Evaluation of a Sales Process and Development Needs

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Mert Çağlıaltuncu

EVALUATION OF A SALES PROCESS AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Master of Science Thesis

Faculty of Management and Business

Examiners: Jouni Lyly Yrjänäinen and

Prof. Teemu Laine

November 2020

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ABSTRACT

Mert Çağlıaltuncu: Evaluation of a Sales Process and Development Needs Master of Science Thesis, 66 pages

Tampere University

Degree Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management Major: International Sales and Sourcing

November 2020

Highly competitive markets make constant development a compulsory aspect for competing businesses. Even though a high success rate is not the goal of the companies, to be able to hold on to business and avoid bankruptcy, business development is an unquestionable must. Analysis of internal and external actions, and states should be done to be able to declare the areas that need development and coherent actions so that the development need can be filled. Additionally, prioritizing development needs which are concerned for both present and future success is an action that establishes sustainability and increment of business efficiency and goal capture.

The case company has the goals to optimize the sales success in terms of quality and quantity and embed more systematic ways, tools, and methodologies to execute the actions taken in the sales office methodically. Additionally, the case company wants to have more systematical ways, tools and methodology to execute in all the departments in order to enhance the efficiency and affectancy of the actions. The focus is to start the development from core sales activities which are referred as sales processes, continuing with being a strategical organization while equipping competitive advantage increasing attributes like utilization of neuromarketing knowledge on sales.

According to the primary problems, secondary problems and subsidiary development ideas that have been obtained through interviews with the employees of the sales office, topics of development are chosen for further discussions and adaptation. With the motivation and encour- agement through discussion of development topics that covers the intended areas, the company will begin to implement and adapt theory-based information, tools and methodology for more success. Additionally, the organization will begin to be identified as a strategical organization by following systematic ways that will be accepted as the action mentality in all departments and units of the company.

Keywords: Sales processes, value proposition, sales territory, neuromarketing, strategic sales organization.

The originality of this thesis has been checked using the Turnitin Originality Check service

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PREFACE

I did not possess the proper attributes for applying, developing and expressing in qualitative sciences due to my mechanical engineering background. Thanks to Industrial En- gineering and Management education, now I know more how to learn about learning in the discipline and utilize. Though I possess lots of faults and lacking, my believe is that the essence of the discipline is absorbed and is ready for utilization in the professional life.

I would like to thank Jouni Lyly Yrjänäinen and Prof. Teemu Laine for their guidance, help and understanding through my thesis and all given lectures. Additionally, I would like to thank all my teachers, Tampere University and Finnish government for all the provision given, which are privileges. I cannot wait to be an active member of the society that provides value professionally and socially to Finland, Turkey and to all the world.

Thank you again, for everything.

Tampere, 10 November 2020

Mert Çağlıaltuncu

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Strategical actions (Piercy & Lane, 2006). ... 2

Figure 2. Research process. ... 3

Figure 3. Sales processes (Kotler & Armstrong, 2018). ... 7

Figure 4. Sales funnel (Ross & Tyler, 2012). ... 10

Figure 5. BANT framework. ... 13

Figure 6. Planning worksheet (Schmitz, 2012). ... 15

Figure 7. Total customer value (Khalifa, 2004). ... 20

Figure 8. Value activities in business models (Richardson, 2008). ... 21

Figure 9. Presentation checklist (Schmitz, 2012)... 22

Figure 10. Strategic organization imperatives (Piercy, 2006)... 30

Figure 11. Customer portfolio (Piercy, 2006). ... 31

Figure 12. Integrated relationships for value processes defined (Piercy, 2006). ... 33

Figure 13. Activities and states that effects sales outcomes. ... 34

Figure 14. Right customer selection graph (Zoltners & Sinha, 2005). ... 37

Figure 15. Interpretation model (Genco et al., 2013). ... 39

Figure 16. Eye accessing cues (Hutchinson, 2010). ... 41

Figure 17. The alignment model (Hutchinson, 2010). ... 41

Figure 18. The basic implicit goal systems in human brain (Barden, 2013). ... 44

Figure 19. Manufacturing plant schema. ... 47

Figure 20. Organization scheme. ... 47

Figure 21. Painting unit actions. ... 49

Figure 22. Coating unit actions. ... 50

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Interviews with sales office employees. ... 4

Table 2. Conceptual sales failure model (Friend et al., 2014). ... 23

Table 3. How to approach objection types (Care & Bohlig, 2008). ... 25

Table 4. Sixteen closing keys (Roth and Alexander, 2004). ... 27

Table 5. Follow-up objectives. ... 29

Table 6. Advantages of territory management (Zoltners & Sinha, 2005). ... 36

Table 7. An exemplary trade-off matrix for customer selection. ... 37

Table 8. Six principles of persuasion (Genco et al., 2013). ... 45

Table 9. Production counts of 2020. ... 48

Table 10. Traded products. ... 51

Table 11. Interviews on main problems. ... 53

Table 12. Interviews on secondary problems. ... 55

Table 13. Interviews on subsidiary development. ... 56

Table 14. Interviews on routine actions. ... 57

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LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

B2B Business to business B2C Business to customer

CRM Customer relationship management NLP Neuro linguistic programming PET Positron emission tomography MEG Magnetoencephalography EEG Electroencephalography GSR Galvanic skin response ODM Original design manufacturer OEM Original equipment manufacturer CKD Completely knocked down SKD Semi knocked down

ISO International standards organization EEA European economic area

EMC Electromagnetic compatibility CO Carbon monoxide

CO2 Carbon dioxide

R&D Research and development

HR Human resources

IT Information technology

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

One of the fundamental industrial engineering methodologies is shown to be 5S. 5S is constructed to decrease waste while enhancing productivity through maintaining an or- derly workplace and using visual cues to obtain more consistent operational results (Hirano, 1995). 5S refers to five steps which are sorting, setting in order, shining, stand- ardizing and sustaining. These steps which are called five pillars of workplace can be perceived as the fundamental manners thought in elementary education, because in essence, 5S is about keeping the action space clean, putting items in the right place after use, labeling where items should be as infants are thought. 5S a famous industrial methodology because 5S is crafted in a systematical and science enforced way. Systematic and science enforced methods tend to be useful even if simple.

