Sales Dialogue:

Creating and Communicating

Value

After completing this chapter, you should be

able to:
L01 Describe the key characteristics of
L01 Describe the key characteristics of
effective
effective sales
sales dialogue.
dialogue.

L02
L02 Explain
Explain how
how salespeople
salespeople can
can generate
generate
feedback
feedback from
from buyers.
buyers.
L03
L03 Discuss
Discuss how
how salespeople
salespeople use
use confirmed
confirmed
benefits
benefits to
to create
create customer
customer value.
value.
L04
L04 Describe
Describe how
how verbal
verbal support
support can
can be
be used
used
to
to communicate
communicate value
value in
in an
an interesting
interesting and
and
understandable
understandable manner.
manner.
L05
L05 Discuss
Discuss how
how sales
sales aids
aids can
can engage
engage and
and
involve
involve buyers.
buyers.
L06
L06 Explain
Explain how
how salespeople
salespeople can
can support
support
product
product claims.
claims.
L07
L07 Discuss
Discuss the
the special
special considerations
considerations
involve
involve in
in sales
sales dialogue
dialogue with
with groups.
groups.

L01 Effective Sales Dialogue

Preparing and completing this phase

of the sales process successfully has
been compared to doing surgery in
that it is complex and requires
preparation, knowledge, and skill.
They work with the prospective buyer
to identify, diagnose, and clarify
unsatisfied needs or problems and
then show the buyer how much
better the situation would be by
purchasing the proposed product or

Professional selling classes often

require students to role play a sales
dialogue, have sales contests within
their institution, or have students
competing against other colleges
events.
Planning and practice should focus on
an organized sales dialogue and not a
canned sales presentation.
Proper planning and practice provide
an important foundation for effective

Keys to Effective Sales Dialogue

The most effective sales dialogues:
1. Are planned and practiced by
salespeople.
2. Encourage buyer feedback.
3. Focus on creating value for the buyer.
4. Present value in an interesting and
understandable way.
5. Engage and involve the buyer.
6. Support customer value through
objective claims.

L02 Encouraging Buyer Feedback

In a productive sales dialogue, the

salesperson continually assesses and
evaluates the reactions and
responses of prospective buyers.
The SPIN or ADAPT questioning
processes are designed to get the
buyer to provide feedback to specific
questions the salesperson asks.
The observant salesperson can
receive a great deal of continual
feedback in the form of the buyers

In addition to observing nonverbal

cues, high-performing salespeople
incorporate verbal probes at key
points in order to evaluate the
buyers interest and assess the
progress of the sales dialogue.
The phrases check-backs or
response checks have become
common names for this form of
questioningseeking feedback from

Check-backs or response checks

Questions salespeople use throughout a
sales dialogue to generate feedback from
the buyer.
Check-backs are commonly employed at
two key points:
1. After a specific feature-benefit sequence
in order to confirm the benefit and
better assess the prospective buyers
level of interest
2. following thee response to an objection
in order to evaluate the level to which

The effective use of check-backs

offers a number of advantages, the
most evident is increased buyer
interaction.
The effective use of response-checks
also helps the salesperson evaluate
the level of the buyers
understanding and keeps the
salesperson on the right track.

L03 Creating Customer Value

After the introductory part of a sales call,

the salesperson must try to determine
what the buyer considers to be of value.
A salesperson can use the SPIN or ADAPT
questioning strategies to understand the
buyers situation and to identify needs,
problems, or opportunities important to
the buyer.
The salesperson's primary goal is to
uncover the prospect's specific needs or
problems and then focus on what
products or services will solve the

Confirmed benefits
The benefits the buyer indicates are
important and represent value.
A major purpose of the use of the SPIN
or ADAPT questioning process I to help
the salesperson identify the confirmed
benefits for the buyer.
The importance of focusing on
confirmed benefits to create value for
buyers is illustrated in Professional
Selling in the 21st Century: Using

L04 Interesting and Understanding

Sales Dialogue

Once confirmed benefits have been

identified, the salesperson needs to
present key selling points in a
manner that is interesting and
understandable to the buyer.
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.
Examples and Anecdotes
Example
A brief description of a specific instance
used to illustrate features and benefits
of a product.
Anecdote
A type of example that is provided in

Comparisons and Analogies

Comparison
A statement that points out and
illustrates the similarities between two
points.
Analogies
A special and useful form of comparison
that explains one thing in terms of
another.

L05 Engaging and Involving the Buyer

Simply informing the prospect about the
benefits and their value to the buyer is
seldom sufficient to generate the level of
interest and desire required to result in a
purchase decision.
Sales aids
The use of printed materials, electronic
materials and product demonstrations to
engage and involve buyers.
A salesperson should use the sales aids
that will engage and involve each buyer
most effectively in a particular sales

Reasons for Using Sales Aids

Capture prospective buyers attention.

Generate interest in the recommended solution.
Make presentations more persuasive.
Increase the buyers participation and
involvement.
Provide the opportunity for collaboration and twoway communication.
Add clarity and enhance the prospects
understanding.
Provide supportive evidence and proof to enhance
believability.
Augment the prospects retention of information.
Enhance the professional image of the

Types of Sales Aids

Visual Material
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
presentation.
Product Demonstration
The product itself is often the most
effective sales tool because it provides

Using Sales Aid in the Presentation

Practice! Practice! Practice! Rehearsal of

the presentation is the final key to
conducting effective sales dialogue.
Using the SPES Sequence can
facilitate the effectiveness of
S = State selling
introduce
presentation
toolspoint
andand
sales
aids:
the sales aid
P = Present the sales aid
E = Explain the sales aid
S = Summarize