the science of selling white paper

Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd – www.carpedia.co.za – The Science of Selling

The Science of Selling

Werner Hess

A White Paper

The Science

of Selling

opens the

opportunity

to a

measureable

sales process


Introduction Newcomers to the sales environment may perceive the sales Newcomers to the sales perceive the sales function to be an activity that somehow comes naturally to some people, whilst others struggle to achieve success. The Science of Selling de-mystifies the elements of successful selling and reveals approaches, systems and processes that can be put into place to create a platform for sales success. An essential element in this science is that the customer is central to all sales activities. This makes relationship-enhancing processes paramount to achieving sales. The Science of Selling looks at – • Needs and value realisation • Sales systems and processes • Relationship-centred selling and relationship-based conversion • Key success factors and skills application for enhancing commitment, improving presence, and widening the scope of opportunity.

The sales

process

shouldn’t be a

mystery. It

should be a

well thought

out, purpose

designed

process that

defines how

the sales

should

executed.

It’s a simple

fact:

No apparent

need,

No sale!

No apparent

value,

No sale!


Central to the science of selling are the concepts of needs and value. It’s quite simple; if you are unable to define a specific need with a potential customer, you probably won’t be selling anything. The challenge with the concept of needs, is that it’s not exactly measureable, so that makes it difficult to put a value to how strong your customers needs are! The needs continuum is a great tool that enables sales people to envisage the strength or intensity of a need along the needs continuum.

Introducing the needs continuum…

The needs continuum starts off “cold” in other words there is a low perception of needs. It is only through effective exploring that needs may become apparent to potential customers. Many sales people have felt the frustration of simply not getting anywhere in a sales meeting. The root cause of that is that their customer’s needs are not clearly apparent. Getting to the customer needs, means that the measure of needs intensity will move to the right on the continuum, until the needs are at a “high”. Customers tend to act when the needs intensity is high.

The concept of needs

Needs: A need can be described as the difference between an actual and a desired state, while wants are desires to satisfy needs in specific ways that are culturally and socially influenced.

The needs continuum:

Low perception of needs High perception of needs Low need to act High need to act

In sales, the conversation with customers revolves around building a strong perception of the needs, and the need to act

Move the needs line from the left to the

Low Needs High Needs

The needs

continuum

helps

measure

needs

intensity


Introducing the value continuum… Customers are unlikely to commit to your offering unless they can see, or at least calculate the value of your offering. They may have a need, but they also have a choice to either live with the situation or they can do something about it, i.e. they can act on the need. The value continuum is a great tool for judging the extent to which your value proposition aligns with the customer’s perception of value. The customer will further check the value in terms of ROI and in terms of other options that he may engage to satisfy the need. Sales people are in essence agents of value!

A sale is most likely to happen when both needs and value are high. The

customer has a pressing need to be satisfied and he can clearly see and calculate the value of going ahead and buying your product or service. The sales person can use the needs and the value continuum to measure the extent to which the customer is at the ready to buy. Logically, when the needs are high and the value is high, the sale has a strong chance of going ahead. Relationship Centered Selling is based on enabling sales people through skills application, to effectively explore needs and to project the value of buying the product or service. The benefit if the relationship selling approach is that sales people can follow a step-by step selling process that enables them to conclude the deal when needs and value are high on the matrix. The conversion process can successfully be applied to selling in any environment and be personalised to a company’s particular sales environment.

The concept of value

Value:

The value continuum:

Low perception of value High perception of value

In sales, the conversation with customers revolves around building a strong perception of the value

Move the value line from the left to the

The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable

Low Value High Value

The value

continuum

measures

the level of

value

appreciation


Relationship Centered Selling is a program where sales people can learn the skills of executing the sales process steps successfully. The concept of the sales conversion process and relationship centered selling is highly adaptable and customisable to all sales situations.

