Sell products and services remotely
Overview
This standard is about selling products and services remotely. It covers inbound and outbound sales activities through e-commerce websites, mobile apps, online stores, market places, social media platforms and other technologies. The standard includes identifying your target audience, researching their buying needs, promoting benefits and features of your organisation's products and services, responding to and resolving customers’ objections and agreeing mutually beneficial terms and conditions. The standard also requires you to demonstrate extensive knowledge and understanding of your organisation's products and services, including digital technologies, e-commerce platforms, systems and tools. This standard is for sales professionals who sell products and services remotely.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1. carry out market research to identify a niche or competitive angle on the market for your products and services
2. establish the target audiences for your products and services as part of customer segmentation
3. identify and evaluate your competitors to create a unique value proposition for the products and services
4. identify the objectives and targets for selling products and services remotely
5. choose the sales channels for the products and services
6. contribute to the creation of information about products and services
7. define unique selling points and points of differentiation
8. promote products and services, detailing their benefits and value
9. plan sales activities, identifying how to attract customers’ attention and relay key sales messages
10. use the relevant communication channels and technologies to interact with customers
11. identify and agree the basis of the customers’ preferences and their requirements
12. ensure add-on, up-selling or cross-selling opportunities are provided prior to closing the sale
13. ensure all terms and conditions are clearly communicated to the customers
14. gain a confirmation from the customers and close the sale
15. process customers’ orders in accordance with their needs and within specified timelines
16. work with colleagues to address the issues and resolve any delays in delivering products and services, when these occur
17. arrange money refunds and products and services replacements, if required
18. develop a positive on-going relationship with customers
19. collate customers’ feedback to products and services and make relevant recommendations for sales improvements
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
1. the differences between inbound and outbound remote selling
2. the current legal, regulatory and ethical considerations relating to sales operations remotely
3. the regulatory requirements relating to processing customers’ transactions online
4. your organisation’s procedures and practices relating to selling online
5. the importance of protecting the company brand, image and reputation in sales
6. your organisation’s objectives and targets for online sales
7. the competitors’ activities, products and services on the markets
8. the features and value of the products and services
9. the sales terms and conditions and the importance of communicating these to the customers
10. the products’ and services’ unique selling points and points of differentiation
11. the variety of sales channels for selling products and services remotely
12. the sales cycle and how it helps sales team members to structure and progress their sales activities
13. the differences between proactive and reactive selling
14. the techniques for cross-selling, up-selling and selling add-ons
15. the communication channels and technologies for selling remotely
16. the forms of etiquette and communication when using remote interaction with customers
17. how to involve customers in developing and closing a sale
18. the techniques for closing sales at the final stages of a sale
19. the range of behaviours displayed by customers and how to manage them
20. how to work with relevant colleagues to resolve customers' objections and complaints
21. how to deal with issues, such as delays in products’ and services’ delivery, money refunds, products’ returns and replacements
22. how customers’ feedback can be used as a measuring and improvement tool for sales activities