CHAPTER 8CHAPTER 8

ExaminationExamination

“To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in

the art of conversation”

“To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in

the art of conversation”

Francois de La RochefoucauldFrancois de La Rochefoucauld

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8The Examination StepThe Examination Step

The basic goal of the examination step

To confirm the salesperson’s understanding of the prospect’s/customer’s situation

To uncover the prospect’s/customer’s latent needs

If your prospect does not havesome want or need in his mind,

you don't have a prospect!

If your prospect does not havesome want or need in his mind,

you don't have a prospect!

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8Uncovering Wants and NeedsUncovering Wants and Needs

This question-asking/listening step must be psychologically structured to help determine:

The prospect's primary concern

The prospect’s dominant buying urge

“If someone speaks and no one listens, there has been no communication”

“If someone speaks and no one listens, there has been no communication”

Sometimes our egos get in the way Sometimes our egos get in the way

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8EgoSpeakEgoSpeak

Ego speak is the art of boosting our own egos by speaking only about what we want to talk about, and not being sensitive to what the other person wants to say

“…few people, other than psychiatrists and women, have had much training in listening.”

Dr. S.I. Hayakawa

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8Dominant Buying UrgeDominant Buying Urge

That inner urge or drive that motivates your prospect to take the action required to consummate a sale

Dominant - ruling or controlling

Buying - acquiring or purchasing

Urge - motive or impulse

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8A Structure For ExaminingA Structure For Examining

Before you can present your solution you must thoroughly understand the prospect’s problem

Ask buyers needs-assessment questions early in the presentation

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8Two General Types of QuestionsTwo General Types of Questions

Open-ended questions

Can’t be answered with a yes or no

Closed-ended questions

Can be answered with a yes or no

A general rule of thumb is 80:20 A general rule of thumb is 80:20

Your prospect speaks 80% of the time

You speak 20% of the time

Your prospect speaks 80% of the time

You speak 20% of the time

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8Questioning Techniques Questioning Techniques

Diagnostic and Surgical Inquiries

Inquiring Questions

Satisfied Customer Survey

The “What If” Technique

S*P*I*N (Situation-Problem-Implication, and Need-Payoff)

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Figure 8.1Diagnostic and Surgical Inquiries

Figure 8.1Diagnostic and Surgical Inquiries

NARROW

Open-ended Questions- OR -

Closed-ended Questions

Open-ended Questions- OR -

Closed-ended Questions

Diagnostic Inquiries

Surgical Inquiries

BROAD GENERAL

SPECIFIC

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8Inquiring QuestionsInquiring Questions

Inquiring questions are depth-probing questions that can be open-ended or closed-ended Use a questioning sequence

Carefully listen

Evaluate the customer’s answer

Determine the dominant buying urge

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8The "Satisfied Customer Survey"The "Satisfied Customer Survey"

The satisfied customer survey is an examination that is conducted to poll satisfied customers (not prospects) to determine why they do business with the salesperson

The salesperson reviews the survey and asks the prospect to choose which item he thinks is most important

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8The “What If” TechniqueThe “What If” Technique

The “what if” technique consists of a series of questions to help salespeople determine exactly what a prospect wants and why

The salesperson prefaces the answer to the prospect’s apparent problem with an “if”

Figure 8.2 The SPIN Questioning Strategy

Figure 8.2 The SPIN Questioning Strategy

Source: Rackham, Neil (1989), Major Account Sales Strategy. New York: McGraw Hill

Situation Questions

• Achieve fact-finding objectives

Problem Questions

• Achieve objective of uncovering• Current satisfaction

Implication Questions

• Achieve objective of developing and channeling dissatisfaction

• Have high selling impact

Need-payoff Questions

• Achieve objectives of rehearsing and selectively channeling customer attention

• Have high selling impact

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Reacting Duringthe Questioning Stage

Reacting Duringthe Questioning Stage

Question-based presentations are the link between salespeople’s ability to listen and to uncover buyer motivations

Salespeople who are empathetic are better able to understand their prospects’ motives

“Check the pulse” of prospects regularly

Remain alert for any signals that prospects may send

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8Responding to Tough QuestionsResponding to Tough Questions

When your prospect asks you tough questions

Restate the question

Ask• “What do you think?”

