Sales and customer service. Make happy customers.

This sales course increases your chances of obtaining sales and revenue success, regardless of whether you are selling products or services, and irrespective of whether you are selling to the end consumer or another business. It reduces the uncertainty of the selling process and provides robust skills for selling effectively across a range of business situations. The course initially focuses on communication skills and flows on to a range of proven techniques to tailor to your individual style.

You will learn how to prospect, engage the customer, deliver the sales proposition by focusing on features and benefits, overcome objections and close the sale. Once you attend this sales course, you will be able to readily apply your new skills on the job. The course will transform your sales capability, give you stronger sales results as well as an immediate return on your sales training investment.

This sales course will address both emotion-based selling and price-based selling. If you are new to sales, it will provide a firm foundation for the development of your skills. If you are experienced in sales, then these approaches will assist in building on your current practices.

This course is designed to strengthen your sales performance, whether you are new to sales or an experienced professional. The robust, best practice sales process outlined in this course is applicable across all sectors.

Objectives

• Gaining proficiency in a rigorous sales process that will support you across each of your sales challenges, both for products and services.
• Ways of qualifying your customer and ensuring you are truly reaching the decision-makers, whether this is the end consumer or another business.
• How to partner with your customer to assist in achieving their outcomes.
• Build trust by asking the right questions, listening and identifying how best to meet your customer’s needs.
• Discerning the importance of selling based on emotions and benefits, rather than functionality and attributes.
• How to negotiate when the success of the sale is based primarily on price.
• How to solicit and handle objections effectively.
• Ways of closing the sale and generating additional business through loyalty and referrals.
• Ensuring that throughout the sales process, that there is adherence to ethical guidelines and corporate social responsibility.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• follow a sales process that is evidence-based for delivering successful outcomes
• sell whilst being adherent to ethical guidelines and corporate social responsibility
• ensure your sales time is spent where there is greatest potential for achieving required results
• listen for customer needs, both business-oriented and emotional
• provide a sales solution that builds trust and confidence from your customer
• negotiate successfully, especially with price
• overcome objections and close the sale
• generate referrals and repeat business, rather than relying solely on cold calling.

Content

Emotion-based selling

How to work with the customer to deliver against their needs, rather than selling “at” the customer. Building rapport, asking good questions and listening for both business and emotional needs.

An overview of ethics, thereby ensuring that there is an ethical approach to your sales effort, that is consistent with corporate social responsibility.

Qualifying the customer and identifying decision makers/key influencers

Determine where the customer is in their buying cycle and that you are truly selling to a decision-maker. When dealing with influencers, gain their support and ensure there are no “hidden” stakeholders that could veto the buying decision. Understand how to probe effectively.

Delivering features, advantages and benefit against the customer’s/buyer’s needs

The importance of delivering emotional benefits with strong functional underpinnings and advantages will be addressed.

How to solicit and overcome objections

Before closing a sale, it is useful to solicit any objections. This can be achieved by asking the customer whether there is anything preventing them from purchasing, based on the benefits presented (in other words, asking a 'trial close'). If an objection is raised, then we need to ask questions to ensure the basis for the objection is fully addressed. This course will help you use a 'trial close', then answer common objections.

Negotiation and selling based primarily on price

Helping the customer justify the cost and negotiating on price using a menu-based approach. Focusing on the unique value of your products/services so that the customer cannot make a direct comparison to competitors.

Closing the sale

Not closing the sale is one of the most common mistakes in selling. We will examine a range of different approaches for closing, then following up to build loyalty and asking for referrals.

Intended audience

Suitable for anyone involved in the sales process, whether this is for goods or services in either the private, public, or not-for-profit sectors. You may be a sales manager or a sales executive selling to external customers/ buyers or “selling” to internal stakeholders. This course is designed to meet your needs, regardless of the sector you are in or the position you hold.

Delivery modes

• Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop
• Online workshop via the platform Zoom

Delivery style

Coursework consists of mini-lectures, followed by practical exercises. These exercises include role-plays, paired discussions and group work based on case studies. There will be also an opportunity towards the end of the day, to volunteer your own sales scenario for building up an action plan based on input from the entire class.

Materials

Course materials are distributed electronically using Dropbox.