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Tuesday 31 March 2015

Selling and the Queen's English beware the Royal We #election2015

“There is no such thing as ‘the Queen’s English. The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!” 
-  Mark Twain.

Yesterday Her Majesty sent out this proclamation :-

BY THE QUEEN
A PROCLAMATION
FOR DECLARING THE CALLING OF A NEW PARLIAMENT

Whereas We, and with the advice of Our Privy Council, being desirous and resolved , as soon as maybe, to meet Our People and to have their advice, in Parliament, do publish this , Our Royal Proclamation, and do hereby make known to all Our loving Subjects  Our Royal Will and Pleasure to call a new Parliament to be holden at Westminster  on Monday the eighteenth of May next: And We do hereby also by this Our Royal Proclamation under Our Great Seal of Our Realm , require Write to be issued by Our Chancellor of Great Britain for Causing the Lords Spiritual and Temporal who are to serve in the said Parliament  to give their Attendance in Our said Parliament on the said date.

Given at our court at Buckingham Palace, this thirtieth day of March in the Year of our Lord two thousand and fifteen and in the sixty-four year of Our Reign.

I have tried to copy this out as accurately as I could. There is much more use of capital letters than in ‘normal’ English. 

You will notice that the royal ‘We’ is used. 

The Sovereign uses the plural pronoun. Apparently Its first recorded use was in 1169 when King Henry II, hard pressed by his barons over the Investiture Controversy, assumed the common theory of "divine right of kings", that the monarch acted conjointly with the deity. Hence, he used "we", meaning "God and I..." ( later this 'right' was to lead to Civil War )

A proof that Mark Twain’s point of whose property English belongs to is exemplified.  The Language is arguably ‘owned by joint stock companies’ but regrettably we don’t ‘ own the bulk of the shares!’

 My Microsoft Word programme when copying the above proclamation puts a red squiggly line under the world ‘holden’ .

The entire last description of where the proclamation was made and when it was delivered receives a green squiggly line.  ( Proof, if it were really needed that the USA and UK are divided by a language ;)  !!)

Selling Lesson from Election 2015 : How we use English in Selling.

In 1989, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was met with disdain in the media for using the 'royal we' when announcing news that she had become a grandmother.

  1.      If anybody is to be ‘King or Queen’ in business, let it be your customer.  As sellers we should use the  ‘We’ word sparingly so that our communication does not come across as patronising or arrogant. We do not have a 'Divine' right. E.g. rather than “we have pleasure in enclosing...” try turning it around , possibly something like “  you asked me to send you “
  2.   A useful tip is to use the words You, Your  and You’ll more often than We, Our or me /I and mine
  3.  In Selling English it is not just what we say or write to clients but also how we say or write it.

I'll finish with some ore words of Mark Twain appropriate for this time of electioneering in the UK.

 “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.”

― Mark Twain

Saturday 28 March 2015

8 personal challenges for #EarthHourUK @wwf_uk. 2016





On 19th March, at 8.30pmFruits of Success will be joining forces with thousands of businesses globally as they show their support. 
Earth Hour’s unique display of darkness has become a global phenomenon with hundreds of millions of individuals coming together each year. In 2014, a record-breaking 162 countries and 7000 towns and cities joined the world’s biggest celebration for our planet.
We can all benefit from switching off our electronic devices once in a while ,and do some thinking or just be.


 Fruits of Success is helping to build a brighter future by supporting WWF’s Earth Hour, a spectacular and symbolic lights out event that focuses the world’s attention on our planet, and the need to protect it.


Promo-poster.jpg (2480×3507) How much do our wasteful actions cost planet earth?




 I confess most of the time I barely give a thought  to when I flick the switch and the light comes on, kettle boils, the shower heats up etc.

By the inch it’s a cinch by the yard it’s hard !

 As it’s #Earthhour day today here are just 8 actions an eco-conscious friend has set me as a target.



                                 Care to respond to these challenges and  join me?


1. Green your commute/travel

So walk, cycle or take the train/bus whenever you can. You'll save money and get into better shape! If you can't go car-free, try carpooling , car sharing, and use the smallest, most fuel-efficient vehicle possible.

2. Be energy efficient
You already switch off lights (well I confess I need to start with this) — what's next? Change light bulbs to compact fluorescent or LEDs. Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when not in use. Wash clothes in cold or warm (not hot) water. Dryers are energy hogs, so hang dry when you can. Install a programmable thermostat. Look for the Energy performance label when buying new appliances.





