Chapter 7

1. Chapter 7 Sell products and services

2. On successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to: • Identify the attributes of a successful sales person. • Apply product knowledge. • Apply the principles of successful selling.

3. Attributes of a successful salesperson • A strong desire to satisfy customer expectations • Highly developed interpersonal skills • Excellent product knowledge • Self-confidence • A positive attitude • An understanding of selling techniques • Enthusiasm • A motivation to sell.

4. Motivation • Motivationis that force within us that arouses us to action or an activity • Extrinsic (or external) motivation is related to the receiving of some type of recognition or reward. For example, • Pay • Bonuses • Job security • Employment fringe benefits • Pleasant working conditions

5. Motivation • Intrinsic (or internal) motivation relates to our personal determination to achieve something. For example, • Job satisfaction • Customer compliments • Praise from the boss Remember, Our motivation to achieve is strongest when linked to a goal.

6. Apply product knowledge Having good product knowledge is only one aspect of the sales function; we need to understand: • How enterprises offering essentially the same products and services can capture their own share of the market (by differentiating their services and products). • The importance of enterprise policies with regard to interacting with customers and selling goods and services. • The important link between selling and legislative regulation relating to the sale of goods and services.

7. Differentiation • Service differentiation is that which makes two or more otherwise identical enterprises and their products different, by providing a service or standard of service that the other(s) does not. • Product differentiation is where one enterprise is distinguished from another by the quality of the products it offers. • Price differentiation is where the same product or service is offered by similar businesses but the price differs.

8. Enterprise policies Each business establishes its own guidelines for the sale and distribution of goods and services. These policies are generally developed in line with legislative requirements but are also influenced by the desire to sell; that is, make a profit.

9. Legislative regulation The Trade Practices Act 1974 has as its objective the enhancement of the welfare of Australians through the promotion of competition and fair trading and the provision for consumer protection.

10. Legislative regulation • Anti-competitive behaviour: the actions of businesses to reduce competition in the market place. • Price fixing: businesses entering into agreements with competitors to fix the price of a good or service. • Anti-competitive agreements: arrangements that is likely to reduce competition, or have the purpose of reducing competition. • Unfair trading: behaviour that may mislead or deceive consumers. • False representations: any wrongful claims made about the price, benefits, standard, quality, value or grade of goods or services that may unfairly influence a consumer’s purchasing decision.

11. Legislative regulation Sale of Goods Act • The Sale of Goods Act does not make a distinction between a consumer and a corporation. That is, the Act applies whether goods are purchased for personal use or for resale. • This Act is concerned with defining what goods are, the contract of sale and rules to determine lawful ownership of goods. It specifies the duty of the seller to deliver the goods and the duty of the buyer to accept delivery and pay for the goods.

12. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) If a customer has a complaint about the way an organisation has conducted its business that they feel has not been adequately addressed by the organisation, they can take their complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which administers the Trade Practices Act and is empowered to bring action against those who contravene the law.

13. Legislative regulation Other relevant legislation affecting the tourism industry include: • Smoking legislation • Liquor licensing laws • Crimes (child sex tourism) Amendment Act 1994 • Equal Opportunity and Anti-discrimination Acts • Occupational health and safety.

14. Discrimination • Discriminate - to treat one person differently or less favourably than another in the same situation based on a difference between the parties, such as race, sexual preference, gender, age, marital status, political convictions or religious beliefs. • Each State has an Equal Opportunity Commission to deal with these matters.

15. Develop product knowledge • Most of us working in the tourism and hospitality industries are selling intangible products – a service rather than a physical good or commodity. Intangible products are those that the consumer cannot necessarily see, touch, taste nor test but will experience. • An effective sales person can establish some tangibility through their own knowledge and experience and through the use of pictures or illustrations displayed in various travel brochures, websites and videos.

16. Access relevant sources of information • Remember that formal research involves systematically gathering and analysing information from primary and secondary sources relating to a product or services or even the industry in general. • Informal research on the other hand, is not as structured or time-consuming. It involves the collection of information from sources that have already been formally researched (secondary sources). This could include reading a brochure or a travel guide on various destinations or even talking to others that have visited or experienced the product previously.

