4. 1 Listening script<br> SarahWe make financial software for medium-sizedcompanies. Competition is strong - not necessarily pricecompetition, because in our sector, quality, reliabilityand service are far more important factors. We use a salestechnique thats called relationship selling. In other words,we spend a lot of time getting to know each prospectsindividual needs: their business processes, their strategicaims, and um... also the issues and constraints they face.The idea is that the customer sees us as a partner, someonewhos going to work with them and help them find the bestsolution for their business. Working this way, there are timeswhen I have to freely admit to people that our products maynot be best suited to their particular needs, but to be honestId much prefer to be doing that than using some hard-selltechnique to push something I dont really believe in myself,you know...PresenterThankyou, Sarah. Now, Dale Freidman, I knowyou have a very different approach...DaleI would say so, yes. In my line of business, its allabout perceived benefits - there are some tangible ones like,for example, use of natural ingredients in our deodorants,but everyone in the industry copies ideas, so its difficultto sustain any kind of technical competitive advantage forlong. So, I use a lot of anecdotes when I sell; I tell stories, getpeople laughing. My approach is direct - I guess some mightsay pushy, but I get results. I deal only with the decisionmaker, whos generally a buyer for a chain of stores. Youdbe amazed how much time people waste talking to thewrong guy. I always start by presenting them with the mostexpensive options, because this increases our average sales,and as soon as I get a buying signal from them - it couldbe anything, you know, just a question like Whats yourmost popular product？ - I move in and close the sale bydiscussing quantities required, special delivery arrangements,favourable payment terms, things that make them feel theyregetting added value...
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