Write down why you are NOT

an effective sales person

& Let them go

Write down your goal for NIEW IV

Containing “I” & in present tense

Write down “I give myself permission to …”

Consultative Selling

APPCOM for
Everyone
Dr. Robert
Cialdini
6 Principles of Persuasion

Consistency
Authority
Reciprocation
Liking
Scarcity
Social Proof / Consensus
What is APPCOM

gaining Acceptance
stating Purpose
Probing
Consulting
Overcoming objections
Motivating to act
Why APPCOM

Uncovering the exclusive corporate and

departmental needs of the customers
Offering benefits to meet those needs
Providing the means for professional,
consultative negotiation
Allowing continued probing throughout the
entire call, especially for pricing objection
It’s all about price…

You understand the customer’s corporate

needs
You presented the benefits
You ask the customers if he will buy your
service if the price is equal or less?
Higher price means better service and value
It’s all price’s fault!

Margin
Your salary
65% of pricing Your commission

Margin
Your ops cost
objection are
Price

Your…
Cost of goods

raised by

Price
sales person!

Higher Price Lower Price

STEPS IN APPCOM
Steps in APPCOM

GAINING ACCEPTANCE
– Obtaining the customers approval in order to
proceed with the sales call
STATING THE PURPOSE
– Opening statement for following gaining
acceptance and states the sales professional
intention for the call, the benefit to the customers
for entertaining the meeting, and the customer’s
desire and action at the end of the call
Steps in APPCOM

PROBING
– Used of fact-finding, problem, cause & effect, and
benefit questions to uncover the customers
implied and explicit needs
Steps in APPCOM

CONSULTING
– Matching benefits to the customers explicit needs,
by using applicable Feature Advantage and
Benefits statements
Steps in APPCOM

OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS
– Continued use of probing and objection handling
methods and feature-advantage-benefit
statements in order to overcome the customers
objections
MOTIVATING TO ACT
– Asking for the business in definite terms or
gaining agreement to move to the next key event
within the sales call cycle
BENEFITS OF APPCOM
Benefits of – Gaining Acceptance

opportunity to professionally represent

himself & your organization
allows pre-call planning efforts to be noted by
the customer
Benefits of – Stating the Purpose

Opportunity to establish the probing direction

Control the call direction
Establishes the benefit to the customer for
entertaining the visit
Opportunity to meet the defined call objective
Benefits of – Probing

Opportunity to explore and discover

corporate and departmental needs
Understand further about explicit needs and
goals
Provides the mechanism to reduce or
eliminate objections
Enables control of pace and direction of the
meeting
Benefits of – Consulting

Opportunity to offer benefits that meet explicit

needs
Encourages discussion of benefits derived
from features
Discourages listing and naming all features
Benefits of – Overcoming Objection

Reduce or eliminate customer objections

Gain permission to move to the next key
event
Benefits of – Motivating to Act

Ask for the business !!!

Gain customer commitment and definite
terms
Gain agreement to move to the next key
event
LET’S GET STARTED
Role Play
Benefits of APPCOM

No more FEATURES dropping…

What Feature Dropping Does

So many features:
It will be expensive...
I’ll be paying extra…
I’ll be paying for others…
Is my need satisfied…
APPCOM as a Lifestyle

cold qualify present customer

close
call lead solution service
A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M

idea Spec beta

UAT launch
generation definition creation
A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M A-P-P-C-O-M
APPCOM

Step 1
Gaining Acceptance
A – Gaining Acceptance

Gaining Acceptance is defined as action

taken to establish rapport with the customer
in order to proceed with the sales call.
A – In Customers’ Mind

“Doest this person knows what they are

talking about?”
“Can I trust this person?”
“Does this sales person have my best of
interest at heart?”
A – Methods

Professional appearance
Correct use and spelling of the customer’s name
Referring to the previous conversation by telephone
in which the visit was approved
Asking about a pertinent questions about the
customer’s business
Using a referral from another business contact within
the same company
Using an outside business referral
A – Method (Caveat)

Corporate gifts or premium

Compliments
Proof-sources
Do Not Omit
Gaining
Acceptance !!!
APPCOM

Step 2
Stating the Purpose
P – Stating the Purpose

Identifying for the customer, your intent of the

meeting, the benefits to the customer for
entertaining the visit and the action steps
which will follow immediately after the
meeting
P – Benefits

