Sales Training at CMC Ltd.

Learning & Development Partner

Debashish Brahma

Strategic Management Consultant.

Objectives of this Program

1. To make the participants aware of the different aspects of selling and the buyers’ prospective enabling deeper understanding of customers’ appreciation

2. To imbibe in the participants’ certain behavioral skills to make them more effective in their sales function

Methodology

Concepts session

Simulated games

Group tasks

Psychometric instruments

Setting the Agenda

• We generally learn :- 10% of what we read- 20% of what we hear- 30% of what we see- 50% of what we see and hear- 70% of what we discussed with others.- 80% of what we experience personally- 95% of what we teach to someone else.

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Enjoy the Risk and Learn!Learning happens outside your comfort zone!

MAXIMUM LEAD GENARATIONIN B2B SALES

New Concepts Of Lead Generation

Core Sales Mantra

‘Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind.”“If YOU are not in the sight of your CUSTOMERS, YOU are not in theMIND of your CUSTOMERS.”By Late Professor Theodore Levitt.

Current Account Information 1. Account name: 2. Account address: 3. Phone 4. Type of business: 5. Number of years in business: 6. Estimated sales volume (total) : Estimated annual purchases from us: 7. Sales potential this year: What do you feel will be our greatest obstacle to achieving

this goal:

Account Mapping-I

Account Mapping-II

8. Have we had problems with this account? If so, what has been the nature of the problems

(delivery, billing errors, quality, post sale service, other) and how have they been resolved ?

9. Other suppliers: 10. Years of repeat business: 11. What is the key determinant in their buying decision

(quality, quick shipment, discounts, price post sale service)?

12. In what areas of our performance do you feel we can do a better job?

13. Do you feel that this account now requires a visit of visits from executives of our company?

14. Does the customer have plans for expansion? 15. Does the customer plan on becoming part of

a merger or acquiring other companies? 16. Does the customer plan on adding new

products to the existing line? 17. Have you read a report on this account? 18. What is the account’s credit rating?

Account Mapping-III

Account Mapping-IV

Buying decision Information-Very Important. 19. Buyer’s influence in purchasing decision: 20. Key influence in decision/Managing

Gatekeepers. 21. Other people involved in final decision: 22. Length of buying decision: (Sales Cycle Time) 23. Do they use a buying/purchase committee? 24. Meeting day of buying/purchase committee: 25. Types of sales presentations least and most

preferred: Tuning according to account’s need.

Major Decision makers 26. Name: Nickname: Title: 27. Secretary:

28. Social style:

29. Home address:

Account Mapping-V

Competitive Differential Advantage (CDA) Analysis

Product 1. Versatility 2. Efficiency 3. Storage 4. Handling 5. Appearance 6. Design 7. Mobility 8. Packaging 9. Life expectancy 10. Adaptability

Service & Deliverables :1. Delivery 2. Inventory 3. Credit 4. Training 5. Merchandising 6. Installation 7. Advertising 8. Financial 9. Maintenance10. Guarantees

Competitive Differential Advantage (CDA) Analysis

Source1. Time established2. Industry standing 3. Marketplace reputation4. Community image 5. Location 6. Labor relations7. Size8. Source of supplies9. Financial soundness10. Policies and practices

Competitive Differential Advantage (CDA) Analysis

Competitive Differential Advantage (CDA) Analysis

People 1. Personal knowledge and skill. 2. Knowledge and skill of support personnel. 3. Integrity and character. 4. Availability for emergencies. 5. Sophistication on the prospect’s industry. 6. Standing in the community. 7. Flexibility of call schedule. 8. Mutual friends. 9. Interpersonal skills. 10. Cooperation.

Preparing a Competitive Differential Advantage (CDA) Analysis

Product Your Co. Competition Service Your Co. Competition Versatility Delivery Efficiency Inventory Storage Credit Handling Training Appearance Merchandising Design Installation Mobility Advertising Packaging Financial Life expectancy Maintenance Adaptability Guarantees

User Friendliness.

