Understanding
the Selling Market
- Setting Up and
Realizing Your Goa
Now, here is where all the hard work
lies ahead. Well, let's omit the word "hard" there. Selling can be
easy anyway, especially if you know what you are doing. To realize your goal as
a salesperson, the first thing you have to do is to set it. What exactly do you
want to achieve as one? Do you want to earn big bucks? Millions? Or do you want
to be a sales supervisor then sales director? Maybe being the company's vice
president for sales is such a good idea after all, don't you think?
When it comes to setting goals,
there is only one rule to remember - set a goal that is possible to reach.
There's nothing wrong in focusing on an extravagant goal, like being a sales
division head. But it won't happen overnight, especially if you just started
your job yesterday. It is better to set small, short-term goals and go from
there. Achieve all these small goals one at a time, one after another, and you
will surely wake up one morning on top of your career and with loads of money
in your bank account at that.
Short-term goals are much easier to
achieve. It takes lesser time and sometimes even lesser effort to accomplish a
short-term goal. Short-term goals are mostly done in a matter of months, or
even days. Let's apply this concept and take college as an example. In order
for you to finish college, you schedule yourself to attend university fairs and
seminars. Doing that is a short-term goal, a small goal. Finishing college, on
the other hand, is the long-term goal or the bigger goal.
Most
people incorrectly set big dreams with their big goals. That's perfectly fine.
No problem with that. But several people who are doing this get tired of
pursuing their dream; and eventually, they give up. They became too weary of
failing because they do not understand nor realize all the complexities
associated to achieving those colossal goals.
It
is always preferable to begin with small goals before you head on to take big
challenges and bigger dreams. Try splitting your big, long-term goals into
several small but achievable short-term goals. When you look at your goals from
that perspective, you will realize that your bigger goals become more
attainable.
Let's
use a definite example again. Say you like to become a millionaire through
selling. Make that your ultimate goal. Under that, make several short-term
goals significant to your current position. Give yourself a month doing your
selling with a simple goal of being able to pay the bills. If you have
successfully achieved that, proceed with the aim of earning enough to pay the
bills plus a number of your luxuries, like a monthly out-of-town vacation or a
shopping spree perhaps. After those, and if you are still doing well in your
craft, continue with the next set of goals. Aim to buy a house or a new car.
Then make enough money to spend most of the holidays abroad with your family.
Proceed to saving a bundle for your retirement. Slowly, but surely, you will
eventually find your bank account with savings of seven figures at least.
Now
do your own goal-setting activity. List one ultimate goal and make at least 10
baby steps under it. And under each small goal, make several concrete steps to
do on how you can achieve each goal. Then push yourself on achieving one goal
after another. Don't skip any of your goals and you will surely be on the right
track.
Honing Your Face-to-Face Selling
Skills
One way to realize your goal is to
make sure that you sharpen your face-to-face selling skills. This is helpful if
you have to do door-to-door selling, service sales, or customer service. To be
an effective face-to-face seller, here are good tips you have to follow:
- Make sure you have all
the sales material at hand.
Don't
expect to make big sales if you are not prepared for everything. You have to
always have the order forms, purchase orders, sales slips, selling materials,
and specification sheets handy. Bring them wherever you go. Make sure you have
extra copies of each in your car, your briefcase, desk, and counter. If you are
always ready, you won't give your customer any room for second thoughts.
- Always stay well
organized to make selling a breeze.
Being
organized does not only mean you have all your selling materials when and where
you need it. It also means you have everything all taken cared of – including
the possible questions your customer may throw at you. You have to make sure
that for the simplest and the most common of questions, you have the answers
handy, either in the back of your mind or on a brochure. Fumbling around for
papers and answers won't do you any good. Your customer might get impatient and
change his mind about buying.
- Take advantage of the
power of good testimonials.
Good
customer service will tell you that you don't forget a customer right after
every sale. Instead, you follow up their purchase with the offer of support to
help them with anything about the product or to answer questions about its use
and functionality. It is also a good time to ask for feedbacks as to whether
they are satisfied with the sale, both regarding the commodity and the quality
of support or customer service they received. You can even ask some of your
all-too-pleased customers for good testimonials. More often than not, they will
be very willing to vouch a good word or two about you, the product they bought,
and the company that made it.
- Update your sales
materials regularly.
If
you are indeed using catalogs, visual aids, brochures, and leaflets, you have
to make sure that they are all up-to-date and accurate. You customers are going
to use the information contained in them to guide them with their purchase.
