Sales people who approach their potential Customers by telephone or directly constantly seek sales techniques or tips to improve their sales. One of the challenges for all sales people is that people are different, what works with one will not necessarily work with another.

Sales Presentations Must Vary

The sales professional can prepare their approach, the benefits of their case and good sound reasons why their product is good for a potential Customer. They practice how to put this across in their sales presentation, with nice positive selling language for their benefits and plenty of practical evidence.

The problem is that all of this will change for different Customer groups. One size will not fit all. The benefits and evidence for one is not relevant to another. The language style and the words the sales person will use will change from one Customer to another. For example one group may need highly technical information, with lots of facts and figures. All this technical data would turn another type of Customer away.

Profile your Key Customer Groups

One of the most effective and successful sales techniques is to profile your Customers into four defined groups. Identify your existing key Customer groups, those that are buying happily from your Company at the moment. They will usually fall into 3 to 4 natural groups. This will be based on the nature of their business, or the nature of the people to whom you are selling.

Research each group carefully. What is the nature of their business? What do they buy? What type of people are the buyers, and the users? What are their buying values and priorities? Why do they buy from you? What benefits do they find in your products and in your service?

The more common factors you can find within each group, the better. This will give you good groundwork to prepare your sales presentation. It is important also to identify the key differences. In what way is group A different from group B?

Prepare a Different Sales Approach for Each Customer Group

The next step in profiling is to prepare a different sales approach or sales presentation for each Customer group.

For each group:

• Identify the key benefits you will focus on, the reasons why this group should buy your products. There will be different benefits that appeal to different Customer groups. Prepare four to five really good benefits that will appeal most to this Customer group. Your sales presentation will centre round these key benefits.

• Identify the language style for each group. All sales language will be positive and totally relevant. Each may vary from formal to informal, from technical to non-technical. Ensure you have the right style for your sales presentation to each Customer group.

• The structure and flow of the sales presentation may also vary from one Customer group to another. For one group, an informal introduction and fact find will be followed by key benefits and a fairly quick closing of the sale. Another may require a more formal tendering approach with, perhaps, stand up presentations. Ensure you get the right style and approach for each of the different groups.

Build your Expertise with each Customer Group

The key to this sales technique is to perfect at least four completely different sales approaches. If you have profiled your potential Customers accurately, these four approaches should work well with your potential Customers.

Following each meeting, add to your expertise by reviewing the meeting and identifying at least one learning point for that Customer group. That way, you are doing what all good sales people do, you are continuously improving your professionalism as a sales person.