Products/Services Out Sourced.

Source People

Time established Personal knowledge and skillIndustry standing Knowledge and skill of sup-Market Place Reputation port personnelCommunity Image Integrity and characterLocation Availability for emergenciesLabor relations Perception in the prospect’sSize industry.Source of Supplies Standing in the communityFinancial Soundness Flexibility of call schedulePolicies and Practices Mutual friends Interpersonal skills Cooperation

1) Order, purpose and coherence: A sense of direction that occurs by intent rather

than out of habit. -There is a master plan shared by all members of

the organization that includes common goals and objectives to facilitate coherent mutual action.

2) Efficiency and objectivity: Growing out of the mutually shared master plan, the

buying-selling environment becomes efficient and objective.

Creating a positive buying selling climate

3) Customer centeredness:

It involves adapting the sales strategy and environment to respond to individual customer needs.

4) Optimism and high expectations: A degree of optimism or conviction that

success is inevitable.

A framework for interaction in the buying selling climate

GoalsRelationship Structures Rules

• Goals: Relationships form because of a goal or an outcome that each person whishes to achieve.

• Structures: Based on two conditions: a) Dominance/Submission b) Warmth/ Hostility

• Rules: For a person to make predictions about another persons behavior, rules and regulations must exist that govern action in the relationships.

Components of Relationship Interaction

Exploits, boasts

competes

Attacks aggressive

Pities, takes Responsibilities

helps

affectionate

Skeptical, wary

Bitter, suspicious

Compulsively loving

respects, trusts

clings, conforms

Dominance

Warm

thHo

stilit

y

Submission

dire

cts

dom

inan

tssu

bmits

shy

Mod

est,

obey

s

Dimensional Model of sales behavior

Dominance hostile strategyCustomers seldom buy willingly.

Sales people must impose their will on buyer by superior determination and strength.

Selling is a struggle that the salesperson must win.

Dominant warm strategySales are made when customer needs are discovered and when the buyers are convinced that they can satisfy their needs by buying.Salesperson’s job is to satisfy these needs in a way that benefits the customer than companies and themselves.

Submissive hostile strategyCustomers buy only when they are ready to buy, until that time the sales person can do nothing to get them to buy.

Because persuasion does not work, salesperson’s only option is to wait until the buyer is ready to make decision, there is no other way for salesperson to survive.

Submissive warm strategyPeople buy from salesperson they like.

Once a prospect becomes a friend, it is only reasonable to expect that prospect will become a customer.

The salesperson’s goal is to make every prospect a friend.

Dominance

Hosti

lity W

armth

Sales Driven

Relationship

Driven

Customer Driven

Product Driven

Submission

Interpretation Table:

Gibbs’ categories of contrasting climates.

Supportive Climate Defensive Climate

•Equality•Empathy•Description•Spontaneity•Provisionalism•Problem Orientation

•Control•Strategy•Certainty•Neutrality•Evaluation•Superiority

The ‘Black Box’-The buyer’s mind

-Black Box represents a view of the customer’s buying behavior, although no one has ever seen a person think or feel.

- A person’s mind controls the person’s needs, feelings and thoughts.

Stimulus

What the salesperson says or

does

The Black Box thinking or feeling

What the customer says and

does

Behavior activities

Output

3 sets of needs are involved in making a buying decision.

a) Personal: Social-affiliative/ status needs

b) Business: Requirements by the customer’s firm for the salesperson’s products or services.

c) Task: Items and conditions that are required for individuals to perform their work.

Buying Needs

Buying Motives

Buying motives is like an onion.-1st –External layer (visible): Features or factual

characteristics of the product or service.

-2nd Advantage/performance.

-3rd Benefit/satisfaction derived from advantages of the feature.

