Question

Briefly discuss each step involved in the business process of selling a product, beginning from negotiations with customers. Assume that you are just starting your ERP deployment.

Answer 1

The business process of selling is 7-step process which has the following elements:

1. Prospecting and qualifying: This is the process of identifying the potential buyers and determining if they have the need of your product/service.
2. Preparation/pre-approach: This includes the ground research work that one has to do before meeting the potential buyer.
3. Approach: In this step the seller makes the first actual contact with the buyer. It may be a face to face meeting or a phone call in which the seller explains the purpose of the contacting the buyer.
4. Presentation: This may be referred to as the proposal of your product/service and demonstrating to the buyer that how the product/service matches the needs of the buyer.
5. Overcoming objections: Objections are defined as the concerns that can pop up in the buyer's mind once the presentation is done. He may ask certain questions and doubts to get a better understanding of the offer. This is a crucial step for the seller to convince the buyer and increase his satisfaction level.
6. Closing the sale: This is the step where the buyer decides whether he will be making the pruchase of not. The outcome of this depends mostly on how able the seller has been in convicing the buyer.
7. Follow-up: This is a step in which the seller maintains a contact with the buyer even after the sale is done in order to build a relationship with the buyer. This strategy helps in getting the seller future orders and even new references of the customers.