ENGLISH FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES
LESSON 3: SALES
WARM UP ? SPEAKING: Explain what is selling for you!
Complete the definition of a sale with the words from the box.
| commercial | selling | service |
A sale is the act of a product or in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a activity.
[key] A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity. [/key]
SPEAKING:
Have you ever thought of working in sales? If yes, why? If not, why?
What makes a perfect sales person? Have your say!
Look at the cartoon! Explain what you can see in the picture and say what you think of it.
Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/sales_man.asp
READING – read the text below and complete it with the traits of a perfect sales person. Use the traits from the box.
WHAT MAKES A PERFECT SALES PERSON
| positive attitude | action orientation | excellent people skills |
| following the formula of success | the right body language | humor |
| self discipline | ||
Sales professionals are largely the public face of a company or organizations and people judge the company by seeing the sales personnel. They need to have the right personality traits, the correct mental make-up and attitude to be successful and help their company or division do better.
Some of the most important qualities in a sales professional include: is the most important quality to become a successful sales professional is to have the knack of establishing a good rapport with others. People skills are the only way a sales person can relate to a potential customer and hold his attention long enough to get the sale.
(?)
Good Behavior and Positive Demeanor- Customers warm up to sales people who display proper behavior like being cordial, polite, humorous without being overly so, disciplined and so on. Some of the traits that they need to display are:
- – A positive mental attitude can spur sales due to the commitment, discipline and encouragement it brings. Being positive means not being pulled down by a bad day, less sales or negative feedback, but instead makes the sales man think, feel and behave in a positive manner. (?)
- – It?s not the ability to laugh but an attitude to see the brighter and lighter side of things, and a precursor for a successful working career. (?)
- -this becomes important for sales people to actually perform according to what you profess, with a set of clear cut goals and targets which as a sales person you are driven to achieve. (?)
- – It?s about following and pursuing goals seriously with focus and irrespective of personal feelings and other issues. Not going astray or adopting a lackadaisical approach are all manifestations of self discipline.
- – This is not being bogged down by failures but using each failed attempt as a stepping stone to success.
- it is important of the sales person reflects his character and personality, which must appeal to a potential customer rather than put him off. Being confident and self assured sends the right signals and the customer feels, here is a salesman who knows his work and his product and looks upon him not with hostility but with an inclination to hear him out. (?)
- Conduct thorough research about the market and the competitors – This helps in being prepared to meet challenges with a ready action plan and correct measures to avoid a dip in sales or any reflection of poor performance.
Source: http://bloggertone.com/sales/2011/01/20/traits-of-a-great-sales-person/
[key]
Sales professionals are largely the public face of a company or organizations and people judge the company by seeing the sales personnel. They need to have the right personality traits, the correct mental make-up and attitude to be successful and help their company or division do better.
Some of the most important qualities in a sales professional include:
Excellent people skills is the most important quality to become a successful sales professional is to have the knack of establishing a good rapport with others. People skills are the only way a sales person can relate to a potential customer and hold his attention long enough to get the sale.
(?)
Good Behavior and Positive Demeanor- Customers warm up to sales people who display proper behavior like being cordial, polite, humorous without being overly so, disciplined and so on. Some of the traits that they need to display are:
- Positive attitude – A positive mental attitude can spur sales due to the commitment, discipline and encouragement it brings. Being positive means not being pulled down by a bad day, less sales or negative feedback, but instead makes the sales man think, feel and behave in a positive manner. (?)
- Humor – It?s not the ability to laugh but an attitude to see the brighter and lighter side of things, and a precursor for a successful working career. (?)
- Action orientation -this becomes important for sales people to actually perform according to what you profess, with a set of clear cut goals and targets which as a sales person you are driven to achieve. (?)
- Self discipline – It?s about following and pursuing goals seriously with focus and irrespective of personal feelings and other issues. Not going astray or adopting a lackadaisical approach are all manifestations of self discipline.
- Following the formula of success – This is not being bogged down by failures but using each failed attempt as a stepping stone to success.
- The right body language it is important of the sales person reflects his character and personality, which must appeal to a potential customer rather than put him off. Being confident and self assured sends the right signals and the customer feels, here is a salesman who knows his work and his product and looks upon him not with hostility but with an inclination to hear him out. (?)
- Conduct thorough research about the market and the competitors – This helps in being prepared to meet challenges with a ready action plan and correct measures to avoid a dip in sales or any reflection of poor performance.
[/key]
LEARN HOW TO BE A GOOD SALES PERSON!
CHECK THE 10 COMMANDMENTS FOR SALES!
What do you think of the commandments of sales?
Do you agree with them or not? Would you add any other commandments?
Comments
which i don’t agree is number 9. i think we can make a deal with the price, unless that product is fix price such as oil, gas and other
***
I gotta tell you I think these are words sales professionals should live by. The guy who said that number nine is wrong is the guy that gives everything away and will probably never be a long term sales professional. Negotiate product not price! I think that should be an adm to the 10 commandments!
Have your say and add your own post.
Which comment do you agree with and why?
CHECK YOUR MEMORY
Do you remember the 10 commandments of sales?
