Knowing Your Product and Your Customer Preparing for the Sale Knowing Your Product and Your Customer

Personal Selling Any form of direct contact occurring between a salesperson and a customer. Two-way communication between buyer and seller

Business-to-Business Selling May take place in a manufacturer’s or wholesaler’s showroom (inside sales) or a customer’s place of business (outside sales).

Telemarketing The process of selling over the telephone. National Do Not Call Registry – established by the FTC in 2003.

Goals of Selling…. Help customers make satisfying buying decisions, which creates ongoing, profitable relationships between buyer and seller. Repeat business is crucial to the success of any company.

How do we achieve these goals? With consultative selling. Solve customers’ problems by understanding their needs and wants. Problem – customer stands all day at her new job and her feet hurt. Solution – salesperson suggests shoes designed for comfort and support.

Feature-benefit selling matches the characteristics of a product to a customer’s needs and wants.

Many people believe that customers do not buy products; rather they buy what the products will do for them. the benefits of using the product

Product Features may be: Basic Physical Extended attributes of the product or purchase

The most basic feature of a product is its intended use. Doesn’t he look like a doofus? The most basic feature of a product is its intended use. Example: Automobile for transportation

Additional Features Can add more value to the product. Can help make selling the product easier. But usually makes the product more expensive.

Customer Benefits…. Benefits become selling points. The advantages or personal satisfaction a customer will get from a good or service. Benefits become selling points.

Wrong, the color is the benefit. Obvious Benefits This bright red car will attract the babes/guys. Wrong, the color is the benefit.

Unique or Exclusive Benefits Our cars are so safe, we guarantee you won’t be crushed in a crash from the side.

What questions do you need to answer about each product feature? How does the feature help the product’s performance? How does the performance information give the customer a personal reason to buy the product?

Product Benefit Chart

After you identify features of a product and their benefits….what next? Create a feature- benefit chart using a product of your choice.

Customer Buying Motives: What compels the customer to buy? Rational motive Conscious, logical reason for a purchase. Rational motives include product dependability, time or monetary savings, health or safety considerations, service, and quality. Emotional motive Feeling experienced by a customer through association with a product. Emotional motives are feelings such as social approval, recognition, power, love, or prestige. You can have a mixture of both.

How does a person decide? Previous experience with the product or company. How often the product is purchased. The amount of information necessary to make a wise buying decision. The importance of the purchase to the customer. The perceived risk involved in the purchase (financial loss). The time available to the make the decision.

Extensive Decision Making: When there has been little or no previous experience with an item. High risk items. Usually very expensive. High value to the customer. Expensive machinery, land for a building, first home, etc.

Limited Decision Making: Used when a person buys goods and services that he or she has purchased before but not regularly. Person needs some information about the product before buying. Moderate degree of risk. Second car, certain types of clothing, appliances.

Routine Decision Making: Used when a person needs little information about a product. High degree of prior experience. Little perceived risk. Grocery items, newspapers, dry- cleaning services, etc.