Marketing Essentials

Chapter 14: Presenting the Product

Chapter Summaries

Section 14.1

• The goal of the product presentation is to match the customer's needs and wants to the product's features and benefits.
• When selecting products to show your customer during the product presentation, consider needs and price range, and limit your selection to three items at a time.
• To make your product presentation lively and effective, handle the product with respect, demonstrate product features, involve the customer, and use sales aids.

Section 14.2

• Objections are concerns, doubts, or other honest reasons a customer has for not making a purchase. In contrast, excuses are reasons for not buying or not seeing the salesperson that are often used when customers are not in the mood to buy or are concealing other objections.
• Common objections are based on five buying decisions: need, product, source, price, and time.
• The four-step method for handling customer objections is listen, acknowledge, restate, and answer.
• There are seven specific methods of handling objections. The substitution method is used when the customer does not like what he or she has seen. The boomerang method is used when an objection can actually be considered a selling point. The question method is useful when the objection might not be valid. The superior-point method lets the salesperson acknowledge an objection as valid, but offer another point that might offset or compensate for the objection. The denial method is useful when the customer's objection is based on misinformation or when the objection is in the form of a question or inquiry. The demonstration method lets the product prove its own value through a demonstration. The third-party method is useful when another customer has given a positive testimonial about the product.