They may even use the data you gave and compare it with your competitor's
products. Now if you give them inaccurate data, you can expect either one of
two results. The first result: your customer will choose other product over
yours because what you have doesn't fair well when compared to others. This
will likely happen if you haven't updated your materials with the innovations
and improvements the manufacturer has made with the product you are offering.
And the second result: your customer will buy your product, thinking yours is
better than the others, only to find out they are fooled because of the
inaccurate facts and figures placed on the brochure they took home with them.
Either case, you will end up losing. On both counts, you lose a sale because
the second customer is very likely to request for a refund.
- Talk to your customer and involve them in
every moment of the pre-sale, but stop talking when he has made the
decision to buy.
Again,
don't give your customer any second to reconsider buying. Before he makes up
his mind about buying a certain product, continue talking to the customer. Good
conversation skill is what every good salesperson possesses. Don't put it into
waste. Use it all the time. Besides, customers can assess right there and then
if you are genuinely willing to help them make a good purchase or if you just
there to get their money. But after they made the decision to buy, stop talking
about that particular product. Remember, they can always change their mind,
walk out the store, and leave you dumbfounded.
The smart thing to do is ask them if they would be interested in an
“advanced” version of the product (if any) or if they would like a
complimentary product to go with the sale (Example: Would you like fries or
sundae with that meal?).
- Provide your customer
only with the best possible product and sales deal.
A
good salesperson does not think of what he can get out of each sale he makes.
He also thinks about the person on the other end of the bargain. A salesperson
should strive to fully understand what his customer wants. He has to help him
make an informed decision among his legitimate options. Selling is also about
caring and trust. This is the primary reason why customers keep coming back.
- Motivate your customer
to act.
Well,
don't just stand there talking to your customer about the product's benefit
like a broken record. Your constant pitch will just irritate your customer.
Instead, drive them to buy. Make them understand that it is a lot better to own
the product's benefits rather than just to hear about it. Goad them to act.
Have them complete the sale.
- Attempt to sell
related products or services to satisfied customers.
A
happy customer may be all too willing to buy other products. For example, if
you are selling designer clothes to prospects and at the end, they did buy one
of your products, try to sell them designer shoes and bags to match. They may
not buy right away, but it is such a great opportunity to present them other
products that compliment the item they’ve purchased. You will then have an
active list of customers in the near future.
- Reach out to your most
likely clients and get referrals.
After
understanding your target market, you should know exactly the type of people
that will buy what you are selling. Get to meet them and sell to them
aggressively. However the meeting goes, either you got a sale or not, get
referrals. They will surely have other friends in the same field that may be
willing to buy. Always make every meeting worth it, even if you did not strike
a deal at all.
- Give your customers
subsequent sales support.
Sales
support comes in various forms. It could be as simple as a telephone inquiry or
as complex as a home service. Either the case or whether it is your job or not,
offer assistance when it is asked of you. The least you can do is to direct
them to the right support group to handle their concerns. If there is no such
group, provide them help as much as your company policies can allow. Always
keep in mind that one unhappy customer can create more damage than ten happy
customers can repair.
Using Effective
Sales Tools to Realize Your Goal
Today, there are a lot of tools and
avenues to make yourself known and reach to as much customers as you can. These
tools are essential in your business because they can hoist you up the sales
ladder and lead you to your first million.
The Telephone
The telephone is a very important
business tool. In fact, it is widely used right now by both small-scale
businesses to large corporate empires. Call centers are setup everywhere, even
carried offshore to maximize cost and efficiency. Why? It's because the
telephone is very powerful. You can inquire a product through phone, place and
confirm orders, and collect payment through this device. As a salesperson, you
can reach your possible customers without leaving your home or office. You can
talk to them at their most convenient time, without worrying about traveling,
what to wear, and where to meet up. All you have to do is to press a few
numbers on the keypad, wait for the person to answer on the other end of the
line, and you have a deal brewing right under your nose.
Local Community Groups
To realize your goal much faster than
expected, you have to first reach the local groups with which they belong. It
is advisable that you become known in the local community you would like to
penetrate first. You have to build your reputation well, so to speak. And you
will benefit most if you use the power of the word of mouth. If everything goes
well, you might not have to go to your customer at all. They would be coming to
you instead.
Advertising and Publicity
Publicity will take you miles closer
to your targets. Publicity includes the tri-media, as it is more known today.
