Selling

Jamie Skrbis of Citrix Systems had an important appointment with a senior buyer and her assistant at a pharmaceutical company. It had taken Jamie three months to get the appointment, and she was excited about the chance to finally demonstrate her company's new cloud networking system. As Jamie was leaving her office, her sales manager learned where Jamie was going and asked to come along. Jamie had no option but to say, "Sure." However, she was worried because his manager often took control of meetings and sometimes wasn't a good listener. When the sales team got there, the buyer, Tracey, stated that she could participate for only about 30 minutes but that her assistant, Sally, would be staying for the remainder of the time. Before Jamie could begin talking, Kyle, her sales manager, began taking the buyers through his sales binder that had a presentation in it. It began with the history of the company. Tracey politely interrupted and explained that she was already familiar with Citrix Systems, but there were certain things that she was interested in learning about their services. Tracey asked the sales team if they could produce two items for her. Again, before Jamie could answer, Kyle jumped in with, "Yes, we could, and I'm going to get there in a minute." Tracey patiently waited as he continued to take her through the company history. By now, almost 10 minutes had passed. Next, Kyle talked about the work that Citrix Systems had done for other companies. This is something that many buyers are usually interested in. However, Tracey interrupted again and said that they were really looking for a vendor for a couple of specific projects and that she wanted to see what they could do for those specific situations. Kyle replied, "Hang on, Tracey. I'm almost there! I promise to get there soon." After Kyle finished showing the work Citrix Systems did for other companies, he began to explain the benefits of working with his company because of reputation, pricing, service, and so on. Tracey asked again about the two projects, and instead of answering her questions, Kyle continued to follow his canned presentation. Tracey was becoming noticeably upset and agitated, although Sally seemed quite interested. How can you avoid a situation like this in future calls with your manager? Source: Tracey Brill; used with permissio

You're an account executive for Wells Fargo Financial in Minnesota. You had an initial appointment with a customer, June, to find out what her goals were financially. The meeting went just like a typical first meeting should go and there was a beneficial product you could create for her. However her husband could not meet with you…only the wife. After weeks of work and preparation you have a loan that makes sense. The loan meets the goals June wanted, so you have a second appointment with her… again without her husband to go over exact terms. You asked when her husband could come in and sign the loan documents and she discloses to you that her husband is not aware of the $35,000 of credit card debts the loan is going to pay off. Both the husband and wife really need to be present at the time of the loan. Legally you can call the husband and tell him about the loan application. What should you do?

Jamie Skrbis of Citrix Systems had an important appointment with a senior buyer and her assistant at a pharmaceutical company. It had taken Jamie three months to get the appointment, and she was excited about the chance to finally demonstrate her company's new cloud networking system. As Jamie was leaving her office, her sales manager learned where Jamie was going and asked to come along. Jamie had no option but to say, "Sure." However, she was worried because his manager often took control of meetings and sometimes wasn't a good listener. When the sales team got there, the buyer, Tracey, stated that she could participate for only about 30 minutes but that her assistant, Sally, would be staying for the remainder of the time. Before Jamie could begin talking, Kyle, her sales manager, began taking the buyers through his sales binder that had a presentation in it. It began with the history of the company. Tracey politely interrupted and explained that she was already familiar with Citrix Systems, but there were certain things that she was interested in learning about their services. Tracey asked the sales team if they could produce two items for her. Again, before Jamie could answer, Kyle jumped in with, "Yes, we could, and I'm going to get there in a minute." Tracey patiently waited as he continued to take her through the company history. By now, almost 10 minutes had passed. Next, Kyle talked about the work that Citrix Systems had done for other companies. This is something that many buyers are usually interested in. However, Tracey interrupted again and said that they were really looking for a vendor for a couple of specific projects and that she wanted to see what they could do for those specific situations. Kyle replied, "Hang on, Tracey. I'm almost there! I promise to get there soon." After Kyle finished showing the work Citrix Systems did for other companies, he began to explain the benefits of working with his company because of reputation, pricing, service, and so on. Tracey asked again about the two projects, and instead of answering her questions, Kyle continued to follow his canned presentation. Tracey was becoming noticeably upset and agitated, although Sally seemed quite interested. You are Jamie. What will you do now? Source: Tracey Brill; used with permissio

Assume that you are selling swimming pool maintenance services to a small hotel. Develop a series of open and closed questions to discover the prospect's needs.

You're calling on an important prospect in the paper industry and they start asking you how other mills are handling a specific problem. You know this is important competitive information and that you should not provide details about a competitor. Instead you decide to give the prospect the information, but not provide specifics (like the name of the mill you're talking about). Is that okay?

Think for a moment about trying to secure a sales job. Assume you are going to have an interview with a district manager with a consumer products firm next week for a sales position. What can you do to develop rapport and build credibility with her?

Presidential Aviation has provided charter flights to a wide array of customers, including business travelers worldwide. The company is known for its ability to cater to passengers' every desire, including gourmet meals, special beverages, entertainment while in the air, and other luxury accommodations. Santiago Diego is a salesperson for Presidential Aviation. Today he will be making his first visit to Juan Espinosa, a procurement officer at Regent Seven Seas Cruises. For more details about Presidential Aviation and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, see Case 7.1 in Chapter 7. Develop a set of open and closed questions to fully discover Juan Espinosa's needs. Sources: http://www.rssc.com and http://www.presidential-aviation.com.

Prepare a list of features and benefits that could be used in a presentation to other students at your college. The objective of the presentation is to encourage them to enroll in the selling course you are taking.

In "Building Partnerships 8.1" you read about a salesperson who admitted that he performed poorly in a sales meeting. Even though he knew what to do, he didn't do it. Why do you think that happened?

Assume that you represent your school's placement service. You are calling on a large business nearby that never hires graduates from your college. Generate a list of SPIN® questions, making any additional assumptions necessary.

Develop the FEBA for one of the features shown in Exhibit 8.8. (In Reference Exhibit 8.8)

Presidential Aviation has provided charter flights to a wide array of customers, including business travelers worldwide. The company is known for its ability to cater to passengers' every desire, including gourmet meals, special beverages, entertainment while in the air, and other luxury accommodations. Santiago Diego is a salesperson for Presidential Aviation. Today he will be making his first visit to Juan Espinosa, a procurement officer at Regent Seven Seas Cruises. For more details about Presidential Aviation and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, see Case 7.1 in Chapter 7. Develop a set of SPIN questions to discover Juan Espinosa's needs. Sources: http://www.rssc.com and http://www.presidential-aviation.com.

In which situations should a salesperson use the prospect's first name? When should a more formal salutation be used?

You're selling a new line of candy to a grocery store (choose some brand of candy). Write a list of features and benefits for the grocery store, as well as a list of features and benefits for the store's customers (the shoppers who come in and buy candy).

In "From the Buyer's Seat 8.1" you heard a buyer describe one good and one poor salesperson. What can a company do to ensure that salespeople act more like the good salesperson profiled?

"Sales Technology 8.1" told about the use of social networking to gain information and hence do a better job of gaining the prospect's attention. Look at the profiles of two of your friends or contacts on LinkedIn, Facebook, or some other social networking site. Using strictly the information you find there, what are some ways you could gain that person's attention in a sales call, assuming you didn't actually know them before the call?

"I don't need to discover my prospect's needs. I sell bottled water to grocery stores and convenience stores. I know what their needs are: a high profit margin and fast turnover of products!" Comment.