To Sales Professionals:
– The customer extends the appropriate amount of time to
achieve the sales call objective
– Use of the sales person time and energy is maximized.
To Customers
– Understands the agenda for the meeting (no surprises…)
– Recognizes that the sales professional is interested in
meeting the needs of his organization.
– Establishes the probing direction of the call
– Understands why the sales person shows his line of
questioning
P – Call Objectives

S – Specific
M – Measurable Always prepare
your call
A – Attainable objectives &
memorize it
R – Realistic before meeting

T – Time Definite
Primary Objective:
•To chart out the decision making process flow of ABC
company by the end of the sales call
Secondary Objective:
•To obtain the names of all people involves in making the
decision for this logistics operation
P - Structure

The purpose of my visit is […]

If at the end of our meeting, I can […]
I would ask you […]
P – Examples

- Mr Martin, I hope to uncover ways that My

Company automation systems can increase
your department’s productivity, save your
time and therefore increase your company’s
bottom-line. If after this demonstration we
both feel it is appropriate to proceed, my next
step will be to ask you to provide a letter of
intent with My Company.
P - Recap

The purpose of my visit is […]

If at the end of our meeting, I can […]
I would ask you […]
Always prepare
your purpose
statements &
memorize it
before meeting
Practise - P

You are meeting your

customer tomorrow,
draft your call objectives
and purpose statement
APPCOM

Step 3
Probing
P – Probing

Used to 1fact-finding, 2problem, 3cause &

effect, and 4benefit questions to uncover the
customers implied and explicit needs
P – What to Probe

Corporate and departmental goals

Identify the decision making process and
who are involved
P – Taking Notes

Not an option, but a MUST

Be clear, concise and detail
Record all concerns, topics and
commitments
Recognized as part of sale person’s job
duties and tasks
P – Why Take Note

Reflect your personal recollection

Future follow up
Considered as official company documents
Proper hand over of sales territory / job
Show customers that you are interested
Maintaining company records
Support your presentation case
P – Needs & Motives

Customers’ needs
– Finance
– Performance
– Image
Customers’ Buying motives
– Make money
– Save money
– Save time
– Enhance the product
– Survive in the Market place.
9 Human Emotions

Grief Peace
Apathy
Lust Pride
Fear
Anger Courageousness
Acceptance
Emotion behind Motives
Motives Emotions

Make money Lust / Anger

Save money Fear
Save time Fear
Enhance the product Lust / pride
Survive in the Market
place. Fear

Missing emotions:
Apathy, Grief,
Courageousness, Acceptance, Peace
P - How

What's
Business
Areas of Needs
concerns
P – Why Why Why…

PROBLEMS
Finance What
Performance Is
Image In
here?
problems…
NEEDS!

Remember when you are AF-ed?

P – Implied Needs

General statements by a customer about

problems, difficulties and dissatisfactions
Too many
My people tell hours are
me they are spent paying
too busy at the your
end of the day invoices
P – Explicit Needs

Specific customer’s statement about wants or

desires
I must
eliminate the
We are too busy at number of
the end of the day, hours spent
I need to paying your
streamline my invoices
operation
P – Why Uncover Needs

Problems
Financial
Performance
Image
Needs Motives!!!
COMMUNICATION
TECHNIQUE
P – Types of Probing

Open questions
Close questions
Open Questions

worded to encouraged broad expensive

answers concerning a single topic
P – Closed Questions

question that encourage a short precise

answer to a single topic
P – 3 Communication Skills

Confirming, restating & asking

Acknowledge
Bridging
P – Confirm/Restate/Ask

Confirming, Restating what you heard and

then Asking the customer for verification
If I understand… Do you
agree...
P - Acknowledge

Recognizing that the sales person values

what the customer said before moving to
another topic
What you said made
sense. Let me then
I see what you
ask…
are saying, I
wonder if...
P - Bridging

summarizes previous points made by the

customer or the sales person
Something you said
earlier, made
When weme
last
wonderspoke,
how you
the feel
about...concerns
were…
 Practise - P

Home work:
Construct the list of
questions to uncover
your customers needs

Urbancook.me
Probing technique
P – 4 Types of Questions

Fact finding question

Problem question
Cause and effect question
Benefit questions
Fact Finding Questions

Looking for Kill-Zone

P – Fact Finding

determined facts, information and

background data
How long have you
What type of equipment
been doing things
do you use?
thisHow many
way?
people do you
employ?
P – Fact Finding

Do not ask too many, you must research first

Do not bore your customer
Must be accompanied by a defined purpose
Must let customers know the potential
benefits of answering the question
– “the reason why I ask this is …”
P – Fact Finding

To understand the current situation

To understand the desirable situation
To Identify explicit needs
Problem Questions

Setting Up Kill-Zone
P – Problem Questions

People only accept change when they

are faced with necessity, and only
recognize necessity when a crisis is
upon them.

