Professional Selling Skills presentation for pharma

1. Professional Selling Skills
__________________________________

2. 2
Learning Objectives:
_________________________________
•Understand the “sales call” and be prepared to apply its
sequential logic.
•Explain how the sales call can help to satisfy customer needs.
•Explain how the sales call reflects overall company marketing
objectives.
•Define the purpose of the elements of the sales call and
differentiate between them.
•Distinguish between the benefits and features.
•Recognize & handle different customer attitudes.

3. Selling is a Persuasive Communication, in
other words
Need-Satisfaction Selling.

4. PSS –
4
Need Satisfaction Selling Process
• Opening
• Probing
• Need
• Supporting
• Closing
Agree on what will be covered during
The call.
You agree on appropriate next steps for
You and the customer.
You provide relevant information about
How you can satisfy a customer’s needs.
You gather information about the
Customer’s needs.

5. PSS –
5
Contents:________________________________
Pre-call Planning.
Ice Breaking
(A) Need Satisfaction Selling:
Opening
Probing
Supporting
Closing
(B) Handling
Indifference
Skepticism
Misunderstanding
Drawback

6. PSS –
6
Pre-call Planning______
• Gathering information.
– Territory pathways.
• Maps, borders.
– Statistical analysis.
• Total lists/ grades, lists/sp, hospitals list, pharmacies list.
– Target customers.
• Rx habits, contact information.
– Market dynamics.
• Updates, competitors activities.
• How can you acquire all these information?

7. PSS –
7
Pre-call Planning_______________
• Setting call objectives:
– Review last call cards or notes.
– Anticipate customer’s needs and concerns,
considering his point of view:
1. Add value, Educational role, Consultative approach,
Knowledgeable, Prepared, Professional, Etiquette, Time,
Consistent
2. How does your product treat or satisfy his needs
– Identify action plan.
– Identify your opening positioning.

8. PSS –
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How to reduce customer tension and
establish trust?___________________
Being neat in appearance.
Behave in a quite manner, with mild sense of humor, give
them sweet smile.
Never make jokes, remember you are sales professional
not a comedian.
Be a good guest, you’re bound to courtesy and the rules
of their turf.

9. PSS –
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Ice Breaking _______________
• Lasts 5-15 second.
• Nothing related to chatting, sports,
religion, politics,..
• Types:
–Premium approach.
–Shock approach
–Scientific/interest approach.
–Complementary approach.
–Opening positioning related.

10. PSS –
10
Opening Positioning_______________
• Why
– To establish a comfortable tone that sets the stage for an open exchange of
information.
– Set the context for your meeting and earn the write to continue by giving the
customer a reason for the conversation.
• How
– By referring to a prior meeting
- “Last time we met we reviewed the serving schedule for Ensure. (Move to
opening) Today I’m hoping we can…..”
– OR, mentioning a magazine article.
- “I read in a recent BMJ Journal article that an increasing number of patients are
using the internet as a resource for medical information. (Move to opening)
While we are together today. I’d like to discuss…..”

11. PSS –
11
Opening __________________
• When
– You have positioned your opening, and the
customer are ready to conduct business.
• How
– State the purpose.
– State the value the customer.
– Check for acceptance.

12. PSS –
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Opening - Examples __________
• “(Opening Positioning) Spoiled eating habits now adays for most
of our children raised awareness of Pediatricians to Malnutrition and its
dangerous consequences. (Opening) Today, I would like to ask you just
one or two questions to learn how you detect and treat Malnutrition. That
way, I may be able to propose options that support and enhance your
clinical approach. Do you have a few moments right now?”
• (Opening) Today I would like to continue the conversation we begun
last week and identify specific steps you can take right now to improve your
patients overall cost containment program. Is there is anything else you
would like to accomplish in the next 5 mins?”

13. PSS –
13
Probing:_____________________
Probing is the skill of asking questions to gather information
and uncover customer needs.
Your goal in probing is to build a clear, complete, mutual
understanding of a customer’s needs.
There are two types of Probes:
Open Probe ( OP )
Closed Probe ( CP )

14. PSS –
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Open Probes:_________________
Open probes encourage a customer to respond freely. It
guides the customer into speaking about his choosing to
reveal information about a need area(s).
The key words that will help you to identify an open probe include:
who
where
Tell me
when
why
what
how

15. PSS –
15
Closed Probes:_____________
Closed probes limit the range of a customer’s response
1. A yes or no answer
2. Or to a choice among alternatives that you supply, usually an
assumed need area.
3. Or a single, often quantifiable, fact.
The key words that will help you to identify an closed probe include:
do
are
which
does
have
or
is
has

16. PSS –
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Examples_____________________
• (Ex –1) Doctor, how often do parents express concerns to you about their
child’s poor eating patterns and its impact on their growth?
• (Ex –2) Doctor, what role does good nutrition play in a child’s behavioral
development?
• (Ex –3) Doctor: What do you consider the most important nutrient(s) in an
infant formula that would help with behavioral development? Why?
• (Ex –4) Where would clinical evidence fit in influencing your formula
recommendations?
• (Ex –5) Many parents have concerns that infants fed soy protein formulas will
not experience normal growth rates as they would if they were receiving
cow’s milk-based formulas, how would you deal with this complain?
• (Ex –6) Do you recommend certain nutrients to Moms to promote brain
development in your young patients?

