1. Choose a good product, and price that sells it self. Expect the sale. Don't sell crap. Sell good quality products that you would want for yourself and your family. Make sure you have the edge on the competition with your price. More people are going to choose to pay less for the same thing when they can. When you have your bases covered here, you can expect to close every sale anytime you find someone with a buying attitude.
2. Develop a personality that sells itself. Personality is everything in sales. People don't want to buy from people they don't like or trust. They want to give their business to someone they like, and they feel deserve their business. Someone like them!
3. Create rapport with your customer. Study the craft and practice the art of "Mirror and Matching". By mirror and matching your customers physiology, tonality, and language, the customer feels a connection and senses that you understand them. This trust is the foundation for any meaningful communication between two people. Honor your customers trust by making their best interest your first priority. You cant sell anyone anything without this trust and rapport. You can let them buy, but you can't influence them into purchasing a product that you know is going to serve them better. If they don't feel connected, and trusting of you, then they are all on their own in the buying process, and you have no say in the matter.
4. Find out what your customer really wants and why they want it. Understand that people buy "things" as a means to an end. We dont buy cars, we buy to feel good about ourselves in the car we choose to drive. We don't buy printers, we buy to feel peace and harmony with electronics and good about the sound and educated decision we made. Allow your customer to lead early on in the phase when they are explaining what they want. "Well I want this…" "Why do you want that?" Have them point to the product that makes them feel good and ask them, what do you like about this one? Allow then to choose the product that they feel good about, getting to know your customer and their taste, and uncovering their real motivation for buying.
5. Be an expert in your field. Know everything there is to know about your product, and your competitors products, so that you can justify to your customer why your recommended product is the right one for them. If your not an expert in it, you cant really do your customer justice. This may take time to develop so early on when you first start working with a product, find a business associate who is an expert and allow them to mentor and teach you everything they know. Also do research on your own. Stay up and up on the latest and greatest in your field, and dont be afraid to change up your catalog, or even change jobs if it allows you to serve your customers the best of the best.
6. Once you have determined the best solution for your customer, link the product to their motivation for buying, and put it in their language. Now that you have uncovered your customers real motivation for buying, you want to link everything the customer said about what they want, to the product that is going to serve those needs the best. Pay close attention to your customers reaction (facial expressions and body language) as you pitch the product to them. Stay with them and if they show any resistance, ask them how they feel, and why they feel that way. Remember you are there to sell them whatever is going to make them feel really good about their purchase.
7. When overcoming your customers objections, use logical explanation, as a means to justify their emotional motivation. People like to think they make logical decisions that are rational, when in reality, every decision is based on emotion on the most fundamental level. So use the logical explanations on the surface to serve up the exact concoction of emotional motivation that they expressed they were looking for earlier on in the process.
8. Ask for the sale. This is the most overlooked and most forgotten step, probably because a lot of sales people dont have the confidence in their ability to help their customers that they really need to have in order to help their customer. KNOW in your heart that you have suggested the best item for your customer, then you will have no problem finishing up the sale with a light questions like "Would you like me to load this up in a shopping cart for you?" or "Would you like me to bring this up to the check out stand for you while you continue your shopping?"…
9. Sell the basket. After they give you the yes on the sale, ask them about all the add-ons to up your total ticket, and for their convenience. Remind them the benefit of convenience in buying these things now rather then later. "Your gonna need ink for your new printer, and paper too. How would you like to optimize your printers performance with a gold tip cable? etc…" Try and save them as much money in the process too by staying up on your companies sales and specials. Remember, treat every customer like you are selling to your mom, or sweet old grandma.
10. Follow up. If you really want to be a great salesman. Go the extra mile. Remember, or write down the names and contact info of your customers, and follow up with them to make sure they are 100% happy with their purchase. This is how you turn customers into raving fans. This is how you get referrals from your customers, and promotions from your employer.
Tips
* Let your customer speak about what they want as much as you can get them to speak about what they want.
* Listen to everything your customer says carefully, and listen to exactly how they say it. This is your fire power when presenting the product as a solution, and you want to present the solution back to them the same way they presented the need to you.
* Don't ever try to sell something to someone just to make a quick buck if you don't believe it the best product for them.
* Treat your customers like your selling your own mother. Care about them.
* Always remember, you are here to SERVE and HELP your customer.
* We don't want customers. We want raving fans!
* Honesty is the best policy. Dont pretend to know something you dont. If you dont know, then FIND OUT!
Warnings
* Don't be pushy.
* Don't try and talk people in or out of anything. Your better off to say nothing at all.
* Don't waste your time with someone who is not ready to buy. Its ok to spend time and work on a future sale, but its a waste of time if someone is standing in line and they want to buy today. Ask some qualifying questions to set the frame upfront like "Do you need it today?" "If we have exactly what you are looking for, will you be making your purchase today?"
About the author * Vincent Alexander Chiofalo, president of Gem Valley Marketing LLC, loves learning, growing, helping, living life to the fullest, and sharing the experience with others. You can follow his blog at http://HeroInTheMirror.com
Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below and add to the discussion. Thanks!
