The Service Sales Process
One of the most important tasks of a service business professional is to sell his services to clients. The process of selling a service is a bit different from selling a tangible product to consumers. The sales professional must complete a few more steps beyond simply displaying the goods and taking money from interested buyers.
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Types of Service Sales
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Several types of companies are classified as service sales businesses. A service sales professional actively seeks customers and pitches each lead to win the account. One common service sales business is a mortgage brokerage, where the brokers call or write potential customers to ask for the sale. The same is true for real estate agencies. Other type of businesses that commonly require service sales professionals include cable, cellphone, insurance and general utility companies.
Identify Need
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One of the first steps of the service sales process is to identify what the customer needs. Service professionals use leads lists, cold calling and targeted mailing lists to identify the various customers who may need the service, then tailor a sales pitch to each person. The service sales professional quizzes and gets to know the potential customer to develop a package based on the customer's exact needs.
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Quote
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The next step of the service sales process is to issue a quote to the potential customer. The professional must balance what the potential customer can afford to pay with the need to secure a profit from providing the service to the customer.
Sign Service Contract
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Once the customer accepts the quote for services, the final step of the sales process is to create and sign a service contract. A service contract is a legally binding agreement between the two parties which outlines the terms of the arrangement, pricing, time line and requirements of each party. The service sales professional may have to describe the various components of the agreement to the new customer to close the deal. The service contract makes the sales agreement official and allows both parties to feel comfortable with proceeding with the transaction.
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