understand given the amount of options buyers have. Many times, the only factor that differentiates a product or service is what best appeals to the buyer’s emotions.
People buy based on benefits defined by them, not by their salesperson. Those benefits are perceived differently by each customer based on what will make them feel good or meet emotional needs. The salesperson will find out those real benefits and emotional needs and push the hot buttons that result in a sale. People resist buying when their hot buttons are not identified.

During the sales process a client will communicate buying signals. The proactive salesperson realizes that every thing the customer does or does not do is a buying signal. The proactive salesperson understands what is going through the mind of the customer during the sales process. The customer is often thinking the following:

• I do not have time for this.
• Can I trust the salesperson?
• I do not want to hurt the salesperson’s feelings.
• What are his or her motives and intentions?
• Is it safe to open up?
• Everything is OK the way it is now.
• What will others think of this?
• There may be a problem, but what the sale rep is offering is not the solution.
• How can I postpone this?
• The salesperson’s solution is too risky.
• The benefits do not outweigh the risks.
• There is no solution to this problem.
• How can I buy?
• The proactive salesperson engages customers in areas that bring these thoughts to the surface. In this way the sales process becomes much more effective and focused on the core needs of the client.

Create at least 25 need satisfaction questions for the team to use.