Methodologies are used in all the qualitative and quantitative disciplines to enhance the efficiency and effectance of the implication, including sales. Sales is a marketing discipline that utilizes methodologies from other practices like psychology to increase the success (Genco et al., 2013). Sales uses methodologies to optimize the core processes and strategical activities. Sales processes are prospecting and qualifying, preparation, approach, presentation, handling objections, closing and follow-up (Kotler and Arm- strong, 2018). Sales processes are taken into further levels and success with strategical actions. Strategical actions which are enabled to occur by the sales processes, aids and collaborates with other business units than sales (Mathur, 2008). Consequently, strategical actions with effectively implicated sales processes holds importance for sales and general business development. Strategical actions that can be taken in sales which are sales processes extensions, are shown in the following figure.

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Figure 1. Strategical actions (Piercy & Lane, 2006).

To increase the sales organizations’ success, defining the policy and methodology related to sales activities are crucial (Mathur, 2008). Along with the utilization of methodology and policy declaration, the salespeople will be more trained, thus, motivated due to the possession of tools that help close and sustain the sales successfully. Therefore, salespeople must have elaborated knowledge and information on sales processes to execute strategical sales activities which are related to market choices, market analysis, value management and relationship management (Piercy & Lone, 2006).

1.2 Objectives and scopes

This thesis is a case study research that is based on increasing the case company’s sales activities’ quality and volume, along with the other departments’ and units’ working efficiency. The case company is in the phase of an overall development where the primary focus is on the sales office and manufacturing quality. This thesis focuses on development of sales office activities mainly, thus, through interviews, collaboration with the company has been done and a main goal has been appointed. According to the decisions made with the company, the main objective of the research is…

“… to propose information, tools and methodology to increase the working efficiency and encourage formation of well-defined systematic ways to operate.”

Through the interviews, the focal topics that the sales office needs to develop have been declared and while selecting tools and methodologies to present for development, the

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most extensive topics that comprises as much as problematic situations in the sales office have been selected for maximum problem coverage. The information, tools and methodologies that are in the thesis may be used to form or consolidate well defined systematic action sets which may be used to encourage the manufacturing facility to follow the same development mentality as well.

1.3 Research process

The author was an intern who worked in the sales office as an assistant for 3 months and a R&D assistant for 6 months in the manufacturing plant. While the author was in search of a project company for the industrial engineering and management master’s thesis, in the beginning of May the case company was contacted for the proposition. The proposition was approved and swiftly the project to develop sales office commenced.

Research started with the case company interviews on what may be done for the company in May 2020. After the first interviews in June, a general research has been done to offer to the company as focal topics. In July, second interviews have been conducted and the topics of development have been chosen by the sales manager. Until October research and documentation was the major activity. In November, discussions on the thesis context for utilization and further actions have been conducted. The illustration of actions through time is shown in the following figure.

Figure 2. Research process.

In all the developments on the thesis from start to finish, consultation and feedback from the thesis examiner have been received. Overall, thesis preparation could be perceived as three parts which are preparation and research, research and writing, and finalization.

Interviews that were conducted comprised 9 employees from the sales office. Partici- pants positions are sales director, operations director, marketing director, salesperson and sales support. The objective specific interviews held with the declaration of the employees’ positions are shown in the following table.

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Table 1. Interviews with sales office employees.

First Interviews Goal Setting Interviews Implementation and De- velopment Discussions - Sales director.

- Operations director.

- Marketing director.

- Salespeople (5) - Sales support.

- Sales director. - Sales director.

- Marketing director.

First interviews were conducted with 9 employees to be able to optimally gather and analyse the primary problems, secondary problems, subsidiary development ideas along with the routine processes that takes place in the sales office. After the research according to the gathered information, to set the focal topics of development an interview with the sales director was conducted. Sales director is the highest-ranking managerial posi- tion in the sales office, thus, it is convenient to seek goal setting directions from the sales director. Lastly, the implementation and development discussions were made with the sales director and marketing director due to the relevancy of the thesis context with the fields of development.

1.4 Research methods

Due to the reason that the thesis is focused on developing the sales related activities of the case company with theoretical information, tools and methodologies, the research was enforced with collaboration. For the research to be coherent and collaborative, Gummesson’s (1993) methods to gather empirical data were utilized. According to Gummesson (1993), methods to gather empirical data are:

 Utilization of exiting material

 Quantitative surveys

 Qualitative interviews

 Observation

 Action science

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First, existing material indicates utilization of all the data and information available in different formats like books, research reports, articles, online data and digital data. Utili- zation of existing materials is known as secondary data usage due to the fact that the focus is to serve someone else’s purpose.

Second, quantitative surveys are questionnaires and surveys, which present quantitative data that can be used to provide statistical analysis. Utilization of quantitative surveys enable data to be used for mathematical models. Quantitative surveys are helpful with translating the answers of the questions; ‘How much?’, ‘How many?’, and ‘How often?’

into quantitative data and information.

Third, qualitative interviews are the most common method of data gathering in academic research. Qualitative interviews usually have an agenda and set of questions to be directed during the interview which can be informal and formal. On the other hand, informal interviews are usually conversations where the interviewer actively engages, listens and records observation which he/she considers important.

Fourth, observation refers to the data generated by observing the subject, either through direct observation or through participative observation. Observation is obtained through physical involvement, which is a form of experience, thus, experience utilization is a part of observation method.

Fifth, action science happens when the researcher becomes an active participant who directly influences the process of study. Action science can include all the other research methods available.

The thesis is written with the help of utilization of all methods of data gathering. Existing materials were used to write theoretical and case company information. Quantitative questioners were used to obtain the manufactured goods’ count through time. Qualitative interviews were utilized to understand and analyse the case company situation to propose development. Observation method was enabled through experience of the author via the previous experience the author had as an intern in the company. Action science method was used while contemplating on implementation and development issues about the theory that the thesis proposes for the sales office with the sales and marketing di- rectors.

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1.5 Structure of the thesis

The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter serves as the introduction and comprises of the theoretical background, objectives and scope, research methods, research process, and structure of the thesis.

