Selling during tough times for the Asphalt Industry - tactics and strategies complete with tons of examples and questions to ask prospects - preferred keynote speaker - World of Asphalt - Nashville, 2016

1. Al Lautenslager
al@allautenslager.com
Nothing Happens
Until Something is
Sold

2. Selling During Tough Times
Do you need Sales ?
Do you need Marketing?
Do you need Both?

3. Personal Selling
With an emphasis on “Personal” and “Selling”

4. The Purpose of Personal
Selling
To bring the right product/service into contact
with the right customer and to motivate that
customer to take action (buy)

5. The Essence of Personal
Selling
The presentation of products with persuasive
messages to prospects and customers
Persuasive conversation is 2 way, not 1
The goal is to match customer’s needs and
wants with goods and services offered
Ultimate Objective: Make a Sale

6. Objectives of Personal
Selling
Increase sales volume (units/revenues)
Increase sales per customers
Increase customer buying frequency
Increase number of customers

7. Personal Selling Ultimate
Goal
Ensuring customers needs are satisfied at a high
level

8. Advantages of Personal
Selling
Two way communication
Adjust the message
Specific questions answered
Objectives can be addressed
relationships

9. Sales Rep Role
Gather customer info
Communicate benefits
Prospecting
Demonstrate the product
Advise; consult
Keep in touch; rapport; goodwill
Start the order processing with an order

10. What Makes a Good
Salesperson
Interpersonal Qualities
Flexibility
Self Motivated
Problem Solver
Knowledge
Presentation / Communication

11. What Makes Your Selling
Different
Sell with a positive attitude
You motivate people to take action
Convincing, persuading, communicating value
Asking for and getting the order

12. What Make Your Selling
Different
Part II
Diligence can be a differentiator

13. Which type of sales person
are you
Order taker
Customer service provider
Consultant / advisor
New business development
Relationship manager

14. 8 Step Selling Process
 prospecting /targeting
developing a list of potential buyers
 approach
initial face-to-face contact with prospect during which first
impressions are formed
 presentation
presentation/demonstration of how the product fills a need or
solves a problem for the prospect
 needs analysis
discovery and assessment of prospects needs

15. 8 Step Selling Process
 answering questions
prospect provides feedback and salesperson attempts to further
tailor the presentation for the prospect's needs
 overcoming objections
 close
salesperson asks the prospect to buy
 followup
delivery, customer service, referrals , keep in touch

16. Personal Selling is Not
(Worst Practices)
Manipulative
Arrogant
Aggressive
Greedy
Unscrupulous
Only out for the transaction

17. Rapport
No Rapport – No Likability
No Likability – No Trust
No Trust – No Sale

18. Rapport
Relationship of Trust

19. Rapport
Gets you in synch with your prospect
Breaks down defense walls
Promotes open and honest communication

20. Rapport - How
Focus on the buyer
Consumer interests
Speak their language
Offer value – law of reciprocity
Humanize your admissions
Share something personal
Testimonials and case studies
Compliment to show respect

21. Rapport – How …continued
Be different
Be first
Be new
Respect time
Understand them enough to see the world
through their eyes

22. Therefore…
Shut up and listen
Don’t be a stranger for long
Use their name
Speak their language
Find the problem; solve it
Don’t sell and oversell
Don’t make it all about you

23. No Rapport – No Sale

24. Why People Buy

25. Why People Buy
Purchasing behavior is unpredictable therefore
overcome objectives and solve every problem

26. Why people buy
Emotions
Desires/wants
Needs

27. Why People Buy
Positive Results when you anticipate emotional
needs of customers

28. People Buy To:
Solve problems
Make themselves feel good
Therefore remember they buy with their hearts
too!

29. Why People Buy
75% of buying decision are based on
unconscious needs and wants
 Prestige
 Habits
 Perceived value

30. Buying Behavior
Sometimes the consumer does not know what
he wants

31. Why People Buy
People can be interested and not buy
People can want something and not buy
If they believe in something they will buy, given
the opportunity and the means

32. Consider This
There is a whole segment of the population with
a mentality that bases good times on where they
can go and what they can buy
-Jeff Foxworthy

33. People don’t buy from sales people because
they understand products but because they felt
the salesperson understands their problems.

