| Many
people seem to believe that selling is the province of people with
the “gift of the gab”. Oddly enough, nothing could
be further from the truth. Whilst a sales person needs to be a
good presenter, which can involve talking, it is more important
that they be a good communicator.
Communication is a two way street, not one way
and if a sales person never shuts up, then they will never get
to find out about the customer’s needs, the customer’s
wants, the customer’s expectations or other matters of vital
importance to the sales process.
There are only two reasons why people won’t
buy something. Either they don’t need it or they can’t
afford it. Although you may have heard the saying that some salesperson
could sell “sand to Arabs” or “ice to Eskimos”,
they are just sayings. Neither of these groups “need” the
product. Likewise, you aren’t going to sell a luxury yacht
costing £3million to a battling family in the suburbs – they
simply can’t afford it. Consequently good sales people “target” their
market so their time is spent effectively. That however is the
subject of a whole different article.
Essentially there are five basic steps to a sale.
- The Opening
The opening of your presentation is one of the
most important parts. This is where you establish rapport with
your customer if he/she/they are new. If they are an existing
customer, then it will be a bit of a “catch up” since
your last meeting or contact. Establishing rapport is often underestimated
by sales people. They blindly rush in to trying to sell a prospect
a product or service without establishing essential ingredients
in the sale. These are the integrity of the sales person and
also establishing trust. Just because the person you are talking
to may be an existing client, these things are not to be taken
lightly. It is a well established fact of selling that it is
far easier to sell to an existing client than it is to a new
prospect. Overlooking a decent opening to an existing client
can leave them feeling “taken for granted” and you
could well end up losing their business. From the Opening, you
move on to the……
- The Presentation
This is where you move into the presentation
of your product or service to the prospect of client. Make sure
it is well thought out and rehearsed. Let me repeat that – Make
sure your presentation is well thought out and rehearsed. There
is nothing worse than a presentation that is full of stumbles,
errs…aahhhhs and pauses. What you are really saying to
the customer or prospect is that you don’t really know
your product or service that well. If this is what you are conveying,
how can you possibly expect the prospect or customer to buy from
you? From the Presentation you move on to the..…….
- The Trial Close
The sad fact about selling is that many sales
people do not know how to close. They get to the end of their
Presentation and don’t know what to say next. The conversation
can deteriorate into small talk about the weather or other inane
subjects and they leave with the customer or prospect saying
that they will think about it. If you want the order, then you
have to ask for it! So what is a trial close? It is a question.
Perhaps, “When would you like to start?”, or, “How
many items would you like as an initial shipment?”, or “What
colour would you prefer?”. I’m sure you get the idea.
One thing to notice however is that all these questions require
a commitment from the customer or prospect. They are not open
ended questions like, “What do you think?”. Questions
of that nature are way too general and destroy the process you
have been building.
With any luck, the customer or prospect may
simply order from you at this point and you can go on your merry
way towards your next sale. But if they don’t then you
move on to the next step which is…………
- Answering Objections
Many sales people are terrified of objections,
but the reality is that they should be welcomed with open arms.
If a prospect of customer raises an objection then it means they
are interested. Experience with your product or service will
teach you over time every single objection that a prospect or
customer could possibly raise. Granted, you may come up against
the odd surprise at some stage, but objections should always
be regarded as a learning experience on your part. The more objections
raised, the greater the opportunity that you as a sales person
has of displaying your expertise with the product or service
which in turn builds the trust and confidence of the prospect
or customer in you.
Sadly, this is one area of sales that seems
to be ignored by Internet Marketers. They put up a page and rely
on someone hitting the order button. I have personally had questions
about some products I have seen, but either there isn’t
an email address on the page or your emails are ignored!
Now here is the important part. At the end of
answering every objection you go back to Step 3 and do a Trial
Close on the prospect or customer. Keep doing this until there
are no more objections and then move on to the last part of the
process which is……….
- The Close
It is at this point that the pens and paper
come out and the details of the sale are recorded. Once this
has been documented there are still two more important things
to do before packing your bag and heading off. The first is to
recap and go over the details of the order with the prospect
or customer. Have them confirm to you verbally that all is in
order. You can do this several time regarding key points if relevant.
The last thing to do is to thank the prospect
or customer for their business. Remember, you are in the trust
and relationship building business and treating people with respect
and appreciation will go a long way to building these integral
parts of the relationship.
Despite what many sales people think, price
is not the primary consideration or factor in a client’s
mind. This does apply for some of course, but they are in the
minority. Price is only one of many considerations taken into
account by buyers and is in fact only one of many objections
you may have to overcome in achieving a sale.
Apply and refine these techniques and you can
be assured of success in sales.
Article Source: http://www.articlecube.com.
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