3. Eat wisely
Buy organic and locally grown foods.  Support Farm Markets. Avoid processed items. Grow some of your own food. And eat low on the food chain — at least one meat-free meal a day — since 18 % of greenhouse gas emissions come from meat and dairy production.

4. Trim your waste
Garbage buried in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Keep stuff out of landfills by composting kitchen scraps and garden trimmings, and recycling paper, plastic, metal and glass. Pack a recyclable /reusable back with you. Let supermarket store managers and manufacturers know you want products with minimal or recyclable packaging.

5. Fly less -this one is tough one for me !
Air travel leaves behind a huge carbon footprint. Before you book your next airline ticket, consider greener options such as buses or trains, or try a holiday closer to home. You can also stay in touch with people by video-conferencing, which saves time as well as travel and accommodation costs.

6. Get informed and learn more about the issue
Follow the latest news about climate change.
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour, organised by WWF, is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet. Last year was the biggest yet, with hundreds of millions of people taking part across a record 162 countries and 7,000 towns and cities alongside world famous landmarks from the Sydney Opera House to Times Square in New York. In 2015 Earth Hour will be held on 28th March 2015 between 8.30pm and 9.30pm. wwf.org.uk/earthhour

7. Get involved
Take a few minutes to contact your political representatives ( it’s election time) and the media to tell them you want immediate action on climate change. Remind them that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will also build healthier communities, spur economic innovation and create new jobs. And next time you're at the polls, vote for politicians who support effective climate policies.


Join in the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #EarthHourUK @wwf_uk.

8. Support and Donate
Everyone can make a difference to help protect our planet and we all have a key role to play,’ 

Everyone can sign up for WWF’s Earth Hour 2015. For more information and to sign up please visit wwf.org.uk/earthhour

Climate Change Video Clip


Last year, in the UK, over 9 million people took part, sending out a united message of support.

To celebrate Earth Hour 2015, join me in the simple act of Switching off all non-essential lights  at 8.30pm on 28th March for the hour

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, with more than five million supporters and a global network active in more than one hundred countries. Through our engagement with the public, businesses and government, we focus on safeguarding the natural world, creating solutions to the most serious environmental issues facing our planet, so that people and nature thrive.  Find out more about our work, past and present at wwf.org.uk.

REMEMBER

It's always good to switch off once in a while - Why not join me 8.30 pm tonight ?

Thursday 26 March 2015

King Richard III friend and protector of Salespeople and Brand Marketers #MuseumWeek @NPGLondon


"Jack of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For *Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold."

*King Richard III may have been known as "Dickon", according to a sixteenth-century legend of a note, warning of treachery, that was sent to the Duke of Norfolk on the eve of the battle of Bosworth Field


 The bones of King Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) are to be interred in Leicester Cathedral Thursday 26th March.

  The people of Leicester have taken this son of York to their hearts. King Richard III  reigned for only 26 months.

The villain that Shakespeare presents us with is much tainted by Tudor propaganda. We are learning to review Richard’s life – and maybe re-interpret history.

You are not permitted to photograph in
  the Tudor section of the National Portrait Gallery
so I went to the computer lounge at NPG to take this photo
What was  selling like in 15th Century England? 

Selling  and Buying continues during War. It was so in the War of the Roses.

 Some historians argue that the War of the Roses between the Houses of York ( White Rose) and Lancaster (Red Rose) had little impact  on much of England. For example it barely affected East Anglia.

 Richard’s title was Dei Gratia Rex Angliae et Franciae et Dominus Hiberniae tr. “by the Grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland.


Sales exporting during the 15th century .

 The ancient and most active trade route was to the Low Countries , our nearest neighbours and commercial hub of Europe. Less active but with considerable potential led by English merchants were Brittany and Normandy. Despite times of war and piracy trade never completely ceased.  The ports of Chichester, Plymouth and Fowey were busy.

Beyond Brittany lay the vineyards of Poitou, Aquitaine and Gascony  . The exclusive specialisation of wine production led to a dependence for the area of foreign supplies of grain . In business Gascony was second only to the trade with Flanders.

Beyond Bordeaux and Bayonne there were the sweet wines , exotic fruits and other oriental luxuries. Merchants developed their business with the western Iberian coast especially Portugal.

Trade with the Mediterranean was mainly transacted through Italy.

Expansion of trade with Scandinavia and later with Iceland grew through the century. 

