Module 6 : Trainee Handouts

Sales Skills

Total Duration: 16 Hours

We will Learn:

1. The Art of Up-selling: Tips for Making the Additional

Sale
2. Advanced Telesales
1. The Art of Up-selling: Tips for Making the Additional Sale

Definition of Up selling

¾ The use of certain words and phrases that will make the guest feel
satisfied
ti fi d buying
b i something
thi hhe would
ld nott otherwise
th i h have b
bought
ht
¾ Up selling is easy if we think of it as a way of helping out the guest
and creating a satisfying solution to fulfill a need
14 Tips to Enhance Adaptive
Selling Techniques of Call
Center Agents
1. Gain domain-specific knowledge of the
product/service

¾ Salespeople should acquire expertise and specific knowledge

about the product or service that they are selling.
¾ They should be an information
f powerhouse and have the skills
to effectively answer any question or concern addressed by the
customers.
2. Gain specific knowledge of the customer

¾ Salespeople who personalize their interactions

and have a g good understanding g of the
customer are more effective than those who do
not.
5. Quickly build rapport

¾ Effective
ec e sasalespeople
espeop e not
o oonly
y se
sell a p
product,
oduc , they
ey se
sell a relationship.
ea o s p
They should quickly build trust and establish an excellent relationship
with the customer.
6. Personalize the interaction

¾ Salespeople who would like to excel at adaptive selling should offer

their name, build a p personalized relationship
p and tailor their
conversation to the needs of the customer.
¾ This will increase the comfort level of the customer and will facilitate
trust.
¾ They should also use the information they have about the customer
to customize the interaction and sell the most appropriate product.
7. Empathize with the customer

¾ Salespeople should understand and identify with the customer’s

needs and communicate empathy for that individual. This will
facilitate effective problem solving, selling and upselling.
8. Take control early and keep control

1. Effective salespeople should take control of the sales process and

feel confident in their abilities to lead their customer
c stomer towards
to ards a
successful sales transaction.
9. Match their behavior to the situation

¾ Salespeople should adapt their sales behaviors to the

characteristics of the customer and specific situation.
¾ For example, if the customer is in a rush, the agent should notice
that and change their sales pitch to be more concise and
immediately effective.
10. Accurately identify the customer’s needs

¾ S l
Salespeople
l should
h ld identify
id tif the
th customer’s
t ’ fear,
f needs
d and
d desires;
d i
even if the customer doesn’t directly verbalize them.

¾ Thi is
This i an extremely
t l important
i t t skill
kill and
d can be
b a distinguishing
di ti i hi factor
f t
between good and excellent salespeople.
11. Anticipate the customer’s needs

¾ Salespeople should always be one step ahead of the customer,

proactive and capitalize on opportunities to up-sell.
¾ They should know the answer to the customer’s question before f
they ask it, offer helpful solutions and address anticipated issues
before they happen.
12. Effectively identify and define sales situations

¾ Salespeople should use good listening skills to classify a specific sales

situation.
¾ They should accomplish this by noting tone of voice,
voice rate of speech
and the types of questions asked.
13. Effectively select courses of action

¾ Based on the information gathered from the customer (e.g. level of interest,
tone of voice, degree of excitement expressed), salespeople should choose the
most appropriate course of action.
¾ They should base their decision on intuition, previous experience and
expertise.
14. Skillfully perform tasks within a stated domain

¾ Once a decision
O d i i h
has b
been made,
d salespeople
l l should
h ld execute
t an action
ti
plan flawlessly.
¾ They should do so in a timely manner with the resources they have
available.
available
 Discussion

Questions and Comments?

2. Advanced Telesales
AGENDA

¾ “I” The
Th Basics
B i
– 1. Attitude
– 2. Drive
– 3. Confidence
– 4. Listening
– 5.
5 VVerbal
b l&V
Vocall Skill
Skills
– 6. Preparation
– 7. Call Handling Technique
– 8. Complaint Handling Technique
 “I”

The Basics
1. YOUR ATTITUDE

¾ Enjoy selling
¾ Dress for success
¾ Become Customer Focused
¾ 'O n the problem‘
'Own
¾ Be enthusiastic
 YOUR ATTITUDE

¾ N b d wants
Nobody t tto d
deall with
ith a ''misery'
i ' on th
the phone
h
¾ Remember that the phone dilutes and diffuses. So you
often have to work hard to avoid sounding 'down in the
d
dumps'.'
 YOUR ATTITUDE

¾ Regardless
R dl off circumstances,
i t you always
l control
t l your
own attitude.
¾ Your attitude can improve the worst situation - or ruin the
b t one.
best
¾ Successful people consciously choose a positive
attitude.
 2. YOUR DRIVE

