The document discusses the importance of adaptive selling and providing customized solutions to customers. It defines adaptive selling as altering sales presentations and conversations based on each customer's individual needs and behaviors. To practice adaptive selling, salespeople should create customer-specific presentations and solutions by understanding buying signals and adapting to different customer personality types. The document also emphasizes the importance of consultative and solution selling by focusing on customers' needs, asking questions, and providing value-added solutions to problems. It provides tips for identifying customers' "pain points" and crafting value propositions that highlight the benefits of the solutions being offered.

1. Adaptive Selling & More

2. Why Is Adaptive Selling
Important?

3. Adaptive Selling
• The ability to use different sales presentations for different customers, and
the ability to alter and/or change the tone of the conversation based on the
nature of each individual sales call and the behavior of the customer
• Adaptive behavior allows you to listen and observe and understand the
customer’s needs and the ability to adapt your presentation OR
conversation accordingly

4. Adaptive Selling
• Salespeople practice Adaptive Selling by:
• Creating a sales presentation that addresses customers
needs and situation
• Mastering communications skills
• Being able to process and understand buying signals
• Offer customer-specific solutions
• Having the ability to identify customer personality types
and think like a customer in order to connect and relate to
the buyer

5. Adaptive Selling Characteristics

6. Why is Adaptive Selling Important
• Allows customers to feel as though they are being
treated as individuals rather than “one of the herd”
• Your presentation sounds as though it is not a “script” or
“canned”
• Builds credibility and trust
• Engages your prospect/customer

7. The Importance of Adapting To
Behavioral Styles of Buyers
• Capture personality traits
• Assess communication style
• Can determine how the
buyer will respond
• Allows you as a sales person
to know how the buyer is
• Thinking
• Sensing
• Feeling
• Intuitive
How much
does it cost?

9. Understanding the Behavior and “Social
Style” of a Buyer
Source: Putting Adaptive Selling to Work: www.web-books.com

10. Adapting To The
Buyer’s Personality
 ANALYTICAL/ANALYZER – HOW
 Well organized and orderly
 Conservative personality
 Likes facts, figures and details
 Makes decisions slowly and usually works alone
 Direct and to the point and considers themselves as experts
 Good problem solving skills
 Needs:
 To be right and does not like to be challenged
 Time for decisions
 Detailed explanations
 To know the rules

11. Adapting To The
Buyer’s Personality
Driver/Controller – “WHAT” (Low Responsiveness and
High Assertiveness)
Technical background
Likes to have control
Likes facts and figures
Likes to win and is very competitive
Direct and to the point
Makes decisions quickly
Does not have “warm and fuzzy personality”
NEEDS
Control
Options
To make decisions
Actions and results
TO WIN

12. Adapting To The
Buyer’s Personality
• EXPRESSIVE – “WHO” (High assertiveness and High
responsiveness)
• Warm and approachable and likes to build relationships that create
positive results and recognition and status
• Persuasive, nurturing and engaging
• Creative and can see the big picture – they have a vision
• Acts quickly and takes risks – spontaneous and not caught up in the
“day-to-day” details
• Likes recognition and status – seeks esteem
• Displays trophies and awards & motivational slogans
• Desk placed for open contact- unorganized
• NEEDS
• To be liked
• Recognition and praise
• To work with others
• Incentives
• To Touch

13. Adapting To The
Buyer’s Personality
• Amiable - “WHY” (Low assertiveness and High
responsiveness)
• Likes close relationships and is a “people person”
• Warm and friendly and are team players
• Likes casual atmosphere and less conservative
• Makes decisions slowly – low motivation
• Avoids confrontations and risks
• NEEDS
• Security, to be trusted
• Guarantees
• Agreement with others
• Appreciation
• To avoid conflict

14. Selling to the Analytical/Analyzer
Personality
Analytical/Analyzer – “HOW”
DO’s
Use a direct approach… ask direct questions
Be diplomatic – FOCUS ON “HOW”
Stick to business… not social
Be organized, be prepared, be specific and precise
Provide concrete examples, emphasize tested and
proven Value-Added features of your product/service
Use charts, graphs, facts and figures
Give them time to verify the accuracy of your
information
Avoid giving them your personal opinion
Illustrate long-term outcomes and options
Provide a detailed summary of presentation at the
close
Follow up with a formal letter, etc

15. Selling to the Analytical/Analyzer
Personality
• Analytical/Analyzer
• Do Not
• Attempt to be manipulative
• Be disorganized and unprepared
• Focus on short-term goals and immediate solutions
• Become too personal
• Try to develop a relationship first meeting
• Forget to follow through on promises
• Don’t challenge their facts
• Push them into making decisions on the spot
• Forget to follow-up promptly with details and any promises
you have made

16. Selling to the Driver/Controller
Personality
Driver/Controller – “WHAT”
DO’s
Ask direct questions and be clear
Present the facts and focused on the bottom line
Be direct and precise and straightforward, get to the point quickly
Minimize interruptions and distractions
Never try to bluff your way through –provide options
Stay on task and be focused… ask questions to allow them to talk
and to lead
Support objectives and results when appropriate, let them make
their own decisions
Deal with the facts and not the person if you disagree with
something
Follow up with and provide answers, samples, etc
in a formal manner

