STM – 2 Series of 2010

Know the Product that You are Selling

Product knowledge is essential to all successful sellers. Before going to your prospect you must know the details of the product that you are selling so that if questions are raised you could easily answer them. Buyers could readily determine if you know what you are talking about and gets turned off easily when you are unable to answer questions that they need to make the final decision to buy.

In knowing your product it does not necessarily mean that you must have a superior technical knowledge of the product that you are selling. Some sellers spend so much time studying the technical matters of the product with the hope that they would be able to dazzle their prospects with technical jargons that would impress their prospect. Ironically the use of too much technical jargons does not always guarantee closing a sale.

Knowing your product means that you would need to have an understanding of the extrinsic value of the particular product that would move your prospect to buy it. Given a wide array of products to sell, the sellers must be able to correlate each product line to the value it would have to a particular target market. Each product line appeals to a particular target market for the value that it represents. Sellers must have an understanding of the needs of each target market so that it could relate the kind of products that it would offer to that particular segment.

Sales Training Module Series

STM – 1 Series of 2010

Sellers Set Their Goals

“Give me a stock clerk that has a goal and I’ll show you an individual who will make history. Give me a salesperson without goals and I’ll show you a stock clerk.”
-Legendary entrepreneur, J.C. Penney

There is a common notion that a successful salesman is born and the talents that he has is already acquired at birth. That is why there are certain type of people that seems to be able to sell anything at the price that he commands almost to everybody. This might be true to some but for others it is their unique ability to set up a process in their mind and somehow follow it step by step unconsciously. Selling involves following a particular process. Processes are there to be followed in order to ensure a successful selling activity. One of the most common mistake of those who are engaging in selling for the first time is that they directly engage in selling without setting up their own process to manage their resources for a successful selling activity.

Most often enough I encounter people who are conducting a cold canvass. These are salesmen who goes around town from house to house talking to people, showing their wares and hopefully trying to make an honest buck. Surely this is not one of the best ways to engage in selling for the chances of success is relatively nil. They often go home tired, hungry and angry that they are not able make a profit that is commensurable to the efforts that they have exerted. There are some who just goes out a few hours a day and yet are able to be rewarded sometimes beyond what they have worked for.

Sellers Set their Goals - any selling activity involves a commitment of resources. For some sellers they might not need to have an investment in the inventory but they spend time and effort in order to make a sale. Goals must be set up in order to determine if these resources being used effectively. A seller must take time off, reflect and ask himself what are the things that he wants to achieve in relation to his selling activities. In knowing his goals he is able to set up actions and activities that he needs to do in order to achieve it.

Set your goals in concrete and measurable terms. One should not set up goals that are very vague and are not quantifiable like “Developing a good relationship with my customers.” In most cases goals are often expressed in financial terms since it is the direct result of any selling activities. Your goals are the map for your success. Examples of sales goals:

1. I want to earn Php1,000,000 in new business and renewals in 2010.
2. I am going to send out 10 proposals each day to new clients.
3. I am going out to meet at least 15 new people each day.
4. I am going to call at least 5 of my former customers to inquire if they need anymore items from me.

Set your goals so Big in order to make it achievable. Meek goals does not have a place in sales for timid people are not the ones who makes the successful sale.

First time sellers must realize that the product could not be sold by itself since there are similar products out there of the same quality but with varying degrees of pricing. Those who are successful in the field of selling would tell you that they are not actually selling the product itself to their clients but the value that is to be derived from the use of the products. It is the sellers job to create the value for the product that they are selling to their customers. If given a wide array of products to sell, the sellers must first determine the specific target market that he would like to cater to then create a specific value of the product in relation to the needs of that target market.

Probably the best example that I can cite is the selling of life insurance policies. I derive my training in sales from the first job that I applied for which is selling life insurance policies for Philamlife. I have to admit that I had never been a successful life insurance agent since even up today I still believe that it is one of the most morbid products that one can engage in selling. In order for your client to enjoy the product that you are selling they must either pass away or something bad must happen to them. All you give them is a piece of paper with a promise that for the sum that your client has agreed to pay the company they would get a corresponding financial protection if anything bad happens to them (either death or serious injuries). Despite of this conditions the product still sells and Philamlife charges one of the highest insurance premium rates in the Philippines. Yes they do sell because emphasis is given during the sales training stage that their insurance agents should not focus on the mechanics of the life insurance program but on the specific benefits that is to be derived from purchasing the said program. Lines like “Life is full of uncertainties, are you sure that your loved ones are well protected financially if something happens to you?” or “Spare the your grieving family all the troubles, let us do it for them.”

A few years ago it was unattractive for the Filipinos to use a motorcycle for work or just to merely go around town. People find it very inconvenient to use since you are exposed to the elements and the dangers that it posed riding in two wheels. Most Filipinos prefer to purchase cars or the service jeeps. Motorcycle sales back then was mainly concentrated on those that would be used for tricycles, commercial uses like messengerial services or mainly to motorcycle enthusiast. Fast forward a few years today, you would notice that SM Southmall has allotted their whole parking lot on the right side of their mall only to be used by motorcycle riders. The manufacturers and sellers of motorcycle used the increasing gas prices and never ending traffic to create value for their products and the Filipino people is responding quite positively.

