The document outlines the sales process, emphasizing the importance of prospecting as the initial step to identify potential customers through various methods like developing buyer personas and utilizing sales tools. It highlights the need for sales professionals to create a database of leads and qualify them to focus on those most likely to make a purchase. Additionally, the document details the pre-approach and approach stages, stressing the significance of thorough research and relationship building with prospects.

1. CHAPTER 4 – SELLING PROCESS

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SELLING
PROCESS
A sales process is a series of steps you
develop to help your sales reps find and
engage prospects and gradually turn
them into customers.
The process can be multifaceted,
lengthy, and complex, depending
on the product and the prospect.
While all salespeople are different,
generally most sales professionals
go through the same selling
process.
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Figure3.1 Selling
Process

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PROSPECTING
The first step in the sales process is to find, or prospect for, strong potential
customers.
• Prospecting is the step in identifying and researching potential prospects.
• Prospects are likely potential customers for your products or services. (In sales
teams with sales development representatives (SDRs), initial outreach also
happens at this stage.)
• One way to find good prospects is to develop buyer personas—profiles that
outline the characteristics of companies that likely need your product and the
relevant roles within those companies.
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Once you have defined your needs, your sales reps can
start researching. Here are a few concrete tips to
improve your prospecting:
• Use sales tools to explore firmographic data and find
companies that are a good fit. Use your buyer profiles to
identify key people in the company.
• Check for any potential connections or previous touchpoints
with your company. Perhaps a sales rep went to school with a
potential champion. Or maybe an engineer has already used
your product at another company.
• Qualify leads that your marketing team generates with lead
generation efforts. Double-check that marketing-qualified leads
are worth calling.

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PROSPECTING
• Getting the names and contact
information for the database is the act of
prospecting. Each business or company
has its own methods of prospecting and
qualifying. For some companies, the
process is rigorous and lengthy; for
others, it can be nothing more than a
quick phone conversation.
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In prospecting, sales professionals will work to
create and develop a database of potential
customers, called sales leads through lead
generation.
Utilizing digital strategies is one
example. Many companies may
prospect leads through a digital
advertising campaign that triggers
potential customers to sign up for
information about a product.
There are many methods of lead
generation.
Other forms of prospecting can include meeting potential
customers at trade shows, use of a referral program, or purchasing
a list of customers from a third-party company that meets the
criteria for the target market.

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PROSPECTING
• Not all names in a database may be the
right candidates for a company’s
products.
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Once the sales professional has a database of
leads, the next step is qualification of those
leads.
The sales professional wants to reduce
the list to include only the leads who are
a good fit and are more likely to be
receptive to purchasing the company’s
products.
Qualification may also include making
sure the contact has the authority to
make the purchasing decision.
There are have two software tools to help
them:
1. sales force automation (SFA) and
2. customer relationship
management (CRM) software.
SFAs are used to acquire a
customer, and
CRMs are used to retain and
manage customers after the sale.

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Step 2: Pre-
approach
The pre-approach stage can best be described as a
thorough analysis or research of the potential
candidate.
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On this the sales professional will conduct a very detailed
study of the prospect, which will often include :
• information about specific product needs,
• what current brands they might be using,
• brand awareness,
• who the decision makers are, and
• general knowledge of personal interests and financial
standing.
Some of the research that sales
professionals seek to review as part of their
investigation may include interviews with
other clients, financial reports, credit
histories, and any sources of public
information.

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Step 3: Approach
Information gathered in the pre-approach
helps the sales professional during
the approach phase.
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During this phase, it is very important for the sales professional to create a
positive impression, ask the right questions, and begin building a relationship
with the prospect.
A soft approach is generally the best strategy, as the goal is to build the
relationship and not necessarily push product.
Ideally the role of the salesperson in this early stage is to ask questions and
listen.
It is through listening intently to the
prospect that the salesperson can
detect the fit for the product and
ultimately the best way to sell the
product. Information gathered during
the approach will often be used in the
presentation stage..