Six styles of dragon slaying
Six key steps to successful sales
It has been fourteen years since I started my sales career in 1992. In the first eight years, I fought in the front, destroying the city and pulling out the village. In the last six years, I have been studying the top marketing theories and methods at home and abroad in world-class companies such as IBM and Dell. I have the honor to discuss sales methods with presidents from all walks of life in Tsinghua University (College of Continuing Education, Professional Manager Training Center) and Peking University (School of Economics and Management). I have not only gone deep into the grassroots sales departments of big companies such as Lenovo, Nokia and China Mobile, but also provided training and consulting services for small and medium-sized companies from all walks of life. I have always hoped to integrate the sales methods obtained into a large-scale case, which is my motivation to write this novel. I know that shopping malls are like battlefields, and sales is the cruelest and greatest occupation in real life. Due to the limitation of conditions, most salespeople were caught up in the battlefield without adequate training, and fought in the fierce competition with their own understanding and talent. It is not easy to win or lose. I summed up my eight-year sales experience and six-year research experience, and recorded them at the end of this book, hoping to give some guidance to those who are destined to take fewer detours in the future.
Demand, trust, value, price and experience are the five key elements of customer procurement, and the sales team must meet these five elements to successfully win the order. Together with the information collected before sales, it constitutes six key steps for successful sales. Each step contains four specific behaviors, including six types and twenty-four strokes.
The first customer analysis
The second way to build trust
The third kind of mining demand
The fourth kind presents value.
The fifth way to win a promise
Sixth follow-up service
Six-style dragon killing is the basic process of selling to big customers, and it needs internal strength as the mainstay and sales skills as the supplement, so that the sales team can be invincible in the shopping mall.
The first customer analysis
The sales team has limited resources such as sales expenses, time and energy, but unlimited customers. Therefore, the sales team must comprehensively collect and analyze customer information in order to find the real target customers and make sales plans.
The start flag locks the target customer.
End logo judgment and look for clear sales opportunities.
Development guide: the person who knows the customer information best must be the person inside the customer, and the guide is the individual inside the customer who recognizes our value and is willing to disclose information. When formulating the guide, we should adhere to the order from easy to difficult, from low to high, from point to surface, and gradually establish an information network within customers to provide customers with continuous information. When there is no sales opportunity, the focus of sales staff is to maintain the relationship between these informants. Sending text messages on holidays can maintain the relationship between informants at low cost.
Information collection: customer information includes customer information and customer needs, and customer care needs are not information, so salespeople should collect information in advance before contacting customers so as to handle them correctly. The data is the result of what has happened, so it is basically fixed, and the demand will change constantly in the procurement. Customer information usually includes:
background information
1. Customer's telephone number, mailing address, website and e-mail address, etc.
2. Business scope, operation and financial status
Current situation of use
1. Use similar products and services (including competitors)
2. Use of products and services
3. Customers' recent purchase plans and problems to be solved.
Organizational information
1. Ability and leadership of procurement related departments
2. The relationship between inter-departmental benefits and constraints
personal data
1. Basic information: customer's family, hometown, university, graduation major, etc.
2. Interests and hobbies: favorite sports, restaurants and food, favorite books and magazines.
3. itinerary: holiday planning and itinerary
4. Relationship: friends and rivals in the company.
Competitor information
1. Customer's use of competitors' products and customer satisfaction.
2. Name and sales characteristics of the competitor's sales representative.
3. The relationship between the competitor's sales representatives and customers
Organizational structure analysis: sales are people-oriented. Before starting to sell, salespeople should first pick out customers who may be related to procurement and analyze their role in procurement. They must avoid blindly starting sales without knowing the situation. When analyzing the organizational structure, salespeople should analyze it from the following three dimensions:
Level definition and description
At the operational level, customers who are in direct contact with products and services are usually end users. Although they can't make a decision on the purchase, they directly operate these devices, and they have the most say in the quality of the products. There are a large number of them, and their opinions will also affect the purchase decision. The satisfaction of the operation layer ultimately determines the share of the product in this customer. In addition, some operational personnel sometimes participate in the procurement and become the direct influencer of the procurement.