The Conversion Process and sales systems Most companies don’t actually have a defined sales process in place, and rely on sales people to make their own way in terms of knowing where to find customers and how to set up meetings with them. Any opportunity is seen as a good opportunity and often a lot of time and effort goes to waste chasing deals that are not ripe for conversion. Setting up a sales process is much simpler then what most companies can imagine. In the absence of a specific sales process, a generic version can easily be modified and changed to suit specific go-to market models.

The Revenue Eco-System Acquisition System

Retention System

Penetration System

Shareholder Value

Lead Identification Lead Research Lead Classification Lead Targeting Lead Qualification Lead Conversion Lead Registration

Acquisition

Retention

Penetration

Identification

Research

Classification

Targeting

Qualification

Conversion

Registration


What makes this approach specifically effective is that the revenue streams have been defined. We are therefore able to build specific processes for customer acquisition, retention and penetration. The process design for acquisition would normally be different to that of penetration.

Introducing measurability of the sales process…. Once a process had been established, the execution elements of the process become measureable. Lead identification and research probably only moves the sale 7% down the pipeline and once a need has been established and the value is clear to the customer, then a sale is qualified and can be seen as being 30-80% complete. This kind of measurability not only makes a lot of sense to the sales person managing the sale through to completion, but it also has great value to the company in terms of quantifying the sales pipeline in terms of number of opportunities and the stages to completion. Most sales managers will find the sales pipeline invaluable in terms of planning, controlling and organising sales focus and activity levels.

Sales Process Planning

The Sales Process Planning Continuum converted into the sales metrics system:

ID Research

Register Segment Target Qualify Convert

3% 7% 10% 20% 30--------80% 100%

Now converted into measurable Pipeline Goals

The sales

pipeline

not only

has value

to keep

sales

people on

track, it’s

also a

valuable

forecasting

tool


The Golden Hour – The complex meeting system Sales people often refer to sales meetings with customers as the “golden hour” and it is indeed in the sales meeting where the rubber meets the road and the opportunity is either moved forward to the next step in the sales process, or it falls flat and goes nowhere. Not only a lost opportunity, but also a wasted activity! In general, sales managers underestimate the power of being process ready and being able to use effective communication skills to move the sale forward. The complex meeting system is a systems focused tool that provides a framework for structuring all the key meeting steps needed to successfully execute the sale. In essence the complex meeting system needs to be underpinned by a relationship focus in order to manage the sale with the best interests of the customer in mind. The system as well as the process skills needs to be relationship centered.

Introducing Relationship Centered Selling….

We talked about needs and value earlier in this white paper and how sales people should have the skills of uncovering needs and projecting the value of their offering. In structuring relationship centered selling, the needs and value continuum forms the basis on which Carpedia Consulting built the structured meeting system. The essence of relationship centered selling is to keep the customer in control of where the sale is going (without the customer actually being aware of it!). The sale is broken down into defined process steps which again are measureable. The logic applied to the process is such, that the customer feels in control of the sale and removes elements of “features and benefits punting” from the process. The relationship centred selling system is also structured in a way so that sales people can use it as a framework, injecting their own style and content into the mix. Sales people detest using a sales methodology that is rigid and makes them come across stiff and rehearsed. Relationship centered selling provides the framework for setting up the process so that both the customer and sales person can advance the sale using logical

The complex

meeting system is

the most critical

part of the sales

process ….

It is also the part of

the process where

sales people are

least prepared for

effective execution!


process steps and relaxed communication techniques. In fact the process very effectively uncovers customer’s needs and helps the sales person project the value of uncovering the needs sets effectively. In fact we like to talk about customer conversion rather than selling!

The complex meeting system – Relationship Centered Selling

Low Needs High Needs

Low Value

High Value

ConnectingConnectingConnectingConnecting

PositioningPositioningPositioningPositioning

ExploringExploringExploringExploring

ProjectingProjectingProjectingProjecting

PresentingPresentingPresentingPresenting

NegotiatingNegotiatingNegotiatingNegotiating

ConcludingConcludingConcludingConcluding

Sales people

detest sales

methodologies

that make

them appear

rehearsed and

stiff –

They would

much rather

use a

framework,

and inject their

own

personality

and content

into the

system!