- Jean Monnet
P – Problem Questions

Questions concerning problems

Uncover problems, difficulties or
dissatisfactions

Be careful not
to offend
customers
P – Good Problem Questions

Isn’t it difficult to
process increased work
loads with your current
method? What are the
disadvantages of
proceeding with this
type of equipment?
Cause & Effect Questions

Leading Into Kill-Zone

P – Cause & Effect Questions

The sales person to take a problem that

buyer deem small and build it to such large
magnitude that the buyer can justify taking
action to resolve the problem and turn it into
a positive buying need
Ask about the 1effects, 2consequences or
3implications of a customer’s problem
Example - Impact Amplification

Lost your pen no pen

No pen no notes
No notes no study
No study Fail
Fail no diploma
No diploma no work
no work no money
no money no food
Continue…

no food you get skinny

you get skinny then you get ugly
Ugly no love
Lesson:
no love no marriage
Don’t
no lose your
marriage pen, you will
no children die!
no children alone
alone depression
depression sickness
sickness death
P – Cause & Effect Questions

How does this How

affectdoes
yourthis
When this problem
Whatperformance?
financial are theaffect
consequences
your customerto
your department,happens
What when
service
are the
What
how
your
dept?
implications
are the
packages are to does
your this
delivered effectwhen
late?
customers
consequences to
theyproductivity
the receive
you damage
ofWhat
delayed
are the
freight?
shipments to your
effects on you
of your customer
customer?
when you cannot
servicelocate
agents?
an inventory
on time?
Benefit Questions

Offering a Live Buoy

P – Benefit Questions

Purpose
– builds the positive elements needed for solution
Objectives
– focus the customer’s attention on a solution to the
problem, instead of focusing on the problem
– the customer to state the benefits to the sales
person
P – Execute Benefit Questions

Initial question
How would it benefit
P – Power of Benefit Questions

Customer tells you the benefits

– For you to use in later selling
Customer owns the benefit
– He will not object to you using it later
Direct appropriate benefit question at
different customer contacts
– Different level has different benefit
P – Probing Recap

3 corporate needs, 5 buying motives

– Financial, image, performance
– Make $, save $, save time, enhance product, and survival in
marketplace
Probe
thoroughly so
3 Communication techniques
– you can avoid
Confirm-restate & ask, acknowledge, and bridging
4 probing techniques objections
– Fact finding, problem, cause &later!
effective, benefit
Recap

Take notes
Probe
Recap
No
Recap
Clarify Done
Recap probing?

Recap Yes,
Recap
Confirmed by customer
Recap…
Trial Next Stage
Close
APPCOM

Step 4
Consulting
C - Consulting

matches the appropriate benefit of the

particular feature of service, to meet the
explicit needs of the customer
Feature-Advantage-Benefit (FAB)
C – Feature-A-B

Definition
– characteristic of a product or service
– something about the product or service which
distinguishes it, making it solution to the problem
Example
– MS Word is not a feature
– A feature of the MS Word is Spell-Checker
C – F-Advantage-B

Definition
– a positive interpretation or description of the feature
– describes how the feature of that product or service can be
used to help the buyer
– reverse of the problem discovered through the problem
question
Example
– Problem: Customer’s field sales persons spend too much
time calling back to check inventory status, caused missed
sales opportunities
– Advantage: WMS web visibility would reduce delay in
checking inventory for field sales person and therefore
reduce missed sales opportunities
C – F-A-Benefit

Definition
– a statement described how the feature and advantage can
meet the buyers explicit or stated need
– Derived from answer given by customers on Benefit
Question
Example
– Customer wants to come under budget and boost morale of
field sales
– The WMS features online visibility, this will reduce the time
spent on checking inventory and allow you to come in under
budget and boost morale by not having your people stay
late every night
FAB Preparation

It is ok to ask customer for a few minutes to

prepare for the FAB statement
– “give me a moment, let me work out how you can
use our service, I definitely see a very compelling
proposition!”
C – Key to FAB

Customer only eyes BENEFIT derived from

feature
Customer NEVER buy a feature
Benefit derived
from feature is the
most important
statement you
made!
C – FAB Confirmation

A FAB confirmation is a question which

immediately follows the feature advantage
and benefit statement. It restates the benefit
as a positive question in order to gain the
customer’s agreement and to test the
customer’s understanding.
C – Selling on Price?

