Deck 8: Addressing Concerns and Earning Commitment

Question 1

THOMPSON ENGINEERING
Tyler Houston sells for Thompson Engineering. He has been calling on Hudson Distributors for close to two years. Over the course of 15 calls, he has sold nothing to date. During an early call, Houston had Hudson's engineers in to look over and test the quality of his products. The tests and the engineer's responses were positive. He thinks that he is extremely close to getting an order. Houston knows that Hudson is happy with its present supplier, but he is aware that they have received some late deliveries. Tom Harris, Hudson's senior buyer, has given every indication that he likes Houston's products and Houston.
Current Situation
During Houston's most recent call, Harris told him that he'd need a couple of weeks to go over Houston's proposal. Harris really didn't have any major objections during the presentation. Houston knows his price, quality, and service are equal to or exceed Hudson's present supplier.
Harris told Houston that he needed a couple of weeks to think about his proposal. How should Houston handle this?

Answer 1

Person H was happy with his current supplier. However, he was facing the problems of late deliveries. Although, Person H also used to like Person TH and his company's products; but, he didn't gave them any order. Possible reason behind this might be Person H's lack of trust on Company TE's products or his resistance towards change.
Person TH could overcome this time objection by clarifying the doubts of Person H. He should clearly ask Person H about his concerns regarding the products manufactured by Company TE. He should provide a trustworthy third party research data to highlight the quality and reliability of his company's product.
Besides this, Person TH should elaborate the shortcomings of late deliveries made by Person H's current suppliers and its negative impact on his company's profit and growth. Using the given steps, Person TH can generate trust in the mind of Person H. It would further help him to receive the sales orders from Person H's company.

Question 2

THOMPSON ENGINEERING
Tyler Houston sells for Thompson Engineering. He has been calling on Hudson Distributors for close to two years. Over the course of 15 calls, he has sold nothing to date. During an early call, Houston had Hudson's engineers in to look over and test the quality of his products. The tests and the engineer's responses were positive. He thinks that he is extremely close to getting an order. Houston knows that Hudson is happy with its present supplier, but he is aware that they have received some late deliveries. Tom Harris, Hudson's senior buyer, has given every indication that he likes Houston's products and Houston.
Current Situation
During Houston's most recent call, Harris told him that he'd need a couple of weeks to go over Houston's proposal. Harris really didn't have any major objections during the presentation. Houston knows his price, quality, and service are equal to or exceed Hudson's present supplier.
What should Houston have done during the sales presentation when Harris told him that he needed to think it over?

Answer 2

Person H was happy with his current supplier. However, he was facing the problems of late deliveries. Although, Person H also used to like Person TH and his company's products; but, he didn't gave them any order. Possible reason behind this might be Person H's lack of trust on Company TE's products or his resistance towards change. Therefore, he asked for time to go over the company's proposal.
Person TH should use the following steps during his sales presentation to overcome such objection:
• Person TH should provide a trustworthy third party research data to highlight the quality and reliability of his company's product. It would help to generate the trust in his clients regarding his company's product offerings.
• Besides this, Person TH should present detailed comparative analysis of products offered by his company and Person H's current suppliers. Thus, he can highlight the features and benefits of products offered by his company.
• He should elaborate the shortcomings of late deliveries made by Person H's current suppliers and its negative impact on his company's profit and growth.
Using the given steps, Person TH can make his presentation more effective.

Question 3

THOMPSON ENGINEERING
Tyler Houston sells for Thompson Engineering. He has been calling on Hudson Distributors for close to two years. Over the course of 15 calls, he has sold nothing to date. During an early call, Houston had Hudson's engineers in to look over and test the quality of his products. The tests and the engineer's responses were positive. He thinks that he is extremely close to getting an order. Houston knows that Hudson is happy with its present supplier, but he is aware that they have received some late deliveries. Tom Harris, Hudson's senior buyer, has given every indication that he likes Houston's products and Houston.
Current Situation
During Houston's most recent call, Harris told him that he'd need a couple of weeks to go over Houston's proposal. Harris really didn't have any major objections during the presentation. Houston knows his price, quality, and service are equal to or exceed Hudson's present supplier.
What techniques should Houston have used to overcome the forestalling tactic?

Answer 3

Forestalling includes the prior response of a salesperson to the buyer's question. If a salesperson comes across some repeated questions from his/her prospective buyers, he includes the answers of such questions in his/her next sales presentation. Thus, he/she can answer the buyer's questions before being asked by them.
Person H can use the following techniques to overcome forestalling tactic:
• He should provide a trustworthy third party research data to highlight the quality and reliability of his company's product. It would highlight the goodwill and reputation of his company.
• Besides this, he can show the customers' audio/video reviews regarding the products/services of his company. It would help to gain the trust of potential buyers.
Above steps would help to address the issues and concerns of potential buyers. Thus, it would help to overcome the forestalling tactic.