Develor Situational Sales Model
Do we engage a presentation based or a needs assessment based sales model? Which one is the most successful? Can we consider them as different sales approaches?
The conformation of the DSSM structure
These are the questions, or impulses, from which we have to choose. A sale requires different approaches and techniques from the salesperson in different situations. To define these accurately, we first need to determine the dimensions of the sale.
The technique of the sale depends on the initiator, the relationship, and the need. These are the dimensions that determine the behavior to be followed.
The initiator can be either the salesperson or the client/customer in the sales process. We can identify present clients and potential partners by the level of relation.
These two dimensions create 4 basic sales situations, which are the following:
- Sales for a present client in the case of the client being the initiator
- Sales for a present client in the case of the salesperson being the initiator
- Sales for a potential client in the case of the salesperson being the initiator
- Sales for a potential client in the case of the client being the initiator
One of the fundamental conditions of a sale is the buying need. On the basis of this, one can say that we cannot sell without a need. The client might have a hidden need, meaning that he doesn’t know that he needs the product. Thus, a shortage in stated needs does not automatically entail a failure in sales.
In the majority of sales success stories, there are products or services that don’t meet accurately defined needs, but instead target needs which are hidden somewhere inside us and which surface during the introduction of the product or service. In such cases, we can speak about hidden needs.
On the basis of this, the need creates a new dimension. Yet, it requires different sales strategies in the situation “Sales for the present client in the case of the client being the initiator” depending on whether the client has hidden needs, or if he/she has a concrete conception of exactly what he/she needs.
In the default situation, we can say that in order to know the needs of the customer, we must use customer survey-based sales techniques (as the customers can only state their needs with the prompting of our questions). And in order to meet hidden needs, we must use presentation-based sales techniques. In this situation, the goal of our presentation is the uncovering of the customer’s needs and the creation of the first base. In response to the products/services presented in this manner, the customer can thus provide information which helps us find the products appropriate for him/her.
An example in which the client has familiar needs can be found in the case of mobile phones. In this situation, the customer can tell us what kind of phone he/she wants to buy (i.e. water-resistant, equipped with MMS sending, and able to use WAP service). The client can provide such information in response to our needs assessment questions, after which we can then find the most suitable mobile phone for them.
If they don’t have familiar needs, (or if they have more general needs such as having a phone with the capability of sending SMS), it is worth closing with a presentation in which we talk about the advantages of one of our phones (i.e. “this phone can send SMS and MMS, has a built–in camera and 128 games”). The customer then reacts to this information and tells us what he otherwise wouldn’t. Thus, by showing the customer these different possibilities, we can get closer to the wanted type.
If we construct the need as a dimension in the structure, at first glance we arrive at a structure which can be illustrated in 3 dimensions. Handling this structure is not too easy, so we divide the extant quarters into 2 new sectors. One of them illustrates the client having concrete needs, while the other illustrates the client having hidden needs.
