CHAPTER 8
Planning the Sales Call is a Must!
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. THE GOLDEN RULE: PLANNING
B. Plan to achieve your purpose – plan each day and do the best
II. STRATEGIC CUSTOMER SALES – PLANNING THE PREAPPROACH
A. There are many aspects of planning a sales call. effective
able to:
1. Uncover and understand the customer’s strategic needs
2. Develop solutions that demonstrate a creative approach
3. Arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement.
B. Strategic Needs – the salesperson who understands the full
range of the customer’s needs is in a much better position to
C. Creative Solutions.
1. A customized version of a product and/or service that
2. A mix of goods and services — including competitors’
D. Mutually beneficial agreements – Salespeople and customers
E. The customer relationship model.
1. Customers have strategic needs salespeople must meet
2. Both come to mutual beneficial agreements.
4. This achieves performance goals.
F. Reasons for planning the sales call:
1. Builds self-con5dence.
2. Develops an atmosphere of goodwill.
G. Elements of sales call planning:
1. Determining the sales call objective.
2. Developing or reviewing the customer profile.
benefit plan.
H. Always have a sales call objective.
1. The pre-call objective.
2. Focus and >exibility.
6. Customer profiles provide insight. It should tell you:
a. Who makes buying decisions?
b. What is the buyer’s background?
the account?
7. Customer benefit plan: What it’s all about?
b. Step 2 – develop your “marketing plan.”
c. Step 3 – develop your “business proposition,”
return-on-investment, and payment plan.
8. The sales presentation is where it all comes together –
Seven steps of a sales presentation:
a. Approach.
b. Presentation.
c. Trial close.
III. THE PROSPECT’S MENTAL STEPS
A. Attention.
B. Interest.
OVERVIEW OF THE SALES PROCESS – See the end of the chapter for the
selling process and examples of a prospect’s mental thoughts and questions