Rational Motives Objective and logical information

Buying decision with respect to industrial products vis-à-vis consumer products

Emotional Motives Feeling of self-worth and self-fulfillment

Inclusion, control and affection

4 Components of a sales image

1) Self awareness: research has shown that –losers mentality rehearse their past defects, while winners review past victories.

Eg: just before the crucial sales call, the successful salesperson mentally reviews why he/she will get the contract, while losers busy themselves with inventory of why their product/ service isn’t right for their customer.

2) Self acceptance: the degree to which a person likes and is satisfied with the self in the role of a salesperson.

Achieve and maintain self acceptance by repeating affirmations or positive thoughts.

I am competent I am creative I deserve respect I own this day

3) Self actualization: The process of selecting

specific aspects of one’s sales image that one wants to change and then selling personal goals and devising a plan for accomplishing them

4) Self disclosure: Verbally communicating information about self to another person.

The Johari Window

1 OPEN

2 BLIND

3 HIDDEN

4 UNKNOWN

Not

kno

wn

to o

ther

sKn

own

to o

ther

s

Not known to selfKnown to self

Emotions Emotions that are extreme in intensity and

duration are debilitative emotions and opposite is facilitative emotions.

Rational vs. Irrational thinking:Rational thinking results in logical conclusions and

promotes facilitative emotions.Irrational thinking leads to illogical conclusions and

nurtures debilitative emotions.

Setting goals for self improvement

Goal Statement: I want to take charge of the opening of a sales interview with a new customer.

Behavioral description: 1) I will smile and extend my hand when I first meet a

customer. 2) I will offer a verbal greeting, using the customer’s

name. 3) I will be observant of the surroundings and comment

on them in a complimentary way.

Behavioral description: 4) I will review my notes before the interview

and make a positive comment about one aspect of customer’s company record.

5) I will be prepared to state my purpose for requesting the interview and will do so within the first minute of the interview.

Transforming resistance into opportunity

1) Direct Denial: To be used with extreme caution although this type of

resistance is caused by having incomplete or inaccurate information, people do not like to be told that they are wrong.

2) Indirect Denial: - ‘Agree and counter’ or ‘yes-but’ method. - The salesperson appears to agree with the prospect

and then counters with a qualifying statement.

3) Boomerang It takes the prospect’s resistance and gives it

back to the prospect as a reason for buying.

4) Superior Benefit Also referred to as the compensation method

is designed to present a benefit that will outweigh the prospect’s particular concern.

5) Trial Offer -Used for those buyers who may resist

because they haven’t used either the salesperson’s product or services or a competitor’s product or service.

-It offers them the opportunity to use the product without making a buying commitment.

What is Negotiation?• Arriving at a shared solution to a problem – a

solution that benefits all parties involved• More than getting the best possible price on a deal• Most beneficial negotiations result in mutually

beneficial, enduring relationships in which parties trust one other and share expectations about how their deals will work out in practice as well as on paper

Developing negotiation skills• Should we negotiate?• What is my approach to dealing with conflict?• How do I manage myself?• How do I prepare for negotiation?• How do I deal with issues in negotiation?• Understanding principled negotiation• Identify your BATNA and ZOPA• Reflect, practise, reflect…

Understanding conflict

• What is conflict?• What are the conflict situations that I

encounter?• What the different modes of dealing with

conflict?

Sources of Conflict• Short term pressures vs. long term goals• Differing perceptions, values, cultural norms• Ambiguous jurisdictions• Lack of clarity• Competition for limited resources• Needs (power, status, ego, recognition, self-worth)• Parochial & regional attitudes• Change – some not willing to let go of the old, others

moving too quickly• Others???