The newspapers and other printed materials, the television stations, and the
radio airwaves are the things that corresponds to publicity. Spots for these
may not come free, but it is worth the investment, especially if you get to
make your product or service known to the masses. If you are lucky, you might
just come across some of them at no cost at all. Whichever the case, you have
to make sure that you choose the one that reaches your most probable customers.
Don't be too overeager and buy a television commercial spot right away only to
find out that you've place your ads for car paints on a fashion TV show, which
does not jive at all.
Direct Mail
There had been a time when direct mail
is a breakthrough in mass marketing. Direct mail straightforwardly informs your
customers of your sales activities and promotional offers that come with it.
Direct mail connects you to the very people you want to contact. It fixes in a
very personal level what your customer cannot easily resist.
Sales Promotional Materials
These are your massively produced
paraphernalia, usually paperwork. Your brochures, leaflets, and inserts are
what compose this category. If you want to reach as many audiences as possible
without caring so much for pre-qualifying, this is the way to go. Print out
thousands of leaflets and scatter them all over town. Call the local newspaper
dealer and strike a deal with them, putting your inserts to all periodicals for
a certain fee.
Of
the three, brochures are quite different. Some brochures are printed on glossy
paper and usually come colored. You don't want to put these to waste by just
giving it to somebody who is not at all interested. In essence, you have to
give this only to the people who are opting to buy or are most likely to buy.
The Internet
Currently, there is no marketing
tool that is as powerful as the Internet. The Internet is an avenue for
everything. And it is so popular even kids know how to use it. The Internet is
where everybody virtually meets. If you want to market your products to the
rest of the world, you can use the Internet. And it is the most inexpensive way
to do it. Today, everything can be done online. You can advertise, sell your
product, and receive payment, all without leaving the comforts of your home or
office. All you need is some knowledge of how e-commerce and internet marketing
works, and get ready to be swept away by voluminous orders.
The Qualities of an
Excellent Salesperson
Being a salesperson should be easy.
That is, if you have all the qualities of a good salesperson in you. However
you do your job, either face-to-face, over the telephone, or through the
Internet, it is important that you posses all these qualities. Once you do,
sales and commissions will just keep on pouring in and you will need an extra
hand fulfilling orders.
Neatness and Presentability
For a salesperson, image is
everything. It is true that before you get to sell anything, you always have to
sell yourself first. And that means you should be highly likeable before you
get somebody to like your products. Giving your possible customers a bad
impression of you won't help at all. It would help your competitors though,
because it takes you out of the picture.
You won't always know your customers
personally. In fact, you will be meeting a lot of them, if not all of them,
only once in your life. And that means you will be approaching them and talking
to them as a total stranger. In this case, they might be scrutinizing you in an
attempt to judge what kind of a person you are. And they might do that mostly
based on your looks alone.
It is therefore important that you
look neat and presentable all the time. Your aura and your physical image tell
a lot about who you are and the company you represent. People do not like to
deal with somebody they do not feel comfortable with. Unruly hair and dirty
teeth could make you lose a sale. Don't take the risk. Invest in your
appearance. But this doesn’t mean you have to buy and wear expensive suits all
the time. Good grooming will make you stand out even if your clothes are old.
Just make sure they are well kept and you should be fine.
Professionalism
Professionalism is how you do things
right. For starters, you should not be irritating. Certain habits or conducts
annoy some people. If you have a nasty habit like fidgeting with your fingers,
cutting somebody's sentence off, playing with your pen, or talking too fast,
you have to do your best to eliminate it. As a rule of thumb, any habit that
you think may annoy somebody else has to go – and do it in any way possible. If
you have to undergo therapies to get rid of it, do it. Much of your career
depends on it. Keep in mind that the selling career entails a person-to-person
contact. Because of that, you have to do everything to create a good impression
and comfortable air between you and your customer.
Good Listening Skills
More than anything, a customer would
like to be heard and understood, sometimes at all costs. To be a good
salesperson, you have to develop your ability to listen, even to the words left
unsaid. Let your customer talk. After all, they come to you because they want
something. Hear them out and show them that you perfectly understood what they
are trying to convey. You may just uncover a behavior or attitude that can
propel you to make a sale. If you fail to do so the first time, don't hesitate
to ask them again. This will show that you are concerned about what they are
saying and you don't want to miss a detail. But don't do it many times in a
conversation; or else, the customer will assume that you are not paying
attention.