¾ S t goals
Set l for
f personall achievement
hi t
– Don't just use the company target.
– Number of calls you can make a number of appointments or
sales you achieve.
– It is a % above target or % improvement.
¾ Challenge others in the team to a Challenge “contest”.
¾ Reward yourself for achievement.
 YOUR DRIVE

¾ G t going
Get i early
l in
i the
th day
d
¾ Get some success to start the day
– Success breeds success
¾ Plan the night before
¾ Have a positive expectation
 3. YOUR CONFIDENCE

¾ H
Have TOTAL belief
b li f in
i your products
d t and/or
d/ services
i
– If you don't believe in your products or services, how can you
expect the customers to believe in them?
¾ Uncertainty breeds uncertainty
¾ Knowledge brings confidence
¾ Think of the value to the customer
¾ Ask for letters of reference to boost your confidence and to use
with prospects
 YOUR CONFIDENCE

¾ Stand up to make or take important calls

o g up
Standing p will make yyou more lively
y and enthusiastic.
o You can be more expressive, assertive and positive • You
will sound more confident.
o The brain thinks up to 3 times faster when you are
standing up
¾ You can be more forceful
¾ You will feel more alert
¾ It stops interruptions from other people, because they can see
that yyou are makingg an important
p call
4. YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

¾ The greatest myth in selling

¾ “There is a myth in selling those salespeople must have the gift of the
gab”
¾ this is not true.

¾ Do we recognize the glib, slick, fast talking salesperson? ... YES!

– Do we like them? ... NO!
– Do we trust them? ... NO!
– Do we buy from
f them?
? ... NO!
O
¾ They are recognized, disliked and generally not trusted - it is bad selling.
 YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

¾ Don't be a 'motor-mouth'!
– There are some salespeople who believe that you should 'hit the phone
with your mouth running'. Not so!
¾ It has been said 'When God created man he was fully equipped for selling
andd given
i ttwo ears and
d one mouth'.
th'
– We should use them in the same ratio.
 YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

¾ Why should we listen?

– You need to find out about your customer
– you can't sell until you know
– you can't know until you listen
– You
Y will
ill pick
i k up clues
l about
b t what
h t they
th wantt that
th t will
ill help
h l you to
t sellll to
t
them.
 YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

¾ How should we listen?

– Avoid interrupting
– Listen out loud!
¾ Yes, I see - Oh, really? - Uh - uh

– Ask little 'prod'

prod questions
– Repeat back their words as a question
¾ You don't like them?

– Listen to good radio presenters interviewing; how do they

demonstrate to their listeners that they are listening?
 5 VERBAL & VOCAL SKILLS
5.

• The telephone is non-visual

– In normal face to face dialogue, research
has shown that communication is:
• 7% the words we say
• 38% the wayy we sayy them
• 55% non verbal signals

Clearly you can only use the first two when you are on the phone (until the age
of video phones) so you are potentially only operating at 45% effectiveness;
unless yyou compensate
p byy making g more use of the other two.
 VERBAL & VOCAL SKILLS

• They can't see you - you can't see them

• You can't show them products or literature
• They can't
can t see that you are sincere
• You can't see their reactions

• But you still have to:

• Present your ideas to them
• Get their feedback
• Know how it's
it s going
• Know when to move on
• Know when to ask for the order
 VERBAL & VOCAL SKILLS

Focus on the voice

• Be warm and sincere
• Use the voice to build trust
• Don't speak too quickly
• Don't
D 't mumble
bl
• Don't SHOUT
• Lower the voice for maturity
 VERBAL & VOCAL SKILLS

¾ Avoid Negative Language

– Possibly - maybe – perhaps
– We might be able to do this
– I hope
h th t will
that ill be
b OK
– If you decide to buy it ...
¾ Use Positive Language
– I am sure that will do the job
– I know we can get that for you
– I'm certain you'll be pleased with this
– Once you've taken delivery
¾ Ask questions to keep control and get feedback
 6 PREPARATION
6.

¾ Be prepared for questions you may be asked.

¾ Know your products
Get to know all the products (if you sell a vast range, know
where to find the information)
 PREPARATION

¾ Know the features, the advantages over other products and

the potential benefits to the customer
– Know what makes them superior and how to justify the price
¾ Know your company/your suppliers'
suppliers companies
– Its track record
– Companyy procedures and policies
– Delivery times
– Pricing
– Terms of business
– Where to go for help!
 7 CALL HANDLING TECHNIQUE
7.

• Four types of in-coming

in coming call
• 1 Orders
• 2 Inquiries about products/services
• 3 General queries about orders/accounts, etc
• 4 Complaints
• In this section we will look at the techniques for handling in-
coming calls that apply to all of the above types.
 First impressions last!

