5. Penetration Selling -- Penetrating the Barriers to Understanding
5. Penetration Selling -- Penetrating the Barriers to Understanding
Before focusing on how to make the presentation go right, lets take a quick look at the two major ways in which presentations most often go wrong. The most basic errors have to do with the salesperson not making sure that the prospect is tracking with him throughout the presentation. Salespeople often present in ways which “lose” the prospect. All too often, the salesperson will use words and expressions which the prospect doesn’t fully understand, and/or “talk over the head” of the prospect, by introducing concepts about the product which are too sophisticated or too difficult for the prospect to easily grasp.
The second major way in which presentations go wrong is that the salesperson presents the product in ways which, to one degree or another, are irrelevant to the particular prospect standing in front of him. And consequently, the prospect never develops enough recognition of how valuable this product might be to him, in order for him to want to own it.
In Penetration Selling, we therefore recognize that the key barriers which need to be penetrated during the presentation are:
• Anything that might block the prospect from achieving a full understanding of the product, and even more importantly,
• Anything that might block the prospect from gaining a good understanding of how the product will more than adequately satisfy his key needs and wants for owning that product.
For a prospect to develop sufficient interest in and desire for acquiring a product, he needs to not only become familiar with the features of that product, but he needs to additionally become convinced that the benefits which that product offers him will more than satisfy his specific purposes for acquiring that product.
For example, in demonstrating the latest and greatest cell phones, it is not only important for the salesperson to explain and demonstrate to the prospect what features the phone has (especially stressing those features which the salesperson learned would be of special value to this particular prospect), it is even more important to get the prospect to see how the features of this model will give the prospect the exact benefits this prospect most values in a new cell phone.
Example:
A salesperson applying the principles of the Penetration Selling system, after qualifying senior citizen, Mr. Jones, on his need to own a cell phone, despite his poor eyesight, and after discovering Mr. Jones’ strong desire for it to be uncluttered and simple to operate, primarily for use in case of emergencies:
“So, Mr. Jones, as you can see, this model has only the most essential options, with extra large buttons and bright back lighting [features], which will allow you to easily see and operate the phone in an emergency, whether in bright daylight or in the dark of night [key benefits]…”
With the Penetration Selling system, one learns that a prospect will come to want to purchase your product at the point that he:
• Becomes sufficiently familiar with your product, and
• Believes that your product will satisfy his needs and wants for that product.
For the prospect to reach this point in the sales process, the salesperson needs to first penetrate the barriers to understanding: 1) to deliver his presentation in a fully digestible manner, and 2) to penetrate the barriers to value-recognition -- to deliver his presentation in a way that the prospect recognizes how the features of this product will deliver the key benefits he is seeking and which he values highly.
The indicator that these barriers have been successfully penetrated is that the prospect has developed a strong interest in, and desire for acquiring, the product being presented.
When the salesperson has raised the prospect’s interest to this level of strong desire to own it, it’s time for the salesperson to bridge the prospect over to the fifth and final step of the Penetration Selling system -- to lead the prospect into the Close.
(c) 2007, Harry Frisch, STI Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Penetration Selling is a trademark owned by STI Publishing.
5 Penetration Selling Penetrating the Barriers to Understanding - To learn more about this author, visit Harry Frisch's Website.
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In Penetration Selling, once the salesperson has Qualified the prospect, by discovering the prospect’s key reasons for valuing the product or service being offered, as well as the prospect’s main limitations to making the purchase, the salesperson is well prepared to launch into his presentation.
Before focusing on how to make the presentation go right, lets take a quick look at the two major ways in which presentations most often go wrong. The most basic errors have to do with the salesperson not making sure that the prospect is tracking with him throughout the presentation. Salespeople often present in ways which “lose” the prospect. All too often, the salesperson will use words and expressions which the prospect doesn’t fully understand, and/or “talk over the head” of the prospect, by introducing concepts about the product which are too sophisticated or too difficult for the prospect to easily grasp.
The second major way in which presentations go wrong is that the salesperson presents the product in ways which, to one degree or another, are irrelevant to the particular prospect standing in front of him. And consequently, the prospect never develops enough recognition of how valuable this product might be to him, in order for him to want to own it.
In Penetration Selling, we therefore recognize that the key barriers which need to be penetrated during the presentation are:
• Anything that might block the prospect from achieving a full understanding of the product, and even more importantly,
• Anything that might block the prospect from gaining a good understanding of how the product will more than adequately satisfy his key needs and wants for owning that product.
For a prospect to develop sufficient interest in and desire for acquiring a product, he needs to not only become familiar with the features of that product, but he needs to additionally become convinced that the benefits which that product offers him will more than satisfy his specific purposes for acquiring that product.
For example, in demonstrating the latest and greatest cell phones, it is not only important for the salesperson to explain and demonstrate to the prospect what features the phone has (especially stressing those features which the salesperson learned would be of special value to this particular prospect), it is even more important to get the prospect to see how the features of this model will give the prospect the exact benefits this prospect most values in a new cell phone.
Example:
A salesperson applying the principles of the Penetration Selling system, after qualifying senior citizen, Mr. Jones, on his need to own a cell phone, despite his poor eyesight, and after discovering Mr. Jones’ strong desire for it to be uncluttered and simple to operate, primarily for use in case of emergencies:
“So, Mr. Jones, as you can see, this model has only the most essential options, with extra large buttons and bright back lighting [features], which will allow you to easily see and operate the phone in an emergency, whether in bright daylight or in the dark of night [key benefits]…”
With the Penetration Selling system, one learns that a prospect will come to want to purchase your product at the point that he:
• Becomes sufficiently familiar with your product, and
• Believes that your product will satisfy his needs and wants for that product.
For the prospect to reach this point in the sales process, the salesperson needs to first penetrate the barriers to understanding: 1) to deliver his presentation in a fully digestible manner, and 2) to penetrate the barriers to value-recognition -- to deliver his presentation in a way that the prospect recognizes how the features of this product will deliver the key benefits he is seeking and which he values highly.
The indicator that these barriers have been successfully penetrated is that the prospect has developed a strong interest in, and desire for acquiring, the product being presented.
When the salesperson has raised the prospect’s interest to this level of strong desire to own it, it’s time for the salesperson to bridge the prospect over to the fifth and final step of the Penetration Selling system -- to lead the prospect into the Close.
(c) 2007, Harry Frisch, STI Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Penetration Selling is a trademark owned by STI Publishing.
5 Penetration Selling Penetrating the Barriers to Understanding - To learn more about this author, visit Harry Frisch's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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