How to Be a Great Salesman
by Vincent Alexander Chiofalo –
1. Choose a good product, and price that sells it self. Expect the sale. Don't sell crap. Sell good quality products that you would want for yourself and your family. Make sure you have the edge on the competition with your price. More people are going to choose to pay less for the same thing when they can. When you have your bases covered here, you can expect to close every sale anytime you find someone with a buying attitude.
2. Develop a personality that sells itself. Personality is everything in sales. People don't want to buy from people they don't like or trust. They want to give their business to someone they like, and they feel deserve their business. Someone like them!
3. Create rapport with your customer. Study the craft and practice the art of "Mirror and Matching". By mirror and matching your customers physiology, tonality, and language, the customer feels a connection and senses that you understand them. This trust is the foundation for any meaningful communication between two people. Honor your customers trust by making their best interest your first priority. You cant sell anyone anything without this trust and rapport. You can let them buy, but you can't influence them into purchasing a product that you know is going to serve them better. If they don't feel connected, and trusting of you, then they are all on their own in the buying process, and you have no say in the matter.
4. Find out what your customer really wants and why they want it. Understand that people buy "things" as a means to an end. We dont buy cars, we buy to feel good about ourselves in the car we choose to drive. We don't buy printers, we buy to feel peace and harmony with electronics and good about the sound and educated decision we made. Allow your customer to lead early on in the phase when they are explaining what they want. "Well I want this…" "Why do you want that?" Have them point to the product that makes them feel good and ask them, what do you like about this one? Allow then to choose the product that they feel good about, getting to know your customer and their taste, and uncovering their real motivation for buying.
5. Be an expert in your field. Know everything there is to know about your product, and your competitors products, so that you can justify to your customer why your recommended product is the right one for them. If your not an expert in it, you cant really do your customer justice. This may take time to develop so early on when you first start working with a product, find a business associate who is an expert and allow them to mentor and teach you everything they know. Also do research on your own. Stay up and up on the latest and greatest in your field, and dont be afraid to change up your catalog, or even change jobs if it allows you to serve your customers the best of the best.
6. Once you have determined the best solution for your customer, link the product to their motivation for buying, and put it in their language. Now that you have uncovered your customers real motivation for buying, you want to link everything the customer said about what they want, to the product that is going to serve those needs the best. Pay close attention to your customers reaction (facial expressions and body language) as you pitch the product to them. Stay with them and if they show any resistance, ask them how they feel, and why they feel that way. Remember you are there to sell them whatever is going to make them feel really good about their purchase.
7. When overcoming your customers objections, use logical explanation, as a means to justify their emotional motivation. People like to think they make logical decisions that are rational, when in reality, every decision is based on emotion on the most fundamental level. So use the logical explanations on the surface to serve up the exact concoction of emotional motivation that they expressed they were looking for earlier on in the process.
8. Ask for the sale. This is the most overlooked and most forgotten step, probably because a lot of sales people dont have the confidence in their ability to help their customers that they really need to have in order to help their customer. KNOW in your heart that you have suggested the best item for your customer, then you will have no problem finishing up the sale with a light questions like "Would you like me to load this up in a shopping cart for you?" or "Would you like me to bring this up to the check out stand for you while you continue your shopping?"…
9. Sell the basket. After they give you the yes on the sale, ask them about all the add-ons to up your total ticket, and for their convenience. Remind them the benefit of convenience in buying these things now rather then later. "Your gonna need ink for your new printer, and paper too. How would you like to optimize your printers performance with a gold tip cable? etc…" Try and save them as much money in the process too by staying up on your companies sales and specials. Remember, treat every customer like you are selling to your mom, or sweet old grandma.
10. Follow up. If you really want to be a great salesman. Go the extra mile. Remember, or write down the names and contact info of your customers, and follow up with them to make sure they are 100% happy with their purchase. This is how you turn customers into raving fans. This is how you get referrals from your customers, and promotions from your employer.
Tips
* Let your customer speak about what they want as much as you can get them to speak about what they want.
* Listen to everything your customer says carefully, and listen to exactly how they say it. This is your fire power when presenting the product as a solution, and you want to present the solution back to them the same way they presented the need to you.
* Don't ever try to sell something to someone just to make a quick buck if you don't believe it the best product for them.
* Treat your customers like your selling your own mother. Care about them.
* Always remember, you are here to SERVE and HELP your customer.
* We don't want customers. We want raving fans!
* Honesty is the best policy. Dont pretend to know something you dont. If you dont know, then FIND OUT!
Warnings
* Don't be pushy.
* Don't try and talk people in or out of anything. Your better off to say nothing at all.
* Don't waste your time with someone who is not ready to buy. Its ok to spend time and work on a future sale, but its a waste of time if someone is standing in line and they want to buy today. Ask some qualifying questions to set the frame upfront like "Do you need it today?" "If we have exactly what you are looking for, will you be making your purchase today?"
Sources and Citations
* John Santangelo at http://LANLP.com
About the author
Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below and add to the discussion. Thanks!* Vincent Alexander Chiofalo, president of Gem Valley Marketing LLC, loves learning, growing, helping, living life to the fullest, and sharing the experience with others. You can follow his blog at http://HeroInTheMirror.com