• Answering the phone correctly is vital.

vital
• When you answer the phone, you don't know:
– Who is calling
– Where they are from
– What they want
– Whether they have ever called your company before
– What mood they are in
 It could be that they …

¾ Are wanting to place the biggest order in your company

company's
s history
¾ Have just been let down by your major competitor
¾ Are giving you your last chance to put something right before they
go to one of your competitors
¾ Have just seen an advertisement, and know nothing else about you
¾ Whatever the reason you will never get a second chance to
make a positive first impression!
 CALL HANDLING TECHNIQUE

¾ You will make an impression of some kind! What will it be?

– Harassed, busy and 'Let's get it over‘
• Warm and friendly

– Distant, cold, uninterested

• Professional and helpful

¾ The telephone is the window through which customers see your

company.
¾ Answer the p
phone in 2 - 3 rings
g
¾ Getting it right is vital
 Use the correct sequence

• For Reception/switchboard - cheerful greeting

1. Greeting - 'Good morning'/'Good afternoon‘
2. Company name
3. Greeting ('Good morning') - they have a chance to 'tune in' to your voice
4. Company/dept name ('Sales office') - they know they've got the right place!
5 Your name (('you're
5. you re speaking to A/an
A/an')) - people deal with people,
people not companies
6. Ask a question (‘what can we do for you?) - it gets them talking
- you then know how to help them
 CALL HANDLING TECHNIQUE
Find out who's calling - ASK - SPELL – REPEAT

1 Ask their name 'May I ask your good name, please?’

2 Check the spelling
- Their name will be appearing on letters, quotes, proposals, orders, delivery notes
and invoices; get the name wrong, and you may not get as far as the last three
items!
3 Write it down for accuracy
 CALL HANDLING TECHNIQUE
Find out who's calling - ASK - SPELL – REPEAT

4 Check the pronunciation

- If you are going to use their name,
name then you need to get it right to avoid annoying
them (they will correct you early on without embarrassment)
5 Use their name in the conversation
 CHECK YOUR CALL HANDLING TECHNIQUE

• It is the sweetest sound in the world to them - You are building rapport - It is part of
the 'massaging' process
• Don't let customers overhear what they shouldn't
• Don't leave callers on hold
• End
E d the
th call
ll professionally
f i ll
• You will have developed a rapport with a caller in a brief space of time - how you
end the call can either reinforce or destroy that rapport.
 CHECK YOUR CALL HANDLING TECHNIQUE

• Seven steps to end a call professionally:

1. Confirm back the agreed details - in detail
2. Thank them - for their call/order/enquiry, etc.
3. Ask for help (if appropriate) - best time to call them next, how to find them, etc
4. Look forward to the next contact
5. Leave on a pleasant note - 'Have a good weekend' (note: avoid 'Have a nice
day !)
day'!)
6. Say goodbye
7. Put the phone down – LAST
Wait for the 'click' at their end. This important step is missed by most people using
the telephone: - it avoids a 'cut-off' feeling
- They may remember something else they wish to say
 8 CHECK YOUR COMPLAINT
8.
HANDLING TECHNIQUE

• Turn complaints into opportunities

– Every company gets complaints - if they get none at all, then
they are either perfect (unlikely) or they just don
don'tt do enough
business!
• Experience shows that, if a complaint is handled well,
customers will be more satisfied afterwards.
 COMPLAINT HANDLING

How to handle complaints

1) Listen! - allow them to let off steam; don't interrupt; note all
relevant details.
2) Question for more information and clarification
3) Summarize back and gain agreement
4) Thank them for drawing it to your attention; it diffuses the
situation
it ti
5) Promise actions and a call back to advice
6) Look into the situation and get all the facts
 COMPLAINT HANDLING

How to handle complaints

7) Call the customer back - keep the promise even if you have
nothing to report
8) Tell the customer what will be done to put things right
9) Keep in touch until the matter is resolved - let them know of
progress/delays
10) Call
C ll them
th after
ft resolution
l ti tot reinforce
i f
 9 DO IT NOW!
9.

¾ After each call:

1. Update records while it is fresh in the memory.
a. Ready for the next contact.
b. “the faintest of ink lasts longer than the sharpest of memory”
2 Process paperwork - orders/quotes
2.
a. Nothing gets lost
b. It avoids build-up and end of day rush Make the next call
 COMPLAINT HANDLING DO IT NOW!

3. Diaries the next contact to ensure prompt follow-up

4. Make the next call
¾ Tips to improve work flow
ƒ If sending out literature, etc, address the envelope; list what is to be
included on a Post-it note, then fill the envelopes during your next
b k
break.
ƒ Do the same for letters confirming appointment.
ƒ Have set times for letter writing.
ƒ Keep separate trays for orders, quotes and letters
 Discussion

Questions and Comments?