BUS633: Sales Management

9a. Analyze the concept of consultative selling

• What is consultative selling?
• How can consultative selling help with sales?
• In sales, why is it important to have strong industry knowledge?

By demonstrating your knowledge of the industry you work in, you may be able to use consultative selling as part of your sales process. Your industry expertise will assist when it comes to knowing your customers' options.

With consultative selling, you would use this expertise to help advise your customers on what their options are and how they might move forward. In the consultative selling role, you would assist customers by advising them of possible options that may not result in the purchase of a specific product but may help a customer uncover all of their possible options. This works especially well for those companies that have products and services they can offer potential customers.

To review, see Consultative Selling.

9b. Apply the SPIN Model of selling

• What is SPIN selling?
• How can SPIN be used in the sales process?
• Why is it important to ask questions during the sales presentation?

As a reminder, SPIN selling is the process of asking questions to better determine needs. A sales call might include a few basic sections, including an opening statement, asking questions to determine needs, discussing possible solutions, and then asking for the sale.

Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff (SPIN) includes asking these four types of questions during the sales process. By listening more than you speak during a sales call, you can ask questions to have a better understanding of customer needs. Asking about their situation and the problem they are currently encountering can help you determine how you might be able to help or what products you might recommend.

To review, see Using Questions in the SPIN Model.

9c. Compare and contrast the four social styles of customers

• Do customers have social styles? If so, why?
• What are the four customer social styles?
• How can understanding customer social styles help you in the sales process?

Customers typically fall into one of four social styles. These social styles include amiable, expressive, analytical, and driver. The amiable social style is friendly and supportive. The expressive social style is typically emotional and expressive. The analytical social style is typically thoughtful and reserved. The driver social style is typically direct, authoritative, and moves quickly.

By understanding these styles, you may be able to recognize the different styles in your customers and tailor the specific sales process to their style and needs. For example, if you believe you have a customer who is the driver social style, you may need to be more direct and get right to the point to accommodate that style and move the sales process along. In addition, understanding the styles may help you to better develop relationships with your customers.

To review, see Adaptive Selling.

9d. Adapt sales strategies to the four different customer types

• What is adaptive selling?
• How can adaptive selling be used in the sales process?
• Why would you want to remain flexible in the sales process?

Once you understand the four different customer styles, then you can adapt your sales process to move the sales presentation forward. Being flexible and adjusting according to what occurs during the sales process will give you more freedom to adapt and resolve issues quickly.

Adaptive selling means that you listen to understand the customers' needs and then adjust yourself to the changes presented during the meeting. The opposite side of this would be someone who uses the same sales presentation information each time they present to a customer, and they do not understand how to adapt to the changing situation.

To review, see Adaptive Selling.

Unit 9 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

• adaptive selling
• amiable social style
• analytical social style
• consultative selling
• driver social style
• expressive social style
• social styles