Ten Commandments of Sales
- Never take no for an
- Give first
- Treat all customers like
- Always tell the
- Prospect everyday
- Keep a positive
- Return every phone call & email
- Underpromise & Overdeliver
- Never make an for your price
- Keep the
[key]
Ten Commandments of Sales:
- Never take no for an answer
- Give value first
- Treat all customers like family
- Always tell the truth
- Prospect everyday
- Keep a positive attitude
- Return every phone call & email
- Underpromise & Overdeliver
- Never make an excuse for your price
- Keep the faith
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Extend your knowledge! Look at the Sales techniques! Do you know any of them?
A sale can take place through:
- Direct sales, involving person to person contact
- Pro forma sales
- Agency-based
- Sales agents (for example in real estate or in manufacturing)
- Sales outsourcing through direct branded representation
- Transaction sales
- Consultative sales
- Complex sales
- Consignment
- Telemarketing or telesales
- Retail or consumer
- Traveling salesman
- Door-to-door methods
- hawking
- Request for proposal ? An invitation for suppliers, through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific product or service. An RFP usually represents part of a complex sales process, also known as „enterprise sales”.
- Business-to-business ? Business-to-business sales are much more relationship-based owing to the lack of emotional attachment[citation needed] to the products in question. Industrial/professional sales involves selling from one business to another
- Electronic
- Web ? Business-to-business and business-to-consumer
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) ? A set of standard for structuring information to be electronically exchanged between and within businesses
- Indirect, human-mediated but with indirect contact
- Mail-order
- vending machine
- Sales methods:
- Selling technique
- Consultative selling
- Sales enablement
- Solution selling
- Conceptual Selling
- Strategic Selling
- Transactional Selling
- Sales Negotiation
- Reverse Selling
- Paint-the-Picture
- The take away
- Sales Habits
- Relationship Selling
Complete the definitions with the selling techniques from the box.
| hawker | pro forma | vending machine |
| solution selling | telemarketing |
The term Latin for „as a matter of form” or „for the sake of form”, is a term applied to practices or documents that are done as a pure formality, perfunctorily, or seek to satisfy the minimum requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine. It has different meanings in different fields.
is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.
A is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area. Whether stationary or mobile, hawkers usually advertise by loud street cries or chants, and conduct banter with customers, so to attract attention and enhance sales. When accompanied by a demonstration and/or detailed explanation of the product, the hawker is sometimes referred to as a demonstrator or pitchman.
A is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine.
is a sales methodology. Rather than just promoting an existing product, the salesperson focuses on the customer’s pain(s) and addresses the issue with his or her offerings (product and services). The resolution of the pain is what constitutes a true „solution”. A limitation of this approach is that not all customers buy to address a „pain”, not every need is a problem needing a solution.
[key]
The term pro forma, Latin for „as a matter of form” or „for the sake of form”, is a term applied to practices or documents that are done as a pure formality, perfunctorily, or seek to satisfy the minimum requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine. It has different meanings in different fields.
Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales,or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which asalesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area. Whether stationary or mobile, hawkers usually advertise by loud street cries or chants, and conduct banter with customers, so to attract attention and enhance sales. When accompanied by a demonstration and/or detailed explanation of the product, the hawker is sometimes referred to as a demonstrator or pitchman.
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine.
Solution selling is a sales methodology. Rather than just promoting an existing product, the salesperson focuses on the customer’s pain(s) and addresses the issue with his or her offerings (product and services). The resolution of the pain is what constitutes a true „solution”. A limitation of this approach is that not all customers buy to address a „pain”, not every need is a problem needing a solution.
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| DEFINITION | WORD |
|---|---|
| to improve the quality, amount or strength of something | |
| to ask someone for money, information or help | |
| done quickly, without taking care or interest | |
| to give out things, especially products, services or amounts of money, to people |
[key]
| DEFINITION | WORD |
|---|---|
| to improve the quality, amount or strength of something | enhance |
| to ask someone for money, information or help | solicit |
| done quickly, without taking care or interest | perfunctorily |
| to give out things, especially products, services or amounts of money, to people | dispense |
[/key]
Complete the sentences with the words from the box. Remember to put them in a correct grammar form.
| perfunctorily | dispense | solicit | enhance |
- There is a vending machine on the platform that snacks.
- It is illegal for public officials to gifts or money in exchange for favours.
- The two heads of state shook hands for the photographers.
- These scandals will not the organization’s reputation.
[key]
- There is a vending machine on the platform that dispenses snacks.
- It is illegal for public officials to solicit gifts or money in exchange for favours.
- The two heads of state shook hands perfunctorily for the photographers.
- These scandals will not enhance the organization’s reputation.
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CHECK YOUR MEMORY – try to order the selling techniques from the previous exercise to a proper category of sales techniques.
| DEFINITION | WORD |
|---|---|
| Agency-based | |
| Sales method | |
| Traveling salesman | |
| Indirect, human-mediated but with indirect contact |
[key]
| DEFINITION | WORD |
|---|---|
| Agency-based | telemarketing |
| Sales method | selling |
| Traveling salesman | hawker |
| Indirect, human-mediated but with indirect contact | vending machine |
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