Challenges & Strategies of Successful Selling

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Challenges & strategies for successful selling

Sales & Distribution Management

Assignment I Page 1

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this assignment on ―Challenges & strategies for successful

selling‖ has been written and prepared by me, during the academic year 2010 –

2011. I also declare that this article is the result of my own efforts, and not anadaptation of any SIP/MRP/Assignments done in previous semester(s)

/Assignments done for any other course.

Subhankar Goswami

IBS Bangalore

11th July, 2010.





Assignment I Page 2

― A good basic selling idea, involvement and relevancy, of course, are as important

as ever, but in the advertising din of today, unless you make yourself noticed and

believed, you ain't got nothin'.‖

Leo Burnett

A sale is the pinnacle activity involved in the selling products or services in

return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a

commercial activity. Selling is the art of closing the deal. It is the last step in the

chain of commerce where buyer exchanges cash for a seller‘s good or service.

As MBA students, we all did our SIP (Summer Internship Program) from some

or the other company, as a partial requirement for the completion of the MBA

program. I did my SIP from IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co. Ltd, where I was

given the profile of a ‗Marketing Analyst‘. Initially, I could not fathom out the job

requirements but soon after we started having our training, it became clear that

the most important work that I was required to do was to hit the market and try

and sell its products (various types of life insurances).

Selling is a tough job. And selling of insurance products is probably the toughest

because in order to sell such a product, one has to bring out the tangibility in it,

despite the product being a service (intangible). Therefore, one needs to bolsterhis/her chance of making a sell, by resorting to some or the other strategies of

selling. Even I was no different. The various strategies are enumerated as under:

CARRY A POSITIVE ATTITUDE:

The first step of a selling process begins with having a ‗positive attitude‘.

―Nothing is impossible to a willing heart‖. Hence, taking the step forward with a

positive attitude and a positive frame of mind tends to work more often than not.

The idea is to prepare mentally.

DO A MARKET SURVEY:

When you are not sure which customers to reach out for or when no database of

potential customers is offered to you; the best possible way of hooking on to some

potential customers is by doing a market survey. This can be done by designing a

‗structured questionnaire‘ and then hitting the market for doing a survey. In this

way, you would be able to figure out the tastes & preferences of your customers.

Moreover, survey helps you to get access to some personal information of the

respondents (e.g. phone no. , address, email id etc), which would be of paramountimportance while making cold calls; which is the next step of the process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selling





Assignment I Page 3

MAKE COLD CALLS:

From the data collected through survey, you need to resort to cold calls. Cold calling is theprocess of approaching prospective customers or clients, typically via telephone, who were not expecting such an interaction. The word "cold" is used because theperson receiving the call is not expecting a call or has not specifically asked to becontacted by a sales person. The various cold calling techniques are as under:

1. Focus on the goal when cold calling: Amateurs in the selling businesswould tend to think that cold calling is all about making the sale. But itsnot. Rather it‘s about fancying a try for making a sale. The purpose is to

fix up an appointment to make the pitch.2. Prepare an opening statement for cold call: Always organize your thoughts

before making a cold call, which would avoid the common mistakes. Oneshould never ask ―Is it a good time to talk to you?‖ or ―How are you today?‖

Instead, start the conversation with a greeting, an introduction, areference point (something about the prospect), the benefits of yourproducts or service and then a transition into a question.

3. Ask for an appointment at a specific time while making a cold call: Alwayssay, ―would Tuesday 11 am be a good time to meet?‖ rather than ―Can I

get an appointment sometimes next week?‖

4. Remember that gate keepers are your allies not your foes: Be pleasant towhoever picks up the phone or is guarding the inner sanctum when cold

calling. Develop strategies to get the gatekeeper on your side. Sometimesasking, "I wonder if you could help me?" will help you get the informationyou need, such as the name of the right person to talk to or when the besttime to contact the prospect is. Learning the names of gatekeepers andbeing friendly when cold calling helps, too.

5. Make cold calls early in the morning: That's the best time to reach thedecision maker directly, and for most people, the time that they're mostenergized.

THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THE SIMILAR PRODUCTS

OFFERED BY COMPETITORS : While talking to customers, salespersonnel must have a thorough knowledge of the benefits &

loopholes of the competitor‘s product and must also be equipped

with suitable rebuttals to defend his/her product. The idea is to

be proactive and not reactive.

RESORT TO ETHICAL PRACTICES: Ethics is defined as “standards

of conduct or moral judgment......... the system or code or morals of a

particular profession.” Ethical issues arise in virtually every

aspect of selling. But for many salespeople and customers alike,there seems to be a sort of tacit agreement not to refer to ethical

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone





Assignment I Page 4

issues unless it becomes absolutely impossible to avoid doing so.

Whatever the reason, attempts to sweep ethical issues under the

rug will not make them go away. They remain hidden beneath the

surface, where they lie in wait, ready to trip up the unsuspecting

salesperson. Putting morality aside temporarily, there are twomore pragmatic reasons for choosing an ethical approach to any

selling situation — trust and credibility. Without them, no long-

term relationship with a customer is possible. Let's look at each

and see how they relate to ethical behaviour.

