Sales: Sales techniques
If you Google sales quotes, these are some of the results you get.
Any honest salesperson will tell you that 90% of those quotes are correct and that attitude, motivation, desire and sheer enthusiasm are key sales techniques helping you gain success in business. Having a great product helps enormously of course.
At the top left of that image you will notice the line ‘People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.’ In this enlightened digital age, the customer buying process has moved on a great deal from simply going to the shops. If you buy an expensive camera, you will research both the technical and cost aspects extensively online, as well as online reviews before you even come across a salesperson in a shop or via online chat. By that token the customer is already some way down the purchase road before they may come across your business or sales patter.
Emotions are less a driver these days unless the money is no object. With the information now available, logic gained from this expanded knowledge source and transparency are key to winning business.
The techniques involved in sales have not changed throughout this period and become more important now there is more choice and temptation. Upselling, cross selling and eventually closing the sale depend on recognising the stages of the customer journey. Listening is crucial and something we’ve covered before: two ears and one mouth.
Upselling
Your customer has bought a service or product from you, a set of portraits for the whole family perhaps. If they really like what you are doing for them, you could suggest a curated book of the photos or an enhanced finish to the photos. The key is to minimise your overheads by adding extras to the same product. Finding ways to get the maximum out of a product that they are already sold on is a basic tenet of upselling.
Cross-selling
The customer is already keen to work with you and may have already purchased products or services from you. By showcasing other product lines or new services to them, you are giving them a wider view of your business and hopefully enticing with the same satisfaction they have already gained with you. Cross-selling is simply making sure they have considered the other products in your portfolio, and using their awareness of your company to further entice to further purchasing. Offering them a juicy discount to buy additional products from you could improve your overall profit margins.
Closing the sale
This is where emotion does have a part to play because whatever the product, there is always a certain thrill to the purchase. Seeing the points at which your customer has come to a decision or helping them towards that decision are both part of the closing process. Qualify the reasons they need to purchase. Ask the questions they’re asking themselves, and provide the solutions via your products and ticking off their needs. Reassurance. It’s important they feel comfortable and at ease. Avoid being pushy but firm. It’s one thing to get excited, another to try and force a sale. By appearing confident and relaxed you show your faith in your products and pricing, giving them that crucial reassurance.