However during the 14th and 15th centuries this market penetration through the Baltics met with resistance both political and economic  of the Hanseatic league.

Trade embargoes by the Hanseatic League 1469 to 1474 led by Danzig and Lubeck supported by Bremen and Hamburg  was not uniform . Cologne still traded with England even during the six year war with the league . (Richard would have been 22 years old at the time.)  The later part of the 15th century ,trade with the Hansaetic league represented 40% of all trade mostly conducted through London and Southampton.


  The war concluded with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1474 which confirmed the Hansa privileges and granted the League ownership of the London Steelyard, as well as the trading bases in Boston and Lynn.

The Customs records reveal much of information about business at the time that historians can use.

By volume wool was the key export through much of the 15th century.

Photo of computer screen at the
 National Portrait Gallery, London
Business friendly King

Our political leaders in their current electioneering are trying to persuade us that their parties are "business friendly." Of course promises are one thing action quite another.

On 23 January, 1484, Richard's Parliament assembled. It passed 18 private statutes and 15 public ones.

Some of these statutes give us a picture of what selling was like back then.  Early versions of law are evidenced on Quality of Goods, Standardisation, duties to protect national business etc.

The 8th statute:

"The length and breadth of cloths, and the order of dyeing them and wools" sought to prevent commercial dishonesty in the cloth trade. Included in the technical details are 9 safeguards. For example “Broadcloth must be fully watered before being put up for sale and must be 24 yards long, 2 yards broad. No "deceitful thing" is to be cast on cloth, and no chalk is to be used on white cloths.”

 This statute indicates the powerful measure of Richard III's thoroughness, his insight into technical processes, and, above all, his appreciation of the necessity to keep in close touch and consultation with technical and commercial experts.

By the following October 25, King Richard, at the request of merchants, the cancellation of this statute was announced because "...it hurt more than it helped."  Unintended consequences brought about pragmatic revision of the statute it appears.

 Statutes 9-13 of the 1284 law sought to protect the English merchant against unfair foreign competition

The 9th statute: "In.. what sort Italian merchants may sell merchandises; several restraints of aliens."

This regulated the conditions under which these merchants could import and export goods. Books and the printing of them were exempted from these restrictions.

"To Richard and his councillors belongs the honour of having devised the first piece of legislation for the protection and fostering of the art of printing and the dissemination of learning by books."

I wonder whether those at the London Book Fair might acknowledge Richard’s part in their trade during-16 April 2015 at Olympia.

The 10th statute prohibited the importation of silk, lace and ribbons, scissors, bells, nails, etc.

The 11th statute required Italian merchants to import with each butt of malmsey ten good bowstaves.

The  12th  statute:

 "Certain marchandizes prohibited to be brought into this realm ready wrought."  This was designed to protect native craftsmen.

The 13th   statute: "the contents of vessels of wine and oil, which may not be sold till gauged"  This was  designed to prevent the sale of wine and oil in short measure and for excessive price.


Early formalising of Branding

Forerunner to corporate  logos and banners flags – Heraldic Coats of Arms

College of Arms in 1484 they were granted a charter of incorporation by Richard III, and given a house in Coldharbour in Upper Thames Street, London to keep their records in.
When Henry VII defeated Richard and took the crown in 1485 he wrested Coldharbour from the heralds and gave it to his mother!

The College of Arms received the charter under which they now operate from Queen Mary and her husband Philip of Spain in 1555, together with the site of the present College of Arms on which then stood Derby Place. This building was the College of Arms until it burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The present College building dates from the 1670s.


Wool was a key trade. The Speaker of the House of Lords to this day still sits on the Wool sack a reminder of Wool’s important past in the English economy.
.  
Still the largest commodity  by volume by 1446 was a declining export due to the rise of our own manufacturing base. Wool reduced by a third yet export of our broadcloth increased ninefold.

15th Century Advertising and PR
Advertising in was in its infancy with the copy writers being poets of the time. (This particular verse sent the red lining spelling correction on Word 8 into a ‘tizzy’ !)

Off Brutish Albion his wolle is cheeff richesse
In prys summounting avery other thing
Sauff greyn and corn : merchantis al expresse
Woolle is chief tresoure in this land growying
To Riche and poore this beeste fyrt clothying
All Naciouns afferme up to the fulle
In all the world there is no better wolle


In the window of  the house of one John Barton of Holme, Newark is the following ‘jingle’

I thank God and ever shall
It is the sheep hath payed for all

Talking of windows , I love the creative opportunism
of this shop window of a store in Leicester this week






Wednesday 25 March 2015

Happy New Year Quarter Days Lady Day 2015

How we decide to divide the year into different time periods  intrigues me.