Price should come after value is acertained

Limited time offer on pricing discount and make it
confidential
3 types of price sensitive customers
– Single bid tender
– Good relationship 2 shots customer
– Price shopping flip-flop customer
Uncoupling the price
Pitch price to right audience
– Finance folks & purchasing department
APPCOM

Step 5
Overcoming Objections
O – Caveat

Do not become defensive

Do not attempt to explain your position
Do not justify your statement
Do not begin telling and selling your ideas
Do not begin feature dropping
O - Steps

Acknowledge the objection

Clarify for further understanding
Clarify is there any more objections?
Utilizing a method to overcome objection
Restating appropriate FAB & FAB
confirmation
O – Objection Handling Methods

Reverse method
Admit method
Feel-Felt-Found (FFF) method
O – Reverse Method

A simple statement telling the customer that

you can understand the objection
O – Admit Method

a statement admitting to the customer that

you agree with his suggestion and that
offering an alternative
O – FFF Method

a statement telling the customer that you can

understand how he feels that other
customers have felt the same way but they
found the benefits met their needs
The Magic of Feel-Felt-Found

Feel
– Liking / Authority Reciprocity
Felt
– Social Proof
Found
– Consistency (in Social Proof)
– Benefits
FAB & FAB Confirmation
– Request
O – FAB & FAB Confirmation

After responding to the objection with one or

more of the above methods, proceed by
applying a logical feature advantage benefits
statement followed by a FAB confirmation
O – Trial Close

To test for commitment and eliminate

objections
Proceed with next item or concern
APPCOM

Step 6
Motivating to Act
M – Motivating to Act

Ask the customer for the business in definite

terms
M – Verbal Buying Signals

The
“Our
The
The customer
customer
company
customer asks
cannotenquires
begins
asks
enquires
whether
if for
how
what
buying
asks about
afford
for
discounts,
your
talking
about
your
you product
service
feel promotions;
operation
references price,
your
in of will
and
at
terms
yourhelp
your
this
industry,
from
even in
service
time”
could
of special
other
though
your
clarification
deals
will provide
and soa the
accomplishing
May indicate forth;
ROI regarding
anfor
that
objective
hisyouismay
customer or
price
users
benefits
clientele,
accentuateis
competitiveof
guarantees,
can
have
company. products
and
not
He or ahis
other
enquires
edge
concern.or
warranties
asking you to provide infoask
help
to offer
to during
or
execute she aawill within
particular
and
as
services
operation
the
task.to
market
customers
or your
further the
conversation
how it will specific
place
increase
or in his
formal
measurement
clarification profit
that hemargin
or of
presentation
industry
can usewho
benefits
she associated
are buying
toservice the with
customer
purchase
justify
price toor his company.
your product
responseproducts orservice
services
M – Ask for the Business

Successful sales people always ask for the

business and they ask for the business in
very definite terms
DO NOT assume
that customer will
turn over the biz
to you. Even if
you answered all
his needs
M - Steps

Ask for business in definite term

Remain SILENT
– DO NOT answer your own question
– DO NOT offer alternative solutions
Wait until customer directly response positively
Say “thank you” & confirm the commitment
Do not “sell beyond close”
DO NOT offer additional information
– DO NOT open any new topic
M - Resistance

What have I missed?

My offer is not good enough…
I am not good enough… (to be successful)
Too good to be true?
There must be a catch…
………
Apathy, Grief, Fear, Lust, Anger, Pride,
Courageousness, Acceptance, Peace
M – Closing Techniques

Stair Steps Close

Ultimate Choice Close
M – Stair Steps Close

YES !!!
Close!

Yes Added value to customer

Yes Restate Benefits with FAB

Yes Department Needs

Yes Corporate Needs

M – Ultimate Choice Close

This method is used to give customer choice

between 2 alternatives (my alternatives)

Mr. Customer, would you like us to begin

delivering your supply on Monday, September
1st or Tuesday September 2nd?
Non-Interactive APPCOM
Non-Interactive APPCOM

Paper writing
Presentation
Negotiation for Entrepreneur

Qa &

&Q&A