CONFLICT RESOLUTION MODE

COMPETING

COMPROMISING

ACCOMODATINGAVOIDING

COLLABORATING

CO-OPERATIVENESS

CO-OPERATIVEUN-COOPERATIVE

ASSERTIVE

UNASSERTIVE

ASSE

RTIV

ENES

S

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Distributive Negotiation

• The structure of single issue negotiations• The negotiation process• Parties perceive themselves as having

directly opposing interests• “Fixed pie” What one party gains, the other

party loses• Usually a single interest, e.g. buying a car

Integrative Negotiation• Referred to as ‘win/win’ negotiations• All sides look for a solution that maximizes joint gain and

allows everyone to walk away feeling like they won something

• Involves looking at the issues being negotiated from multiple angles, considering multiple issues at once (thus allowing for trade-offs)

• Honestly try to ‘expand the pie’ rather than divide it• If you see the possibility of doing business with the other

party in the future • Fosters trust and good working relationships, and leaves all

parties feeling good, not just one

Mixed motive negotiation

• Expand the pie and meet the needs of all or most parties as much as possible and then claim an appropriate share

Resistance Point (Reservation price)• The ‘worst’ price at which a party is willing to settle• Party is indifferent between a settlement and

impasse• If negotiated settlement is better than a party’s RP,

should take the deal• If negotiated settlement is worse than RP, should

walk away• To the extent the negotiated settlement is better

than RP, that party benefits from the deal

Resistance Points

• Dealer wants to sell car for at least Rs.8,00,000 (Dealer’s costs - $7,20,000)

• Buyer wants to buy car for no more than Rs.10,00,000

BATNA• How do I determine your RP?• Consider your Best Alternative to a Negotiated

Agreement (BATNA)• What’s your best option if you don’t make this deal?• Adjust RP for any differences between the BATNA

and the current alternative• Bargaining power determined by attractiveness of

your BATNA

Zone of Potential Agreement (ZOPA)• Range of values between the parties’ RPs• Range within which a mutually acceptable

settlement can be made• Both parties can do better than their respective RPs• Width of ZOPA is amount of surplus (joint profits) to

be distributed in the negotiation• Bigger ZOPA = more likely to find mutually

acceptable agreement

ZOPA example

• Dealer and buyer can settle on any price between Rs.8,00,000/- and Rs.10,00,000/-

• They would come to an agreement

800000Dealer’s

RP

1000000

Buyer’s RP

ZOPA

De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

• White : information hat• Red : emotions hat• Yellow : optimism hat• Black : pessimism hat• Green : growth and possibilities• Blue : process hat

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DE BONO’S SIX THINKING HATS

SIX HATS

- INFORMATION- FACTS- DATA

- CREATIVITY- GROWTH- NEW IDEAS- OPTIONS

- BENEFITS- LOGIC- POSITIVE VISION- FEASIBILITY

- EMOTIONS- FEELINGS- HUNCHES- INTUITION

- CRITIC- RISKS-OBSTACLES-CAUTION

- OVERVIEW- CONTROL- DECISION- PROCESS

BLUE WHITE

BLACK GREEN

YELLOWRED

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A couple of puzzles

• 1) You enter a parking lot and see a woman walking towards you,seemingly with an utensil in her hand.its a frosty morning and you see a row of cars and immediately know which one is hers. How?

• 2) A woman walked into a room and saw a new picture there. She immediately knew that someone had been killed. How?

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Answers to the puzzle

• 1) The woman had just de-frosted her windscreen and returning the kettle.

• 2)She just entered the room and saw the chalk picture outline of a body on the floor.It was the site of a recent murder and the chalk marked the position of the body.

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Solution Selling A Complete Paradigm Shift.

Change Your Thinking Pattern radically about sales.Align with our prospects/customers as a Solution Centric Organization.Do a introspection where we stand.What Fine tuning that we require to get the Opportunity.How to do the Ice Braking.Use the end to end value delivery systems.Develop all your Core Competencies and strengthen your strength in Sol selling.Solution Selling has got tremendous potentials in IT & ITeS market globally.Solution Selling is the tomorrows BUZZ-WORD.The margins are high , customer intimacy and cultivations are high.

