CLOSING THE DEAL

The Art of Professional Sales Rebecca Tankersley

Georgia Institute of Technology

February 4, 2013

Admission & Sales

• Overview of different sales cycles

• Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty Model

• Selling Framework

• Professional Selling Competencies

• Close the deal!

Sales…

Sales

• What is a sale?

▫ A sale occurs when the full knowledge of the solution is transferred to the buying organization (or buyer), a transaction has taken place, and the product or service meets or exceeds the buying organization’s level of expectation or need.

United Professional Sales Association, “The Compendium of Professional Selling”

Sales & Admission: Facing Today’s

Challenges

• Sales:

▫ Savvy Buyers

▫ Rate of Change

▫ Global Economy

• Higher Education

▫ Savvy Buyers

▫ Difficult Economy

▫ Declining Support

Admissions Funnel

Sales Is A Process!

• Professional sales is a process that can be measured, repeated, and improved in any environment!

• Once you understand the process, you create leverage and impact to the economy.

Revenue-Generation System

• A large-scale system found in any organization wishing to sell something.

Continuous Selling Improvement Cycle

Commerce Cycle

• This cycle merges the Continuous Selling Improvement Cycle with components of the Revenue-Generation System, plus:

▫ Transaction Experience as the “hub” of movement,

▫ Selling Cycle Management

Commerce Cycle

Buying Cycle

• The commonly accepted and universally applied process by which a customer buys any product and details what they experience when they buy.

Buying Cycle

Selling Cycle

Buying & Selling

• The more synchronized these phases are, the greater the chance of the sale.

Know Your Client!

• Admission representatives must become extremely familiar with the student and family, and understand their goals, problems, and needs.

• No two students are alike!

Know Your Client!

• Culture

• Personality Type

• Information Processing (Visual? Auditory?)

• Influences

• Gender

Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty

Model

• Encompasses the entire system needed to find, acquire, and keep a client (student) happy.

• A solid understanding of this model allows for goal setting & attainment, along with objectives for the day/month/year.

Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty

Model

CSLM – Transaction Process Stages

• Initiating – buyer & seller gain knowledge

• Communicating – activity & dialogue occur

• Implementing – service is fulfilled, created, or put into place

• Assimilating – ROI for buyer

Professional Selling Competencies

• Knowledge – what you know

• Abilities – what you can do

• Skills – abilities with positive results

• Character – why you do what you do

Knowledge

• Value ▫ Understand your product (institution) and

the business climate (student needs)

• Buyer ▫ Develop rapport, set expectations, and

build a relationship

• Self ▫ Know yourself as a sales/admission

representative (ability to manage your own time and tasks)

Knowledge

• Schedule

▫ Activities needed to capture and put into action information provided by other selling ability areas

• Deal

▫ Know how to advance the sale in synchronization with the buyer (student).

▫ Developed by understanding what, why, how, and when buyer will buy

Professional Selling Ability Areas

(SAAs) • Business

• Product

• Relationship

• Expectation

• Personal

• Priority

• Technology

• Selling Interaction Management

• Opportunity Management

Business Knowledge Ability

• Understand the issues faced by buyers (students, families)

• Essential Activities:

▫ Economic Impact

▫ Business Transactions

▫ Negotiations

▫ Business Measurements

Product Knowledge Ability

• Understand the product, how to position the solution, and value the solution will bring to the buyer.

• Essential Activities:

▫ Competitive Landscape

▫ Positioning

▫ Messaging

▫ Value Proposition

Relationship Knowledge Ability

• Understand how to treat each buyer as unique and special, and relate the solution to the buyer in a relevant manner.

• Essential Activities: ▫ Communication Planning ▫ Rapport Building ▫ Information Distribution ▫ Influencing Others

Expectation Knowledge Ability

• The sales professional should understand if and when to walk away from a potential sale!

• Provide top-notch service to buyers to ensure repeat business and a solid selling reputation

• Essential Activities:

▫ Customer Service

▫ Resource Allocation

▫ Resource Management

▫ Customer Metrics

Personal Knowledge Ability

• This is the foundation on which all other ability areas depend upon!

• Essential Activities:

▫ Self Talk

▫ Personal Planning

▫ Self Mastery

▫ Personal Health

Priority Knowledge Ability

• Manage personal time and priorities to achieve goals & objectives (maintain focus and productivity).

• Essential Activities:

▫ Activity Identification

▫ Activity Sequencing

▫ Schedule Development

▫ Schedule Control

Technology Knowledge Ability

• Apply technology to the buying experience. Use of technology gives sellers the ability to recall details faster, provide answers more effectively, and maintain communication.

• Essential Activities:

▫ Impact

▫ Usage

▫ Optimization

▫ Effectiveness

Selling Interaction Knowledge Ability

• Grasp the most comprehensive data and education possible, integrate into the selling system.

• Essential Activities:

▫ Initiation

▫ Communication

▫ Implementation

▫ Assimilating

Opportunity Knowledge Ability

• Identify, manage, develop, and close the right sales opportunities.

• Essential Activities:

▫ Territory Development

▫ Opportunity Planning

▫ Opportunity Development

▫ Opportunity Closing

Conclusion

• Understanding the buying and selling cycles, and integrating different phases into a repeatable method, creates successful sales and happy customers.

• Know your buyer and where they are in the buying cycle, then meet the needs of that person.

Sources

• “The Compendium of Professional Selling,” United Professional Sales Association. 2nd edition.

Questions?