7.9 Test Your Knowledge
Question 1
What is closing?
Solution
Closing is the last step in the sales presentation. It is step 6 of 7 in the sales process and is when you ask the customer for their business.
Question 2
What are the reasons closing a sales presentation fails?
Solution
Closing fails when a salesperson fears rejection and does not close. Closing only once, not asking for what you want, asking too few questions, and closing on the wrong buyer are also reasons closing goes awry.
Question 3
Name the types of closing methods.
Solution
Closing methods include direct, summary, t-account, alternative choice, and story.
Question 4
What is a trial close and what is its place in the sales process?
Solution
A trial close can and should be done throughout the sales presentation to check in on how the client is feeling. It is a low risk question as it does not force the buyer to make a decision. Creating and practicing a variety of questions will help develop the trial close.
Question 5
How many calls does it take on average to close a sale?
Solution
Five.
Question 6
True or false: After the sale is closed, the role of the salesperson is finished.
Solution
False.
Question 7
What does this statement mean: “Even though the sale is closed, you should never assume the sale is closed”?
Solution
Good salespeople help avoid buyer’s remorse by following up quickly after the sale is closed and reinforcing the fact that the buyer made a good decision.
Question 8
Name three areas that require follow-up on the part of the salesperson.
Solution
Contracts to be signed, delivery to be scheduled, customer shipping and billing information to be added to CRM system, credit checks, addition of customers to all appropriate correspondence, invoice to be generated, welcome package to be sent to customer, introductions to be made to all appropriate internal people on the team, and status calls to be scheduled.
Question 9
Identify three ways that you can add value to your customers’ businesses during the follow-up process.
Solution
Phone and in-person regular status updates, newsletters, white papers, industry information, networking, asking questions, spending time in the business.
Question 10
Name three benefits of having a loyal customer.
Solution
Additional sales from the loyal customer, testimonials to be used in presentations for prospects, and referrals to new customers.
Question 11
What is a customer feedback loop?
Solution
A formal process for gathering, synthesizing, and acting upon customer feedback.
Question 12
Describe Net Promoter Score?
Solution
NPS is a closed loop customer feedback system that relies on the answer from customers to one key question: “How likely would you be to recommend this product or service to your friends or colleagues?”
Question 13
What is the formula to calculate NPS?
Solution
NPS = Promoters − Detractors.
Question 14
Explain the statement “The close, or getting the order, starts at the beginning of the selling process, long before you even come in contact with the prospect.”
Solution
If you do your prospecting and qualifying correctly, you can significantly improve the number of times you are able to close a sale.
Question 15
What is a trial close?
Solution
A trial close is when you ask your prospect their opinion. A close is when you ask for a decision.
Question 16
Describe three times during a sales call that are good times to close.
Solution
When the prospect is demonstrating positive body language, when the prospect asks questions, and after you handle an objection.
Question 17
Assume you are selling a video game. Give an example of an alternative-choice close.
Solution
“Would you like to preorder Guitar Hero Van Halen or take Guitar Hero Metallica with you now?”
Question 18
Describe the role that trust plays in negotiating.
Solution
Negotiating is based on trust. If your prospect doesn’t trust you, chances are she will be unwilling to compromise and find common ground during the negotiation.
Question 19
What are the three elements that are always present in a negotiation?
Solution
Information, power, and time.
Question 20
Why do salespeople think they need to lower the price to have a successful negotiation?
Solution
Forty percent of prospects ask for a lower price. Salespeople should work to get below the surface and understand the prospect’s true needs. Prospects are looking for value, not necessarily price. Salespeople should demonstrate the value of their product or service and negotiate on other elements rather than price. Reducing the price decreases profit, commission, and value of the product or service in the mind of the prospect.
Question 21
Describe what a concession is in a negotiation.
Solution
A concession is something on which you are willing to compromise such as price, service, terms, options, or other elements of the deal. It’s best to get a concession when you give a concession.
Question 22
Name the three steps in the negotiation process.
Solution
Prenegotiation, negotiation, and postnegotiation.
Question 23
What is a pre-negotiation goal?
Solution
Goals that you identify before the beginning of a negotiation that establish the minimum that you are willing to accept to make the deal happen.
Question 24
Is the following statement true or false? You can get more as a result of a negotiation in which you are emotionally involved.
Solution
False.
Question 25
How do you know if you received a good job offer?
Solution
Do research before beginning your job search by visiting web sites that include salary information.
Question 26
What is the difference between compensation and salary? Why is it important to know this when negotiating a job offer?
Solution
Salary is only one portion of total compensation, payment for services provided to an employer. There are several elements of compensation, including salary, vacation, insurance, hours, travel, relocation, and others that can be used to increase the total value of your job offer.
Question 27
Describe how heroic recovery can have a positive impact on your relationship with your customer.
Solution
If a service failure is handled quickly and meets or exceeds the expectations of the customer, it can have an even more positive impact on how the customer perceives the service from the sales rep and the company.
Question 28
Identify at least one thing you can do after you receive your job offer but before you start your job.
Solution
Say thank you with a personal note to your new boss, continue to do research on the company, dress for success, plan your route, and walk in with a smile.
Power (Role) Play – Closing the Sale
Now it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. The following are two roles that are involved in the same selling situation—one role is the customer, and the other is the salesperson. This will give you the opportunity to think about this selling situation from the point of view of both the customer and the salesperson.