Management for small and medium-sized procurement, management may be the decider of procurement. Every customer's organization has a certain authorization, and some purchases need to be signed. For large-scale procurement, there are many departments involved in the procurement, and the management also has the right to make suggestions according to the requirements of their own departments. Although they can't make decisions, they often have veto power.
decision-making level
The main leaders of customers, making development strategy, establishing organization and optimizing operation process are their main tasks. It can be said that any purchase is based on an investment in their field of vision. Through authorization, they will entrust those unimportant purchases to their subordinates, and if they want, they will always have the final say in purchasing. When buying, they will make five important decisions: buy or not? When do you buy it? What is the budget? Which supplier will you choose in the end? Did you sign the contract?
Definition and description of functions
The department that uses products and services among customers is often the initial initiator of the purchase and the evaluator of the final use, which will run through the whole purchase process.
The technical department is often responsible for procurement planning and maintenance after putting into use. The technical department is responsible for the planning of a certain procurement field, and some daily purchases are often directly responsible by the technical department.
Supply section
Centralized procurement is an effective way for customers to reduce procurement costs, so that they can get better discounts from manufacturers. Customers in different industries have different names for purchasing departments, and purchasing/finance departments are often responsible for comparative evaluation and negotiation according to purchasing indicators.
Role definition and description
The person who initiated the procurement proposal felt that some serious problems needed to be solved, so he put forward a solution. It is often the user department, and the initiator of strategic procurement is often the decision-making customer. It may be the suggestion of employees, or it may be the strategy adopted by decision makers to retain excellent employees. Introducing the benefits of your products and services to potential buyers usually leads to new orders.
The decision-maker decides the purchasing budget, whether to carry it out or not, and the person in charge of the final supplier procurement is the senior leader of the customer.
The end users who participate in the whole procurement process are one of the important influencers of procurement. They may be the initiators of purchasing, or they may be members of the design team and evaluation team. Products and services are finally used by them, so customer satisfaction is largely determined.
Designer refers to the person who plans the purchase plan. There is often more than one designer, maybe a group. Some purchases are simple and can be purchased directly, but most purchases require careful planning and design. The designer's duty is to turn the purchase motive into the purchase index.
Evaluator An evaluator is an individual or group that evaluates the scheme of a potential supplier. They may be designers or others. The assessor will compare the schemes and commitments of various service providers according to the procurement indicators provided by the designer.
Judging the sales opportunity: If there is a clear sales opportunity, the salesperson should immediately push the sales to the next stage. If there is no opportunity for the time being, sales will stay in the stage of customer analysis, so it is an important watershed to judge whether there is a sales opportunity. Four questions can help salespeople evaluate sales opportunities: Are there any sales opportunities? Do we have a solution? Can we win? Is it worth winning?
The second way to build trust
Customer relationship is divided into four stages: understanding, dating, trust and alliance. When salespeople find that there are clear sales opportunities among customers, they use sales mix to quickly promote customer relations. Different customers have different personality characteristics, so the premise of promoting customer relationship is to identify customer communication styles. The communication styles of customers can be roughly divided into four types: analytical, enterprising, expressive and cordial.
Start logo judgment and look for clear sales opportunities.
The end sign establishes a good customer relationship with key customers.
Customer relationship development stage:
Stage definition flag activities and descriptions
The first stage of understanding the customer relationship is that the customer can call out the name of the salesperson. Common sales methods include telephone calls and visits. Professional sales image and carrying small gifts that customers like can enhance customers' goodwill. 1. Telephone: Keep in touch with customers by telephone to promote sales.
2. Visit: Meet the customer at the appointed time and place.
3. Small gifts: gifts for customers, the value of which is in China.
Within the scope permitted by domestic laws and company regulations.
