Introduction
The gaming industry has witnessed advancement, with brands constantly inclined to release new-generation games. One of the inventions that has revolutionized this sector is the PlayStation 5 (PS5) (see Appendix 1). The product was selected for analysis due to its cutting-edge technology, including a fast processor, fast load times, innovative content, and advanced hardware compared to previous systems. The console is backward compatible with earlier editions, meaning users can easily play most games, including PS4 titles, on this new system. Over 99% of the more than 4,000 gaming products available on PS4 are compatible with or work on PS5 (Nishino, 2020).
Additionally, Sony has devised a Game Boost feature that can allow some PS4 blockbuster series to run better or faster in this new system (Nishino, 2020). Understanding PS5’s sales cycle ensures that all bases are covered and prospective buyers are well-informed before purchasing. The Futrell sales cycle, involving prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation, handling objections, closing the sale, and follow-up, can help PS5 increase sales and build customer loyalty.
Sales Cycle Stages
A sales cycle is an integral process for all businesses. A structured approach, such as Futrell’s sales cycle, increases sales experts’ awareness of clients’ needs, which in turn helps them align with customers’ preferences and emerging trends to boost sales. Research shows that an effective sales process comprises 40% preparation, 20% presentation, and 40% follow-up (Futrell, 2013, p. 196). The sales cycle consists of several stages, as discussed below.
Prospecting
This is the initial stage of the PS5 sales cycle. It aims to identify potential clients and understand their needs, ensuring a product is tailored to their preferences. The most suitable prospecting approach for PS5 may be observation, which could involve monitoring and analyzing social media platforms, gaming forums, and industry trends to identify potential customers or leads (Futrell, 2013, p. 203). For instance, monitoring online discussions about the PS5 on platforms like Facebook and TikTok can yield unique insights into which games and features resonate with potential buyers.
Strategic engagement with popular gaming communities can be critical in determining consumer preferences and opinions. For example, observing conversations on gaming forums such as GameSpot can reveal recent gaming trends, which may help tailor the PS5’s approach to align with evolving consumer interests. Similarly, the center-of-influence prospecting strategy can also be ideal for PS5 (Futrell, 2013, p. 201). This might entail partnering with gaming content creators and influencers, which can drive organic promotion and help PS5 information reach prospective clients quickly and effectively.
Similarly, exploring search engine questions about PS5, assessing website traffic patterns, and tracking social media hashtags may reveal gamers’ inclinations and behaviors (Hair et al. 2020). Prospecting’s main advantage is that it can guide the tailoring of product promotions and targeted marketing campaigns, resulting in a broader customer base. However, it may be time-consuming, as recognizing potential customers or leads can be difficult.
Pre-Approach
It involves a salesperson’s familiarity with product details to ensure effective engagement with potential buyers. The essence of this step is to ensure that PS5’s features match the targeted audience’s unique preferences and needs. This stage involves amassing comprehensive information about PS5, including its gaming capabilities, technical specifications, and special features.
Such knowledge is crucial for crafting a persuasive message that resonates with the distinct personas of the target buyers. This phase requires developing customer profiles to enable customized sales methods (Futrell, 2013). For instance, awareness that some clients prefer gaming performance.
In contrast, others are attracted to multimedia capabilities, or to the idea that exclusive titles can help sales experts effectively design targeted messages for each client segment. Equally, this stage comprises extensive research on competitors and significant shifts in the gaming market. Assessing competitors’ gaming console market positioning and understanding emerging industry trends can offer critical insights to emphasize PS5’s key selling points.
The pre-approach step entails rapport-building tactics that set the foundation for successful engagement with potential clients in the subsequent phases of the sales cycle. This stage is critical because it helps salespeople create more personalized pitches and increases awareness of diverse customer segments’ preferences (Hair et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the pre-approach’s main con is that it may require significant effort and time, and in some cases, the assumptions derived may not be precise, leading to low sales.
Approach
This is a pivotal stage where the potential clients are engaged. Salespeople are expected to make a positive first impression to keep buyers interested in the product. For PS5, a multifaceted strategy can be used to capture the attention and interest of the intended audience.
