Are you having problems with selling your product and services? Do you constantly get turned down each time you introduce your products or services to a qualified customer? You could even be a sales executive who gets paralyzed emotionally each time you approach a potential customer. What you need is an understanding of how to sell with boldness. One thing that quality prospects appreciate in salespeople is boldness.
Most people with great capacities to build great businesses are roaming the streets, looking for jobs that are scarcely available because they aren’t confident about how to sell the quality products or services they are can offer.
The ability to sell is the number one business skill. Without selling, no business man will succeed. In order to remain in business, you have to be successful at making people pay for your products or services. The underlying truth is this:
NO SALES = NO BUSINESS
One of the major reasons for little or no sales in many businesses today is the inability to handle rejections that come with selling. Therefore let’s take a look at a few ways to combat this challenge.
1. BE THE BEST FAN OF YOUR PRODUCT
Don’t bother selling a product you can’t vouch for. The reason is simple: nobody will buy. You may not be the original producer or know everything about the product. But you must have understood the benefits of the product by use and be able to share your pleasant experiences with the prospect. Every potential buyer, client or investor is extra-sensitive when it comes to parting with money.
What they want to see is a salesperson or businessman who is sincere and can defend his or her claims on what the product is capable of offering. The best way to win a sale is to SPEAK WITH CONFIDENCE AND CONVICTION.
2. BE REAL AND HONEST
Prospects recognise sincerity in boldness when they it. Don’t try to mention a benefit that your product or service is not capable of offering the prospect. If your product has a limitation, admit it. List out the possible questions a prospect might want to ask about your product and prepare an appropriate response in advance.
3. EXPECT A POSITIVE RESPONSE
Visualize your prospect as a pleasant and reliable person. How do you approach a colleague you know is very pleasant and likeable? Your answer should determine the way you should approach every prospect. Good emotions are contagious and people are more than willing to return kind gestures if you offer it to them first. A genuine and friendly smile would win any sane person anytime, any day.
4. MAKE EXCUSES FOR YOUR PROSPECTS
Not all prospects you meet would be interested in your product. Not even all those that are interested would be willing to buy immediately. But if you have created a great first impression, then you can be sure that they will call you, recommend you or come back to request for that product or service.
Except for window shoppers many people want to take their time before buying a product especially when it is a substantial item like a car, house, large investment, insurance policy and so on. If a prospect doesn’t buy your product or service, just assume that it is because of lack of sufficient funds, or that she needs some time to think through the offer.
Don’t always think it is because of your inability to sell effectively; even the very best sales or business people get turned down sometimes. When you meet someone who is not ready to buy immediately, be nice, then drop your contacts before you move on. Who knows, she may turn up a few days later to discuss the offer.
5. ACCEPT REJECTIONS AS PART OF SELLING
Understand that every ‘NO’ could become a ‘MAYBE’ and every ‘MAYBE’ could become a ‘YES’. A ‘No’ may mean ‘I need more information on your product/service’ or ‘show me more benefits of your product’. Understand that the most rejected people in the world are the most successful salesmen. HOW?
• If you attempt to sell to 10 people, and you have a selling rate of 20%. Then you have been rejected by 8 people and accepted by 2.
• Now, instead of approaching 10 people, you approach 100 people within the same period, what happens? 20 Sales!
• Therefore the more people you dare to approach, the more sales you are likely to make.
• Increase your frequency of contacts with your customers and ask them to buy more often. Build relationships even with those who don’t buy from you.
• Most business or sales people are not successful because they are not rejected enough.
• GET READY FOR MORE REJECTIONS BECAUSE IT IS IN THE MIDST OF REJECTIONS THAT WE ENCOUNTER OUR MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN SELLING.
6. CONVERT YOUR PAINS OF REJECTION INTO IMPROVEMENT
• While it is good to risk rejections often by approaching more customers, make sure you learn from your mistakes and improve your capacity to win more sales with less attempts.
• One small negative attitude may be hindering your enormous potentials in selling. Study your selling process. If your choice of words is not working, change them. Adjust, modify, adapt and improve until your performance begins to increase.
• Outlined below is the flow path of using the pains of rejection to accelerate business success.
RISK REJECTION LEARN CORRECTIMPROVE SALES
Wishing you a prosperous business year ahead.
Showing posts with label Selling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Selling. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
7 Strategies for Selling Your Products& Services
Every business is either growing or gunning for extinction. This has nothing to do with the present size of the business. There are multinationals that may fold up in the next few years, where some small companies are warming up to launch into the global market.
What then determines the fate of any business in a competitive environment like ours? It is the ABILITY TO SELL. The following suggestions will help you develop this all-important skill.
1. IDENTIFY THE MAJOR NEED OF YOUR PROSPECT. Your prospects are those who need your products or/and services and have the capacity to pay for them. You cannot sell to a customer whose need you don’t know.
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE. The best way to know your product is to use it yourself. When you sell from the vantage point of having used the product, your sales presentations will be more persuasive and convincing. The best experience you can relate to a prospect about your product is your own. You can then share experiences of other satisfied customers.
3. CREATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS. If there are two persons trying to sell similar products to you and a friend happen to be one of them, which one would buy from? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? The major reason why most people would buy from their friends is TRUST. Most people are afraid of making wrong buying decisions. ‘Suppose I buy it and it doesn’t work?’ ‘Suppose I discovered that I paid too much for it?’ These are just some of the questions that races through the mind of a prospective buyer. Therefore, break a prospect’s buying resistance by building trust. Build trust with words; words that reveal his or her need for your product. Rehearse the first few words you ever say to a prospect. Most business people are too much in a hurry to sell and that is why they record low sales. The good news is that you do not need a lifetime to build trust and friendship.
4. ALWAYS ACT AS A CONSULTANT, NOT A SALESMAN. People are suspicious of salespeople. They believe that most salespeople are only out to get their money. Therefore, act creatively by finding a way to educate your prospect about the benefits of your product. Describe how your product would affect the joy, profitability and convenience of your prospect. However as you do this, let your prospect know that he or she has an option, to buy or not to buy.
5. NEVER ASSUME THAT A ‘NO’ IS PERMANENT. There are so many reasons why a prospect might say ‘no’ to your offer. She may need more information about your product. She could be in a bad mood. She could lack sufficient funds to buy immediately. Therefore, if a prospect says ‘no’ to your offer, find out why. Ask a digging question like, ‘Why are you not buying?’ or ‘If you would eventually buy this product in the future, what do you think would make you buy it?’ This way, you might get a clue that would help you turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’.
6. ‘I WOULD THINK ABOUT IT’ IS A ‘NO’ IN SELLING. If a prospect says she would think about it, it is her polite way of saying ‘I’m not interested’. Reply such a response with a statement like, ‘Everything you need to make your decision is already available, why not take advantage of this opportunity right away?’ This kind of response is especially good for those who are selling tangible products. Before then, you must have proven the benefits of your product or service to your prospect.
7. AVOID ENDLESS TALKING, CLOSE THE SALE. There are those who can talk for hours on their product and services but never remember to ask for the order. The key to quick and easy sales is focusing on your prospect’s feedbacks and his needs, not your product. The moment you notice the interest of your prospect in the product, stop selling; ask for the order. Say, ‘So how many units would you love to buy?’ or ‘When do we begin work?’ (for service sales). If you accurately identified the need, the predictable response would be ‘yes’.
You cannot succeed in any business beyond your skillfulness in selling. You need this ability to attract prospects, motivate your sales representatives and relate well with your clients, partners and associates. Start developing that ability today.
What then determines the fate of any business in a competitive environment like ours? It is the ABILITY TO SELL. The following suggestions will help you develop this all-important skill.
1. IDENTIFY THE MAJOR NEED OF YOUR PROSPECT. Your prospects are those who need your products or/and services and have the capacity to pay for them. You cannot sell to a customer whose need you don’t know.
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE. The best way to know your product is to use it yourself. When you sell from the vantage point of having used the product, your sales presentations will be more persuasive and convincing. The best experience you can relate to a prospect about your product is your own. You can then share experiences of other satisfied customers.
3. CREATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS. If there are two persons trying to sell similar products to you and a friend happen to be one of them, which one would buy from? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? The major reason why most people would buy from their friends is TRUST. Most people are afraid of making wrong buying decisions. ‘Suppose I buy it and it doesn’t work?’ ‘Suppose I discovered that I paid too much for it?’ These are just some of the questions that races through the mind of a prospective buyer. Therefore, break a prospect’s buying resistance by building trust. Build trust with words; words that reveal his or her need for your product. Rehearse the first few words you ever say to a prospect. Most business people are too much in a hurry to sell and that is why they record low sales. The good news is that you do not need a lifetime to build trust and friendship.
4. ALWAYS ACT AS A CONSULTANT, NOT A SALESMAN. People are suspicious of salespeople. They believe that most salespeople are only out to get their money. Therefore, act creatively by finding a way to educate your prospect about the benefits of your product. Describe how your product would affect the joy, profitability and convenience of your prospect. However as you do this, let your prospect know that he or she has an option, to buy or not to buy.
5. NEVER ASSUME THAT A ‘NO’ IS PERMANENT. There are so many reasons why a prospect might say ‘no’ to your offer. She may need more information about your product. She could be in a bad mood. She could lack sufficient funds to buy immediately. Therefore, if a prospect says ‘no’ to your offer, find out why. Ask a digging question like, ‘Why are you not buying?’ or ‘If you would eventually buy this product in the future, what do you think would make you buy it?’ This way, you might get a clue that would help you turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’.
6. ‘I WOULD THINK ABOUT IT’ IS A ‘NO’ IN SELLING. If a prospect says she would think about it, it is her polite way of saying ‘I’m not interested’. Reply such a response with a statement like, ‘Everything you need to make your decision is already available, why not take advantage of this opportunity right away?’ This kind of response is especially good for those who are selling tangible products. Before then, you must have proven the benefits of your product or service to your prospect.
7. AVOID ENDLESS TALKING, CLOSE THE SALE. There are those who can talk for hours on their product and services but never remember to ask for the order. The key to quick and easy sales is focusing on your prospect’s feedbacks and his needs, not your product. The moment you notice the interest of your prospect in the product, stop selling; ask for the order. Say, ‘So how many units would you love to buy?’ or ‘When do we begin work?’ (for service sales). If you accurately identified the need, the predictable response would be ‘yes’.
You cannot succeed in any business beyond your skillfulness in selling. You need this ability to attract prospects, motivate your sales representatives and relate well with your clients, partners and associates. Start developing that ability today.
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