17. Accessing information Other forms of informal research include: • Attending orientation and training sessions; • Talking with colleagues • Reading the staff hand book • Reading general media articles • Visiting competitors • Personal observation • Searching the Internet.

18. Principles of successful selling • Approach customers and identify and apply an effective sales approach • Gather information by applying questioning and listening techniques to identify the customers needs, determine their buying motives and maintain their interest • Sell benefits of products and service by applying effective sales techniques, by creating a desire to purchase and by matching customers needs with product features, • Overcome objections and offer solutions • Close the sale by monitoring, identifying and responding appropriately to customer buying signals • Maximise sales opportunities by advising the customer of complementary products or services according to customers identified need.

19. Approaching customers • Personal selling – An oral presentation made directly to a customer using a special questioning method or technique. • Unsolicited telephone calls • Mail outs • Loyalty programs • Promotional materials • Promotional activities • Advertising • Public relations.

20. Promotional materials Promotional materials are printed or electronic information about the products and services of an organisation. • Brochures and leaflets/flyers • Menus and wine lists • Tent cards • Sales letters • In-house displays • Posters • Business cards • Give-aways.

21. Promotional activities These are activities undertaken by an organisation to increase exposure in the market place. • Advertising: Any paid-for space or air time in the mass media for the promotion of a product or service. • Public relations: Activities or events designed to portray the organisation in a positive light through publicity. • Publicity: Free communication to the public about the organisation (or its products or services) via the media. Creates ‘Word of mouth’ exposure. • Media release: A newsworthy article written by the company to promote a new service or product it is offering.

22. Gathering information about the customer Questioning techniques • An open-ended question is one that makes it difficult to answer yes or no. These are the most useful questions for extracting information from our customers. They also assume that the customer is going to purchase and usually begin with why, which, how, what and who. • Closed questions, on the other hand are those that make it easy for the customer to say ‘no’ or to make non-buying decisions.

23. Gathering information about the customer Listening techniques These are a vital part of the communication process and include the following: • Concentrate fully on what the customer is saying by eliminating distractions • Encourage the speaker by using positive sounds and body language • Only interrupt to seek clarification on key points • Clarify in our own mind the key points and pertinent facts • Always appear interested but keep control of the conversation • Use the customers’ names whenever possible. This indicates that we recognise them as an individual, and infers we are tailoring the product to them.

24. Market segments • We learned in chapter 1, Develop and update tourism industry knowledge that our customers are generally divided into three groups; inbound tourists, outbound tourists and domestic tourists. • Within each of these classifications are target markets and market segments. A target market (or customer base) is defined as a category of people who have been identified as potential customers because of their income, age, place of residence and other factors. Marketing strategies for organisations usually target specific markets. • Identifying a target market is sometimes referred to as market segmentation, in that it identifies a portion (or segment) of the market that has similar traits, needs and desires that the organisation wants to attract to buy its product.

25. Tourism market segments • Free independent travellers(FIT) - are those customers who make independent travel arrangements, travel independently (not part of a group) and don’t generally take package holidays. • Leisure Market- Those classified in the leisure market include people travelling on holiday, visiting friends or relatives, taking a short break, such as a weekend getaway or long-term visitors such as backpackers. • Holiday makers -Most holidaymakers do not want to think about cooking, cleaning or struggling to have a good time. They expect all the ease and familiarity of home with the convenience of activities, transport and accessibility to attractions at their doorstep. Their prime objective is recreation and relaxation.

26. Tourism market segments • Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) -This segment’s prime concern is the visiting of friends or relatives. For many, the purpose of the accommodation venue is a safe and comfortable place to sleep, alternatively they may actually stay with friends or relatives and be guided by friends and relatives on what to do and see. • Families -What a family needs and expects will be influenced greatly by their budget (how much they can afford to spend), age and number of children, activities and services available at or near the destination and their mode of transport. For example, families may require interconnecting rooms, a cot, high chair, and information on local attractions, children’s meals and a baby-sitting service. • Week-enders -Many week-enders are couples taking a short break or may be a few friends snow skiing or sunning themselves at a beach resort. Weekenders generally want convenience because of the short stay and destinations to match their lifestyle.