Chapter 2 has eight subchapters. Chapter 2.1 introduces the seven sales processes while the remaining seven subchapters are formed of information, tools, and methods about the related sales processes. Chapter 2.2 prospecting and qualifying, is formed of the following topics; importance of prospecting and qualifying, lead terminology, channels to find leads, qualifying leads, and CRM based qualification, respectively. Chapter 2.3 preparation, is formed of precall worksheet, advised queries for being ready for the meeting, double checking and verifying information topics. Chapter 2.4 approach, is formed of 6C’s for coherent introduction of oneself topic. Chapter 2.5 presentation, is formed of importance of first impression, three parts of presentation, making presentation more persuasive, identifying key players, value concept, business model, qualities of compelling value proposition, and presentation checklist topics. Chapter 2.6 Handling objections, is formed of opportunities that come with objections, reasons for failure, states to be careful for prevention and mitigation, six step method to handle objections, objection types topics. Chapter 2.7 closing, is formed of sixteen closing keys. Chapter 2.8 follow-up, is formed of follow-up activities.

Chapter 3 developing sales consists of three subchapters which are strategic sales organization, territory management and neuromarketing. Chapter 3.1 focuses on the factors that have to be met for becoming a strategical sales organization. Chapter 3.2 focuses on four steps of territory management. Chapter 3.3 focuses on neuromarketing introduction and neuromarketing based sales focused tools and methods.

Chapter 4 consists of information on the case company, interviews held with the sales department employees and interview elaboration and linking. Chapter 4.1 is formed of case company’s history, department and unit structure, hierarchy, product count and types, financial state and motives. Chapter 4.2 consists of the interviews on primary problems, secondary problems. Chapter 4.3 is formed of subsidiary development ideas and action sets taken in the sales office. Chapter 4.4 is formed of what has been done in the thesis to fulfil the needs declared in the interviews with the background of the needs. Chapter 5 is the conclusion which consists of background, objective, final outcomes and further research statements.

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2. SALES PROCESSES

2.1 Introduction to sales processes

All kinds of sales regardless of the service or product offered, follows a specific sequence of steps. The simple and logical framework that has been the accepted model is called sales processes for around a hundred years according to Moncreif and Marshall (2005).

Sales professionals have adapted the particular aspects of the sales processes as the natural way of how sales actions flow through time (Schmitz, 2012). The fact that the conventional sales processes are still working proves the sales process’s integrity and defines the sales process as the natural way that sales actions tend to follow.

Sales processes mostly focus on the goals of acquiring new customers and obtaining orders from them. Investing time on the continuum of the existing customers and building a long-lasting, fruitful relationship is not the focal purpose of the sales processes. Addi- tionally, these processes are more convenient for B2B than B2C.

The sales processes consist of seven consecutive steps. These consecutive steps are prospecting and qualifying, pre-approach which can be called preparation, approach, presentation, handling objections, closing, and follow up (Kotler and Armstrong, 2018) as shown in the following figure.

Figure 3. Sales processes (Kotler & Armstrong, 2018).

First process, prospecting and qualifying, is simply finding customers and identifying the customers which are coherent with the provider. After finding the potential customer from

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sources like referrals, social media, with the execution of right actions, this step ends with the result of the list of coherent customers targeted. The fundamental reasons that this process exists are most sales organizations’ losing customers every year (Jolson and Wotruba, 1992) and achieving better business while utilizing time and effort in the optimum way by contacting the most likely customer that appreciates the value proposition presented (Kotler and Armstrong, 2018).

Second process, preparation, can be referred as “doing the homework” according to Schmitz (2012). Researching the possible customer, knowing as much as there is to know is one of the keys to sales. Information about the possible customer enables the salesperson to create a win-win situation, to understand the customer’s needs better, to conduct more than just a sales transaction and exploit more business opportunities.

However, it is not enough for the salesperson to know about the focal, potential customer to be prepared. Salesperson should thoroughly know the product and/or service information, company information and personal information. Overall, being tame about the stakeholders in sales transactions enables success.

Third process, approach, consists of strategies and tactics which may include psychological knowledge according to Jolson and Wotruba (1992). This approach starts with physical initiation and continues with the support of psychological back up. Listening to the customer, which is crucial in each sales process (Kotler and Armstrong, 2018), and knowing how to respond properly is the core of approach process.

Forth process, presentation, consists of what can be done for the potential customer and understanding what actually will be done in the end. What is being offered and how the provider will be delineated with the utilization of business model included in the presentation. To achieve the goal of providing the potential customer with the needed product and service solution, right proportion of speaking and listening is needed during the presentation process according to Kotler and Armstrong (2018). An old sales proverb states “You have two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionally.”. Additionally, having proper presentation methods and materials serves to achieve better communication while having good individual interpersonal communication skills to achieve success in the presentation phase.

Fifth process, handling objections, is where salesperson handles questions, hesitancies, and problems of the potential customer (Jolson and Wotruba, 1992). Analysis of the objections and methods to use to overcome the objections are the key arsenals that the

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salesperson can utilize in this phase. According to Moncreif and Marshall (2005), good sales people should see the handling objection phase as an opportunity to further understand and respond better to customer’s needs.

Sixth process, closing, is the time that a potential customer becomes the customer and a mutual business agreement between providing solutions and receiving solutions parties is reached. Confidence to take the order is the most important, but skills and tech- niques about closing are important elements that every salesperson should have for a successful sale close.

Seventh and the last process is follow-up. Making the business sustainable and open for development is the logic of follow-up. This process increases the customer satisfaction, retention of customers and the chances of acquiring new customers according to Schmitz (2012). Right after the closure, the salesperson should complete the details on delivery, buying terms, and all the related matters. Follow-up activities will definitely help solve after-sales problems and obtain a successful overall sales transaction (Kotler and Armstrong, 2018).

Overall, the declared steps are transaction based and focused on closing a particular sale. This is the way to acquire customers properly, one by one to reach more business volume. Hence, the sales processes, especially in B2B should be understood thoroughly (Kotler and Armstrong, 2018).

Lastly, organizing all the information gathered from all the sales processes in a systematical way is important. According to Lošťáková (2009), designing and applying marketing actions that enables customer behavior assessment, strategical decision-making opportunities, and making monetary decisions such as profitability assessment and financial forecasts are obtained with the utilization of CRM. Additionally, CRM serves in various ways to organizations due to the difference in how organizations behave. In total, philosophically, if the supplier is the subject and the customer is the object, the more information flow between the object and the subject results with knowledge and wisdom.