Dating salespeople interact with customers, usually by inviting customers to third-party places, which is the second stage of customer relationship development. For example, hold exchanges and seminars, invite customers to visit the company, have dinner, exercise or entertain. 1. Business activities: Simple business activities mainly refer to eating and drinking tea with customers.
2. Local visit: Invite customers to visit the company or successful customers.
3. Technical exchange: Sales activities held at specific customer sites include exhibitions, meetings, demonstrations, presentations and other forms.
4. Testing and samples: provide customers with a testing environment for products.
Test or provide samples to customers for trial use.
Trust has the clear and firm support of customers, and customers are willing to engage in more private activities with sales staff at this time. 1. Various activities with customers.
Business activities, usually including dinners, banquets,
Sports, competitions, entertainment and so on.
2. Family activities: interact with customers' families and participate in customers.
3. Private activities or inviting customers to the account manager's own private activities.
4. Visit in different places: Invite important customers to visit in different places.
5. Expensive gifts: within the scope of national laws, ask customers.
Gifts that can influence customers' purchase decisions.
Alliance customers are willing to take actions to help salespeople sell, such as providing internal information of customers and arranging meetings through matchmaking. , and clearly expressed support when the customer made a decision. 1. threading the needle: customers are willing to help salespeople introduce colleagues and leaders.
2. Become a guide: provide a steady stream of information for sales staff.
3. Firm support: customers should stand up when making decisions.
Support one's plan.
Judge customer communication style:
We divide customers into four types of behaviors. Knowing the types of customers helps to determine the behavior of customers at a specific moment, so that we can respond appropriately to the behavior of others. Although there are differences in various types of behaviors, there is no difference between good and bad. There are quite a lot of * * * and overlap between the four types, and everyone's behavior in different periods may belong to any of the four types of behavior.
Behavioral characteristics, communication methods
Analytical type
Polite, confidential, logical and factual, with a strong sense of responsibility. They pay attention to accuracy and perfection. Diligence, prudence, perseverance, organization and so on are also their strengths. Their shortcomings are self-enclosed, lack of interest, unobtrusive, withdrawn and sometimes even a little unhappy. If he or she is hesitant, it means that they still need to analyze all the data. If they are too extreme, then perfectionism will become a defect. This type of people will definitely not take risks, they take pleasure in accuracy, and being accused of making mistakes is their biggest heartache. 1. Be systematic, thorough, thoughtful, accurate and dedicated. Be prepared to answer many questions and put the facts before the analysis. Recognize and admit the necessity of logic and accuracy.
Don't get too close. Don't rush it, be antagonistic.
Be prepared to explain your point of view.
3. Leave some time to think and evaluate, and use a lot of evidence.
Praise how accurate some of his work is.
Kindness type
They are dedicated, persistent, loyal and reliable. They work hard, and they will continue to work hard even if others give up halfway. I am cooperative, easy to get along with, trustworthy, quick-thinking, and a good listener. Their weaknesses include indecision, lack of adventurous spirit, often attaching too much importance to other people's opinions, being silent and often being passive. They usually don't speak, they don't defend themselves, they are too obedient, they don't cater to others, and they often weigh and hesitate when making decisions. Closed type likes stability and cooperation, while change and chaos will make her feel pain. 1. Be relaxed and easy-going. Be a good listener.
2. Leave things as they are.
3. Make specific plans according to written guidelines.
4. Predictability.
5. Always express your approval clearly.
6. Use the word "we". Praise what he or she has.
Team spirit.
7. Don't worry, don't rush for success.
Phenotype
They are eloquent, charming, diligent and easy-going, helpful, eloquent and good at communication; What they value is not the task, but the relationship between people. Shortcomings are impatience, generalities, sharp words and sometimes irrational actions. They may also be selfish, calculating, bohemian, vengeful, unorganized and prone to friction with others. The main demand is to be accepted and praised by others. They take it as their pleasure to get recognition and approval from others. Being isolated and alienated is their greatest pain. 1. Pay attention to the development of bilateral relations; Show them yours.
