CHAPTER 5

SALES DIALOGUE:
CREATING AND COMMUNICATING VALUE
KEYS TO EFFECTIVE SALES
DIALOGUE
The most effective sales dialogues:
• Are planned and practiced by salespeople.
• Encourage buyer feedback.
• Focus on creating value for the buyer.
• Present value in an interesting and understandable
way.
• Engage and involve the buyer.
• Support customer value through objective claims.
ENCOURAGING BUYER FEEDBACK
CHECK-BACKS/RESPONSE CHECKS
- Questions salespeople use throughout
a sales dialogue to generate feedback
from the buyer.
ENCOURAGING BUYER FEEDBACK
Although, feedback can be sought at any point in the
conversation, CHECK-BACKS are commonly employed
at two key points:
• after a specific feature-benefit sequence in order to
confirm the benefit and better assess the
prospective buyer’s level of interest
• following the response to an objection in order
to evaluate the level to which the salesperson
has handled the problem.
 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF CHECK-BACKS
• “How does this sound to you?”
• “Does this make sense to you so far?”
• “Would this feature be useful to you in your current operations?”
• “What do you think?”
• “So is this something that would be valuable to you?”
• “Isn’t that great?”
• “Do you like the color?”
• “From your comment, it sounds like you would want the upgraded memory. Is that
correct?”
• “Does that answer your concern?”
• “Would this be an improvement over what you are doing right now?”
• “Is this what you had in mind?
 CREATING CUSTOMER VALUE
• Determine what the buyer considers to be of value. A
salesperson can use the SPIN OR ADAPT questioning
strategies to understand the buyer’s situation and to
identify needs, problems, or opportunities important to
the buyer.
• There are several factors that go into creating value for
the customer, included in that is price (Price Value).
• CONFIRMED BENEFITS – The benefits the buyer
indicates are important and represent value.
 INTERESTING AND UNDERSTANDABLE
SALES DIALOGUE
• The salesperson needs to present key selling points in
a manner that is interesting and understandable to the
buyer.
• The presentation should focus on the buyer and is
intended to gain and hold the buyer’s attention, and to
increase the buyer’s understanding and retention of the
information.
• VERBAL SUPPORT – The use of voice characteristics,
examples and anecdotes, and comparisons and analogies
to make sales dialogue interesting and understandable.
 VOICE CHARACTERISTICS
• The pitch and speed of speech, which salespeople
should vary to emphasize key points.
• Voice quality can be used to bring excitement
and drama to the presentation by doing three
things:
varying the pitch
fluctuating the speed,
and altering the volume.
 EXAMPLE
• A brief description of a specific instance used to illustrate features
and benefits of a product.
• May be either real or hypothetical and are used to further
explain and emphasize a topic of interest.
ANECDOTE
• A type of example that is provided in the form of a
story describing a specific incident or occurrence.
• A salesperson’s use of examples and anecdotes keeps the buyer
interested, brings clarity into the presentation, and improve the
buyer’s understanding and retention of what the salesperson is
presenting.
 COMPARISON
• A statement that points out and illustrates the
similarities between two points.
• Increase the buyer’s level of interest and understanding of the
information.
ANALOGY
• A special and useful form of comparison that explains one
thing in terms of another.
• Analogies are useful for explaining something complex by
allowing the buyer to better visualize it in terms of
something familiar that is easier to understand.
ENGAGING AND INVOLVING THE BUYER
• To maximize the effectiveness of the sales dialogue,
salespeople utilize various sales aids to engage
and involve the buyer throughout the sales
interaction.
SALES AIDS
• The use of printed materials, electronic materials, and
product demonstrations to engage and involve
buyers.
• These sales aids also help to capture and hold the
buyer’s attention, boost the buyer’s understanding,
 TYPES OF SALES
AIDS
• VISUAL MATERIALS - Printed materials,
photographs and illustrations, and charts
and graphs used as sales aids.
• ELECTRONIC MATERIALS – Sales aids in
electronic format such as slides, videos, or
multimedia presentations.
• PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS
 GUIDELINES FOR
PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS
• Ensure that the appearance of the product is neat and clean.
• Check for problem-free operation.
• Be confident and able to demonstrate the product skillfull.
• Practice using the product prior to the demonstration.
• Anticipate problems and have back-up or replacement parts
on hand.
• Make sure that setup and knockdown are easy and quick.
Using the SPES sequence can facilitate the
effectiveness of presentation tools and sales aids:
State the selling point and introduce the sales
aid;
Present the sales aid;
Explain the sales aid; and
Summarize
 SUPPORTING PRODUCT CLAIMS

PROOF PROVIDERS
• The use of statistics, testimonials, or case
histories to support product claims.
• Claims of benefits and value produced and
provided to the buyer need to be backed up
with evidence to highlight their believability.
 PROOF PROVIDERS
• STATISTICS – Facts that lend believability to product
claims and are used as proof providers.
• TESTIMONIALS – Proof providers that are in the form
of statements from satisfied users of the selling
organization’s products and services.
• CASE HISTORIES – A testimonial in story or
anecdotal form used as a proof provider.
 GROUP SALES DIALOGUE
PRESELLING
• Salespeople present their product/service to individual buyers
before a major sales dialogue with a group of buyers.
• SALES TACTICS can enhance presentations to groups. Sales
tactics for group presentations fall into three categories:
ARRIVAL TACTICS
EYE CONTACT
COMMUNICATION TIPS
 THREE CATEGORIES
OF
SALES TACTICS
1.ARRIVAL TACTICS – Try to arrive at the location
for the meeting before the buying group arrives.
2.EYE CONTACT - The most effective eye contact is
to try to connect with each individual or small
subgroups for only a few seconds, moving through
the entire group over the course of the
presentation.
 3. COMMUNICATION TIPS
When selling to groups:
• Make all members of the group feel that
their opinions are valuable.
• Avoid being caught in the middle of
disagreements between members of the buying
group.
• Salespeople must be diplomatic as a
participant
in discussions that might develop between
members of the buying group.
 3. COMMUNICATION TIPS
In delivering group presentations:
• Maintain contact with group members.
• Think of slides and other audio-visual aids
as support tools, not as a “roll-and-scroll”
presentations to be read to the group.
• When possible, salespeople should stand to the
left of visual aids, as people read right to left.
 3. COMMUNICATION TIPS
Body language:
• Can add or detract to sales effectiveness in
the group setting.
• Posture should reflect an energetic, relaxed
person.
• Conventional wisdom dictates that presenters
should avoid contact with their own bodies
while presenting.
 HANDLING QUESTIONS
IN
GROUP DIALOGUE
• In answering questions during a group
dialogue, salespeople should listen
carefully, answer directly, and address
the individual asking the question as
well as the others in the group.
THANK YOU!!