34. Therefore…
Put the desires of the prospect ahead of
anything else, especially you, your product and
your company

35. Consider This
Steve Jobs to John Scully to lure him to Apple
from Pepsi:
 “Do you want to sell sugar water the rest of your life
or do you want to change the world?”

36. People buy when the pain of the problem is
greater that the cost of the solution

37. They buy Benefits
Avoid pain
Feel better
Feel smarter
Save time
Save money
Save hassle

38. And they buy your competitive advantage that
addresses all their other wants, needs and beliefs

39. Be the Sale!
The majority of people make purchasing
decisions based on:
An emotional experience
Lack of vision of the actual product or service
So help your prospect imagine that great vision
of what you're selling.

40. ”Believing" in your products or
services
4 critical elements required for belief
and confidentce are:
 Your Product Cost – Competitive with value
added components (see benefits and
competitive advantages)
 Your Product Quality - Prove it don’t just talk
about it (testimonials, case studies, awards…)
 Creative Solutions – Positioning above the
competition with innovation
 Meet or beat Deadlines

41. Target Market

42. Targeting Involves
Who buys what
Why they buy it
Where they buy it

43. Target Market
Considerations
Characteristics
Habits
Desires
Activity
Geography

44. Taking Dead Aim
Who will benefit most from my
products and services?
Why do customers do business with
you?
What do your customers have in
common?

45. The Ultimate Targeting Exercise
If you could magically
define the “ideal client,”
what would they look like?

46. Your Best Prospect
….is a current customer
Second best is a past customer

47. Questions are the answers
to successful selling

48. Better Questions Get Better Answers
Questions generate and guide conversations
It’s not the gift of gab it’s the mastery of the art of asking
questions

49. Consider the Green Eggs and
Ham Approach
Relentless regardless of objections.
Would you try them with a fox?
Wearing socks?
In a moat or a boat?
Sam is a great model for the power
of persistence.
The friend decides to taste
only to discover he LOVES it!

50. What Questions to Ask
Impact Questions about
 Situations - Discovery
 Problems - Clarify
 Implications
 Justification of solutions

51. Discovery
Questions allow you to help prospects identify
their real problems
Questions can help them envision the true costs
of complacency
Questions can unearth potential objections early
Questions engage intellectually and emotionally
demonstrating a sincere interest in them

52. Situation Assessment
Questions
How has that impacted…
How useful has it been…
What were the reasons behind that….
What is missing in your opinion…
Has anything changed since we last met?

53. Clarification Questions
Why is that important to you…
What do you mean by that…
Let me make sure I understand you…
Use lots of what questions

54. Justification Questions
Get the buyer to identify the benefits and the
payoff to your solution
How would that impact…
What would you change about..
If you could have it how would that impact?
What would it take…
Ideally what would you like…

55. More Power Questions
 What do you like about what you’re currently doing?
 What don’t you like about your current situation?
 What would you like to be enhanced or improved?
 What can you tell me about your priorities?
 What prompted you to start this project now?
 What can you tell me about your decision-making process?
 How do you handle budget considerations?
 What other options are you looking at?
 What can you tell me about the people involved in the process?
 What obstacles are in the way of moving this forward?
 How will you be evaluating different options?
 How much support does this have at the executive level?

56. Overcoming Objections
Product knowledge
Creativity
Confidence in yourself
Confidence in the product and company
All of this must come together in overcoming
objections

57. Overcoming Objections
You must combine technique with honesty and
conviction to resolve any doubts

58. Overcoming Objections
How many times have you heard:
 Im not sure
 I need to think about it
 Call me in 6 months

59. Overcoming Objections
Client is sending a signal that they are ready to
buy but are afraid to make decisions
You must eliminate fears

60. How to Overcome
Listen fully
Confirm the objection
Qualify it as the only objection
Question and explore the one objection more
Answer the objection
Pre-close on the answer to the objection
Re-orient the discussion
close

61. Price Objection
Increase perceived value
Bonuses
Bundling
Long term commitment
Give something; get something
Build more credibility
Point out other value (non invoice items)

