who you deal with in selling

Advertising agencies and public relations firms may be similarly in the generalist category—but many will develop special clienteles. Subsets of this ''generalist'' category are producers who sell to one sector in preference to others—thus, for instance, tool makers or steel producers who sell to virtually all manufacturers but very rarely to wholesalers, retailers, or financial companies.
Yet another but narrower generalist category is the producer who, by the nature of its product or services, deals exclusively with a well-defined department but one almost always present in a business or an institution. Payroll or health insurance companies are an example in that their clients are finance departments or human resources functionalities. Most large computer companies deal with information system (IT) departments even when selling stand-alone computers. Channel Specialists All companies that use a multi-tier distribution channel concentrate their selling effort (but
not necessarily their marketing efforts) on distributors specializing in their products. The actual selling may take place at annual or seasonal meetings at which the company hosts its distributors, makes presentations, and uses two or three days to negotiate orders with the distributors.
When distributors must be added or changed, the company often engages in a complex process of recruitment to line up the right candidate. In some industries, e.g., recreational boat sales, dealings are directly with the retail channel. Automotive companies deal directly with dealers through intermediate, company-owned ''zone'' administrations.

What Is a Buy Sell Process?

As you read this book, you will find that the buy or sell sales process is different from what you may be used to, since you will be thinking like a buyer as well as a seller.
Just for a moment though, forget about how you should sell. Forget about selling methodologies, selling processes, or how you go through a sales cycle. Instead, think like a buyer.
A little reflection shows there is a process in how people buy. If you can define that process, you can understand where a prospect is headed and what steps he is taking to get there. Because you know where he is going, you can then be a step ahead and pull the prospect through their buying process. You can control the prospect’s buying process. You do not have to guess at all.
If you understand the process of how a prospect buys, you can be ProActive. You can be a step ahead and pull the prospect to the next step along the way—pulling, not pushing, the sale. When you pull, you are in control. When you push, someone else is in control. (Remember, no one likes a pushy salesperson.)
A prospect goes through a number of different phases in a buying process, each with its own unique set of requirements.

Taken from the proactive selling techniques book.

Tool-Based ProActive Selling

Tool-Based ProActive Selling
What happened here? What went on during this sales call? Isn’t it common for a salesperson to get excited during a sale when the customer gives direction on what to do next, especially if it is a senior manager? All too often, the best sales strategy is planned out before the call, and then during the sales call, the salesperson makes a mistake and loses control. If Brad does what the senior executive asked him to do, that is, talk to Kurt and Seline, Brad will be spending much more time adjusting the sales strategy with his sales manager than building his selling tactics around the new strategy. He will be in a reactive sales mode and will be hoping that the customer selects him and his company as the winning vendor. He will also be hoping to see the senior manager again at some time during the process. Hope is a good thing, but not in sales. Putting strategies in front of tactics results in merely hoping for a good outcome, and is the wrong approach.

Instead of just hoping for the best, salespeople need to develop a toolbox of selling tools, so that when they make their pitch, they can execute their sales tactics flawlessly. The strategy part of selling comes later.
Brad used his Summarize, Bridge, and Pull tool, a tactic to keep the buy or sell process under his control. By mastering his sales tools, Brad was able to keep this deal alive and own the buy and sell process.
When all is said and done, the salesperson who owns the process owns the deal. Keeping in control of the process is the hard part, especially if you do not have the tools to do the job correctly. ProActive Selling has 20 sales tools and five sales manager tools that you can use during the sales call to establish, recover from, and maintain control of the sales process. These will help you to increase the chances a deal will go your way and minimize the chances you will hear a no, or worse, a maybe.


From the proactive selling book.