27. Tourism market segments • Backpacker market - are usually looking for budget accommodation, cheap transport options and the opportunity to see and do as much as possible in the time available to them. They are not likely to want or need ‘luxuries’ and generally have more money to spend and more time to spend it than other categories of travellers (however, they spend less per day than other categories of travellers). • Business/corporate -Corporate clients are usually company employees that need to travel as part of their work. People travelling for business like familiarity when away from home therefore they will often stay at the same venue, use the same transport company (airline) and even same type of room and even the same room. Their stay is frequently short and usually only during the working week.

28. Tourism market segments • Government personnel - government employees, such as military personnel often have only a limited travel allowance, set by the government, but represents one of the largest travelling markets. • Groups market - Groups come in all shapes and sizes and may originate from overseas, locally, intrastate or interstate. A group may be travelling for pleasure and on an inclusive package, be a special interest tour or a conference. • Group inclusive tours (GITs) - are groups of people travelling together on a package arrangement. This means their transport, accommodation, meals (some or all) and side trips are usually inclusive in the price paid. Everyone will arrive together, eat together and checkout together. • Special interest tours (SITs) -These tours comprise groups of people travelling because of a mutual special interest. For example, the tour may be specifically designed to visit art galleries, study the environment or be an indigenous tourism experience. It may be a school group or a sports club end of year holiday.

29. Applying selling techniques • Suggestive selling - is selling by suggesting alternatives and describing features that create a desire in the customer to purchase. • Upselling - is selling technique that starts at the lowest priced product or service and progressively moves up the price and quality levels. • Downselling - is when we start at the most expensive item and work down to the lowest price until the customer chooses the products or services they require. This would mean beginning with the executive suite and then working down to the deluxe room and then the standard room.

30. Applying selling techniques Visual suggestive selling – thisrefers to the descriptive words and pictures used in brochures, advertisements, posters or Internet sites create a graphic image to tempt customers; they can appeal to a customer’s needs or desires, their wants or their budget. Some visual suggestive selling aids adopted in many tourism operations include: • Suggestive logos and pictures (sun, beach, palm tree) • Photographs in brochures (exotic locations, sexy, smiling, relaxed people) • Resort/room design (presenting the product features in an attractive or enticing manner) • Use of popular personalities (we like to relate to the image or sex appeal of sports heroes, movie and TV stars) • Exotic displays of food and beverages (we often buy these because they look good rather than because of what is in them!).

31. Capturing the customers attention Creating a good first impression is fundamental to this process so the meeting and greeting techniques we use initially will be vital. Techniques include: • Acknowledging the customer • Maintaining eye contact • Displaying a pleasant, natural smile • Avoiding pre-judging them (particularly on their appearance) • Introducing yourself • Engaging them in polite conversation • Focusing on their needs and how you can assist • Using their name • Never forget that first impressions often have a lasting influence and can affect the entire sales process. Customers lost are usually lost forever!

32. Creating a desire to purchase • Relating our own knowledge and experience • Using positive language that reinforces the fun and relaxation elements • Showing them visual features of the product • Explaining the real benefits of the product.

33. Recognising buying signals • Positive verbal statements or questions Non-verbal buying signals include: • staying close to us and not walking away • open body language • eye contact that indicates interest; and • bringing out their wallet.

34. Closing the sale There are a few hints to remember when attempting to close a sale: • We should always expect to make the sale, be confident in our approach, otherwise the customer will suspect we lack credibility. • We should stay focused on the subject at hand and the details of the sale. • We should not be too pushy or put undue pressure on the customer. We should allow them to become part of the decision making process. • We should create a win-win situation; meet the customer’s needs and expectations but balance the input of your time and effort with profitability on each sale. • If you cannot close the sale, always remain friendly and courteous as they may well reconsider at some time in the future.

35. Maximising sales opportunities • Add-ons or extras – these are a selling technique used to persuade a potential customer to buy additional, complementary products and services. • After sales service - this is a technique used to determine the customer’s satisfaction with their buying decision and to offer additional service.

36. Customer feedback Customer feedback is a useful tool that helps us evaluate our products, services and selling activities. It helps us identify customer preferences and provides us with ideas from which we can formulate strategies to enhance our products and services to improve sales.