 There are those who , quite straight faced , will refer to their diaries  and say out aloud today is Tuesday in "week 13". ( Not very romantic)

 Others will say we are in the fourth week of the month of March , today is the 25th  .

 Few however would say today is the first day of the new year.  Happy new year. 

Happy Lady day !       Yet back in the day.......

You get a sort of a hint that the calendar got changed back in time from those  advertisements that abound at this time of the year using the caution close for those propsects who save through ISAs. 

The ads warn them to use up their allowance before the end of the year – the tax year. 

The British tax year still starts on 'Old' Lady Day -6th April under the Gregorian calendar which corresponded to 25 March under the Julian calendar ( 11 days new style calendar advance in 18th century plus 1 day due to the twelfth skipped Julian leap day in 1800; however it was not changed to 7 April when a thirteenth Julian leap day was skipped in 1900)

The current  Government sets a limit on how much you can invest and save in ISAs each tax year (from 06 April one year to 05 April the next). 

This is known as the ISA allowance. It usually increases each year, but you don't have to use it all if you don't want to. 

You can also split your ISA allowance between a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Cash ISA each year if you like. This is not to advise you to do so- I am NOT a financial adviser. 

Apparently ISAs are going out of vogue according to some in the financial press..

Back in the day in 1155 , the new year was celebrated on Lady Day. ( Indeed Richard III , much in the press again this week, would have seen Lady day as the first day of the year - more about him tomorrow by the  way)

Annunciation by Philippe de Champaigne
 at the Wallace Collection. London
In the western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin (25 March) 

It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days.

 The "Lady" referred to is the Blessed Virgin Mary. The term derives from Middle English. "Lady" would later gain an -s genitive ending, and hence the name  "Lady's day".

Between 1155 and 1752 the  new year began on Lady Day from 

Prior to 1752 in England, the year began on 25 March (Lady Day).  It is a Quarter day

The Quarter Days,  are still used in legal profession. 

The Quarter Days divide the year in quarters (hence the name , and the Quarter Days are:
 Lady Day (25 March), 
Midsummer Day (24 June), 
Michaelmas Day (29 September), 
and Christmas Day (25 December). 

The quarter days have been observed at least since the Middle Ages, and they ensured that debts and unresolved lawsuits were not allowed to linger on.

Accounts had to be settled, a reckoning had to be made and publicly recorded on the quarter days

Now the confusing bit !

So, in England, the day after 24 March 1642 was 25 March 1643. The Act changed this, so that the day after 31 December 1751 was 1 January 1752. As a consequence, 1751 was a short year - it ran only from 25 March to 31 December. 

To throw some more confusion on the issue, Scotland had changed the first day of the year to 1 January in 1600 (in 1600, Scotland was a separate kingdom).

In September 1752, Great Britain  officially switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. 

In order to achieve the change, 11 days were 'omitted' from the calendar - i.e. the day after 2 September 1752 was 14 September 1752.

Even today
A lease will often specify that the rent and/or service charges  are payable on "the usual quarter days".

Back in Regency times (1811 -1820) business premises, might be rented for less than a full year.

 A successful, well-established merchant might very well lease their shop for a term of multiple years.

However, someone just starting out might choose to rent for a single quarter (three months) at a time, while they worked to build their clientèle and establish their business.

In such cases, the merchant would be expected to pay their rent every quarter day.

The partial-year rental of properties included houses outside of London, for example in Bath, and less grand lodgings, even those in the metropolis, which might be let to less fashionable people.

People might rent a house in the Spa town of Bath for a quarter or two, if they were there for a cure, or to escape the hustle and bustle of London.

 In most cases, they would still rent a house for some number of quarters, but unless their particular plans required it, it was not necessary to sign the contract by Lady Day.


Less affluent people, in London, or any other city during the Regency, might rent lodgings on a monthly or weekly basis. In those cases, they would then have to pay their rent monthly or weekly.


However you organise you calendar, pay your rent may I wish you a Happy Lady's Day 

Saturday 21 March 2015

Happy #WorldPoetryDay 2015



Selling Haiku for #WorldPoetryDay 2016

acute listening
appreciate first before
asking then shut up


-Hugh Alford


On level 5 of the Royal Festival is the Saison Poetry Library is the most comprehensive and accessible collection of poetry from 1912 in Britain. It is are the major library for modern and contemporary poetry and are funded by the Arts Council England.