Sensitivity
Always put yourself in your customer's
shoes. This is the only way you can feel what it is that concerns them and what
they are trying to make you comprehend. Doing so will also ensure that you are
on the right ground when it comes to dealing with people. Some salespeople
become too overeager to collect the commissions they would get out of every
sale that they forget to treat their customer with outmost care and attention.
Actually, this is the gravest mistake you can make as a salesperson. The moment
you regard your customers as one-time deals is the moment you can say goodbye
to your career. With that attitude, even your most loyal clients will break out
and leave you hanging by a thin line eventually.
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is infectious. If you’re
excited about your product and the benefit it can give, your customers would
soon follow suit. They would see your product in a different way, enough to
complete a sale. Good salespeople are jovial and passionate about their craft.
You should develop these qualities right at the start of your career.
Knowledge
This doesn't mean that you necessarily
need to have above average comprehension skills to start with. It means being
smart with the good ability to grasp data. When a good salesperson sells his
product, he knows all its prime qualities by heart. He makes it a point that he
has the answer to the most asked- about question concerning the product he is
selling at the back of his mind. He does not grope around looking for answers
when somebody pops them up. Instead, he comes prepared with a smart answer all
the time.
Integrity
Integrity means honesty and doing
the right things even when somebody is not looking at you. Many customers want
to stay clear of a deceitful salesperson. That is the reason why they size
salespeople up before they attempt to buy or even before asking anything about
the product. Customers want to know exactly how the product works, without any
tall lies and truth bending. They only want to deal with a straight, honest
salesperson.
Courtesy
Courtesy is something everybody
appreciates. Customers definitely want to be treated like kings. They may
bombard you with questions before they decide to buy, or they can try all your
products before selecting the one right for them. Customers have varying tastes
and styles. As a salesperson, part of your job is to conform to all their
eccentricities. You might need to practice patience and be good-natured. Always
remember that the most likeable salesperson always gets the job done.
Persuasiveness
All salespeople are required to be
persuasive. They should be able to effectively convince their customers about
the beauty of the product they are selling within appropriate levels. They should not drop at every block the
customer throws at them. Instead, they should look at it as a challenge that
they have to overcome. Most highly successful salespeople are even looking
forward to all these challenges. They feel triumphant with every sale if they
are able to prevail over the customer's negativities. This is something that
adds excitement and stimulation to their job.
Handling Objections
A lot of people assume that selling
is not easy. And that's because of the numerous objections potential customers
will shoot at you whenever you attempt to contact or talk to them with the
intention of starting a sale. Some objections may be given as the sale
presentation or sales pitch is in progress. But little do they know that some
of these objections, like the price of the product or the service that comes
with it, could very well be an indication of a customer’s interest in buying.
If
you think about it, your customers won't object about how high your product's
price is if they have not really considered the possibility of owning it.
Therefore, you must take on all their objections accordingly, and convert them
to your benefit. Over time, different new techniques are being developed to
handle the customer's every single objection. The ones listed below are the
most effective ways as practiced by thriving salespeople.
The Boomerang Technique
Renaming
the Objections
Show
The Customers The Bigger Picture
Reframing
the Objection
The
Conditional Closing Technique
Repulsing
the Objection
The
Curious Salesperson Technique
Anticipating the Objection
Sidetracking the Objection
Objection Bargaining
The Use of Empathy
The Use of Humor
Selling and
Presenting Your Product
Almost
all customers would agree in saying that the product’s presentation has a lot
to do with their reasons for buying. They like a product that is very
presentable, both in its overall appearance and its packaging. Therefore, no
matter how good your product is, if it is not appealing to the eye, it is not
going to have market appeal. Appeal to your customer’s aesthetic preferences. A
lot of companies are investing so much just to improve their product design.
Most of the time, a simple change in the packaging layout would translate to
millions of sales. Good enough is not enough. Always settle for the best
possible product appearance and packaging.
Here
are the four basic principles of how your overall product presentation should
look like:
1.
It
should be attention grabbing.
2.
It
should be crafted to build customer’s interest in the product.
3.
It
should arouse the customer’s desire to own the product.
4.
It
should be enough to goad the customers to action.
When
it comes to presentation, your main point of interest is what pleases the eye.
While it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, all you really have
to follow is to appeal to the general concept of beauty. Always stick to the
conventional assumption of beauty and you would never go wrong.
How
to Build Your Customer’s Interest find out here http://tiny.cc/cz7xy
How
to Arouse Your Customer’s Desire
1.
