Miodrag Kostić, CMC
Sales training

Living and working in USA for 16 years

Working for the best!

Training: “Japanese model for business in Serbia”
18.03.2014 - Belgrade Chamber of Commerce

Public training: Business improvements using lean
methodology – Belgrade Chamber of Commerce - March 2016

Training “B2B - Key Account Sales Strategy”
9.5.2013 in Belgrade Chamber of Commerce

Miodrag Kostić

To help you see which is the bigger carrot

“To know what you know and what you do not know,
that is true knowledge.” ― Confucius – 511 BC
How much do we really know what we know?
Challenge
No. 1

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
― Albert Einstein
How much do we understand what we know?
Challenge
No. 2

“Easy to understand, hard to apply!”
-- Marshal Goldsmith
How do we apply what we understand?
Challenge
No. 3

Placed in all Japanese schools
“only” 1 % better

How is it on the global marketplace?
Why do we need to be better?

What happens if you don’t get better?

What are your
opportunities
and challenges?

Tell us how do you sell to your clients?
What are the steps of your selling process?

CRISIS
challenge opportunity
Challenge presents opportunity for improvement

Who are your
customers and clients?

Why should you know your clients?
To understand their needs and wants

How you see your
clients determines
your behavior and
your success in sales

Is every client a “good client”?

What do you sell
to your clients?

FEATURES
of products
Solve the
PROBLEM
BENEFITS
of solution
Features tell,
benefits sell!

What are your product features?

What is the benefit for the client?
Benefit shows how the
feature helps the client

PRODUCT
feature benefitproblem
Why they need the product?
Without this feature
Measurable

Why do people
buy from you?

“People buy from people they love!”
-- Harvey Mackay

What do you do for your clients?
What is the cost of serving your clients?

= P + ... +
What is your extended offer?
What your client gets from you?

Is your customer aware of all the benefits?
Do they see how much of everything you have done?

How to influence
other people?

What do you do during the sales call?
Asking questions and giving answers!

“The most effective way of influencing people
is asking questions and active listening”
-- Antony Robins

Frequently Asked Questions
List of questions and answers

How to prepare
for the sale?

NCR - National Cash Register
Book of arguments
200 page manual: How I sell National Cash Registers?
-- John H. Patterson

“Prepared battle is half won!“
-- Napoleon Bonaparte

Why do we need to plan?
"In preparing for battle I have always
found that plans are useless, but
planning is indispensable."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Chance favors only the prepared mind!”
-- Louis Pasteur

How do you learn in sales – in life?
When do you
learn from
errors ?
Trial and error
NOT

Who was the first to research why clients buy?

How clients experience the sales process?
Why should I
buy?NOT

What are the steps
during the sale?

1. Opening the
sale process
preliminaries
2. Discovering &
developing needs
investigating
3. Demonstrating
capacity
presenting
4. Obtaining
comitment
closing
SALES
PROCESS
= A
= I
= D
A=

1. Preliminary phase
A - Attention

First impression
How much time do you need to make the first impression?

“A smile is the shortest distance between two people”
-- Harvey Mackay

3 ways to influence people
1. Words %
what we say, verbal communication
2. Tonality %
rhythm, gusto, tempo
3. Body language %
face, movement, breathing

7%
38%
55%
What influences people?
Body language
Tonality
Words

“You must sell trust first
and then your product”
-- Ron Martin

2. Discovering and developing client needs
I - Interest

What is the greatest challenge in sales?
How much are clients aware of their needs?
How can we develop needs?
How can we discover needs?

How do clients decide to buy?
I feel perfect!
I am a little dissatisfied!
I have a big problem!
I have to react right now!
No need
Undecided
Urgent need

What do we ask clients to develop needs?
Problem
questions
Solution
questions
Implication
questions

1. What problem he has if he doesn't buy from you?
2. What are the implications of this problem?
3. What he sees as the best solution of the problem?
Problem
Implication
Solution
Why questions? To say it with his own words
What do you think is the best solution for you?
What happens if you buy poor quality product?
What are the consequences of poor quality?
What do we ask our clients?

1. What are the PROBLEM questions

What do the problem questions discover?
1. What are his problems if he doesn’t buy the product?
2. What are his problems if he doesn’t buy it from you?
Product / Extended offer
Feature – Problem - Benefit

2. What are the IMPLICATION questions

How implication questions affect the client?
Discover what are the implications if he doesn’t solve his problem?
They develop clients dissatisfaction
Develop customer needs in
the direction where they are
solved by your product
IMPORTANT

3. What are the SOLUTION questions

What do the solution questions discover?
The client discovers
•Benefit – for him
•Value – for him
•Importance – for him
of solving the problem

Problem - Implication PIS questions
Problem Solution Implication SolutionImplication Problem
Giving you the solution the client
further develops the need
Question that will make him
discover the need for your product
Is to buy from you
If he doesn’t
buy from you

“When the best leader's work is done
the people say, 'We did it ourselves'!“
-- Lao Tzu
(seller's)
(bought it)

3. Demonstrating capacity phase
D - Desire

1853 - Elisha Otis – the first elevator pitch
What is elevator pitch?

“When I dined with Mr. Wild, I felt as though
he was the smartest man in England.
But when I dined with Mr. Disraeli, I felt as I
was the smartest woman in England.”
-- Sara Bernar

Don’t talk about yourself,
talk about your client!
IMPORTANT Features tell,
benefits sell!

What should you present to the client?
What benefits should you present?
Your competitive advantages

How can you differentiate your products?
What is micro and what is macro differentiation?
Macro - marketing
Micro - sales

What are hard and soft differentiators?

How can you turn soft differentiators into hard?
QUALITY = +Expiration date ingredients +

PRODUCT EXT. OFFER
feature benefit problem benefitproblem feature
Reason to buy the product Reason to buy it from you
What do you present to your client?

Why should clients choose you?
How do you differentiate yourself from other sellers?

What are your competitive advantages?
Advantage
Disadvantage
Advantage
Your company
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Competitor 1 Competitor 2
Disadvantage
Disadvantage
Advantage
Advantage
Disadvantage
Advantage
How do you differentiate yourself from other sellers?

4. Obtaining commitment phase
A - Action

Why sale processes fail?
More than 50% of sales are lost because
sellers don’t ask buyers for the sale
3 frogs on a lily pad

How to answer
client complaints?

What is complaint or objection?
Statement on unfulfilled expectations

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest
source of learning!”
-- Bill Gates

What is the cause of your clients complaints?
Hidden concerns
Hidden dissatisfaction
Misunderstandings

Why they tell you they don’t like your products?
They don’t see or understand your extended offer?
They are not aware of your competitive advantages

You find out the truth about them
How do you handle client objections?
You answer it by asking a question
IMPORTANT

How to start answering client objections?
ReplyHOW Reaffirm
REAFFIRM – You are saying ... Your question is ...
REPLY - Sorry I didn’t hear you well …
… can you please repeat your question...

Use WHAT instead of WHY
VERY IMPORTANT
What is the most important rule?

Objections on the price of your product

“Price is what your client is willing to pay you
and how much your competition will allow you!”
-- Publilus Syrus
What is the price?

Is your client aware of the LOW PRICE risks?
PRICE TRAP

Why he complains about the products price?
He is not aware of your extended offer
He doesn’t know how much it costs him
if he doesn't buy the product from you
IMPORTANT

Buyers must understand that
the sum of your products
benefits is more than it’s price.

This is only a short version of our full presentation
50% of our innovation training contains interactive
exercises and case studies from domestic companies
IMPORTANT

THANKS :)
www.businessknowledge.biz
www.miodragkostic.com