Critical Success Factors

Introducing the success matrix… Attitude The success matrix has attitude, behaviour and skills at its foundation. Having a winning attitude that says “can do” and approaching the world with dynamic enthusiasm and the will to succeed lies in the hands of every sales person. While attitude is deeply ingrained and can’t easily be changed, behaviour can be changed tomorrow!

Behaviour Behaviour is simply putting attitude into action. At its foundation, behaviour is all about having clear goals and objectives. Clear goals (written & committed to) are what keeps the individual on track and results focused. The further elementary behavioural aspect that applies to sales, is to develop a plan to realise the goals and

Providing sales people with a

structured sales process, using

well defined sales systems and

being able to navigate the

complexities of a complex

meeting may not necessarily

guarantee sales success. Success

is defined by the individual.

Attitude, behaviour and skilful

execution.


objectives. The planning phase should define high value segments and quantify the number of meetings required to reach the goals. Finally, the plan should include a clear action plan to drive execution.

Skills & Knowledge Having the right attitude in place, and engaging in a defined planning process will only lead to success once sales people are able to apply knowledge and skills to the interface, in order to convert customers successfully. Knowledge amounts to the sum total of what is known about the market place, products, competitive offerings, and sales policies and procedures. Skilful application of the conversion process (relationship centered selling) is the final element that ensures individual success. Sales people capable of combining a great attitude with skilful execution, leads to the all elusive quality of presence being nurtured. When combining skills with behaviour, more and more opportunities will open up, and finally, being able to combine a great attitude with the right behaviours will lead to the level of commitment required to succeed.

Coaching Coaching is perhaps one of the most critical elements in sales effectiveness program implementations. Having achieved a fairly high degree of measurability in terms of the systems, processes and skills development, the opportunity is now there to make coaching work, removing some of the subjective elements from the coaching process and replacing the subjective with quantifiable measures. Coaching is a key management imperative providing the opportunity not only to get out into the market, but also in terms of measuring go-to-market model execution. Managers should take the opportunity to engage with each sales person in a coaching mode, at least every quarter and use measureable coaching tools to assess progress.

No less than 4

coaching sessions are

required in the 14

week period after

training or learning

decay will be 80%!

Don’t waste money

on training, if you are

not serious about

coaching!


About Carpedia Consulting…

Carpedia Consulting is an internationally relevant management consultancy firm, dedicated

to assisting clients to improve sales and profits through the implementation of improvement

programs. Our approach is what makes us unique. The way we design, develop and execute

our programs is hands-on, solutions-based and excellence driven.

Our programs are customized to the needs of your organisation and are designed to ensure

significant and sustainable improvements are made both internally and externally – by the

sales team, for the customer.

www.carpedia.co.za

About Werner Hess…

Werner Hess has spent 20 years of his career in various sales, marketing and leadership

positions with Bayer, Triad Electronics, GE and GE Plastics before serving as managing

director of GE Plastics and Polymerland. Werner’s first experience in the world of consulting

came about when he joined Proudfoot Consulting as Director of Business Development,

which included several international assignments in Europe and the USA, leading sales

effectiveness projects for global clients. Werner’s current company, Carpedia Consulting is

a specialist niche consultancy focused on sales and profit improvement.

Werner’s latest book, The Science of Selling has just been published and reveals

approaches, systems and processes that can be implemented to create a successful sales

platform.

Werner can be reached on: [email protected]


Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd PO Box 1701 GALLO Manor 2052 Building 2 Country Club Estates Woodlands Drive Woodmead Sandton South Africa Tel: 27-11 – 258-8813 Fax: 27-11- 258-8511 Mob: 27-82-888-0228

Email: [email protected]

www.carpedia.co.za The Science of Selling is the essential, must-have handbook for all sales people, in any industry, regardless of one’s level of experience. Use this book to sharpen your approach and sales skills even further to maximise your performance and exceed your sales targets!

the science of selling white paper

Business

needs needs

needs continuum

customers needs

customer needs

concept of needs

needs line

purpose needs

concepts of needs