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Module 4
Communicating Effectively
Communication to me is,………
Effective Communication can,….
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Sales Communication as a
Collaborative Process
What’s the difference between “talking
at the customer” and “talking with the
customer”?
Provide an example!
Listening Skills Inventory
Exercise
How do you measure up?
Page 121 – Exhibit 4.7 – 10 Keys to
Effective Listening
How Well Do We Listen?
 People use 1/4 of their listening capacity
 People use 1/10 of their memory potential
 People forget 1/2 of what they have heard
within eight hours
 Eventually, people forget 95% of what they
have heard unless cued by something later
on
 People usually distort what little they do
remember
In a Selling Context
 Put in a selling context, if you spend six
hours a day with prospects, you might spend
three hours listening to them. Then you
would...
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... Hear about 90 minutes worth
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... Listen to 45 minutes worth
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... Understand 22 1/2 minutes of it
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... Believe only 11 minutes of it,
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... Remember only 5 5/8 minutes of it
Verbal Communication: Listening
Types of Listening
 Marginal/Social Listening
 Recipients hear the words but are easily distracted
and may allow their minds to wander
 Evaluative Listening
 Listeners are concentrating on what is being said
but do not sense what is being communicated
nonverbally or through more subtle verbal cues
 Active Listening
 A process in which the listener receives messages,
processes them, and responds so as to encourage
further communication
SIER Hierarchy of Active
Listening
Responding
Evaluating
Interpreting
Sensing
In-class Exercise – Arco Company
Nonverbal Communication
 Facial Expressions
 Eye Movements
Face
Head
 Placement and Movements of Hands, Arms,
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Head, and Legs
Hands
Body Posture and Orientation
Variation in Voice Characteristics
 Speaking Rate and Pause Duration
 Pitch or Frequency
 Intensity and Loudness
Feet
Proxemics
Note page 125, Exhibit 4.8, is a guide only,
not always 100% accurate.
Arms
Legs
Posture
Reading and Reacting
to Nonverbal Signals
 Nonverbal signals are processed at a sub-
conscious level
 There are five major nonverbal
communication channels
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Body Angle
Face
Arms
Hands
Legs
Nonverbal Communication
 More information is communicated
nonverbally than through any other form of
communication
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Tone of voice and accents
Body language (facial expressions, gestures,
and attitudes)
Choice of dress influences nonverbal
communication
Personal Distance/Proxemics
 Public Zone: >12 feet
 Social Zone: 4 - 12 feet
You
 Personal Zone: 2-4 feet
 Intimate Zone: 0-2 feet
Me
Verbal Communication:
Questioning
Salespeople skilled at questioning take a strategic
approach to asking questions so that they may:
 Control the flow and direction of the
conversation
 Uncover important information (disclosure)
 Demonstrate concern and understanding
 Facilitate the customer’s understanding
Verbal Communication:
Strategic Application of Questioning
 Generate Buyer Involvement
 Provoke Thinking
 Gather Information through
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disclosure
Clarification and Emphasis
Show Interest
Gain Confirmation
Advance the Sale
Types of Questions:
 Open-end Questions
How do You Feel?
Types of Questions:
 Open-end Questions
 Closed-end Questions
Do You Feel Good?
Types of Questions:
 Open-end Questions
 Closed-end Questions
 Dichotomous/Multiple-Choice Questions
Do You Feel Happy or Sad?
Discussion Question – page 129 (Q:4)
 Explain the difference in the uses of probing,
evaluative, tactical, and reactive questions in
trust-based selling.
Questions Classified by Strategic
Purpose
 Probing – used for digging, useful during
discovery and objection handling
 Evaluative – uncovers attitudes, opinions and
preferences
 Tactical – used to shift or redirect the
discussion/conversation
 Reactive – used in response to the reaction
of a buyer/customer
SPIN Questioning System
Four types of questions:
 Situational
 Problem
 Implication
 Need-Payoff
Situation Questions
Definition:
Finding out facts about the buyer’s existing situation.
Examples:
How many people do you employ at this location? How do
you manage your customers and contacts?
Impact:
Least powerful of the SPIN questions. Negative relationship
to success. Most people ask too many.
Advice:
Eliminate unnecessary Situation Questions by doing your
homework in advance.
SPIN – Situation Questions
Seller: Ethan
ACT!
Buyer: Steve
ESI Enterprises
Problem Questions
Definition:
Asking about problems, difficulties or dissatisfactions that
the buyer is experiencing with the existing situation.
Examples:
Have you ever had trouble managing your time & customers?
Which parts of the system create error?
Impact:
More powerful than Situation Questions. People ask more
Problem Questions as they become more experienced at
selling.
Advice:
Think of your products or services in terms of the problems
they solve for buyers—not in terms of the details or
characteristics that your products possess.
SPIN – Problem Questions
Seller: Ethan
ACT!
Buyer: Steve
ESI Enterprises
Implication Questions
Definition:
Asking about the consequences or effects of a buyer’s
problems, difficulties, or dissatisfactions.
Examples:
What effect does that problem have on your productivity?
Could that be impeding your ability to develop good
relationships with your customers?
Impact:
The most powerful of all SPIN questions. Top salespeople
ask lots of Implication Questions.
Advice:
These questions are the hardest to ask. Prepare for these
questions by identifying and understanding the
implications of various suspected needs prior to the sales
call.
SPIN – Implication Questions
Seller: Ethan
ACT!
Buyer: Steve
ESI Enterprises
Need-Payoff Questions
Definition:
Asking about the value or usefulness of a proposed
solution. They seek the buyer’s opinion as to what life
would be like if the problem was solved.
Examples:
How would better time & customer management help you?
Would you like to discuss how we can do that for you?
Impact:
Versatile questions used a great deal by top salespeople.
These questions help the buyer to understand the benefits of
solving the problem.
Advice:
Use these questions to get buyers to tell you the benefits that
your solution can offer.
SPIN – Need-Payoff Questions
Seller: Ethan
ACT!
Buyer: Steve
ESI Enterprises
ADAPT Techniques for Needs Discovery
Assessment Questions
• Broad
bases and general facts describing situation
• Non-threatening as no interpretation is requested
• Open-end questions for maximum information
Discovery Questions
•Build on Assessment Questions
• Questions probing information gained in assessment
• Seeking to uncover problems or dissatisfactions that
could lead to suggested buyer needs
• Open-end questions for maximum information
Activation Questions
• Show the negative impact of a problem discovered in the
discovery sequence
• Designed to activate buyer’s interest and desire
to solve the problem.
Projection Questions
• Projects what life would be like without the problems
• Buyer establishes the value of finding and
implementing a solution
Transition Questions
• Confirms
interest in solving the
problem
• Transitions to presentation of
Reacting During
the Questioning Stage
 Question-based presentations are the link between
salespeople’s ability to listen and to uncover buyer
motivations
 Salespeople who are empathetic are better able to
understand their prospects’ motives
 “Check the pulse” of prospects regularly
 Remain alert for any signals that prospects may send
Responding to Tough Questions
 When your prospect asks you tough,
uncertain questions
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Restate the question to make sure you
understand it correctly.
Ask:
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“Can I think about that for a while?”
“That is a good question and I do not readily have
the answer”
You could also start with a general reply
Don’t fake it