What are the advantages of suggestions to improve your image?
2. Warm and frank, responsive.
2. Be kind to the information, interesting things and people they want to share with others.
The desire to experience life.
4. Friendly and talkative.
5. Ask and answer with the word "who".
7. Always keep a warm, friendly and approachable image.
Aggressive type
They have lofty goals, are restless people, and are actors who are not afraid of taking risks. This kind of person is extroverted, strong-willed, methodical, decisive and pragmatic, and never twists and turns. Aggressive people focus on work tasks and immediate results, and don't value all kinds of interpersonal relationships. They may be opinionated, arbitrary, impatient, insensitive, irritable, and often have no time to take care of some forms and details. He (she) may also be demanding of others, unwilling to adopt other people's opinions, controlling, never compromising, and even arrogant and heartless. Enterprising people cherish the power, control and respect from others. Losing the respect of others, having no achievements and feeling used by others is their greatest pain. 1. Satisfy this person's desire for control.
2. Focus on the task and discuss the expected results.
3. Code of conduct, well-founded. The expression is concise, accurate and organized.
4. Learn and answer questions with "What".
Speak according to the facts, not just by feeling.
6. Don't waste time and dwell on details.
7. Provide a variety of options.
The third kind of mining demand
Demand is the core element in customer procurement, and the definition of demand is: the solutions to the problems and obstacles that customers encounter in order to realize their vision and the product requirements contained in the solutions. Salespeople must have a comprehensive, complete and in-depth understanding of customer needs and the needs behind them.
Start signing contracts and establish more than agreed customer relationships with key customers.
The customer explicitly requests the end sign (usually in writing).
Have a complete, clear and comprehensive understanding of customer needs;
1. goals and aspirations: the short-term goals of customers, such as business goals, mainly include the goals of customers' growth, profitability and asset efficiency.
2. Question: In the process of customers achieving their goals, customers encounter or may encounter obstacles related to their own products and services.
3. Solution: Help customers solve their problems and achieve their goals. Including problem analysis, overall solution, steps, use time of products and services, etc.
4. Products and services: products and services that need to be purchased in the customer's solution.
5. Purchasing indicators: detailed quantitative requirements for the characteristics of products and services in the solution.
Judge the customer purchase stage:
Key customer roles in the content of procurement stage
When the initiator of demand procurement realizes that he needs to solve a certain problem, the customer has already entered this stage. People who find the purchase demand are often not the ones who can decide to buy. When the sponsor applies to the decision maker, the procurement will enter the next stage.
source
The initiator of internal brewing submits a purchase application to the decision maker, and the decision maker makes a purchase decision, including whether to purchase, purchase time, budget, etc. decision maker
Purchasing design
After the decision-maker decides to purchase, the customer begins to plan and design the solution to the problem, and informs the relevant suppliers to participate in the competition of designers.
Evaluation comparison
According to the supplier's introduction or written suggestion, the customer compares the schemes and products of various manufacturers and chooses the better manufacturer to enter the business negotiation. Evaluator
Purchase commitment
Customers and potential suppliers start negotiations and reach an agreement on price, delivery, service, payment terms, default treatment, etc. until a written contract is signed. decision maker
Install and implement the products according to the contract, check and accept the products, assist the suppliers to check and accept them, and start using them after installation. user
The fourth kind presents value.
Sales is not just a game with customers. No matter how good the sales are, competitors may give up all their efforts as long as they are a little better. The key to presenting value lies in competitive strategy, which comes from competitive analysis.
The start sign is explicitly requested by the customer (usually in writing).
The conclusion marks the beginning of business negotiation.
1. Competition analysis: list our strengths and weaknesses one by one, analyze which customers our strengths can meet, and find out what impact our weaknesses have on which customers.
