The selling
process can be divided into three areas, pre-sales, sales, and post-sales. The pre-sell process involves research,
advertising, prospecting, and assessing needs. The selling process involves the approach, planning
the sale, the presentation, meeting objections, and closing the deal. The post-sale process happens after the sale
and involves following-up with the customer to be sure they are satisfied with
their purchase.
It is
important to be able distinguish and understand the difference between the cost
of customer acquisition with customer retention. The different types of relationships for B2B
and B2C in the pre and post-sale will also be explained.
Pre-Sales
Pre-sales involves
research to assess needs, meet objections, establish a demographic, and essentially
predict whether or not the product will sell. Most importantly, pre-sales involves the
actual marketing of the product. The
information gathered from the research will determine which methodology should
be utilized. This approach will assist
in successfully marketing the product in a cost effective way. The planning process
is an essential part of pre-sales. After the research has been performed, and a
demographic has been established, a plan can be formulated which will help
maintain focus on the goal that has been set.
Pre-sales activities must be performed correctly, as this is the
foundation of the selling process.
Sales
The selling
process involves the approach, the presentation, and closing the deal. This process occurs only after research has
been performed, a demographic has been set, and advertising methods have been
established. In basic terms, the product
or service has already been marketed, and consumers are aware that the product
or service exists. Next comes the most
intricate and complicated part, which is obtaining the sale. Sales
activities come after all of the efforts made in the pre-sales activities. Sales may include phone calls, presentations, negotiations,
and closing the deal. Selling takes talent,
skill, and knowledge of the product or service being sold, and begins as soon
as a consumer observes an advertisement for the product and/or service. An advertisement should attract the attention
of the consumer, and leave the consumer wanting to hear more about the product
or service. The product or service
should be readily available and easy to obtain.
The salesperson should be ready to answer any questions and extinguish
any concerns, and in doing so, tell the customer more about the benefits of
getting the product or service. The main
objective for the salesperson is to obtain the sale.
Post-Sales
Post Sales is the final step in the sales process, and
takes place after the customer has purchased the product or service. This is the follow-up with the customer to
ensure that they are satisfied with the service and the purchase. This is also the time to answer any
additional questions the customer may have and to create a relationship that
will hopefully bring repeat business to the company.
The
follow-up process is not always practical, especially with a large corporation.
Because of this, a customer follow-up is often reserved for clients who conduct
high value purchases. A company’s
revenues are ultimately connected to the approval of the customer. The importance of establishing customer
relationships will hopefully ensure repeat business.
B2C and B2B Sales
The two major
differences between B2B and B2C markets are the number of clients, and the size
of the budget. With Business-to-Consumer
sales, there are millions of individual customers while some
Business-to-Business operations may have a customer base of thousands. But even
though businesses do not have the large customer base, they do have spending
ability. Because of this, the B2B
customer has more value.
B2C sales are about the immediate sale. The consumer is ready to make an immediate
purchase, so the sale must be instant.
B2C sales are usually direct to the consumer, involving the seller and
the buyer. The B2C sales teams generate
sales at a faster pace and have a closer connection with marketing and
e-commerce. B2B sales move at a slower
pace, and involve research, networking, and negotiating. B2C sales could prove to be too intense for a
B2B salesperson, while the B2C salesperson may find B2B sales frustrating
because of the slower pace.
The sales process in B2B can be very difficult and
requires sales staff to be well trained and qualified to handle and manage
sales deals. The cost involved in B2B
sales is very high, so it requires a great deal of time and analysis. With B2C
sales, a sales representative must learn the product or service being sold in
order to make the sale. B2C and B2B both
require a sales process. B2B is more time consuming, but they both still must
have a well-defined sales strategy. Perhaps
the most important distinction between B2B and B2C sales is the consumer. Consumers make buying decisions based on
emotional need, whether it is for status, comfort, or security. Business buyers make their purchasing
decisions based on profitability, and enhancing productivity and service. The selling process puts ideas and strategies
in order for the purpose of making a sale, and creating long-term customer
relations.
Customers
are the reason businesses operate. An organization’s survival is dependent on
its ability to create and develop customer relationships. Customer acquisition
and customer retention both present unique costs and benefits to an
organization and are important components to B2B and B2C sales. Customer acquisition is a term used to
identify the processes and procedures a sales team uses to locate, qualify and
ultimately secure the business of new customers. Customer retention refers to the process used
to keep a client's business and not have them use a competitor’s services or
products.
When it comes to customer relationships, it is important to understand
how important these relationships are for repeat business. Making a customer feel valued will help encourage
long-term relationships. Marketing is
the most effective approach to informing consumers about product and services.
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