Either way, it is related to the same question, that is, how do salesmen visit strange customers, especially how to ask each other cleverly to get to know each other? ! Only when salespeople really master this knowledge and skillfully use it in practical work can they effectively improve their business level and ability!
1. What information do you need to know about each other?
First of all, when a salesman visits a strange customer, he must know what information he needs to know. ! Only in this way can we provide direction for how to design inquiry methods. According to our marketing practice for many years, when you face a strange customer, you need to know what is summarized in the table.
How to ask clever questions when visiting strange customers
1, you need to know the information classification.
1) Personal information of respondents
A correct understanding of each other's personal situation will help you choose the right way to establish interpersonal relationships with each other. If the other party is a business executive or company boss, the way and focus of your negotiation with him will naturally be different.
2) Company profile of the interviewee
Understand some basic information of the customer company (such as the establishment time, history, shareholders, business philosophy, network, brand name, distribution performance, etc.). ) will help you evaluate whether the customer's resources are suitable for your agency requirements and whether the two sides have the possibility of long-term strategic cooperation.
3) What brand is the agent?
If customers have represented similar products in the past, it is helpful to know what customers really want and don't want when choosing new products.
4) Motivation and thinking of accepting new products
Asking about each other's motives and ideas for accepting new products will help you to further evaluate the possibility of cooperation between the two parties and formulate a very targeted negotiation strategy.
2. Be good at grasping the initiative and asking the right time;
Sales staff should not only know the above contents from customers, but also know how to grasp the initiative and opportunity of asking questions. I have noticed that some salesmen are often "anti-customer-oriented" when answering the phone or visiting strange customers: customers know everything about their own company, including the conditions of cooperation, but salesmen still don't know what the main business of the other company is, as well as the real ideas and actual needs of cooperation.
Therefore, in order to avoid this situation, salesmen should be good at grasping the initiative of asking questions. Before fully grasping the information of the other party, if the other party wants to know the details of the cooperation, the salesman should avoid talking about the details, but perfunctory a few words, and then continue to ask questions to the other party when answering.
Because only when the other person doesn't know you, the information you learn from him is more real. Once the other person knows your situation first, when you ask him a question, his answer is often selective and deceptive. Therefore, in practice, salesmen should not only know the relevant information of strange customers, but also pay attention to the timing of obtaining information, otherwise they will be easily misled by false information and lose practical value.
For example, when a salesman contacts the other party for the first time, he can use the simple greeting time to get the information of the other party.
Case: Use greetings to get each other's information
1) When visiting a strange customer:
Say hello first, ask the other person's name and position actively, and exchange business cards actively at the same time.
Example:
Shop assistant: "hello, are you Mr. Zhang?" (or your name? ) "(handshake).
Customer: "Hello, I'm sorry, the manager Zhang is looking for is busy, so I'll talk to you first! I am the sales manager of the company. My surname is Liu. "
Salesman: "Hello, Liu Jingli, nice to meet you! This is my business card. Ask you more questions in the future! "
Liu Jingli: "You're welcome. Let's sit there first and get to know each other first. "
2) When answering a phone call from a strange customer:
Say hello and take the initiative to ask the other party's name, company name and position, location, contact number, what brand is the main agent now, etc.
Example:
Salesman: "Hello, may I have your name? Which district are you in? "
Customer: "Hello, my name is Liu, and I'm in Changsha."
Salesman: "Hello, Mr. Liu, which company are you from in Changsha? What business do you mainly do? What's your name? "
Customer: "We are Changsha Famous Cosmetics Sales Co., Ltd., and I am the sales manager of the company. We are mainly the general agents of several cosmetics manufacturers in Changsha. "
Salesman: "Hello, Liu Jingli, nice to hear from you, and nice to meet you! I have been to Changsha. I wonder what brand your company mainly represents? "
Liu Jingli: "You're welcome. We mainly represent two brands, one is XX in Guangzhou and the other is XX in Shanghai. "
Salesman: "Oh, how are you getting along in Changsha now? What are the main channels for sales? "
Liu Jingli: "Not bad. Mainly for the channels of specialty stores, but also for the counters of shopping malls. Shopping malls are mainly to shape the image. "
Salesman: "Oh, what kind of store do you usually distribute goods in?"? Is there a promotion? There are several counters in the mall. "
Liu Jingli: "Specialty stores have certain brands of cosmetics, which will be promoted in the first three months, but manufacturers should have material support.
We have counters in five shopping centers. "
Salesman: "Great, the operation mode is very close to our company?"