If the supplier is the subject and the customer is the object, the more information flowing between the object and the subject the more knowledge and wisdom it results in.

Knowledge and wisdom are the harbingers of success.

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2.2 Prospecting and qualifying

The importance of prospecting has various reasons. First one is the loss of customers with time. According to research, approximate turnover of customers annually is around 15%. Additionally, the tendency of the customers to change the supplier is around 70%, even though there is a positive relationship with the provider (Lazarus, 1992). Second reason is that the competition tends to intensify as the focal market develops, thus, the profitability and revenue may decrease due to supply and demand relation. That is why more revenue with more profit from more customers is a constant need. Third reason is that some customers may tend to be unprofitable to serve, have an inconvenient relationship with the supplier, and drain resources that could be used to achieve better outcomes (Gombeski et al., 2002). Consequently, finding fitting customers is one of the crucial means to profit more and provide the opportunity to execute developing and wid- ened business opportunities.

Especially in prospecting and qualifying process, it is also helpful to know the terms that define customer’s states to facilitate communication. Sales funnel term is used to identify the customer’s state in prospecting and qualifying phase as shown in the following figure (Ross & Tyler, 2012).

Figure 4. Sales funnel (Ross & Tyler, 2012).

Sales funnel comprises the evolution steps of a customer. Starting with lead which is a potential buyer of the product and/or service provided. Based on the information gathered about the leads, if the lead is found fit, then the lead becomes a prospect that can be called qualified lead as well. Prospects which are in the phase of working through a solution with the supplier is called an opportunity. If the opportunity is crowned with a deal, then it is formed to a customer (Ross & Tyler, 2012).

Customers Opportunities Prospects (Qualified leads)

Leads

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The process of acquiring customers starts with finding the leads and using a prospecting list is a helpful way in achieving this. The listing to find the leads, as Schmitz (2012) suggests, consists of:

 Existing customers

 Referrals

 Networking

 Business directories in print

 Online databases and directories

 Trade events

 Direct mail advertising

 Cold calling

 Being a subject matter expert

First, existing customers means that the best new are the ones that are already existing.

According to Bressler (2009), attracting new customers costs tenfold compared to retain- ing the existing ones. Thus, the main idea is to focus on the existing customers’ needs, update the solutions provided and, look for new opportunities. Doing so, new business opportunities will arise. Additionally, the sustained and advanced business relationships can serve as the increment factor in reputation to attract more customers.

Second, referrals are one of the most common ways to find new leads. Individual and corporate leads tend to get information to acquire business solutions from trusted and close sources that are known. Referral based advertisement is considered to be one of the highly economical and effective ways. In addition, referral resources are easy and fast to access. Social media, for example, is one of them. Overall, making customers the best salespeople is left to the imagination of the salesperson.

Third, networking is simply obtaining new professional relationships that can serve to find leads and forming solidarity. Networking part is creating or joining an environment that serves as referrals and backs each other as a community. For example, joining a trade association is a good way to build a network with the related fields of business and acquire leads. According to Shih (2009), even though the transaction is B2B, decisions are taken by individuals. That is why it is handy to socially connect with individuals.

Fourth, business directories in print is all about utilizing business lists, journals, business directories, and newspapers. It is a powerful way of finding leads from area-specific prints

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since using printed directories can present the chance of finding various leads that cannot be found online with detailed information or found at all. Due to reasons like small volume business and uniqueness of the business, occurrence of leads can be hard with the utilization of ways such as referrals. Overall, utilization of business directories in print can be associated with fishing the unseen prey in the depths of the sea. Lastly, salespeople should keep in mind that some prints are switching to online publishing. There- fore, online prints should be valued as much as real prints.

Fifth, online databases and directories utilization is for having the advantage of search variations and extensity. Provision of searching for leads with the specifics like financial standing, industry rankings, names of executives, and company contact information is a handy privilege. This searching utilization even facilitates the qualification of the leads.

Furthermore, online databases and directories allow finding leads according to the business strategies of the supplier. For example, if the forecast of the focal market states that the product offered will be restricted to some extent for public companies, then salespeople could search for private company channels and resume increasing sales as a strategy.

Sixth, trade shows and events are attractions for leads. The fact that the trade shows and events are generally focused on a specific industry, the participants has the high probability to be a convenient lead. Additionally, the environment enables chance of demonstration of the service and/or product while giving the opportunity to talk face to face with the possible lead which may continue with the next steps of sales processes.

Seventh, direct mail advertising is self-explanatory. Direct mails to companies with the advertisement of what is being offered is the suggested way to find leads. However, this way of acquiring leads has the least amount of returns. Hence, throughout the implementation, the selection of the company and the contacted individual is advised to be the most relevant in order to save time and money.

Eighth, cold calling is contacting the possible lead by directly with an unannounced phone call or unexpected visit. In cold calling not pressurizing the contact, being genuine and focusing on helping or solving a problem is advised. Along with the prior research of the contact, conducting cold calling is considered to be a successful way to obtain leads.

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Ninth, being a subject matter expert is used to make the leads find the supplier and appeal with the utilization of the business competence and integrity. By forming and presenting reputation with elements like publications, webinars, leads may be lured to seek a solution for their business from the subject matter expert.

Even though the leads are analyzed to an extent while being selected, thorough analysis to qualify the leads for labeling them as prospects is important because qualification of the leads facilitates optimized utilization of time and resources to reach the desired prof- itable and sustainable business goals.

Conventional and a popular method to qualify leads is utilizing BANT framework. Acro- nym BANT comprises of budget, authority, need, and timing as illustrated in the following figure. These four aspects can be stated as the core of qualifying leads because the comparison between studies states that the analyzed topics to qualify leads generally comprise BANT framework and focus on similar aspects. For example, according to Don- ath (1999), topics that should be analyzed to qualify leads are need, resource, timing, and authority in purchase decisions whereas according to Hornstein (2005), the topics should be lead source, responsiveness, customer’s demand, timing, and budget.