In solution sales, Sales & Cross Functional Teams must have the empathy with the prospect’s problems. “MAPPING & ANALISYS Of The Problem” Properly is the most important task, after they have to identified the EXISTING situation and the “Rooms For Improvement”. We are willing to give the RIGHT solutions for the problem. We will use our “Core Competencies” and “Competitive Advantages” and to the HILT. Bring in all your past “References, Experiences, Knowledge, Expertise, Multiple Skills” of your firm to address the solution to the problem. REMEMBER IT’S A TEAM WORK. Continuously Update YOURSELF KNOWLEDGE WISE. Remember: In IT &ITeS solution business Knowledge obsolescence is very HIGH. It's Your ABSOLUTE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY & your Survival depends on your Individual Core Competence and that’s your Knowledge of Your Solutions.

After Identifying the prospect’s problem, draw FLOW CHART (SADD) carefully with a complete “As Is Where Is” to “Where They Want To Go ”, it may be e-enabling the firm, up gradation of an existing systems, implementing ERP, implementation of CAD/CAM solution, CRM,TQM ,Remote Access Solutions, KPO/BPO. Understand exactly where is the GAP they are facing and our solutions are there to fill up their GAP which is their problem," We Can Develop” the skills and can give a solution to our prospect. In the ideal situation the prospect’s problems is within our firm’s “FOCUS AREA”, it requires little bit tailoring, and “We can give the solutions” with substantial “ VALUE ADDITIONING PROPOSITION” . PRO-ACTIVENESS :Start coordination with your “PRE SALES” & “Knowledge Domain Experts", even “After Sales Service Dept “discuss at length, “COMMUNICATE ,ENGAGE & INVOLVE”.

Always seek an appointment with your prospects, and make a complete HOMEWORK about the prospect’s business nature or in which verticals/industry the prospect belongs. The prospect position in the industry, both market share wise , and financially, and industry perceptions about the prospect’s firm. In a typical B2B solution sales these are pre –requisite. If “WE do our HOMEWORK properly” before meeting the prospects, it’s become easy for us to understand the EXACT problem and identify the CRITICAL ISSUES to give the EXACT/Correct solutions. Let him feel that YOU are eager and ENGAGED to solve his problem from your “Body Language". REMEMBER: Every situation in B2B sol selling is UNIQUE they are not IDENTICAL. Situational Analysis is VERY important in IT & ITeS SOLUTION SELLING.

Listen to your prospect’s problems if possible write it down point by point. Remember: Even in B2B solution sales 80% is listening 20% is talking. Let the customer spell out all the difficulties he is facing with his existing IT infrastructure and the industry competition.Keep your sales “Call by Call” OBEJECTIVES clear :” Understand ,Understand ,Understand the prospect’s real problem , YOU and YOUR TEAM is the part of their solution” .Today with increased complexity and competition of selling B2B solutions – more people are involved in evaluations, more educated buyers for IT & ITeS, and as a result, longer sales cycles time. Smart prospects in B2B sales will give the BUDGET ball park & A PRICE TARGET to YOU.Remember: Prospects will tell the same problem to other VENDORS, who may be your COMPETETORS. As you have made HOMEWORK about your prospects, the PROSPECT too have made his HOMEWORK about your firm ‘s capabilities , skills and about your COMPETETORS.

(1)Diagnose what’s important to your customer in their business? (2) Analyze the “comfort zone”: PARTNERS ( IBM, CISCO,ORACLE,SAP…)you know; and your “stretch zone” PARTNERS and Power PARTNERS you should know, and what’s important to both of them? “LOCK THE CASE WITH YOUR PARTNERS AT THE EARLIEST”(3) Analyze your business activity past, current – the value contribution you’ve delivered and future revenue and profit potential you are expecting from this SEGMENT/Prospect.(4) Think and plan on how to exploit your business potential when matched with knowledge of your customer, your offerings, and your relationships? Even building NEW relationships. Analyze the prospects/customers LIFE Cycles. CULTIVATE CUSTOMERS.(5) Link potential future opportunities into the early steps of your sales execution process? Keep in mind the Opportunities & your TOP LINE and BOTTOM LINE TARGETS.