Second, competitive strategy: analyze which customers benefit from your own advantages and which customers are adversely affected by your own disadvantages. Make an action plan for each customer, explain the advantages to the customer, find solutions for the shortcomings, and communicate with the customer. When customers make a purchase decision, they ask their supporters to throw out their own interests.
Third, make a proposal: for large-scale procurement, the sales team will often provide a proposal to the customer, which should focus on the customer's needs and include the following contents:
1. Customer's background information, current situation and development trend, with special emphasis on the development opportunities faced by customers, to mobilize customers' hopes. This part should be as concise as possible and controlled within one paragraph.
2. Problems and challenges: describe the problems and challenges encountered by customers, and introduce in depth what the customer's problems are and the negative impact on the customer's prospects.
3. Solution: It includes four parts: solution overview, product introduction, implementation plan and service system. It describes the whole solution comprehensively, clearly and completely, and focuses on how the solution solves the customer's problems.
4. Quotation: classify and summarize the quotations of all products and services in the scheme, which is convenient for customers to understand, calculate and confirm.
5. Credit documents: documents that can prove that the company is qualified to bid, usually including business license, product description, company introduction, etc.
Demonstration scheme: in the bidding of large-scale procurement, it is very important to introduce the scheme to customers, and sales personnel should master favorable sales demonstration skills. In the whole process, it includes the following steps:
Step by step method
Before speaking in front of customers, salespeople should make eye contact with customers to ensure that they are in everyone's sight. If there are familiar customers or important guests in the audience, nod your head.
Attract attention at this time, everyone's attention is focused on you, and they will judge your value by your performance for one minute. You must have a wonderful opening speech to attract their attention. You can tell a meaningful story or ask them a question.
After introducing the topic, the account manager should thank the customer for his participation and welcome him.
Meaning and Value Customers come to listen to the introduction in the hope of finding valuable products, services or solutions. At this time, you should make them clear and briefly introduce them.
You must emphasize and explain your key points repeatedly in the presentation, and don't make customers feel that putting the cart before the horse. The introduction at the beginning of the speech and the summary before the end are good places to repeat your main points. The previous brief introduction can also help customers understand the main points of this conversation and make the presentation easier for the audience to understand.
Present the theme
You can spend most of your time introducing the main content, but don't jump to this part at the beginning of the presentation, because the customer is not ready at this time. In the presentation, try to summarize the content into three to five points. If there is more content, you can expand it under these three or five points and prove these points through data and wonderful stories.
The summary repeated the main points again, and naturally turned the topic to the last important part: purchasing motivation.
Reward purchase
At this point, your presentation has reached a critical moment. You should confidently use inflammatory language to encourage you to make the right purchase decision immediately before ending the presentation.
The fifth way to win a promise
Price is always the focus of customers' attention, and sales staff reach an agreement with customers around price and other commitments at this stage. Usually, for simple product sales and large-scale procurement, salespeople have different sales steps.
The graduation ceremony marks the beginning of business negotiations.
End the signing of the agreement
1. Simple product sales: usually suitable for large purchases with short sales cycle, and customers do not need to formally negotiate such purchases.
1. Identify buying signal: A customer's detailed inquiry about price, service terms, product functions and other behaviors is a clear signal that he is about to buy, and the sales staff should quickly identify the sales progress in buying signal.
2. Facilitate the transaction: naturally urge the customer to make a purchase commitment by hinting, so as to avoid the customer's resentment. Commonly used methods include direct suggestion, selection, limited time promotion, and summary of benefits.
3.Upsale: Based on the actual needs of customers, it is suggested that customers buy some related products to create the largest sales revenue and profit for the company.
Negotiation: reach an agreement with customers on price, payment method, delivery time and terms of service. Negotiations include five steps: understanding positions and interests, compromise and exchange, concession, leaving the negotiating table and reaching an agreement.
1. Division of labor and preparation: Before the negotiation, it is necessary to divide the participants in the negotiation in advance, clarify everyone's responsibilities, and then determine the bottom line of the negotiation and the expected satisfactory results.