B

BUDGET

A

AUTHORITY

N

NEED

T

TIMING Figure 5. BANT framework.

Firstly, budget topic consists of analyzing the business transactions’ profitability and checking the sufficiency of the lead’s budget to allow the sales transaction to satisfy the salespersons strategic goals. Secondly, authority topic consists of making sure that the decision makers of the intended trade are in reach and demonstrating positive behavior on procurement while having complementary or acceptable business strategies. If the strategies are contradicting with the sustainability, then, negotiation terms can be problematic. Thirdly, need topic focuses on the product and/or service to present a satisfac- tory solution to problems of the lead. Fourthly, timing topic is about analyzing the lead’s priorities and making sure that project timelines are coherent with the providers. For example, if the supplier’s payment term policy is fixed with three months maturity, then a

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customer fixed with nine months maturity payment policy may create unsatisfactory financial results. If the lead has acceptable results from BANT framework analysis, then the lead may be called prospect.

Qualification of leads has several different methods coming that uses gathered lead information. A specific method may work for the supplier better than the others. For example, if the company would like to have a standard lead qualification system to qualify high numbers of leads, lead qualification with CRM system can be advised. According to Tirk- konen (2015), information from the CRM system can be associated with points, and based on the point thresholds, an algorithm of actions can be formed on how to manage the leads and qualifying them. The algorithms levels built, and the points appointed can be set according to standards and priorities of the supplying company.

2.3 Preparation

In the prospecting and qualifying step, the initial research is already achieved. Along with the preparation process, the research must be taken to more advanced levels as much as can be reached from all resources possible. According to Capon (2001), understanding the prospect business mechanism and problems enables salespeople to provide par- ticularly demanded solutions. While obtaining more and reliable information about the target prospect, it is advised not to forget existing customers. Especially, regathering information is important about the key accounts because they are considered to be the most valuable and efficient prospect at hand due to already existing relationship, prac- ticed transactions and business growth possibility. Prior to approaching to the prospect, contemplating on objectives of the meeting while clearly mapping the information gathered is advised. CRM system can be a good source to facilitate planning the prospect meeting. An example to a planning precall or meeting worksheet is illustrated in the following figure (Schmitz, 2012).

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Precall Planning Worksheet Company:

Contact:

Location:

Origin of the lead:

Key facts known about…

The company:

The contact:

Goals to achieve by the end of meeting Information planned to be obtained about the company:

Information planned to be obtained about the contact:

Information that should be provided:

Agreements that should be achieved:

How the company’s perception and feelings be towards us:

Figure 6. Planning worksheet (Schmitz, 2012).

To develop and widen the scope of the planning worksheet, more quests can be added.

According to Cathcart (2007), utilization of a written guide with specific questions makes the sales far more effective with each account. The advised queries that needs to be answered are:

 What are the goals and objectives of the prospect? How can our goals and objectives be related?

 What are the probable problems that can occur?

 Overall, what are the total achievements?

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 If the contact does not have the power to make decisions, how can the contact be led to influence the outcome?

 How could the contact be of assistance if they are not the decision makers?

 What potential gain that the prospect might be seeking?

 What proof is at hand to verify the information provided to the prospect?

 How the proposed solution can be better and more appealing than the other possible proposals from rivals?

 What are the probable concerns and objections can occur? How can the situation be managed?

 Based on the goals of the meeting what particular commitment will be requested from the prospect?

 Why should the prospect want to commit?

 Which criteria will the contact assess the solution and the company to make buying decisions?

 What methods, procedures or forms does the prospect utilize to purchase?

After planning and preparing for the transactional aspects to approach the prospect, it is important to start thinking about how to diversify the provision way of the solution, how to seek out new opportunities, and make a better assessment of what the organization has.

Before proceeding with the approach process all the data and information gathered about the prospects should be verified. According to Batini et al. (2011), information quality is a requirement to assist the prospects. Additionally, the information at hand should not be out of date which leads to inaccurate decisions about the sales (Wand & Wang, 1996), thus, double-checking the overall prospect analysis at hand from multiple sources is advised in order to obtain up-to-date and accurate data and information.

2.4 Approach

Initial two steps of the sales processes are completely under control of the salesperson.

In approach process, the prospect joins the events actively. In approach, communication

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and interpersonal relationship aspects are built to ensure that the following sales processes will take place as in the optimum way. According to Schmitz (2012), for a convenient introduction to open the way for the presentation sales process six C’s should be kept in mind. Six C’s are six points to help anticipating, adapting customers responses and implicating the approach process with success while giving a good impression and consist of:

 Confidence

 Credibility

 Contact

 Communication

 Customization

 Collaboration

First, confidence point serves to endorse salesperson to perform well and even build credibility. If the product and service is known thoroughly, information on prospect is complete and objectives are ready, then the confidence should be expressed. To ex- press confidence salesperson should be motivated and psychologically ready to approach.

Second, credibility is the point that should be provided to even have a chance of selling (Freese, 2003). To build credibility, maintaining stable and accepted business stance like maintaining eye contact, having a firm handshake and being direct while listing a proven track record, satisfied customers and information of the provision is important. According to Thull (2007), exceptional credibility is obtained when prospect information and prospects situation are shown to be known in detail.

Third, contact point is about achieving the initiation of communication with the prospect.

Especially in B2B sales it might be hard to reach the decision makers. Additionally, in B2B sales its crucial to achieve face to face communication. Until the face to face meeting is fixed, being persistent to achieve the meeting with calls and email is advised.

Fourth, communication is the point which makes the communicating parties reach a clear understanding of each other while ensuring trust. Salesperson should always empathize with the prospect and try to understand the prospects point of view in terms of emotions and thoughts through listening and observing. With empathy, how to communicate about

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what can be understood. Being specific about the elements and goals of topic discussed, using concise statements, responding timely while thinking thoroughly the convenience of conversation, will help ensure reach effective and reassuring communication. The discussed aspects are valid in nonverbal communication as well.

Fifth, customization point crafting the sales approach coherently with the customers to achieve better and more positive response. Using intuition to find what prospect is lured to and responds well in terms of behaviour and professional interest should be done.

Then, forming the approach style in the way that the prospect will appreciate in terms of behaviour while emphasizing on the professional interests is advised to have a better relationship and higher chance of selling.

