Sales and Product Knowledge Training Program
Sales Process Guidleine
Full-Time Sales Training
Your Personal Organization
Creating new sales is not by chance. A systematic approach to your daily, weekly and monthly activities
will position you for greater sales results. Granted, a few of your new sales will be a result of a prospect
"CALL IN," yet we realize that by no means will this satisfy your new business sales goal.
Solid organizational skills will put you in front of more qualified prospects at the time they are prepared to buy.
Sales Support Items
Personal organization also includes the knowledge of the SALES SUPPORT ITEMS needed and maintaining an adequate inventory
of these sales aids. Keeping this information in a neatly organized trunk file will help you avoid unnecessary trips
back to your office. We suggest that you keep the following on hand at all times:
- Blank Proposals for quotations given at the call
- Adequate supply of service agreements
- Full sized mat samples in excellent condition
- Business cards
- Price lists
- Customer reference lists
- Sales brochures for a "leave behind piece"
- Mountville Mills swatch samples
- Color Logo Proof Sketches
- Color Pom Sets
You should maintain:
Prospect Call Sheet
We suggest that you utilize a Prospect Call Sheet whenever you are provided the opportunity
to tour the prospect’s facility. Not only will this Prospect Call Sheet serve to professionalize
the tour, it will also serve as a handy reminder of notes made, special circumstances, times to
follow up on, etc. The Prospect Call Sheets should be filed for follow up in the event the sale is
not completed. A sample call sheet follows.
Click to Print and Download the following example forms:
Territory Management
Consistent with your personal organizational skills, solid Territory Management is critical to
your selling success. Territory Management can be divided into three distinct phases. One phase
is the day-to-day activities of handling paperwork setting appointments, etc.
The next phase involves the tactical nature of sales. What steps are you taking to improve your
tactical, face-to-face selling skills with potential customers?
A third phase may be described as a Strategical Phase. What steps are you taking to insure that
you are expanding the overall market for mats? Are you taking the time to thoroughly identify as
many new mat rental prospects as possible? Are you maintaining a Target Prospect Contact list,
and are you in contact with the companies on this list?
The time allocation devoted to expanding this prospect base is for you to determine. Give
consideration to three fundamental stages in prospect development:
- Prospect Identification
- Prospect development
- Prospect conversion
Spending a disproportionate amount of your efforts in one stage will lead to a sales roller coaster
with successful months followed by unsuccessful months.
A good rule of thumb may suggest breaking the stages into equal time allocations. Expanding your
prospect base will be accomplished through your cold calling efforts, personal phone activity and
telemarketing activities.
To Whom Do I Sell?
Whithin your customer base, identify the following:
- Current customers that do not rent mats
- My customers that utilize competitive services
- My customers that have other branch affiliations
- With the Chamber of Commerce directory and other business directories, determine through
SIC codes, prospects that are in the similar classifications of my customers.
The proper allocation of time in the prospect identification stage will provide large dividends as
the process continues. The stages of prospect development and prospect conversion will be covered
later in the outline.
As for the tactical concerns of TERRITORY MANAGEMENT, here are some guidelines for consideration:
- Work your cold calling activities around your appointments.
- Stay within one zip code or geographic area daily.
- Avoid return trips to your office.
- Start early with a plan and end late.
- Work your daily plan.
- Set a daily sampling goal and schieve it.
- Conclude paperwork, corresondence, etc. after 5 p.m.
- Utilize Saturdays for administrative tasks.
- Mainitain active contact with large prospects.
The selling process for mat rental service is often one call as the prospect has a need for only 2 to 3 mats,
and he can readily make the decision quickly due to the minimal risk. Therefore, your tactical goal in
territory management is simply maximize your sampling, appointment and cold calling efforts. Do not hinder
these efforts with non-essential activities.