KEEP QUIET AFTER THE DEAL IS CLOSED: It is generally

believed that a sales person should keep quiet after the deal is

through. Sometimes, simply by talking a lot, a sales person

unintentionally diverts the mental reasoning of a customer andmay end up loosing the deal. The customer might tend to think

otherwise and ask for sometime to think before going for the

product or service.

Even though there are different strategies to guide sales personnel towards a

successful sale, nevertheless, there can be a lot of challenges that may come in

the way of success and disrupt the entire process. Therefore, some of the

challenges facing the sales persons are listed as under:

The ability to handle time & resources:

The single most common denominator in all sales people, whether they are

amateurs or those making big bucks is – time. People who become successful in

making the sale and people who fail to do so; all have the same 24 hours to work.

The only difference may be that – some may have the better education & skill

sets while others may be lacking them.

Objection Handling:

A smooth deal is really rare. Most of the customers you come across have some or

the other objections that may pose as a challenge in successful selling. Owing to

this, a salesman should be ready with some or the other solution, which would

serve to neutralize the effect of those objections, in the customers mind and

ensure that a deal is clinched in the end.

Coming to the insurance business, one of the most common objections a

salesman would encounter is, ―The policy is very expensive. The other company

is offering me a similar one at a relatively lesser price. Why would I take it from





Assignment I Page 5

you?‖ To counter attack such an objection, a statement that would work 7 out of

10 times is, ―Sir, I agree that X is offering a similar policy at a lesser price but

will they provide you the claim when it is required? I believe you take a policy so

that you get the best out of it, when it is needed. We as a company believe in

providing our customers the best in the business when it comes to settlement of claims.‖

The ability to handle failure & rejections:

Well, let‘s be true to ourselves. How so ever good you are, it still remains that you

cannot convert every potential deal into a sale. Rather, failure & rejection come in a

routine basis in sales. No one is immune to a lost sale after investing a significant

amount of time and resources. The resiliency to overcome disappointment owing to

rejection or failure is a key challenge for any salesman.

The buying (or selling process) can be long:

This is bound to happen most of the time. The reason is, we, as salesman would

not have pre-existing relationships with each and every customer. Thus, it takes

time to become ―trusted advisors‖ of our clients. Hence, early involvement may

be a distinct advantage. Otherwise, the buying (or selling) process can be long

and subject to changes in the client‘s business circumstances and personnel

before completion.

Cut-throat competition in the market:

Our company is not the only one to offer a product. There are many players in

the market who are trying to have a share from the same pie. And to make

things worse, it may so happen that all the competitors are selling products

which are of similar nature with virtually no difference in them.

For example, all the ULIP products of Insurance companies in India are as per

the guidelines of SEBI. Hence, the products of all the companies are more or less

of the same type with very minor customizations. It‘s a matter of chance when it

comes to a customer opting for a product from one company.

Inefficient communication or communication gap:

Communication can be a big barrier in the selling process. If you are not able to

communicate the value of your product, be prepared to face a rejection. In India,

where different languages are prevailing in different parts of the country,

communication gap is a common problem. Sometimes, things are lost in

translation. Consequently, the deal is lost.





Assignment I Page 6

Sometimes it may so happen that the customer is very much interested to buy

the product. But, he ends up rejecting it because the salesman was lost in a

maze, while trying to explain him the features & benefits of the product.

Relationship building with clients:

In the current economy, the pressure is acute. It does not end with merely selling

a product – you want to develop a long term relationship with your client that

would help you differentiate yourself and therefore the company. Hence, the

term Customer Relationship Management, is gaining so much importance in

today‘s business scenario. You have to retain your customers.

Is value added services attached to what you are selling?

Yes, this is a question that you have to ask yourself or the company you areworking with. Today, it is not the product that fascinates the customer and

engages him to go for it. Instead, it‘s the side offerings that attract the customer

towards your product. Competition has scaled to such heights that, unless you

are distinguishing yourself by providing some extra benefits to your clients, as

compared to your rivals, in the form of value added services; you are bound to

loose the battle.

Now, having visited the challenges & strategies in successful selling, what is itthat the company needs to do in order to overcome the selling challenges and

emerge successful in the modern millennium? Well, the companies need to go for

specialization and hire people who have what it takes to fly in the face of today‘s

challenges. Companies would also have to strike a balance between professional

& personal life of its sales force. This is important to recruit knowledge-based

workers. Finally, the company would also require a multi-lingual or a culturally

diverse work force in order to avoid the communication and cultural issues

involved in selling processes.

In short, leading sales executives envisage a tougher new world – one in which

they will be constantly challenged to identify the customers‘ most intimate but

variedly changing needs, and then to respond quickly and cost effectively – and

still execute better than the competition.

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Challenges & Strategies of Successful Selling