364 The Marketing Book
some appropriate guidelines that can be recom-
mended in sales encounters.
Stage 1. Generating leads and
identifying prospects
Most salespeople create sales with existing
customers and relationship maintenance is a
key role. Nevertheless, the job also entails
gaining new customers. The first step in ach-
ieving this is to identify suitable prospects.
Many companies provide leads for salespeople
from formal sources (Glenigan is one example
from the building industry) or perhaps from
response enquiries as a result of trade shows,
direct mailing, telemarketing or advertising.
Salespeople will also generate their own leads
from lists/directories, through personal con-
tacts, newspapers or by telephone prospecting.
However, a lead is a suspect that has to be
qualified to become a prospect. To qualify a
lead, it is important to ensure that the poten-
tial customer needs the product or service in
question or has a problem to be solved, and
that they have the resources and authority to
influence or decide on the purchase. Fur-
thermore, that the potential account will be
profitable.
Stage 2. Pre-call planning
An old rule of thumb suggests that a good
sales process is 40 per cent preparation, 20 per
cent presentation and 40 per cent follow-up.
Regardless of the accuracy of these percen-
tages, there is no doubt that success can be
linked to preparation. All sales calls should
have an objective, preferably with a specific
outcome or action on the part of the prospect.
Pre-call planning involves setting objectives,
gathering information about the buyer and
their company, deciding what questions to ask
and what you intend to say. Remember that
situation questions are important in the sales
process, but you do not want to ask questions
you can and should have known from other
sources. Information such as the size of the
firm, their products and services, their com-
petitors, names of people in important execu-
tive positions, current and previous sales
history should be part of pre-call preparation.
Further information, such as the customer’s
buying processes, their current suppliers and
their future plans, can be identified in the
initial stages of the sales interview. Ways to
establish credibility and trust for the sales-
person and their company with the buyer
should be part of the pre-call preparation.Stage 3. The approach
Getting an audience with a prospect can often
be difficult and indeed harrowing for the
inexperienced salesperson. Although the role of
selling should not be technique driven, there is
a skill in getting to see the right people so that
your message can be communicated and
understood. Ultimately, it will be on what you
do and how you do it that builds long-term
customer relationships, but getting there in the
first place can be difficult. Experienced sales-
people will recommend the importance of
getting past the gatekeeper (receptionist, secre-
tary or personal assistant) and building a
relationship not only with the buyer, but their
gatekeepers and other influencers in the buying
process. Making appointments is, in most cases,
essential to establishing a professional
approach, but letters of introduction and using
third party references can also be crucial.
Establishing rapport, whether on the basis of
similarity or expertise, is necessary before
exchange takes place. For larger sales and new
products, where the risk for the buyer is
greater, establishing credibility is vital. The
well-known company has a distinct advantage
in this stage and the salesperson from a less
well-known company has to work doubly hard
to reassure the buyer (Levitt, 1967).Stage 4. The presentation
As Rackham’s (1995) work has shown, the
ability to ask questions and the right type of