The document discusses the pre-approach stage of strategic customer sales planning. It involves determining sales call objectives, developing customer profiles, creating customer benefit plans, and developing sales presentations. The pre-approach stage requires strategic problem solving to understand customer needs, develop creative solutions, and arrive at mutually beneficial agreements to create strategic customer relationships. The document also reviews different structures for sales presentations, including memorized, formula, need-satisfaction, and problem-solution approaches. It emphasizes having a plan for opening the sales presentation through statements, demonstrations, or questions.

1. Strategic Customer
Sales Planning
The Pre-approach
Presentation by:
Chris John Lim
Don Marco Luy
Patrick Edrozo
Matthew Abas
Krishna Loquinte
Bella Militante

2.  Also known as the Pre-approach Stage
 The Stage right after Prospecting and just
before the Approach stage.
 Strategic Problem Solving needed in this
stage.
Planning Stage

3.  Effective Strategic Problem Solvers:
◦ Understand customer’s strategic needs
◦ Develop creative solutions
◦ Arrive at Mutually Beneficial Agreements
 Essential in creating a Strategic Customer
Relationship
Strategic Problem Solving

4.  Helps the salesperson provide a product
solution that would help the customer
fulfill his/her goal.
Understanding Customer’s needs

5.  Needed to meet customer’s specific need.
Develop Creative Solutions

6.  Creating win-win situations would benefit
both customer and the company.
Mutually Beneficial Agreements

7.  Determining the Sales Call Objective
 Developing Customer Profile
 Developing Customer Benefit Plan
 Developing Individual Sale Presentation
based on the aforementioned components
above
Four Components of Sales Call
Planning

8.  Always Have a Sales Call Objective
◦ The precall objective – have one or more!
◦ Focus and flexibility
 Customer focus your efforts on the objective
when you are with the customer
 Be prepared to switch to another objective if
needed
◦ Make the goal specific
◦ Move customer conversation toward the
objective
◦ Set a SMART call objective
Strategic Customer Sales
Planning–the Preapproach

9. Strategic Customer Sales Planning
- The Preapproach, cont…
Determine sales Develop/Review Develop Develop sales
call objective(s) customer profile customer benefits presentation
• Always have a sales call objective
 Set a SMART call objective
 Specific
 Measurable
 Achievable
 Realistic
 Timed

10. Strategic Customer Sales
Planning–Customer Profile
Provides Insight
Determine sales Develop/Review Develop Develop sales
call objective(s) customer profile customer benefits presentation
• Review information to create
customized presentation
• See what customer has done in
the past to determine future
needs
• If do not have customer profiles –
get one for each customer

11. Customer Benefit Plan: What
It’s All About!
Determine sales Develop/Review Develop Develop sales
call objective(s) customer profile customer benefits presentation
• Steps in creating the customer
benefit plan:
Step 1: Select FABs for product discussion
Step 2: Select FABs for marketing plan
discussion
Step 3: Select FABs for business proposition
discussion
Step 4: Develop suggested purchase order
based on first three steps

12. Customer Benefit Plan: Develop
Sales Presentation
Determine sales Develop/Review Develop Develop sales
call objective(s) customer profile customer benefits presentation
• Write out all FABs for steps 1 - 3
• Write out suggested purchase order
• Now you are ALMOST ready to
create your sales presentation

13. Exhibit 8-9: Major Phases in Your
Presentation: A Sequence of Events to
Complete in Developing a Sales Presentation
Rapport-building
Uncover needs
Attention, interest, transition
Features
Advantages
Benefits
How to resell (for reseller)
How to use (for consumers
and industrial user)
What’s in it for your
customers?
Recommend what to buy in
order to fill the needs
uncovered in the presentation.
Ask for the business!
Do not give up!
Act as a professional
Leave the door open

14.  First you must choose the structure of
your Sales Presentation…
Before you approach…

15. Sales Presentation Structures

16. Memorized Selling

17. Why Choose the Memorized
(Canned) Sales Presentation
Method?
 Because it:
 Ensures the salesperson gives a well-planned presentation
 Ensures all of the company’s salespeople discuss the same
information
 Both aides and lends confidence to the inexperienced
salesperson
 It is effective when:
 Selling time is short, as in door-to-door or telephone selling
 The product type is non-technical – such as books, cooking
utensils, or cosmetics

18. Why Not to Choose the Memorized
(Canned) Sales Presentation
Method?
 Because it:
 Presents FABs that may not be important to the buyer
 Allows for little prospect participation
 Is impractical to use when selling technical products that
require prospect input and discussion
 Requires the salesperson to proceed quickly through the
sales presentation to the close, resulting in several closes or
requests for the order, which may be interpreted by the
prospect as high pressure selling

19. Formula Selling

20. Why Choose the Formula Sales
Presentation Method?
• Because you:
–Are contacting similar prospects in
similar situations
–Know something about the prospect
–Have called on the prospect in the
past
–Want to ensure all information is
presented logically
–Want to have reasonable amount of
buyer-seller interaction