In a B2B Solution Selling ,buyers looks two things from sellers:

Situational Knowledge… they want to know that you understand their challenges, within their industry and within their specific organization…that you can see the world from their viewpoint

Capability Knowledge…they need to know that you understand how your capabilities can uniquely empower them to solve their problems, not just knowledge of your products and features .

Sales Presentations In B2B IT & ITeS Solution Selling.One of the best ways to demonstrate our Situational and Capability Knowledge is to give sales presentations that accomplish these two things throughout the entire presentation.(1)Capture your audience’s attention in a right away in an unpredictable way that draws them into the moment. (2)Demonstrate situational knowledge by delivering a custom presentation that shows an understanding of their unique challenges /problems and can SOLVE and do adequate Value Addition.(3)Don’t kill them with PowerPoint. Break up your presentation by utilizing white boarding, flip chart use, video clips or storytelling… every audience likes to be entertained. (4)Use bullets and expand on the information, or better yet demonstrate it on a flip Remember people buy from people NOT slides. YOU are the presentation. YOU are most IMPORTANT.

OUT OF THE BOX THINKING: The approach Sybase employed is more challenging to the customer’s thinking: Instead of aligning with a company’s prevailing outlook, it provides a new angle on the situation.(“You are thinking about your business along the following conventional lines....But the way we see things, that puts your success in jeopardy. You should be thinking about it in this completely different way....”) Whereas solution-selling salespeople listen for “pain points” that the customer can clearly articulate, provocation works best when it outlines a problem that the customer is experiencing but has not yet put a name to. “Don't Worry Be Happy” give this feeling to your prospects when YOU go for OUT OF THE BOX.

Negotiation is a critical part of the sale. In fact, one can execute perfectly during the sale but at the very end leave large amounts of money on the table. Especially in today’s IT & ITeS challenging market conditions. First and foremost make sure that you are negotiating with the right person. One of the challenges we face is entering a negotiation with lower level procurement people. These people are not your friends. They are usually very well trained and often very shrewd negotiators. On top of that, they do not understand nor do they care that you will bring value, or that your offering is strongly differentiated, or even that their very own company has business pains that will only be solved by your solution! All they care about is getting a better price. Talk about QUALITY ,VALUE ADDED SERVICES & VALUE FOR MONEY ,FAB talk about YOUR UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITIONS.YES the Customers are DEMANDING,FASTIDIOUS,PRICE CONSIOUS .They want Satisfaction. But, SATISFACTION Costs. Always KEEP YOUR DOOR OPEN FOR Re Negotiations.

Negotiation-II. Typically 85% of a customer’s budget gets allocated to existing commitments and only 15% remained for discretionary spending. With less money to go around, proposals are subjected to higher levels of review in buying organizations, and the managers you’ve traditionally dealt with are no longer the decision makers.Learning to Be Provocative: Underlying provocation-based B2B selling is the idea that the vendor should help the customer find investment funds even when discretionary spending appears to FUNDS may have dried up or FUNDS not allocated, HIGHLIGHT the ROI. Make them understand that many a times prospects/Customers are “PENNY WISE POUND FOOLISH". Go a Step AHEAD and make the FINANCERS available with them. YOU identified a process that is critical for customers in the current business environment, developed a compelling point of view on how it can break and what that meant in terms of cost, and then connect the solution to the PROBLEM that the prospect is looking for .

It’s often been said that B2B selling largely consists of developing a relationship with the customer. Most sales pros think that a customer relationship should like a friendship. Wrong. You

can be friends with plenty of people and never get any business from them.

Preparing a F A B Analysis

Features (Facts)

Advantages (Performance Characteristics)

Benefits(Satisfaction Derived)

Thanking You.Debashish Brahma .

Strategic Change Management Consultant.

Kolkata –India.