A key method in selling PS5 can involve multimedia presentations (Cheng, Shao, and Zhang, 2022). The salesperson can display visually appealing videos or slideshows that showcase PS5’s unique features, including its ray tracing capabilities, advanced graphics, and standout games. Presenting such visuals helps relay information efficiently while creating a memorable experience for the prospects, which may increase their desire to buy. In addition, virtual or in-store events might offer valuable opportunities for potential clients to gain firsthand experience, which could significantly influence their decision-making (Zhang, 2023). For instance, demonstrating the responsiveness of the PS5’s DualSense controller, the user-friendly interface, and the fascinating gaming experience can provide a buyer with a tangible, more positive experience.
Direct conversations between the salespeople and prospective buyers can be integral in PS5’s approach. These dialogues allow active listening to client needs, addressing pressing questions, and offering additional information about the product (Spiller, 2021). Real-time interaction helps sales professionals highlight the key features of PS5 that align with buyers’ interests. Ethical values, such as honesty, should be emphasized during this stage to ensure prospective buyers are well informed about the product. Thus, a compelling client engagement increases the chances of potential conversion.
Presentation
Here, sellers must use vocal and visual elements to describe a business proposition. According to Futrell (2013), the four sales presentation methods are formula, memorized, problem-solution, and need-satisfaction. However, a seller must choose a technique that resonates with or meets customers’ needs.
A suitable technique for marketing PS5 might be need-satisfaction. The method can help the salesperson identify the customer’s needs and determine whether the offered product is beneficial. The need-satisfaction approach is a dynamic, engaging presentation format that enables a sales representative to explore the buyer’s needs. This method is unstructured and accounts for the first 50-60% of conversation time (Futrell, 2013). This is called the need-development stage, typically devoted to assessing the customer’s needs (see Appendix 2). For these reasons, when players’ wants are identified, the presentation can be tailored to fit those requirements.
In this stage, the salesperson’s primary objective is to communicate the benefits of acquiring this console. They can start by disseminating detailed information about the product and demonstrating its capabilities to the audience (Amsl et al. 2023). For example, a vendor can highlight the console’s basic features that appeal to a wide range of players. These might include haptic feedback, ultra-high-speed SSD, three-dimensional audio, and adaptive triggers (Peters, 2020). Nevertheless, every customer is unique, and sellers must be flexible and adaptable when presenting a product (Ahearne et al. 2022). One ethical standard that should be observed in this stage is maintaining transparency by providing all necessary information about PS5 to enable the buyers to make informed decisions. Therefore, providing misleading information should be avoided, as it can damage the brand’s reputation.
Handling Objections
Opposition is essential because it demonstrates prospects ‘ interests and reveals what stage they are at in the buying cycle. The stages include attention, interest, desire, conviction, or readiness to close (Futrell, 2013). Resistance can occur at any time, as customers often ask questions during the presentation. Experienced traders have learned to utilize the system shown in Appendix 3 (Futrell, 2013, p. 307).
In this case, when potential clients raise objections about PS5, they can respond in four ways. Firstly, sales personnel must ensure they understand these objections and ask for another trial close to determine whether they have been addressed (Futrell, 2013). In this context, trial close solicits buyers’ opinions, not purchase decisions. For instance, they can ask about the PS5’s lack of exclusive games, which may give them fewer incentives to choose the platform. If this concern is handled, then a seller can move to close.
Secondly, after a customer’s objections are addressed, one must also determine whether there are any other concerns. Therefore, a trial close typically causes a prospect to state objections or ask additional questions they may raise (What is a trial close? 10 trial close questions to ask prospects, 2022, para. 2). Most complaints salespeople encounter are grouped into six categories: hidden, stalling, no-need, money, product, and source objection (Futrell, 2013). If buyers question PS5’s high price, it must be validated by acknowledging their concerns and providing a solution. In this case, a seller must assure gamers that the PS5 offers superior graphics and performance that justify their investment.