Sixth, collaboration point is rendering the relationship with the contact as a constructive teamwork state. While presenting solutions for the focal company, working together to fulfil the contact’s goals will empower personal relationships. Quality of personal relationships will increase the likelihood of the sales and the sustainability of the business. After all, the decision-maker is an individual who will probably choose to work with a salesperson that provide comprehensive service and good personal relationship. Additionally, Overall, approach processes’ fundamental logic lies with human endeavours. Therefore, understanding the psychological and emotional reasons why and how the prospect acts and responds is crucial.

2.5 Presentation

Value grasp and decision-making are not driven by only what is presented, but how is presented as well (Barden, 2013). Prospects would like to do business with salespeople who possesses clear understanding of their demands, goals and problems while providing unique and coherent value propositions (Hansen, 2015), thus, reflecting the acquired data and information gathered and presenting them in a fitting way while working as a team with the prospect to conduct the business is the presentation’s core. How it should be presented and what the presentation should comprise are important elements that salespeople should always develop themselves in because there is always new information being generated to serve the changing mentality and perception of business at all times.

Initiation of the presentation is one of the most critical states because the audience will be assessing the performance of the salesperson from the start and will be forming a

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first impression (Hansen, 2015). First impressions happen quickly and are hard to change, thus, salesperson should be at most coherent state in terms of presentation topics and physical aspects. According to Schmitz (2012), looking sharp and fresh while choosing to dress business casual or formal will be an advantage in terms of first impression. Of course, the dress logic is about choosing the most fitting one coherent with the prospects.

Basis of the general presentations are formed of three parts which are the opening, the body and the closing. While crafting the presentation in any form, using the three-part structure is considered to be a powerful way that helps with communication, collaboration and success (Hansen, 2015). The first part is the opening where the situation is estab- lished. The identification of current state in terms of declaration of problems, opportunities and challenges that needs solving. The second part builds tension while addressing the prospect’s problems and why they should select the salespersons organization for aid. Using the loss and pain generating situations to motivate the prospect to seek the solution more is the logic of the body. The third part is the closing where a clear resolution for the prospect to easily acted upon. Value proposition communicated in the closing with strong claims with the utilization of evidence, facts, figures, research studies and statis- tics.

While performing the presentation it is critical to gain attention and engage with prospect to have a persuasive presentation (Hansen, 2015). To be persuasive in a presentation emphasizing on novelty, senses, emotions, responsiveness and repetition elements act as one to form a more effective presentation. Novelty is the attention gathering concept.

People’s attention is easily focused in novelty. The five senses stimulation while communicating and contemplating enhances remembrance and understanding. Triggering of emotions may result in having better rapport and precepting the value more pro- foundly. Responsiveness to the actions taking place in the meeting will provide a unity focused environment. Repetition concept is about repeating the important information to enhance the learning process because according to research, repetition of information at various intervals, increases the effectiveness of learning up to 50 percent (Hansen, 2015).

In high volume purchases, various stakeholders may tend to be involved. It is advised to identify the roles of the stakeholders receiving the presentation and act communicate with them accordingly. Decision making process can be influenced by addressing the

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unique needs of the stakeholders. Three categories of individuals can be listed as stakeholders in a presentation (Hansen, 2015). Stakeholders in a presentation are problem owner, problem solver and decision maker. While identifying the roles of stakeholders and addressing them in lieu of their objectives, the information gathered in the process of qualifying and prospecting will be helpful.

Utilizing stories that comprises emotional factors while discussing with the prospect will help the discussed topic to be catchy and appealing (Hansen, 2015). However, in essence, what story is being presented to the prospect? The essence presented is what value will be gained in return of the prospect’s cost. Elaboration of the value concept gives the salesperson further tools reach to prospect’s buy button. To do so, examining what the total customer value consists of will serve as a navigator. According to Khalifa (2004), total customer value is the sum of perceived customer value and total customer cost as illustrated in the following figure.

Figure 7. Total customer value (Khalifa, 2004).

Total customer cost consists of all the cost relevant to the procurement. Perceived customer value consists of all the problem solving and benefit promising service and/or product propositions. According to Kottler & Keller (2008), organizations can enhance the perceived customer value by increasing economic, functional and emotional benefits while decreasing the total customer cost. This state makes the proposition much more appealing and presents the potential of more profit both for supplying and procuring parties. Examples of perceived customer value can be quality of the product, profitability, ease of use and compatibility (Parolini, 1999). Examples of costs may be purchase, information, learning, updating and maintenance (Parolini, 1999). To present the whole value proposition business model concept is used.

Business model is a system of actions that serves to craft a product and/or service offering and deliver it to customer (Spencer, 2013). Utilization of a fine business model in presentation process can provide a clear understanding of the value that the prospect might be willing to pay. Business model which is used to communicate value proposition, value creation, value capture, value delivery while presenting formation of business strat-

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egies (Zott et al., 2011). By forming a business model coherent to the prospect, strategical decision-making opportunity rises due to cause and effect relationship clearance that comes with business model (Shafer et al., 2005). Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that business model is the logic of how the value should be communicated with the prospect, not the set frame to use while communicating value. The value activities taking place in the business model that will be presented to the prospect is illustrated in the following figure (Richardson, 2008).

Figure 8. Value activities in business models (Richardson, 2008).

Value proposition is the clear and concise explanation of what benefits are intended to be provided through product and/or service (Johnson & Christensen, 2008). Value creation activity is declaring how the value is created through the resources and capabilities of the provider. Value delivery activity is elaboration of how the offering will reach to prospects grasp for disposal with the emphasis of easement factors of delivery. Value capture activity is about the presentation of profit formula that discusses how the prospect can utilize the proposition (Johnson & Christensen, 2008). Utilization of the value might be monetary, assistive, strategic or any kind of state that the prospect wants to reach and is willing to pay for.

Presentation of the business model requires all the analysis of the value system from formation to delivery. By analysing the processes, resources, capabilities, cost struc- tures, profit formulas and delivery systems, salesperson will have the whole value system at hand which enables strategical development activities (Spencer, 2013). Questions asked to the whole value system like ‘Can the cost be reduced more than competitors?’,

‘What crafting processes are there that others can’t imitate?’, ‘What are the overhead costs?’ can result in strategical development decisions both in sales and manufacturing side.