17. Selling to the Driver/Controller
Personality
• Driver/Controller
• DO NOT
• Ask questions that distract from the main point of the
presentation
• Be disorganized
• Do not linger on after presentation… finish and complete
presentation
• Persuade on a personal level
• Waste their time or say anything that is not relevant
• Make a big issue when you disagree with something
• Make them wrong personally
• Forget to follow up quickly and in formal manner
• Do NOT tell them what is best

18. Selling to the Expressive Personality
Expressive/Persuasive – “WHO”
DO’S
Spend time developing a relationship
Support their ability to take risks and show them how they can
“Win”
Be open to their suggestions, ideas and goals
Ask for their opinions, viewpoint and feedback…open-ended
questions
Focus on the big picture and ask for feedback
Provide ideas for taking action
Introduce solutions that inspire positive feelings
Send follow up that is light-hearted and appreciative, conveying
respect for their experience and foresight

19. Selling to the Expressive Personality
• Expressive
• DO NOT
• Expect them to be directly focused on task
• Jump right into the hard data and statistics
• Stick only to business
• Become impatient with them or back them into a corner
• Get side tracked when exploring issues
• Lose your focus
• Restrict them from providing feedback, let them talk
• Avoid too much technical jargon to prove your point….
• Forget to follow up presentation – and do not take all the
credit…

20. Selling to the Amiable Personality
• Amiable – “WHY”
• DO’s
• Be casual and informal and establish rapport
• Make them feel comfortable, play to their personality
• Give them recognition and approval
• Ask open ended questions to get them to share their opinions
• Show them you are interested in them personally
• Ask for their feedback throughout the presentation
• Show them how they can minimize risks
• Provide them with solutions
• Follow up quickly and provide references and testimonials

21. Selling to the Amiable Personality
• Amiable
• DO NOT
• Try to manipulate or overpower them
• Move straight to business or rush into main issues
• Expect an immediate response
• Argue or create conflict
• Talk only about business
• Lose their support by making to many decisions for them…
make them feel important
• Expect them to make quick decisions
• Forget to follow up the presentation…. Be open and try to make a
second appointment… be social

22. EXERCISE
What Social Style would you assign to the following people?
President Obama
Warren Buffet
Marc Zuckerman
Steve Jobs
Oprah Winfrey
Kobe Bryant
Your instructor

23. EXERCISE
What Personality Are You?

24. Solution/Consultative Selling

25. Consultative Selling –
Selling Solutions
• Consultative selling
/Solution Selling
emphasizes customers
needs and meeting those
needs with solutions
• Ask more questions
• Provide customized and
value-added solutions
• Develop intimate
business relationship
focusing on long-term

26. Solution Selling Is A Process
• Solution selling allows the
salesperson to solve their
customers business problems and
achieve positive results
• Solution selling requires skills that
include
• Situational knowledge
• Product knowledge
• Industry knowledge
• Competitive knowledge
• People skills
• Communication skills

27. Solution Selling
• Buyer’s want a salesperson who
has an understanding of their
situation
• A salesperson that can add value
to the buyer’s situation
• When you don’t offer these
fluencies
• The buyer goes to your
competitor
• Searches the internet for their
answer

28. Consultative Selling
• Consultative selling is the process of working with
your customer to reach their strategic goals
• The salesperson is a partner in the business and orchestrates
the resources required to satisfy the customer (sales –
marketing-technical-R&D-finance)
• The salesperson acts as a consultant providing knowledge and
feedback to the customer
• The salesperson is a friend and relationship-builder focusing
on long-term supply-chain partnerships
• The salesperson is always asking provocative questions

29. Problem-Solving /
Consultative Selling
Source: Professional Selling: A Trust Based Approach

30. Find The “PAIN”
• Used successfully by many Fortune 500 companies and thousands
of professional, “FINDING THE PAIN” of the buyers allows the
salesperson to focus on “OFFERING SOLUTONS”
• What is the critical issue at hand
• What problem is the buyer experiencing
• Does the pain filter down through the organization
When you identify the pain and you present the buyer with
solutions, you give the buyer a reason to buy your product or
service!!!

31. Identifying The Pain
• Face-to-Face meetings
• Industry trends
• Trade publications
• Trade shows
• Competitive position
• Financial reports and annual reports
• Speaking with other sales people (but remember the
laws)

32. Create a “PAIN SHEET”
Reason
Is it
because……
Impact
Is this
causing…….
Solutions &
Capabilities
What if……..

33. Offering a SOLUTION….What is your
VALUE PROPOSITION????
• Be prepared to offer a Value Proposition to the buyer
• “A Value Proposition is a clear and defined statement that offers
quantifiable or qualifiable benefits from the solutions you are offering
• i.e. “This Sales Contact Management System can provide you with
sales call frequency tracking, territory sales, product line sales”
• Our Inventory Control software is designed to be user-friendly
unlike many of those already on the market
• This low-energy commercial dishwasher will save you up to 30% on
your utility bills because of its “TECHRON MICRO CHIP” developed
especially for GE appliances

34. Value Propositions
• Increase Profits
• Reduce Costs
• Increase profits and reduce costs
• Warehouse Distribution
• On-Time Deliveries
• Convenience
• Extend lifetime of product
• Offer extended warranties

35. Value Propositions To Consider
• Product Quality
• Performance
• Reliability
• Conformance
• Durability
• Serviceability

36. Value Propositions
• Service Quality
• Customer service
• Loaner cars at no cost
• Technical support
• Warranties and guarantees

38. Value Propositions
Source: Image adapted from internet: WebSofTechnology :- Offshore Software Development Company India