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DON'T LET
BECOME THE POINT OF REFLECTION
STEP IN EARLIER
RE-EXAMINE & COACH
THE SELLING MIND
WHAT IS SELLING?
Selling is an occurrence in which the seller engages in a purposeful conversation with the buyer to influence upon the buyer the appropriateness & advantages of seller’s products/ services to eventuate a transaction which is beneficial to both. To attain this transaction success on a sustaining basis that ensures business repeatability, the seller engages in a relationship with the buyer using a sequence of skills, attributes, techniques and information, all intertwined with a genuine desire to facilitate buyer’s needs;
BOTH RECOGNIZED AS WELL AS UNASCERTAINED NEEDS.
WHAT IS SELLING?
LIVING PRECARIOUSLY ON RFP's
Selling as a process only comes into existence if there is either face to face conversations/ telephone discussions/ email exchanges/ video conference interfaces or any dialogue/ interaction between buyer and the seller. Buyer, without any selling coercion, on their own, coming to the company’s website or stores and purchasing or ordering (as in eBay, Amazon, online retail etc.) though technically construed as selling is enveloped under ‘internet or online marketing’ that uses the web and email to drive direct sales via e-commerce.
On day 1 of iPhone launch 1000’s across the world queued outside Apple stores. Technically speaking, sales happened but this is due to intelligent product placement, marketing, advertising, promotion, public relation and brand loyalty preceding the launch hence is not construed as selling as we construe here.
SELLING OCCURS AS A RESULT OF A
DELIBERATE ENGAGEMENT OF MINDS
BETWEEN THE BUYER & THE SELLER.
The buyer-seller conversation entails linguistic as well as non-verbal decoding of buyers cues that can be attained through
ACUTE OBSERVATION, LISTENING, QUESTIONING, PARAPHRASING, SUMMARISING, REFLECTING and TEACHING
The buyer may use informal language to express but the sales person’s embrace of language is directed, purposeful, well-navigated, credible & impactful. There is spontaneity and expansiveness in sellers verbalisation at times but the overriding pilotage is towards value creation for the buyer which consequently results in a sale.
Sales could happen without adequate value creation due to buying irrationality but is a recipe for a ‘RELATIONSHIP RUIN’ with the buyer in the long term.
The brand significance
THE BRAND SIGNIFICANCE
Companies don’t sell products or services, they sell the brand. If they aren’t, they ought to and must make this shift expeditiously. It is not an optional position to have, it is a mandatory one for the firm’s survival in the long run. The brand is the most important equity of the company. It is an asset that eventuates in competitive supremacy, obviates commoditization, yields long term profitability, assuages pricing pressure, enhances firm’s valuation, promotes consumer advocacy (as seen in Apple, Coke, Nike loyalists) and builds societal respectability (if it is one of the aspired values of the firm).
Every firm has a brand out there in the market place that is invariably fuelled by promising stories, distinctive heritage, narrative about quality, functionality, specifications, benefits, differentiators, path-breaking utility, emotional quotient, testimonials and so forth but the precise equity the brand enjoys in the marketplace depends on the CUSTOMERS PERCEPTION of the brand and ensuing SALES REVENUE that the brand escorts to the firm’s doorstep.
Apple products more than devices, is about making technology so simple that everyone can be part of the future.
J&J is not about baby products the brand association is about caring, pleasure and softness.
Swiss watches aren't about time, its about trust, integrity & heritage hence the price premium that it enjoys.
"NIKE's purpose is to unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet & active communities.
Virgin is about fun, Volvo sells safety. BMW is about driving pleasure.
The emphasis from selling products/services to selling the brand has indisputable logic in the prevalent industry that witnesses such extensive product clutter.
WHY CONSUMERS PURSUE THE BRAND?
IWhy do consumers rely on brand strength as against products/ services authenticity? It is because each time a buying desire is invoked in them, they just don’t want to investigate and scrutinize the product’s specifications, technology, quality etc. Instead of asking what is the engine rpm, acceleration ratings, body material, etc. it is easier to just trust the Mercedes brand. It stands for quality, endurance, longevity & driving brilliance. Cars therefore aren’t sold as technology products, it is sold as consumer products and its advertising reflects the intent. We don’t expect a Bosch washing machine to wear out after 100 wash cycles, a Rolex watch to slow down over time, Fender guitars to lose its distinct sound, just these brand names are enough to ensure trust in their products/ services.