2. Position and interests: Whether the sales staff should struggle with the price, first of all, they should know what the interests customers need at the negotiation table and the important order of these interests, and master the whole negotiation framework, which is the basis for compromise and exchange and a win-win agreement. These contents usually include: price and related expenses, product configuration, payment method, service period, arrival and installation date, technical support and service, compensation terms and so on.
3. Compromise and communication: In the negotiation, we should uphold the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, and communicate where both sides are easy to compromise, so as to achieve a win-win and mutually beneficial effect. The principle of compromise and exchange is to exchange terms that we think are not important but that the other party thinks are important, and finally reach a win-win agreement.
4. Find the other side's bottom line and concession: negotiation is the result of each side's concession, and the way and degree of concession also have a direct implication on customers, which will affect the negotiation process in the future. The principle of concession is to gradually narrow the scope of concession, so the account manager can gradually make concessions according to the following scope.
5. Leave the negotiating table: At the negotiating table, the two sides are in a tit-for-tat position, so the negotiations are often deadlocked and both sides are unwilling to make concessions. In the face of deadlock, we should pay attention to the following principles: deadlock may lead to the breakdown of negotiations, which is often a prelude to customer concessions. In the face of deadlock, one's own side should negotiate and unify its position and avoid arbitrary concessions and compromises; No matter what kind of deadlock, we should show goodwill and be willing to negotiate with each other; It is difficult to reach an ideal agreement at the negotiating table, and the key to leaving the negotiating table is an important means to get rid of the opposition between the two sides.
6. Reach an agreement: The long and arduous negotiation has finally reached the final step, and both sides may be exhausted. Customers should be patient, confirm the negotiation results with each other one by one, and record them in writing in order to obtain the written commitment of the other party.
Sixth follow-up service
Signing a contract is not the last step in sales. At this stage, sales staff should also achieve three important goals: to ensure customer satisfaction and retain old customers; Make use of satisfied old customers to recommend sales; Ensure the collection of accounts.
Start signing the agreement
Closing marks that the customer pays all the accounts.
First, consolidate satisfaction: the cost and time of selling to old customers can usually be halved, but the profit can be improved. Consolidating customer satisfaction is the basis of retaining customers. Only by eliminating the hidden danger of customer dissatisfaction can we consolidate the most basic customer satisfaction. Therefore, sales staff should monitor the customer experience from the whole process of arrival, product acceptance, starting to use and handling complaints to ensure customer satisfaction.
Second, ask for a recommendation form: using the company's promotion policy, ask satisfied old customers to provide a recommendation form for potential customers and introduce the benefits that customers can get after success.
3. Recommended sales: New customers who are recommended to old customers start a new sales cycle and gradually form a good reputation in their own customer circles.
Four. Accounts receivable: Accounts receivable usually have three reasons, and different reasons have different solutions:
1. Malicious fraud: For malicious fraud, once accounts receivable appear, it is difficult to get all the accounts receivable back even if the lawsuit is won. The countermeasure is to strengthen the pre-sale credit review, such as business license, transaction of the other party's account, etc., so as to judge the customer's credit situation. For customers with credit doubts, professional financial risk companies can be invited to intervene to avoid risks.
2. Accounts receivable due to our reasons (delayed delivery, failed product acceptance, etc.). ): We should negotiate with the company immediately to solve the problem and minimize the loss of customers before we can get the account back.
3. Customers are unwilling to pay: customers usually do not pay according to the time of arrears, but give priority to companies with strict dunning management, so the company should strengthen the management of accounts receivable according to the following methods. For customers with short overdue time and small amount, the financial department will collect them normally; For customers with long overdue time and small amount, upgrade the collection level; For customers with short overdue time and large amount, the sales staff will come to the door to collect money; For customers with long overdue time and large amount, the sales staff should negotiate with the company to adopt special payment methods.