62. Overcoming Objections
Once you get into discounting and competing
on price, you are pretty well doomed
Prices should be moveable but not the only point
of differentiation

63. Don’t Do (worst practices)
• Argue (dead right)
• Attack the person
• Never assume you understand their language
• Insult
• Avoid issues
• Shift responsibility or blame
• Contradict
• Make the person wrong
• Dwell too long on an objection
• Guess or make up an answer

64. Closing – high probability
selling style
 The 'Closing' is the sum total of the entire series of agreements.
Closing happens at all stages of the sales process.
 During the sales process, almost any point of discussion provides
an opportunity for a commitment. It's as simple as asking questions
like:
 "This system will produce at least 20% more. Is that what you
want?"
 "Is it profitable to spend x dollars to achieve that magnitude of
result?”
 "The solution requires a new approach and process. Is that
acceptable?"

65. Closing – high probability
selling style
 If I could show you a way that you can double or triple
your sales closing rate -- and teach you how to sell
50% to 100% of all prospects that you come in contact
with -- are you willing to spend

66. Closing
Making the sale
Final step in transaction
Identify next action

67. Closing Tips
Silence
Watch emotions and body language
Don’t buy it back
There are no, “Ill get back to you…”

68. Closing
Closing is really opening a relationship so
concentrate on building a partnership

69. Follow Up…Consider This

70. Keep in touch and follow up
Keep-in-touch marketing is a way to stay in front
of your prospects and customers.
Develop follow up systems with every prospect.
Gently persist with your prospects with regular
calls to check back in with them.
“Not right now” does not mean “no.” “We’re
working with another company” does not mean
“no.” Until you hear the word “No,” it’s not a
“No.”

71. Keep in touch and follow up
 Studies show that over 80% of sales take place after seven
contacts.
 To be absolutely effective in your sales follow up you need to
plan on having at least seven contacts with your prospects.
 44% of all salespeople quit trying after the first call
 24% quit after the second call
 14% quit after the third call
 12% quit trying to sell their prospect after the fourth call
 This means that 94% of all salespeople quit after the fourth call.
But 60% of all sales are made after the fourth call.

72. Keep in touch and follow up
So, how are you currently keeping in touch with
your prospects and customers on a regular and
consistent basis?

73. Customer Loyalty is
Everything
Keeping in touch creates and builds customer
loyalty

74. Customer Loyalty is
Everything
Loyal customers always return & become a
dependable lifetime sales stream
Loyal customers brag about your
service/product creating Word of Mouth (WOM)
advertising ; the most effective marketing
You can sell your products for higher prices
Loyal customers are more forgiving when a
mistake is made

75. Its All About Relationship
People buy products from sales people they like
and enjoy working with.
You have to be interesting and fun to talk to.
A good salesperson/effort means that you will
take the time to develop the relationship with
your prospect.

76. Seller Beware
Buyers are becoming more of an expert
Customer expectations are rising
Competition is intensifying
Markets are becoming global

77. Selling Trends
Online Video Conferencing
Web/Phone Conferencing
Text Chat / IM
Social Media
Mobile Information Access

78. Selling Trends …continued
Controlled Word of Mouth
Individuals speaking positively about a product
in a way that does not make it obvious that they
are hired to do so (guerrilla marketing; guerrilla
selling)
E.g. train conversation

79. Action Items to Start
Increasing Productivity:
Examine where sales people spend their time
 Look for activity to delegate
Create maximum selling time
Improve the selling atmosphere
Make compensation an incentive and
understandable
Discuss the company's sales and overall business
strategy on a regular basis.
Continuous improvement including training and
education

80. Taking Your Sales to A New
Level
…Wrap Up
Personal Selling – Satisfy customer needs at
the highest level
Make your selling different
No Rapport – No Sale
People buy your competitive advantage
Always be selling; always be closing

81. Just Remember…
Nothing
Happens Until
Something is
Sold

82. Thanks for your Participation
March 7-11, 2017
www.conexpoconagg.com
www.ifpe.com
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83. Happy Selling!!
al@allautenslager.com
www.marketforprofits.com
630-740-1397