Vision
2.
Hearing
3.
The
Sense of Smell
4.
The
Sense of Taste
5.
The
Sense of Touch
How
to Goad Your Customers into Action
Now this is the meat of the
matter. When we are talking about action, we mean buying. And buying is the
main goal of every sales deal. It is what every salesperson aims to get. The
million-dollar question comes into surface: How then, can you make a customer
buy?
After
going through the steps listed in this book, you should have learned about
product presentation, quality, appeal, customer’s objections, and the salesman
qualities. All these are taught with only one intention – that you successfully
get into your customers’ heads and goad them into action.
Selling
is a very psychological thing. A good product won’t necessarily sell without an
equally good salesperson behind it. Try it. Let's do some role-playing. Get
your products on the frontline and act not as an enthusiastic salesperson but
as an indifferent vendor. Act like somebody who gets paid by the hour without
commissions. That means you will get your salary after working hours no matter
how few or how many items you have sold. See if you are going to achieve your
day’s goal.
Now act
like a very aggressive salesperson and take what you think is your worst
product. Maybe for research, you can even select a brand or a commodity that
you think is a big junk. Sell it passionately, following everything taught in
this report. See if you had sold more products acting like this compared to
when you are acting like the uninterested salesperson.
This is
the first point you have to know. Selling is not entirely about your product.
Your product won’t sell on its own. That is the very reason why your boss hired
you in the first place. He knows it. You should know it too. Be reminded of
this one thing: Before you can sell
anything, you have to sell yourself first. This is why you are taught the
qualities of a good salesperson earlier. The moment you speak to your customer
about your product is the moment your customer maybe doing his best trying to
trust you. If he finds that very hard to do, you are in big trouble.
The
second point: Not all customers buy impulsively. You might be lucky to meet
more than one compulsive customer in a day. So don’t gripe if the customer lets
you talk for five whole hours only to leave the store without making a single
purchase. This happens; and it does quite often, actually. So you have to know
your plan of attack each time you face your customer. If he is a new customer,
don’t come on too strong. Again, customers do not like to be pushed around and
feel ensnared.
The
third point: Keep your customer interested. Getting your customer’s attention
is not enough. You have to keep the water flowing, so to speak. You have to
capture their interest and sustain it. But do it in such a way that it doesn’t
look as though you are going to some extreme heights just to sell to them.
Customers know when you are making conversation and when you are making a sales
pitch for them to buy. It is your job to keep them interested. And when their
interest is at its peak, move in to close the deal. That should be the time
when they are more than willing to take out their wallets right then and make
the purchase.
The last
and main point: Let your customer know your intentions. Make it clear to them
that you wanted them to buy your product, get an insurance plan, to sign up for
a loan, to purchase a warranty card, or anything else you might want them to
do. Calling them to action is not enough. They have to know what the real
action is, what they are supposed to do. And be prepared for that. Don’t be too
engrossed in your sales pitch that you are forgetting little details (like the
customer has to have several identification cards to go with the purchase or
other trivial things like that). Assess your customer while you are talking to
them. Determine what they need to do and make them want to do it. Now that's
the best salesperson in action!
To guide you further in
your selling, here are four almost magical selling techniques that you can use
to your advantage:
a. The
Reciprocity Technique
-
b.The
Contrast Technique
- c.The
Herd Technique
2.
Learn
the proper timing in closing the deal.
3.
Bluffing
sometimes work.
4.
Know
what to say after they made the decision to buy.
5.
Not
all sales deals lead to a close.
The Different Deal Closing
Techniques
Closing
the deal means taking the customer into the stage of commitment. This is where
they actually buy – where they put out their hard earned and the not-so-hard
earned cash for that matter, to buy your products. Therefore, to ensure you of
a tightly sealed deal, here are some closing techniques you can take advantage
of:
Using the Power of
Assumption Technique
Using a Testimonial to
Close the Deal
The First-Hand Experience
Technique
Showing them The Better End
of The Deal Closing Technique
Using the Emotions
Technique
Using the Short-Term Offer Technique
Focus on the Quality
Technique
Steps to An Effective
Closing You
can get more information by clicking the link below. http://tiny.cc/2ne9r
. 1.
Deliver
your closing.
2.
Pause
for a few seconds.
3.
Observe
your customer's emotions.
4.
Finish
the sale.
5.
Thank
the customer.
Conclusion
Click here to find out. http://tiny.cc/cz7xy