Thirdly, if, after responding to objections and asking for a trial close, the seller has not overcome the problem, they can return to discussing PS5 in Step 4. This can provide them with more information about the product related to the customer’s concern. Fourthly, if feedback is positive at the end of the presentation, one can move to close as indicated on the right side of Appendix 3, moving from steps 5 to 9. Regardless of how a seller handles objections, the process can be disadvantageous because it is time-consuming and delays the sale.
Closing
It is the process of assisting customers in making decisions that will benefit them. Individuals can be influenced to make choices by persuasion (Futrell, 2013). Therefore, closing is about finalizing the sale and turning possible buyers into those who pay. Some closing techniques that a person can use include compliments and negotiation (Futrell, 2013, p. 348).
Regarding the latter, customers often demand more value at a lower cost. In this case, a sales representative can use discounts, time-limited deals, and free delivery to increase gamers’ loyalty and encourage frequent purchases. For example, Sony can offer a package deal including a PS5, several blockbuster games, and a controller for less money.
Follow-up
This step focuses on creating lasting relationships and promoting brand loyalty. According to research, the cost of retaining current customers is five to twenty-five times lower than gaining new ones (Saleh and Saha, 2023). PS5’s follow-up approach needs to be well executed to enhance customer retention and increase the potential for referrals. Thus, post-purchase surveys should be distributed to customers to enable sales personnel to receive feedback on the buyer experience, gauge satisfaction levels, and identify areas for improvement. Similarly, creating channels where customers can continuously seek assistance, such as online forums, can ensure that all post-purchase concerns are promptly addressed, improving the overall client experience (Roggeveen and Sethuraman, 2020).
A follow-up after close can make customers feel valued and appreciated, leading to higher purchase satisfaction and brand loyalty. However, one con associated with this process is that it can be resource-intensive in terms of time, capital, and personnel. Similarly, spam-like behavior should be avoided because buyers can be frustrated by excessive communication, and it can damage the brand image.
Conclusion
The exercise of analyzing PS5 using the structured sales cycle format has numerous benefits. The framework serves as a blueprint for understanding the sales process and identifying and addressing potential buyers’ needs. Additionally, the model can help sellers to tailor their pitches to improve sales performance. However, it is associated with various challenges, and an area that needs further exploration to prepare for the presentation day is the continual refinement of objection-handling strategies. For example, a technical glitch with the console could be an issue. Thus, a seller must be versatile and well-equipped to manage buyers’ expectations and other concerns that can impact the sales process.
Reference List
Ahearne, M. et al. (2022) ‘The future of buyer–seller interactions: a conceptual framework and research agenda’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(5), pp. 22-45.
Amsl, S. et al. (2023), ‘Presenting products on websites – the importance of information quality criteria for online shoppers‘, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 51(9/10), pp. 1213-1238.
Cheng, Z., Shao, B. and Zhang, Y. (2022) ‘Effect of product presentation videos on consumers’ purchase intention: the role of perceived diagnosticity, mental imagery, and product rating’, Frontiers in Psychology, 13, pp. 1-14.
Futrell, C. (2013) Fundamentals of selling: customers for life through service. 13th edn. New York, NY: McGraw Hil.
Hair Jr, J.F. et al. (2020). Sales force management. New Jersey, NJ: Wiley.
Nishino, H. (2020) ‘PS4 games on PS5: your top questions answered‘, PlayStation.
Peters, J. (2020) ‘PlayStation 5: everything you need to know about Sony’s newest consoles‘, The Verge, 12 November.
Roggeveen, A.L. and Sethuraman, R. (2020) ‘Customer-interfacing retail technologies in 2020 & beyond: an integrative framework and research directions’, Journal of Retailing, 96(3), pp. 299–309.
Saleh, S. and Saha, S. (2023) ‘Customer retention and churn prediction in the telecommunication industry: a case study on a Danish university’, SN Applied Sciences, 5(7), p. 173.
Spiller, L., 2021. Selling & sales management: developing skills for success. California, CA: Sage Publications.
What is a trial close? 10 trial close questions to ask prospects (2022).
Zhang, N. (2023) ‘Product presentation in the live-streaming context: the effect of consumer perceived product value and time pressure on consumer’s purchase intention’, Frontiers in Psychology, 14, pp. 1-12.
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
