Coffee’s For Closers
Selling is an integral part of any business and must be done properly to be successful… and with success comes the enjoyment of selling. Sell like a pro by incorporating the following tips into your sales process, regardless of your business or profession.
Have Passion and Believe in Your Product or Service
You must have a passion for what you are selling and true confidence and belief in the product or service. Customers purchase benefits and want solutions to their problems…that’s it. Generally, customers are not interested in how a product is made or what processes a business goes through to provide a service. So, you or your employees must know the benefits of the product or service your business is selling, or how it solves a particular problem for customers. An in-depth knowledge of what a business is selling is not only important in getting the information to customers, it is also a confidence booster for whoever is doing the selling. When product and service features are stressed to customers, selling becomes much easier.
Know Your Customer
Not everyone needs the products or services a business sells. If your market scope is too broad, you’ll waste a lot of effort trying to sell to someone that does not need what you’re offering. Likewise, if your market scope is too narrow, you will miss out on potential customers. Maximize your time and effort by getting to know your customer and targeting to them more specifically.
Market a Message that Speaks Directly to Your Customer
When it comes to marketing your message, it needs to be tailored to your customer. What are their needs? What is most important to them? Create a message that allows your customer to feel connected to your business and build trust before the personal approach even begins.
Offer Alternatives When Possible
A square peg never fits in a round hole. The same axiom holds true when trying to sell a product or service that is fundamentally not needed. The fit has to be right or a sale will never be made. Perhaps, you might have to take a different approach and look for alternative products or services to make the sale. Maybe, bundling several products or services together or offering special terms of sale might be just what your customer needs. Every approach, depending on the customer, industry, need, etc, should look a little different. . Be creative, when necessary, so your customers understand their importance to you.
Follow-Up with Prospects
A “no” doesn’t always mean the end of a business relationship. Maybe the timing isn’t right, an approval is needed, or competition needs to be checked. In fact, a future sale might be lost if you’re not diligent in following up with prospects. Out of sight, out of mind definitely holds true with selling. It is important to follow-up, keep your name in front of prospects, and let future customers know that you’re there now and will be there in the future when needed. Too much follow-up can certainly be annoying but the right amount of follow-up…true concern for a customer…can be just what is needed to close a sale.
Make Selling Enjoyable
Make selling an enjoyable game in which you are the winner. Forget about “selling” and start providing benefits and solutions to customers. Build your business by building relationships, one at a time. Practice the above tips of selling and see how quickly you can turn selling into something both enjoyable and profitable.