17. PSS –
17
Supporting___________________
• When
– The customer has expressed a need.
– And, you know your product can address the
need.
• How
– Acknowledge the need.
– Describe relevant features and benefits.
– Check for acceptance.

18. PSS –
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Acknowledgement Types________________
• Agree that the need is worth addressing.
– “ That makes sense.”
– “ That is important in a practice like yours.”
• Mention the importance of the need to others.
– “ You’re not alone in that view point.”
– “ Many of the doctors I work with have come to similar conclusion.”
• Show that you recognize the consequences of not satisfying the
need.
– “ Definitely. You don’t want patients to come back to you with that
problem.”
• Demonstrate your awareness of the feelings that surround the
need.
– “ That must be very frustrating.”
– “ It sounds like a very challenging situation.”

19. PSS –
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• Feature
• A feature is a
characteristic of your
product that provides
the reason for the
benefit.
• Benefit
• A benefit is the value
of the product for the
patient and the
doctor - the solution
to a problem.
Provide a Benefit that Satisfies the Need.
In order to perform this step correctly, you must
understand the distinction between a product feature and a
product benefit.

20. PSS –
20
PediaSure Complete:Summary of Features and Benefits
(Dictated from Pediasure Complete Monograph)
FEATURE BENEFIT
Sodium, calcium and whey:casein ratio Promotes growth in children 1 - 10 years of age including those
with increased caloric needs.
High Oleic Sunflower Oil 56%
Soy Oil 28%
MCT oil 16%
> 50% monounsaturated fatty acids. Easy to digest. Rich in
essential fatty acids.
Fortified with carnitine, taurine and inositol Inclusion of conditionally essential nutrients for improved
utilization of fat and to support normal brain growth and
development.
Calcium:phosphorus ratio of 1.6:1 Supports skeletal growth and catch-up growth.
Contains 14 mg/L of iron. Supports rapid growth.
Carbohydrate blend (sucrose 53.8%, corn syrup
liquid 42.9%, FOS 3.3%)
Low osmolality ↓ risk of diarrhea. Blend is easily digested and
absorbed.

21. PSS –
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Closing_______________________
• When.
– The customer signals a readiness to move ahead.
– OR, the customer has accepted the benefits you’ve
described.
• How.
– Summarize previously accepted benefits, if
appropriate.
– Propose next steps for you and the customer.
– Check for acceptance.

22. PSS –
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Customer Signals.______________
The customer will give you a clear-cut buying signal, which is
an indication of product acceptance and is your signal to
close.
Buying signals can be verbal or nonverbal. If you use your
eyes and ears well, your customer will tell you when to
close.

23. PSS –
23
Indirect Verbal Signals______________
Asking about technical data of your product.
The customer might develop a plan for himself and
express what will happen if he uses your product.
Making agreeable phrases ( fine, I like it, it seems
wonderful,…etc.).
Raising concerns may indicate a baying signal.

24. PSS –
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Non-Verbal Communication:______________
Body Language
Facial Expressions
Eye Contact
Gesture
Tone of Voice

25. PSS –
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How to use your product to prepare probes?____
• Simply review the benefits you offer customers and ask
yourself:
– What condition(s) or problem(s) might exist in a
customer’s circumstances if he or she weren’t
enjoying this benefit?
– What could I ask to find out if these conditions or
problems exists?

26. PSS –
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Post call analysis__________________
• Immediate
• Self critique
• Manager’s critique
• Did you achieve your objective
• What worked
• What didn’t
• Next call objective
• Record

27. PSS –
27
DO’s and Don’ts of Good Listening:____________
Do: Listen quietly, arms and legs uncrossed, body forward.
Don’t: Interrupt, to try to finish a sentence for the customer.
Do: Maintain eye contact.
Don’t: Bite nails, smoke cigarettes, chew pencils or pens.
Do: Reinforce a statement, rephrase it to ensure agreement.
Don’t: Tap fingers or feet, especially while listening
Do: Use terms like, “yes”, “I certainly see your point”, “I
couldn’t agree more” and other reinforcing terms.
Don’t: Openly disagree, say “No”, “I can’t understand how you can
think that way”, or anything else which expresses open
disagreement.