• “What makes you ask?”

Start with a general reply

Don’t fake it

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8How Well Do We Listen?How Well Do We Listen?

People use 1/4 of their listening capacity

People use 1/10 of their memory potential

People forget 1/2 of what they have heard within eight hours

Eventually, people forget 95% of what they have heard unless cued by something later on

People usually distort what little they do remember

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8In a Selling ContextIn a Selling Context

Put in a selling context, if you spend six hours a day with prospects, you might spend three hours listening to them. Then you would...

... Hear about 90 minutes worth

... Listen to 45 minutes worth

... Understand 22 1/2 minutes of it

... Believe only 11 minutes of it,

... Remember only 5 5/8 minutes of it

Put in a selling context, if you spend six hours a day with prospects, you might spend three hours listening to them. Then you would...

... Hear about 90 minutes worth

... Listen to 45 minutes worth

... Understand 22 1/2 minutes of it

... Believe only 11 minutes of it,

... Remember only 5 5/8 minutes of it

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8ListeningListening

Listening is a trainable skill requiring three things

1. A sense of how well you listen

2. Some motivation to improve

3. Practice

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8Listening StrategiesListening Strategies

Good listening is an art

Push something aside

Nod/tilt your head on important points

Take notes

Show your interest without interrupting

Table 8.1 lists ninetypes of poor listeners

Table 8.1 lists ninetypes of poor listeners

Which one best describes your listening style?

Which one best describes your listening style?

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8Listening versus HearingListening versus Hearing

How many people get lost because they only half listen to a set of travel directions?

Although a person must hear in order to listen, a person who is hearing is not necessarily listening

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8Stages in the Listening ProcessStages in the Listening Process

Sensing

The actual receipt of messages

Processing

Activities that occur in the mind of the listener

Responding

Acknowledgement of the receipt of the message

Ramsey, Rosemary P. and Ravipreet S. Sohi (1997), “Listening to Your Customers: The Impact of Perceived Salesperson Listening Behavior on Relationship Outcomes”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 25 (2), 127-137.

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8Three Levels of ListeningThree Levels of Listening

Marginal

Evaluative

Active

Alessandra, Anthony J., Phillip S. Wexler, and R. Barrara (1987), Non-manipulative Selling, Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Company.

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8Marginal ListeningMarginal Listening

The most basic level of listening

Recipients hear the words but are easily distracted and may allow their minds to wander

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8Evaluative ListeningEvaluative Listening

An improvement over marginal listening

Listeners are concentrating on what is being said but do not sense what is being communicated nonverbally or through more subtle verbal cues

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8Active ListeningActive Listening

A process in which the listener receives messages, processes them, and responds so as to encourage further communication

The listener is using all of her senses

Refer to Table 8.2--Habits to Differentiate Good from Poor Listening

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8Listening AttentivenessListening Attentiveness

Consider how its meaning changes when the accent is placed on different words in the following sentence:

"I never said that I needed this product”

"I never said that I needed this product”

"I never said that I needed this product”

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8Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication

More information is communicated nonverbally than through any other form of communication

Tone of voice and accents

Body language (facial expressions, gestures, and attitudes)

Choice of dress, housing, and cars

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8Body LanguageBody Language

Success in sales requires that the salesperson observe gestures

A perceptive salesperson can read a person’s nonverbal communication and accurately match it to that person’s verbal communication

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Reading and Reacting to Nonverbal SignalsReading and Reacting to Nonverbal Signals

Nonverbal signals are processed at a sub- conscious level

There are five major nonverbal communication channels Body Angle Face Arms Hands Legs

Refer to Figure 8.4--Nonverbal signals

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8Is the Prospect Listening?Is the Prospect Listening?

The salesperson needs to know whether the prospect is listening

Effective salespeople look for “buying signals”

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8Interpret Body LanguageInterpret Body Language

Pay close attention to one’s own body language

Set aside at least fifteen minutes a day to read and study the gestures of other people