Sales Training Articles

Sales Training : Salesmanship and Empathy

One of the simplest ways to increase your productivity as a salesperson is to tune into your buyer's point of view. When you are in tune with your buyer you have empathy. This means that you can identify with and understand their situation, feelings, and motives.

When you are in tune with your buyer everything you say or do seems to be right on the mark. The buyer gets the feeling that you really understand them and the road to a successful sale lights up like an airport runway. The opposite is also true. When you are not in tune with your buyer nothing you can do or say will seem to be right. When you push they pull and vice versa.

Master salespeople know the importance of empathy and tune in to their buyers as quickly as possible. Novice salespeople on the other hand, rarely make the effort. This lack of empathy between buyer and seller accounts for much of the negative experiences many consumers experience.

This kind of selling requires a genuine desire on the part of the salesperson to try and be of service. It is pretty easy to spot the salesperson with this kind of desire. These salespeople take an interest in the buyer on a more personal level. The empathetic salesperson asks more questions and better questions. They ask the type of questions that get the buyer to open up and talk about their situation.

Buyers like salespeople that reach them on a personal level. Everyone likes to be listened to and understood. When you demonstrate to your buyer that you are interested and paying attention they will open up to you and tell you what it will take to make a sale. Here are a few reminders to help you focus on your buyers;

• Focus your attention on your buyer. Do not allow yourself to become distracted.
  
• Look for something you like in the other person. What do you think their friends like about them?
  
• Get your buyer to tell you their situation, hopes and fears with well prepared questions.

Automobile Industry Sales Training

The overall success of the automobile industry ultimately depends upon sales. There is a huge demand for well-trained auto salespeople who have the ability and aptitude to meet the ever-changing world of technology. Dealerships that invest time and money in an auto sales training program will receive the best results with a highly qualified sales staff. A good auto sales training program provides the proper education and motivation that is needed in today’s highly competitive field of auto sales.

Auto sales training, important for both new and used car sales, is available through online courses, formal and informal on-the-job training, and through offsite seminars and workshops. Initial auto sales training should be given to every new salesman to ensure he is equipped with the necessary skills to succeed in his career. Effective auto sales training includes rewarding the salesperson with certificates and other forms of recognition in acknowledgement of the individual’s progress in meeting the sales goals set by management. In addition, subsequent training and development must be ongoing to ensure the professionalism of the sales staff is maintained. Internet forums and blogs should be accessible and made a part of auto sales training. Auto sales training forms the foundation for successful auto sales, but daily interaction and close communication between management and the sales staff further guarantees that maximum results are obtained.

Comprehensive auto sales training outlines in considerable detail the responsibilities of the salesman toward prospective buyers, while emphasizing the importance of courtesy, integrity, diplomacy, and basic common sense. The auto salesman will learn how to communicate effectively with the client, what questions are essential, and what are the ways to demonstrate the advantages and appeal of the product he is selling. An auto sales training program will guide the salesperson through each step of a potential sale, from the initial approach to the final closing of the sale. The salesperson will learn to listen to every concern of the prospective buyer and avoid the tendency to oversell. Selling takes patience and it requires a genuine interest on the part of the salesperson for his client.

Financing, or F&I, is another important aspect of auto sales training. Salespeople need to be knowledgeable of credit reporting, financing options, and the benefits of buying vs. leasing, as well as any incentives and rebates, in order to give the customer as much information as needed. The salesperson must be able to negotiate, cooperate, and suggest if he or she is to succeed in making the sale. Auto sales training will give him the know-how to do so. Auto sales training should include the latest advancements in automobile technology in order to thoroughly familiarize the salesperson with the products he or she is selling.

The top performers in auto sales are the ones who have received the benefits of good auto sales training. They have learned to listen patiently to the customer and interpret their personal preferences. Success in auto sales is based upon establishing a positive relationship between the salesman and his client. Clients today are wary of over-aggressive salespeople and have learned to avoid the high-pressure tactics of the past. After all, no one wants to buy from a disagreeable, uncooperative salesperson. The salesperson must be taught the skills of establishing good interpersonal relationships. The importance of meeting the primary goal of customer satisfaction is stressed throughout auto sales training.

The auto dealership is in the business to make money and providing the best possible training for its staff will ensure that it does. Auto sales training is mutually beneficial it is a worthwhile investment in the future of the automobile industry.

Marketing - Past, Present, Future

Marketing - A Juggler’s Art: Marketing, in more the one way, is like juggling. This strange analogy will become crystal clear if we take a close look at it. Just like the juggler the marketer too has to do these things to thrive in his business: first, he has to hook his audience; gain their attention through several jazzy tricks; and then hold their attention by still more innovative juggling. All this he has to achieve without losing balance, focus or steadfastness in the art, the industry, in the marketer’s case. In short, marketing is all about alluring, attracting and holding a collection of customers for your Company’s welfare.

The Purpose Behind: To quote the American Marketing Association’s definition, it is “an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders". If one dilutes all the verbosity and looks at it, marketing means “selling" a product. This is the prime purpose behind any kind of marketing. The “selling" is accelerated with the help of properly chalked out plans called marketing strategies.