Read each role carefully along with the discussion questions and be prepared to play either of the roles in class using the concepts covered in this chapter. You may be asked to discuss the roles and do a role-play in groups or individually.
Sweet Success
Role: Purchasing manager at ProFood, the food service supplier for campus cafeterias and restaurants
You are responsible for purchasing the products to be offered in college cafeterias and restaurants. You try to include new products that reflect the eating trends of the students. One of the trends is for more natural and organic food choices. The challenge is that, in order to offer new menu options, some of the existing options need to be eliminated. Any new products must be able to generate more revenue than existing items at a lower cost. You are especially interested in increasing sales at the snack bars with impulse items like individually wrapped cookies and cakes. The Organic Delight Desserts option is exactly what you are looking for, but the price is too high, and you’re not sure you want all the flavors that come packed together in one case. The price from the sales rep is $20 per case. There are four flavors packed in a case—chocolate, strawberry, lemon, and mocha. At this rate, you might only put this in your top ten schools. If you can get a better price with the option to order individual flavours by the case, you might consider putting the line in all three hundred colleges and universities.
- Are you interested in negotiating to get what you want from the sales rep, or will you just take a pass and wait for another product?
- If you want to negotiate, what are your prenegotiation goals?
- What will you ask for during the negotiation? Is this different from your prenegotiation goals? Why or why not?
Role: Territory manager, Organic Delight Desserts
You are selling a new line of 100 percent organic desserts. These cookies and mini cakes are individually wrapped and are an excellent impulse item, ideal for cafeterias. Since this is a new product line, it would be ideal to get placement with ProFood because it could lead to distribution at hundreds of schools. You just need to sell the purchasing manager on the line. You have sampled the products, and she likes the taste and thinks the packaging is perfect for her schools. Now you are down to negotiating on price and packaging. You have quoted $20 a case for a case that includes all four flavors—chocolate, strawberry, lemon, and mocha. You might have some flexibility to have a custom cases made up in each flavour so she can order only the flavours she wants. However, it will cost additional handling to do that.
- Are you going to make this a “take it or leave it” proposal?
- If you are going to negotiate, what are your prenegotiation goals?
- How will you find common ground to make this a win-win-win situation?
- What will you ask for during the negotiation? Is this different from your prenegotiation goals? Why or why not?
Power (Role) Play – Follow-Up
Now it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. The following are two roles that are involved in the same selling situation—one role is the customer, and the other is the salesperson. This will give you the opportunity to think about this selling situation from the point of view of both the customer and the salesperson.
Read each role carefully along with the discussion questions. Be prepared to play either of the roles in class using the concepts covered in this chapter. You may be asked to discuss the roles and do a role-play in groups or individually.
Let It Snow
Role: Facilities manager at the Tri-County Office Complex
You are responsible for the overall maintenance at the largest office complex in the area. There are ten office buildings in the complex, which provides office space for thirty companies. You oversee the exterior maintenance, which includes everything from trash and snow removal to lawn care and window washing. You have just signed a contract with All Weather Maintenance Co., two days ago. It’s 5:00 a.m., and a major snowstorm just hit, so you are on your way to inspect the property to be sure that the walkways are shovelled and parking lot is plowed.
- What role do you expect the salesperson to play now that the contract has been signed?
- Who will you call if the snow removal is not completed to your satisfaction?
- How will this experience impact your expectations of All Weather Maintenance Co., for other snowstorms and situations that require maintenance, especially time-sensitive maintenance?
Role: Sales rep, All Weather Maintenance Co.
You recently signed your largest client, Tri-County Office Complex. You have a very good relationship with the facilities manager based on the selling process. You have communicated the maintenance requirements to your company’s operations department. Now the job is up to them to conduct year-round maintenance. Your normal hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but you were concerned about the weather report last night, so you set your alarm early. You wake up at 5:00 a.m. to see a blanket of snow and ice and immediately wonder if the maintenance crew made it to the Tri-County Office Complex.
- What action, if any, do you take?
- What kind of follow-up will you do with the customer?
- When will you do follow-up?
- What will you say to the customer?
- What will you do to ensure that time-sensitive maintenance is completed as expected?
Put Your Power to Work: Selling U Activities
- Visit the campus career centre and ask about salary information that is available for positions that you are interested in pursuing. Compare this information to similar information you have gathered from web sites mentioned in this section that include salary information. What information is consistent? What information is different? Ask a career counsellor to help you understand the differences.
- Talk to a campus career centre counsellor, advisor, or other professor or professional (and use this information in this section) and create a list of elements that might be included in a job offer. Identify those elements that are most important to you. What are your prenegotiation goals as it relates to this list?
- Visit your career centre and ask them for information about mentors. Learn how you can get a mentor even before you start your job.
- Identify someone who already works at the company from which you received an offer. Set up a meeting with her before you start your new job to learn more about the company, company culture, and other things that will be important to know for your new job.
“Test Your Knowledge 12” from The Power of Selling by Dr. Michelle Clement is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
“Test Your Knowledge 13” from The Power of Selling by Dr. Michelle Clement is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
“11.4 Review and Practice” from Selling For Success 2e by NSCC and Saylor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
“12.4 Review and Practice” from Selling For Success 2e by NSCC and Saylor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
