PSS Skill Summary 1

PSS Skill Summary

NEED SATISFACTION SELLING

Goal: To make informed, mutually beneficial decisions


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NEED: a desire to improve or accomplish something

FEATURE: a characteristic of a product or organization

BENEFIT: what a feature means to the customer

OPPORTUNITY: the potential for your product or organization to improve or accomplish something

PSS Skill Summary 2

OPENING

Goal: To agree on what will be covered or accomplished

When:

You and the customer are ready to conduct business


How:

Propose an agenda.

State the value to the customer.

Check for Acceptance.




PROBING (questioning)

Goal: To build a clear, complete, mutual understanding of a customers needs

When:

You want to gain information from a customer

How:

Use open and closed probes (questions) to explore the customers:

Circumstances

Needs


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OPEN PROBES: encourage a free response


CLOSED PROBES: limit a response to:

Yes or no

A choice among alternatives you supply

A single, often quantifiable, fact


CLOSED PROBE TO CONFIRM A NEED: contains the language of needs and elicits a yes or no response
(for example, Would it be important to you? or Are you looking for?)


PSS Skill Summary 3

SUPPORTING

Goal: To help a customer understand specifically how you can satisfy a need

When:

The customer has expressed a need.

and

You both clearly understand the need.

and

You know how your product/organization can meet their need


How:

Acknowledge the need.

Describe relevant features and benefits.

Check for acceptance.




CLOSING

Goal: To agree on appropriate next steps

When:

The customer signals a readiness to move ahead

or

The customer has accepted the benefits youve described


How:

Review previously accepted benefits youve described.

Propose next steps for you and the customer.

Check for acceptance.










PSS Skill Summary 4

OVERCOMING CUSTOMER INDIFFERENCE

When:

A customer expresses satisfaction with his or her circumstances.


How:

Acknowledge the customers point-of-view.

Request permission to probe.

Probe to create customer awareness of needs:

1. Explore the customers circumstances for:

Opportunities

Effects

2. Confirm the existence of a need.




RESOLVING SKEPTICISM

First:

Probe to understand the concern.


When:

Its clear that the customer doubts a feature or benefit youve described.


How:

Acknowledge the concern.

Offer relevant proof.

Check for acceptance.













PSS Skill Summary 5

RSOLVING A MISUNDERSTANDING

First:

Probe to understand the concern.


When:

Its clear that the customer thingks you cant provide a feature or benefit that you can provide.


How:

Confirm the need behind the concern.

Support the need.

Acknowledge the need.

Describe relevant features and benefits.

Check for acceptance.




RESOLVING A DRAWBACK

First:

Probe to understand the concern.


When:

Its clear the customer is dissatisfied with the presence or absence of a feature or benefit.


How:

Acknowledge the concern.

Refocus on the bigger picture.

Outweigh with previously accepted benefits.

Check for acceptance.












PSS Skill Summary 6

QUESTIONS:

1. What words might a customer use to express a need?
Want, need, desire, looking for, interested in, wish, hope, most important, goal, etc.

2. What is an open probe?
A question for information that encourages a customer to respond freely.

3. An indifferent customer has just revealed the existence of a need your company can improve.
What should you do?
Probe to determine or the effects of the condition the customer and confirm the existence of a need.

4. An example of an open probe is?
What are your goals? Why are you considering? Tell me about what it is youd like to accomplish.

5. What is the difference between a feature and a benefit?
A benefit explains what the feature means to the customer.

6. What is a closed probe?
A question that limits a customers response.

7. What are the three types of closed probes?
Yes or no; choice among alternatives that you supply; a single, often quantifiable fact.

8. When a customer is indifferent, the purpose of probing is to?
Create an awareness of needs (by exploring the customers circumstances for opportunities and effects
and then confirming the existence of a need.)

9. When a customer expresses a concern thats clearly based on a drawback, you?
Probe to understand; acknowledge the concern; refocus on the bigger picture; outweigh previously
accepted benefits; check for acceptance.

10. What words might a customer use to express skepticism?
Doubt, not sure, find it hard to believe, etc.

11. When would you use the skill of closing?
When a customer signals a readiness to move forward or when the customer has accepted the benefits
youve described.

12. To open a call, what do you do? (steps)
Propose an agenda; state the value to the customer; check for acceptance.

13. What is the first step of closing a sale?
Review benefits previously accepted by the customer.

14. When do you use the skill of supporting?
When the customer has expressed a need; when you both clearly understand the need; when you know
how your product or organization can address the need.
PSS Skill Summary 7

15. What is the goal of probing?
To build a clear, complete, mutual understanding of the customers needs.

16. What might a customer say to express indifference?
Were satisfied with what were using now. We dont sell over the internet.

17. What is an example of a product/organization feature?
Description of something.

18. What is an example of a complete support statement?
I couldnt agree with you more customers need companys feature what this means to you is
hows that sound?