21. Why Choose the Formula Sales
Presentation Method?, cont…
• Because it allows for smooth
handling of anticipated questions
and objections
• Examples of product types that
work well with this method are:
–Consumer goods
–Pharmaceutical goods

22. Why Not to Choose the Formula
Sales Presentation Method?
• Because you:
– Do not know the prospect’s needs
– See a need for the prospect to talk
more
– Have a complex selling situation
such as:
• Selling a technical product
• Selling to a group

23. Need Satisfaction Structure

24. Why Choose the Need-
Satisfaction Sales Presentation
Method?
 Because you:
 Need a flexible, interactive sales presentation
 Need to uncover needs by asking questions
 Need the prospect to talk about his needs
 Use this method the first time you call on a
prospect
 Should you have to come back a second
time, you would use the formula sales
presentation method

25. Why Choose the Need-
Satisfaction Sales Presentation
Method?, cont…
 Examples of product types that work well with
this method are:
 Financial services
 Systems
 High priced goods/services such as vehicles, real
estate, computer systems, industrial equipment

26. Why Not to Choose the Need-
Satisfaction Sales Presentation
Method?
• Because you:
– Need more control over the
conversation
– Feel should not ask too many
questions
– Are new to the sales profession

27. Problem-Solution

28. Why Choose the Problem-
Solution Sales Presentation
Method?
• Because you:
– Are selling highly complex or
technical products
– Are required to make several sales
calls to develop a detailed in-depth
analysis of a prospect’s needs
– Need a flexible, customized
presentation based on findings

29. The Problem-Solution
Presentation’s Six Steps
Step 1 - Convincing the prospect to allow the
salesperson to conduct the analysis
Step 2 - Making the actual analysis
Step 3 - Agreeing on the problems and determining
that the buyer wants to solve the problem
Step 4 - Preparing the proposal for a solution to the
prospect’s needs
Step 5 - Preparing the sales presentation based on the
analysis and proposal
Step 6 - Making the sales presentation

30. The Approach
• Could last seconds or minutes and
involves:
– Meeting
– Greeting
– Rapport Building
– One of the approach communication
techniques discussed in this chapter

31. Caution Salespeople
• Take the approach seriously
• Some feel this is the most important
step in helping someone
• If unsuccessful, you may never have
opportunity to move into the
presentation
• If you can not tell your story how will
you make the sale?
• The approach is extremely important

32. Let’s Summarize! The
Salesperson:
• Meets
• Greets
• Rapport Builds
• Goes through the approach
• Discusses the product
• Discusses the marketing plan
• Discusses the business proposition
• Closes – asks for the order

33. The Approach–Opening the
Sales Presentation
• A buyer’s reactions to the
salesperson in the early minutes of
the presentation are critical to a
successful sale
• Your attitude during the approach
– It is common for a salesperson to
experience tension in various forms
when contacting a prospect
– Successful salespeople have learned to
use creative imagery to relax and
concentrate

34. The First Impression You Make
Is Critical to Success
• Your first impression is projected by:
– Appearance
– Attitude
• You only have one chance to make
a favorable first impression

35. To Make a Favorable
Impression
 Wear business clothes that are suitable and
fairly conservative
 Be neat in dress and grooming
 Refrain from smoking, chewing gum, or
drinking in your prospect’s office
 Keep an erect posture
 Leave all unnecessary materials outside the
office
 If possible, sit down

36. To Make a Favorable
Impression, cont…
• Be enthusiastic and positive toward the
interview
• Smile!
• Do not apologize for taking the prospect’s
time
• Do not imply that you were just passing by
• Maintain eye contact
• If the prospect offers to shake hands, do so
with a firm, positive grip while maintaining
eye contact
• Learn how to pronounce the prospect’s name
correctly

37. Approach Categories
• Opening with a statement
• Opening with a demonstration
• Opening with a question or
questions

38. The Situation Faced Determines
the Approach
• Influences on the approach to use
include:
– Product being sold
– Whether the call is a repeat call
– Customer’s needs
– Amount of time
– Awareness of a problem

39. Objectives Of Using Question
Approach Techniques
• Uncover needs and problems
– Fulfill needs
– Solve problems
• Have prospect tell you about:
– Needs
– Problems
– Intention to do something about
them

40. Opening With Statements
• Introductory approach
• Complimentary approach
• Referral approach
• Premium approach

41. Demonstration Openings
• Product approach
• Showmanship approach

42. Technology in the
Approach
• Powerful attention-grabbers
– Sounds
– Visuals
– Touch

43. Three Rules for Using Questions
1. Use only questions that you can
anticipate the answer to or that
will not lead you into a situation
from which you cannot escape
2. Pause or wait after submitting a
question
3. Listen

44. Be Flexible in Your
Approach
• Be willing and ready to change
your planned approach
• That is why you need several
methods to open your sales
presentation