There are a number of stories that we could cite like the Avon method of selling wherein they arm only their resellers with a product catalog and not the actual product itself. The holding of Tupperware parties which provides potential buyers with an idea on the specific use of each product line. Success in personal selling or what ever business activities that one can engage in depends in relating the value of the product in relation to the needs of the target clients.

When the time came that I have to leave my academic life and engage myself in business I have adopted the principle that “business organizations are being organized in order to provide the maximum profit for its owners.” I have always adopted the maximizing profit approach in business for I believed that it was the best avenue to follow. For me then a business organization is more on controlling cost so that you would have the best returns possible.

The problem with this line of thinking is that you tend to cut corners most especially if times are a bit rough. When sales are down you tend to think ways in which you could cut down on cost even to the point of sacrificing the quality of your products and services. My family used to own a bakery that provided for our family for three generations. It was set up by my grand parents after the great war and was operated mainly by my aunt and that of my mother. When it was time for me to take over the management of our family business I had my share of difficulties. Even though we have been operating for more than 50 years I had noticed that sales were declining and I had to resort to cost cutting measures just to make ends meet. In the end about three years ago we have finally decided to stop the production of our bread line since it is no longer profitable.

This is also true when I set up my own internet cafe business. At the start business were very brisk since I was able to develop a group of regular customers that I could rely on to patronize the services that I was offering day in and day out. I started getting comfortable again and started dreaming knowing that I could rely on these group of people to provide me with a stable sale figure on a daily basis. But yet one day I woke up looking at an empty internet cafe realizing that most of the customers that I have depended upon all these years have all grown up and moved on with their lives.

My story is a typical story of most internet cafe operators who are having a hard time coping with slipping sales revenues. We tend to look at it as a function of cost and therefor instead of operating with the usual air conditioned comfort we tend to limit the number of hours of its operations or sometimes none at all. But the problem is that most of our internet cafes are so designed for the continuous use of air conditioned units to provide comfort to our customers. Thus most of the internet cafes that I had the chance to visit are often very hot an smelly. We tend to wait for the purchases for our upgrades noting that we would prefer to wait till there are signs that there will be good times ahead but those days would never come if tend to control your cost.

All points taken then we ask “What is business really all about?’ Maximizing profit is still the primary objective of any business organizations but the manager must realize that this is not the immediate goal. What is needed to be addressed is the creation of initiatives that would ensure the continuous development of new customers and market in order to achieve the primary goal of maximizing profit.

Going back to the story regarding my engagement in our bakery operations, noting that we have been operating for more than 50 years I became so complacent that I was really sure would have a regular flow of customers that would patronize the breads that we were producing on a daily basis. Unknown to me that since we have been operating that long time came that most of the regular customers that I have relied on to these past couple of years were now either dead or has moved on. I was not able to introduce my products to a new set of customers and able to culture their taste. This is also true in relation to my internet cafe since most of my regular customers has all grown up and moved on then I am left with an empty shop hoping that sometime in the future I would be able again to enjoy what I had enjoyed in the past.

What does it need to survive in business? Business managers must continuously strive to attract new customers to patronize the goods and services that they are offering. One could not rely mainly on their regular customers for their continuous patronage but on the continuous development of customers base. More customers who knows what your product is all about means more opportunities to maximize your profit base.

It is an honor and privilege to announce that the Pilipinas I-Cafe Consumer Cooperative is now commencing commercial operations. We would also like to share with you the news of our recent appointment as a Non Exclusive Distributor of Redfox Technology Philippines products which covers desktops, notebooks, netbooks and solutions. To preview the products that we are currently offering to our members please refer to: http://redfox.com.ph/products.html

If you would like to know more of the opportunities that we could offer to the internet cafe owners and operators, we would like to invite you to an event that we are organizing:

Event Title: Pre Membership Seminar

Date: August 14,2010

Time: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Venue: Redfox Technology Training Center

26 Dona Hemady Ave. New Manila, Quezon City

Online Registration Form: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGJXMXFzQzhqNUtabXVQRldNR21WSlE6MQ

To know more about the Pilipinas I-Cafe Consumer Cooperative: http://www.mediafire.com/?c2x53hg7r9gbzb4

Map to the Venue

9 am to 5 pm July 28, 2010 Seminar Room A and B Philippine Trade Training Center

CCP Complex Roxas Boulevard Corner Sen. Gil Puyat Ave Pasay City

Program of Activities

Criteria for Membership

• Open to any natural person
• Filipino Citizenship
• Legal age with the capacity to enter into a contract
• Owner or operator of an Internet Café business in the Philippines
• Undertake to uphold the By-laws, policies, guidelines, rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Directors and the general assembly.

Documentary Requirements

• DTI Registration
• Business Permit

Fees:

Those who would like to apply for membership please fill up the online application form which could be found at:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDFTSGJfTjR3YVl5NTNRSWpnRFNCQUE6MQ

An email would be sent to you informing you of the date and venue of your Pre Membership Seminar and any additional items needed to process your application for membership

Thank you