Second, the common way of asking questions:
Of course, questioning is skillful, and it is unlikely to be exactly the same as the case mentioned above at any time, so when asking questions to strange customers, we should also pay attention to the way of asking questions. At present, there are two common forms of questioning in marketing: open questioning and closed questioning.
1, open query demonstration:
Open inquiry methods can be divided into "direct inquiry" and "indirect inquiry", which are generally suitable for the first contact with customers. When there are not many topics, they can lead to many topics and information that are beneficial to salesmen and will not be cold.
For example: Want to know what brand the customer represents?
1) Ask directly:
What brand does your company represent now?
2) Indirect inquiry:
I don't know what channel your business tends to. What brand do you represent at present?
For example, I want to know what the other party thinks of our products.
1) Ask directly:
What do you think of our products?
2) Indirect inquiry:
The main feature of our company's products is that they have "selling points" Many customers have this view. what do you think?
For example, I want to know the motivation of the other party to accept the new brand.
1) Ask directly:
What new brand do you want?
2) Indirect inquiry:
Some dealers want to pick up a new brand after the channel is relatively stable, because the new brand is profitable. What are your thoughts on choosing a new brand?
Through this way of asking questions, you can get the real thoughts of the other party very efficiently, and the salesman can also grasp the interests and concerns of the other party according to the answers of the other party, which is more targeted in the negotiation.
2. Closed investigation
When you can't make an accurate judgment on the customer's intention, you need to use this method to get the final idea of the other party. Such as yes or no questions, such as multiple-choice questions. Remember not to use this way of asking questions at the beginning, because the answer to this question is very simple, which can easily lead to silence without topics.
Demo:
1) Query about "No":
Example 1: "Are there any plans to receive new products in the near future?"
Exodus 2: "Do you think it is very important that the payment of the manufacturer can be settled on a monthly basis?"
2) For example, "substitute" query:
Like a classic story, "Do you need one egg or two eggs?" Similarly, this way of asking questions is similar.
Example 1: "When you are looking for new products, do you pay attention to the personnel support of the manufacturer or the payment method?"
Exodus 2: "In that case, shall we meet tomorrow night or the night after tomorrow?"
The above are examples of two ways to ask questions. When salespeople want to avoid being silent at the beginning, they should mainly use "open-ended" questioning methods. When it is difficult to judge the other party's intention, he can adopt a "closed" way of asking questions. It is worth noting that in business practice, these methods need to be used flexibly and not dogmatically!
Third, the standard demonstration of inquiry
The author has always stressed that negotiation depends not on genius, but on preparation, and the way of asking is the same! When I was the marketing director of an international brand, I asked all the regional managers to prepare "standard questions" on these issues, and I could ask the customers appropriate questions when appropriate. The following is the author's "standard demonstration" (part) of the problems that salesmen need to know, for your reference:
1. Learn about another company.
1) The establishment time and growth history of the other company.
Demonstration: Your company gives the impression that team morale is high and business processes are well organized. I think it is really not easy for dealers to do this. How long has your company been established? Has the company always attached great importance to management? Is there anything interesting to share?
2) Nature and main business of other companies
Demonstration: What is your company's main business? Is it the boss's personal investment or partnership?
3) The executive team of the other company (sales, promotion and logistics)
Demonstration: How does your company promote its business? How many business people are there? Does the customer pick up the goods by himself?
4) Local network distribution of the other company
Demonstration: What channels does your company take in Changsha? What are the main channels? What channels are there to supplement?
5) The ideas and recent development trends of the boss of the other company
Demonstration: What is your company's recent development trend? What does your boss think of the development of the company?
2, understand each other's past agent brand.
1) What brand does the other party currently represent?
Demo: How many brands does your company currently represent? What brand is it?
2) Distribution of sales channels of agency brands
Demonstration: What sales channels does the agent's brand take in Changsha?
3) Sales performance of the agent brand
Demo: What is the market potential? What is the current monthly sales performance?
4) How do you feel about the brand you represent now?
Demonstration: Any manufacturer has some advantages and disadvantages. Your company has been the agent of Guangzhou XX brand for more than two years. What do you think of manufacturers and their operating models?
3. Understand each other's ideas of receiving new products.
1) the motivation to take a new brand.
Demonstration: Why do you want to pick up new products?
2) The concept and requirements of the new brand
Demonstration: What kind of new brand do you want?
3) New brand operation and investment ideas
Demonstration: If there is such a new product, what will you do after taking it? In what way?
The above are demonstrations of direct inquiry, and salesmen can prepare flexibly according to their own needs. Only by mastering the information of strange customers can the salesman's negotiation be "targeted" and "accurately strike" the interests and concerns of customers!
Strange customers will no longer be strangers.