WHY CONSUMERS PURSUE THE BRAND
SALES & BRAND CONGRUITY
The customers drive brand value by consenting to embrace the brand. It is in their minds where the brand actually resides. How do we embed the brand in the customers mind, make a hospitable habitat for it, nurture it for sustenance, and make the customer an ambassador of our brand?
THIS IS ATTAINED BY MARKETING, COMMUNICATION, ADVERTISING & SELLING
All four of the above call the customer’s attention to the brand and is precisely their intended design.
From a selling standpoint, the sales person’s thorough knowledge about own firm’s brand must take precedence over his/her instinctual attempt to set up the 1st sales meeting with the customer. Sales being a face to face interface with the client, offers an opportunity to communicate the brand essence with fervour and with a personal touch. Incidentally it also exposes the sales person to a probable ruin of the desired impact if his/her brand knowledge is inadequate or misaligned.
SALES & BRAND CONGRUITY
COMMUNICATING
THE STORY
PRUDENT SALES PEOPLE COMPETE AT THE BRAND LEVEL
and not at the product or services level during the initial phases of the selling cycle and astute organizations ensures that
ABSOLUTE CONSONANCE BETWEEN THE BRANDING, MARKETING & SALES TEAMS EXIST
Eventually the product or services have to render its intended promise and product discussions will ensue but the
TRUST IS ESTABLISHED AT THE BRAND LEVEL
THE ENTIRE SALES RECOUNT, PITCH, ANALOGIES AND CASE STUDIES MUST
EMBELLISH THE BRAND THEME TO FORM AN INTEGRATED APPROACH.
A GREAT SALES TEAM
A great sales force is one who, apart from having knowledge of fundamental selling techniques, consultative approaches, buyer dynamics etc. also understands the brand lineage, significance and imperatives of their firm as well as the interlacing between marketing, communication and advertising within their own firm as well as their client's firm.
Brand building is an expensive, creative and lengthy process as it is a perception in the mind of the consumer. To attain that distinction, it cries out to MARKETING, ADVERTISING, PUBLIC RELATIONS & SALES, assigns each of them the task of conjuring a holistic sensation & visualization in the mind of the consumer, invoke awe and generate buying intent.
SALES RECIPROCATES BY USING THAT CRUCIAL HOUR WITH THE CLIENT WITH AN INSIGHTFUL DIALOGUE AND INTEGRATED PRESENTATION DESIGNED TO VIGILANTLY GUARD THE BRAND.
At Headstride we approach sales not just as a technique or process that can be mastered but in addition as a
PLATFORM TO COMMUNICATE THE BRAND'S OVERARCHING PHILOSOPHY
in order to create a compelling argument in front of the client.
WHY?
TO ATTAIN THE CUSTOMER'S BUY INTO A RELATIONSHIP
Our programs 'ENTER THE BUYER'S MIND' & 'REWIRE THE DEAL MAKER' aims to open out the selling mind's challenges and address the sales person's exertions in the selling process.
WELCOME TO THE
APPERCEPTIVE
SELLING WORLD
SELLING IS A FORM OF REFINED AND PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION. ITS INTENT IS TO STIR THE BUYER'S MIND AND GUIDE THE BUYER TOWARDS SOLUTION CENTRICITY.
IT CAN NEVER BE FULLY MASTERED AS
MINDS, NEEDS & MARKET PLACE KEEP EVOLVING
BUT SURELY A NAVIGATION TOWARDS MASTERY IS WORTH AIMING FOR
HEADSTRIDE SALES OFFERINGS
HEADSTRIDE SALES BLOGS
OUR BLOGS OFFER OUR READERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE OUR THOUGHTS AND CENTRAL THEME PRIOR TO AN ENGAGEMENT WITH US.
We encourage you to read it as we feel, trust could precede our engagement. We have always sought for advancement and alteration of our frame of reference as and when new philosophical/psychological constructs or material emerge in the sales arena.
OUR PUBLICATIONS PRESERVE AND REFLECT THIS ETHOS.
HEADSTRIDE SALES PROGRAMS EDIFY THESE FRAMEWORKS AND INDUCE A DEGREE OF INTERNALISATION WITHIN THE SALES PERSON THAT
SPURS THEM TO ADOPT SUCH AN APPROACH.
IT WAS CHARACTER THAT GOT US OUT OF BED,
COMMITMENT THAT MOVED US INTO ACTION,
AND DISCIPLINE THAT ENABLED US TO FOLLOW THROUGH
- Zig Ziglar
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