In business model, value proposition is the most important element (Johnson & Chris- tensen, 2008). To make the value proposition more compelling and better, relevancy, specificity, uniqueness and believability factors should be emphasized in making (Han- sen, 2015).

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Relevancy factor is about making the proposition relevant and coherent to fit the needs of the prospect. Specificity factor is about the value proposition having straight answers to purpose related aspects and core expectation questions in B2B like ‘How much money will the proposition save for the prospect in what time?’. Uniqueness factor is about value proposition having better outcomes, being hard to imitate and novel compared to other propositions available in market. Believability factor is about value proposition compris- ing proof in terms of testimonials and tangible results that will give trust to the prospect.

After defining a business model coherent with the prospect, salesperson can craft the presentation of any kind that is found fit. After the presentation is ready, it is important for salesperson to be ready as well (Schmitz, 2012). Knowing how to get to the meeting place, planning the journey based on punctuality and readiness related factors are important for the presentation to be overall successful. That is why having a presentation checklist is important. An exemplary presentation list according to Schmitz (2012), is illustrated in the following figure.

Figure 9. Presentation checklist (Schmitz, 2012).

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Presentation checklist can involve any aspect that the salesperson finds fit, important and helpful for the meeting and the presentation. Especially the rehearsal of the whole presentation in detail is important (Schmitz, 2012). Rehearsal increases the presentation performance due to the fact that it increasing the mental readiness and information grasp.

2.6 Handling objections

After the presentation process, the prospect can be considered as an opportunity to become customer according to Ross & Tyler’s (2012) sales funnel theorem. However, after the presentation, objections tend to arise. According to Farber (2005), objections are opportunities to understand the opportunity, value proposition and development of inadequate qualities.

Preventing the objections before occurrence is better than finding the cure (Denny, 2013). Prevention can be done best by executing the previous sales processes as thorough, detailed and fitting as possible. Salesperson should keep in mind the core reasons of objections and rejections for mitigation and prevention. Three core reasons for objections and rejections are related to adaptiveness, relational and cost considerations which are elaborated in the following table (Friend et al., 2014).

Table 2. Conceptual sales failure model (Friend et al., 2014).

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Salespeople should keep in mind to mitigate and prevent objections and rejections stated in the study of Friends et al. (2014). The major factors of failure are related to adaptiveness, relations and cost considerations. Adaptive factor is formed of lack of understanding, lack of adaptive capabilities and lack of adaptive attitude. Relation factor is formed of inadequate collaboration, broken trust and relational entry barriers. Cost considerations factor is formed of greater costs, lack of cost justification and negative cost implications. The formation states of the major factors related to objection and rejection should be the primary focus of salespeople to be careful of.

Lack of understanding state accumulates from not understanding the need correctly and not listening to requests enough. Lack of adaptive capabilities state accumulates from the salespersons lack of adaptive abilities and formed solutions. Lack of adaptive attitude accumulates from salespersons arrogance, inability to change with the prospect and un- responsiveness. Inadequate collaboration state accumulates from lack of commitment and limited information sharing. Broken trust state accumulates from dishonesty and un- met expectations. Relational barrier state accumulates from lack of rapport and communication. Greater cost state is accumulated by the existence of unacceptable price and supplementary cost. Lack of cost justification state accumulates from unfavourable cost- benefit ratio and downstream cost constraints. Negative cost implications state accumulates from unfitting cost structure like payment terms.

After being preventive and mitigative against possible objections and rejections, salesperson should focus on how to handle the objections that occur anyways. To handle objections, six step method can be used (Farber, 2005).

First step is listening to the objection entirely. The inability to communicate is an outcome of not listening effectively, skilfully and with understanding (Rogers & Farson, 1987).

Salespeople should be expressive of course. However, when to listen should be known.

Sales begins with empathy and communication. Seeing prospects point of view, looking in the eye, actively listening, nodding to show the prospect being understood is essential (Farber, 2005).

Second step is defining the objection. Categorizing and asking for more details on the objection is done in this step (Farber, 2005). According to Care & Bohlig (2008), the types of objections are valid, competitive, seymour, coaching, hostile and generic. Valid objections are the ones which seek to overcome the problems blocking the value system.

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Competitive objections are when a statement of competition factor is presented to demand more from the salesperson. Seymour objection occurs when excessive amount of qualitative information is demanded. Coaching objection occurs when prospect wants to change and make an aspect better with the salesperson. Hostile objection occurs when unexpected rude and hostile behaviour is experienced with no logical reason. Generic objection occurs when prospect directs a question having little relevance to the solution proposed. Every objection type should be approached with a suitable manner which is shown in the following table Care & Bohlig (2008).

Table 3. How to approach objection types (Care & Bohlig, 2008).

Thirds step is about rephrasing the objection into a question. Once the objection is defined and the manner of approach is declared, questions that show that the prospect is understood should be directed. Additionally, questions should be used to understand the underlying reason of the objective (Truter, 2009). Underlying reasons objections can be states like not having the money, restriction of credits or any untold reason.

Fourth step is the isolation of objection. The logic about the fourth step is reaching to a consensus with the prospect on the objected matter while discussing on how the solution can be reached while being beneficial for both sides. However, while isolating the objection, salesperson should not be limited to it only. The sub reasons and relevant features of the objection should not be neglected. This negligence can lead to unsuccessful solution state.

Fifth step is the presentation of the solution. To present the solution salesperson should revaluate how the business model is going to be. Additionally, about the feasibility, stakeholders of the related solution should be consulted and approval should be taken. Be- cause, adjustments and new solutions cannot be decided and implicated by thought and will.

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Sixth step is closing. After the solution to the objection is presented the deal must be closed. Closing step requires courage. Courage is obtained by being an expert on all the aspects on related sales, having the will to improve and commit to the after sales activities.

2.7 Closing

After all the previous sales processes successfully executed and all is agreed with the opportunity, it is time to close the deal. According to Keith (2007), the most important aspect of the closing process is courage. Without procrastination, after the negotiations are finished, salesperson should take the opportunities signature and make the opportunity an official customer. To aid with the closing process 16 closing keys which are shown in the following table can be utilized (Roth & Alexander, 2004).