I dropped in a few weeks ago and asked if they had any poems on Selling.  Here is one  to celebrate today on World Poetry Day.

The Salesman *
By Bertie  Ramsbottom  ( Ralph Windle)

Salesmen, of whatever races,
Look the same at fifty paces;
Notwithstanding girth or size,
Something lurking in their eyes
Indisputably asserts-
This guy’s in sales, so watch your shirts !

Salesmen must however fearful,
Act indomitably cheerful,
Riding round their carousel
Of never ending need to sell,
And knowing, if their meet their quota,
It’s up, for each successful rota.

How they do it no one’s saying
But when they don’t, it’s time for praying.


*A Book of Business Ballads 1985

ISBN 0-7126-1057-X


Related Links






Sunday 15 March 2015

#Steakgate Selling or negotiating your pay Beware the Ides of March Caesar was not indispensable

Everybody is a salesperson- well maybe not all the time.

 But when you start work you have to sell yourself at interview,
 renew that sale at appraisal time 
  and in pay negotiations... well you get the point. 

Most of us don’t go about as publicly as the  BBC Top Gear TV presenters.

The brouhaha over Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC means for those who wanted to watch Top Gear on Sunday 15th  are offered at 8 pm  programme about the Red Arrows " Inside the bubble".

( In view of Lewis Hamilton  F1 victory in Australia I think a considerable number probably want to watch the highlights of the race from Melbourne's Albert Park !)  

'The Indispensable Man '
in my little black notebook copied sometime 
in the last century !
One of the issues is whether a very well-paid presenter will carry on fronting Top Gear for the BBC or a similar show about cars for competitors ITV, Sky or even Netflix.

Allegedly the  contracts of Messrs Clarkson , May and Hammond are due for renewal in a matter of weeks.

 Their public forthcoming appearances in Stavanger , Norway have been sold out and  will go ahead and not be cancelled.

On  social media  more than 840,000+ have signed a petition demanding Jeremy Clarkson keeps his job after he was suspended by the BBC following the “fracas”. 

That may have some effect on upping the ante. The risk will be bigger but so could be the rewards.

 Whether it is the personalities of the talent in front of the cameras, the production managers, the British Broadcasting  Corporation big wigs , part of the negotiation discussion is the question of ‘indispensability of talent’   whether front or behind the camera.


Common sense tells us no one is completely Indispensable.

Here is some wisdom I hand copied into my little black paper notebook back in the day. 

The Indispensable man

by Saxon White Kessinger

Sometime when you’re feeling important.
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You’re the best equipped man in the room.
Some time when you feel your going
Would leave an un-fillable hole.
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul.

Take a a bucket and fill it with water
Put your hands in it up to your wrists
Pull them out – and the hole that remains
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You may splash all you please when  you enter
You may stir up the all the waters galore
But stop- and you’ll find in a minute
That it looks just the same as before
The moral of this is quite simple
You must do the best you can-
Be proud of yourself, but remember

There is no indispensable man.





Friday 13 March 2015

Have you a nose for a pound ? It's Red Nose Day #RND2015

Let's bust the Billion Pound mark fellow Red Nose Fundraisers - #RND2015



Sales folk R U cute
And business astute ?
Join me and relay
This Red Nose Day

If you would like to sponsor me -please click here 





Sales folk who abound
Let’s amaze and astound
With our #Nose4apound
Helping kids all around







If U’ve #Nose4apound
Do as many have found
In a cunning way
2 support Red Nose Day





If you would like to sponsor me -please click here 
If u’ve a #Nose 4apound
With sales that abound
Don’t wear a frown
But the nose of a clown




RU off to do business 
With UR usual swiftness 
However it goes 
Go try for a close



If you would like to sponsor me -please click here 





First Wiggle your toes
Nudge with your elbows
To remind all those
To buy their red nose






As 1 who adds value
I don’t need 2 tell U
Buy a nose for a quid
To cheer up a kid
#RND2015   ? 



Aleksandr says If you would like to sponsor Mr Hugh -please click here 
Must get up I suppose
From my bed  I repose
2 B funny 4 money
CU later my honey
I'm wearing my big red nose


Related Links

Red Nose Day what we do

 #Nose4apound

Thursday 12 March 2015

Integrating your selling within the Buying Cycle

Is your selling model stuck in the Sporades 
of a unsync. estate ?