Factors that Influence: With “selling" as the ultimate goal, marketing strategies are influenced by two basic factors: first, acquisition of customers; second, retention of the acquired customers. So every other strategy that is laid out will focus on the above two. A Company has to work closely towards achieving these two to attain the desired cutting edge over its competitors. There are also a few other objectives like creating awareness (informational and educational) about the product, brand-building and accelerating sales.

Traditional Marketing: With the world changing at every nanosecond, marketing is also reeling under a whirlwind of change. New modes of marketing like e-marketing and online marketing have evolved. Yet traditional marketing still holds sway with many corporates. Traditional marketing operates based on the following strategies.

The Four Ps- Worship them: The ‘Four Ps’ or the ‘marketing mix’ is a cliché with every marketer. Formulated by Jerome McCarthy, the ‘Four Ps’ refers to the four factors that a marketer has to consider before launching a product or offering a service. The marketing mix comprises of Product, Price, Promotion and Placement. In McCarthy’s assessment, first and foremost comes the Product-its production and management; second, the process of fixing an affordable price; third, the promotion of the product which includes advertising, branding etc and finally fourth, the placement or distribution of the product, its retailing and the process by which it reaches the customer. All these four elements have to be decided and well planned before pitching into any product launch.

Segmentation- Categorize your audience: In traditional marketing, the market is segmented into many subsets or segments depending on geographic, demographic, psycho graphic and behavioral variables. Each segment is homogenous and responds in a particular way to a particular marketing strategy. Small segments are considered as ‘niche’ markets or ‘specialty’ markets. A product is aimed at a particular segment and is launched only after thorough market research and consumer research on the segment. This assures the marketer that he is not bungee jumping but walking safely and securely on a well-laid road. Hence a product that is not needed by that particular segment is not produced. This deep analysis of the target segment is called ‘depth segmentation’. While the study of the target customer’s behavioral traits, nature, lifestyle etc is called ‘Buyer’s Profile’. With all these the marketer draws a marketing plan, which is fully geared to reach the target consumer.

Other aspects: Traditional marketing, unlike New Marketing, is Company-focused and product-based. It intends only to increase the visibility of the Company and its brand. The message conveyed to the customer is Company-controlled and motivated unlike in new marketing, which is Consumer-focused and attuned to consumer’s interests. The Company becomes the active participant while the consumer fades into the inactive and passive zone. A marketer, adopting the traditional method, will use his product’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition) to market it. USP is that unique feature which is exclusive to a particular product from a particular brand. With less number of competitors, USP-marketing is a very novel method. But in today’s world every other brand has all the features offered by its competitor. Hence the glamour of USP-marketing is fading away.

Advertising and Promotion: Marketing plans and strategies finally end in advertising. For it is advertising which exposes the product to the world and places it in a platform for the target customer to view. It gives the product visibility and helps boosts its sales. Advertising, in general, can be classified into two trends: Above-the-line (ATL) and Below-the-line (BTL). ATL covers all the advertising done through media. BTL stands for all the promotions- public relations, sponsorships, merchandising etc. In traditional marketing mostly ATL is practiced. The following media are the ATL modes of advertising: Print Medium: Newspapers, Magazines, Yellow Pages, Posters and Billboards. TV & Radio: All kinds of TV and Radio spots Other Communications: All kinds of mailers and leaflets

Traditional Marketing – Is it valid today? When the world shifts gears and operates in a faster pace, it is advisable for us also to follow its lead and take up the trend. Traditional Marketing, say many market analysts, fails to work in today’s world. The brand recall is very minimal as the customer is exposed to a variety of brands. Moreover, as every other brand is as good as its competitor, there is no particular reason for the consumer to opt for a particular brand. That’s why today’s marketer aims at 360-degree marketing - an all round marketing strategy covering all the available modes and aimed at constant brand recall. This is where online marketing offer a lot of hope for the marketer as the web reaches out to the prospective buyer in a fastest pace possible. With all these around, the question of whether traditional marketing is valid today rises.

Maybe one can nullify this question by a few well-grounded answers: Traditional Marketing is adjudged as the best method according to a national survey conducted in 2005 in the U.S. jointly by Harris Interactive and Public Relations Society of America. As per the survey, most of the general public, Fortune 1000 businessmen and Congressional Staffers voted the traditional method of marketing as the best method. Though the year 2005 belongs to a dead past now, the statement by the reputed marketer Mr. Wilson will put an end to doubting queries: “ Traditional Marketing helps because people still view them".

• Previous Posts:

• Sales Training : Salesmanship and Empathy
• Automobile Industry Sales Training
• Marketing - Past, Present, Future
• Basic Principles of Management

• Related Posts:

• Sales Cycle Analysis - A Powerful Tool
• Will The Real Buyer Please Stand Up?
• Breaking Through The Sales Barriers: Selling on Value
• Sales Lessons Learned From Selling in a Recession
• C-Level Sales Training Tip 15 - Create Confidence Necessary to Win-Over C-Level Executives
• Selling Power And The Power Of Choice
• How To Sell Online Without Selling
• Sell Your Hobby – Now is the Time!