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Table 4. Sixteen closing keys (Roth and Alexander, 2004).

Closing keys are dependent on the assumption that the purchase is going to be positive.

Salesperson should take the initiative to ask not ‘If?’ but ‘How much and when?’ with courage.

2.8 Follow-up

After closing, it is salespersons duty to make sure that value promised is delivered in the agreed conditions (Schmitz, 2012). After closing the agreement being actively in communication till the whole value transfer is done is a must. After the sales is completely done, feedback collection and follow-up actions should be taken. With feedback, faults of provision and salesperson can be detected to be atoned and made better.

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After getting the feedback, salesperson should be consistently in touch with the customer in interwall of times seen fit. Show of care and attention while persistently being in touch with the customer builds trust, rapport and positive emotional attitude (Shore, 2020). The states of positive rapport, emotional attitude and trust helps ensure the sustainability of the business opportunities.

Even if the customer does not want to conduct business after the last deal, persistently reaching to the ex-customer and trying to seek opportunities until salesperson declares the ex-customer not servable (Shore, 2020). Passively following ex-customers and keeping up with the state of needs is an aiding action while contacting ex-customers.

Lastly, according to Schmitz (2012), salespeople should form a list consisting of fixed follow-up procedures of the organization and customer specific follow-up activities. An exemplary follow-up list which should be pursued after the agreement about the sales is shown in the following table.

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Table 5. Follow-up objectives.

Follow-up Objectives

- Making sure that the contracts are signed thoroughly.

- Checking if the delivery was made correctly and on time.

- Checking if the installation of the product is done right.

- Adding detailed customer and sales related information to the CRM program.

- Generating the commercial invoice.

- Sending welcome package to the new customer.

- Introducing key people to the customer.

- Scheduling a status call with the customer.

- Scheduling a meeting for development ideas.

Along with the routine and fixed follow-up objectives, customer specific follow-up objectives should be added to the customer follow-up list after every sale (Schmitz, 2012).

Customer specific follow-up objectives can be about the unique product and/or service propositions state, keeping the promises and any specification that has been agreed on.

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3. DEVELOPING SALES

3.1 Strategic Sales Organization

To adapt and prosper in the changing business market, sales organizations has two actions to implicate (Mathur, 2008). The first action is to react and adapt to present changes like utilization of new ways to communicate with the clients and promoting the products with a contemporary business model. The second action is being a strategical, proactive organization which focuses on long range views instead of focusing on firefighting plans.

Being a strategical sales organization forms the competency to make the right decisions about the market and sales actions, networks and relationships, business models (Piercy

& Lone, 2006). Swift and right decisions made for the present and the future incorporates advantages like being the first mover, exploiting supply deficiency and being unique (Ma- thur, 2008).

Being a strategical sales organization helps with external activities like introducing right products at the right time to the right market with the utilization of right distribution channels with the right pricing and promotions. Additional to the external success, being a strategical sales organization helps sustain and build strong and efficient internal qualities (Mathur, 2008). Internal qualities consist of firm’s performance, policy plans and resource optimization. According to Piercy (2006), there are five factors that must be ful- filled to become a strategic sales organization which are illustrated in the following figure.

Figure 10. Strategic organization imperatives (Piercy, 2006).

Involvement factor focuses to build strategical customer decisions. However, for involvement factor to be effective, the sales department should be set as the driver of the organization because provision of the organization is set due to the demand of the customers and the customers are analysed, served and dealt by the sales department first (Piercy, 2006). Conventional sales organizations manage customers for short term which in intensively competitive markets leads to declining revenues (Lombardi, 2005).

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Involvement factor consists of two aspects which focuses on long term high revenue customer relationships.

First purpose of the involvement factor is concerned with various relationships that can be formed with various types of customers for long-term business development (Olson et al., 2001). For accomplishing the first purpose of involvement factor, reforming and developing of activities and processes that sustains and develops value delivery to customers should be focused (Piercy, 2006). Additionally, major customers tend to require highly specific value propositions built around unique value received. Lastly, examples on value proposition that might be demanded in the future can be focused on consultative selling for extrinsic customers and can be venture focused selling for strategic buyers. Making the business model according to customers future states is crucial (Rackham & Vincentis, 1999).

Second purpose of the involvement factor is concerned with the role of sales and account management in terms of analysing the customer environment for strategical decision- making. Allocation of right resources to right customers is crucial in terms of efficient and effective continuum of sales (Piercy, 2006). The customer portfolio graph can be utilized while prioritizing future resource allocations over customers by comparing sales or sales potential with service and relationship requirements. The customer portfolio is illustrated in the following figure.

Figure 11. Customer portfolio (Piercy, 2006).

Key accounts are considered to be partners or collaborators which should receive the high service actions along with relationship benefits. Major accounts are customers with

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high volume business transactions which in general should receive the resources for rapport and service requirements. Middle-market accounts have middle to low range volume business transactions compared to major and key accounts. Middle market accounts can be analysed in two classes which are developers and over demanders (Piercy, 2006). Developers are the middle-market accounts which requires less resources to manage while having high sales or sales potential. Over-demanders are the middle-market accounts that requires high resource utilization while receiving low sales or sales potential. While strategically aligning resource allocation over-demanders come at last due to the inefficient business provided.

Intelligence factor focuses to use customer knowledge as a strategical resource for more opportunity formation and have more added value to the provision (Piercy, 2006). Sales- people demonstrating profound knowledge about the customer’s business is demanded by the customers (H. R. Challey Report, 2002). Customers highly value suppliers that can utilize the provision related knowledge for creating new opportunities and adding competitive advantage to the provision. If continuum of new opportunities and added competitive advantage provisions is sustained, customers tend to be more collaborative and be more loyal (Piercy, 2006).

Integration factor focuses to establish cross-functional relationships required for leading actions that define, develop and deliver value propositions to customers. According to Seidenschwartz (2005), converging strategic management, change management and process management is critical for sales for today’s customer needs. Same convergence logic complies with the company’s entire set of attributes to meet the customers’ needs.

The integrated, marketing focused cross-functional relationships to present better value propositions is illustrated in the following figure.

Evaluation of a Sales Process and Development Needs

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