From the moment your buyer or prospect has clicked on your website the buying/selling wheel has started to revolve.

One of the most noticeable consequences of this is the danger of dis- synchronisation of the Buying and Selling Cycles.

The Buyers Views of Salespeople survey (below) confirms the first choice for sourcing information on suppliers is  Google. This means that sales needs to respond to this first contact as soon as possible.

If 'click' activity is under the responsibility of marketing - the information needs to be processed, qualified and transmitted to sales as quickly as possible.

The Buying Cycle can be broken down into 5 basic stages:- 

1. Need recognition and Problem awareness
2. Information search 
3. Evaluation of Alternatives 
4. Purchase 
5.Post Purchase Evaluation

This model helps the salesperson to consider the whole buying process rather than simply the purchase decision stage (when it may be too late for a business to influence the choice!)


This model shows that customers pass through all stages in every purchase.

 However, in more routine purchases, customers  may often skip or reverse some of the stages.

For example, if I want a chocolate Mars bar I recognise my need (hunger) and go right to the purchase decision, skipping information search and evaluation. I don't need to search candy bar .com. However, this model is useful when it comes to understanding any 'considered purchase' that requires more thought and deliberation in say B2B situations.

The buying process starts with 1. need recognition. At this stage, the buyer recognises a problem or need (e.g. Need to do the same advertising activity with a reduced budget, need to update our software , need to communicate the company's corporate responsibility initiative) or responds to a marketing stimulus (e.g. passing a trade exhibition stand, responding to a trade advert, reading a white paper).

Any customer whose attention and interest has been obtained then needs to decide how much information (if any) is required. If the need is strong and there is a product or service that meets the need close to hand, then a purchase decision is likely to be made quickly. If not, then the process of 2. information search begins.

A buyer can obtain information from several sources:




  • Personal sources:family,friends,neighbours etc

  • Commercial sources: advertising; salespeople; fellow buyers; dealers; packaging; point-of-sale displays , exhibitions , seminars, conferences

  • Public sources: web search,newspapers, radio, television, consumer organisations; specialist trade magazines

  • Experiential sources: handling the product, examining, trialing the product

  • The Internet: Search Engines e.g. Google, Social Media e.g. LinkedIn, webinars, forums etc.

    The usefulness and influence of these sources of information will vary by product/service and market and by client category. Research suggests that customers value and respect personal sources, peer group referral more than conventional commercial sources. Word of mouth and reputation is key as can be seen from the Buyers views survey 


    The challenge for the sales team is to identify which information sources are most influential in their target markets.

    In the 3. evaluation stage, the customer must choose between the alternative brands, products and services.

    How does the customer use the information obtained?

    An important determinant of the extent of evaluation is whether the customer feels “involved” in the product. By involvement, we mean the degree of perceived relevance and personal importance that accompanies the choice.

    Where a 4. purchase is “highly involving”, the customer is likely to carry out extensive evaluation.
    High-involvement purchases include those involving high expenditure or personal risk – for example buying a house, a car or making investments.
    Low involvement purchases (e.g. buying a soft drink, selecting a box breakfast cereal at a store) have very simple evaluation processes.

    Why should salespeople need to understand the buyer's evaluation process?


    The answer lies in the kind of information that the sales team needs to provide buyers in different buying situations from their DVP.

    In high-involvement decisions in complex sales, the salesperson needs to provide detailed information about the positive consequences of buying. The salesperson may need to stress the important attributes of the product as communicated in their DVP, the advantages compared with the competition; and maybe even encourage “trial” or “sampling” of the product in the hope of securing the sale.

    Post-purchase evaluation

  • The final stage is the 5. post-purchase evaluation of the decision. It is common for customers to experience concerns after making a purchase decision. This arises from a concept that is known as “cognitive dissonance” or the experience of 'buying a lemon'. The customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would have been preferable. In these circumstances that customer will not repurchase immediately, but is likely to switch brands next time.

  • To manage the post-purchase stage, it is the job of the salesperson to persuade the potential customer that the product will satisfy his or her needs. Then after having made a purchase, the customer should be encouraged that they have made the right decision.
As in yachting, we cannot direct sporadic winds but we can adjust our sails - or should that be sales ?! 

Related Links


Selling and the Industrial Internet of Things IIoT







Selling and BYOD ( Bring your own device)