How to sell
Whether you're running a nursery, a retail business or a
manufacturing business, at some stage you're going to have to sell.
While a passion for your product is always going to be important,
closing a deal will require something a bit more solid. Make sure
you know your subject and have planned your sales thoroughly, and
you'll be making sales in no time.
Approaching your customer
- Use market research to identify your customer.
Find out who they are, why they will need your product or service
and what sort of benefits they will be looking for from your
business. Make sure you have profiled them thoroughly: if you're
targeting start-up businesses with a high-end, expensive product,
you will find it difficult to make sales.
- If you are selling to other businesses, try to identify
the key decision-makers in the organisation. This may not
necessarily be a director or the head of an organisation - it could
be someone lower down who is in charge of buying. Visit the
company's website or speak to receptionists to find out how the
team is structured and who makes the buying decisions.
- Before you approach your customer, make sure you are
clear on what you want out of the encounter. Do you want
to arrange a meeting with someone, or are do you just need to find
out who the contacts are in the organisation?
- When you make your approach, make sure you do it at the
right time. Have some idea how the organisation structures
its day and week, so you know when people are on deadline and when
it's worth calling. Bear in mind that people are often more
receptive to sales calls in the mornings.
Features vs benefits
- It's no use just listing the features of your product to your
customer - you need to work out how using your business
will be beneficial to them. Make a list of features your
product has and work out how each one will benefit the customer. So
if you're a car dealer, the benefit of ABS means fast, reliable
braking.
- Make your customer aware of how the advantages of your product
or service will have a knock-on effect within their organisation.
For example, if you are selling weekly fruit delivery, it means you
customers' workforce will be healthier, which will lead to fewer
sick days, so work is completed faster.
- Before you approach them, work out which benefits match
your customers' needs. If you have a direct competitor
selling the same product or service, how can you persuade your
customer to go to you? Free customer support might be one
sweetener, or free delivery on orders over a certain price.
Closing the sale
- Once you've finished making your pitch, invite
questions to show you take the customer's concerns
seriously. Before you start answering, make sure you understand
exactly what the question is - clarify it with them if
necessary.
- Be aware of the nuances in your customer's language. If your
customer says the price is too high, this might be an invitation
for you to offer them a discount. Try to work out
why they are making objections by asking questions such as 'if I
could offer you the exclusivity deal, would you place an
order?'
- Try to convey a sense of urgency. While it's
against the law to say a product is only available for a limited
period if it isn't, try to convince them why they need your product
as soon as possible. Make it worth their while: 'If you buy now,
you can get the best price'.
- Once you've decided on timescales and pricing, put your
agreement in writing so both you and your customer are
clear about what needs to be delivered, when.
Checklist
- Identify your customer using market research
- Try to identify the key decision-makers in the
organisation
- Make sure you are clear on what you want out of the
encounter
- Make your approach at the right time
- Differentiate between features and benefits
- Highlight the knock-on effects your product or service will
have
- Work out which benefits match your customers' needs
- Invite questions once you've finished your pitch
- Be aware of the nuances in your customer's language
- Convey a sense of urgency
- Put your agreement in writing
Jargon buster
The bottom line: sales jargon for net
profits
Conversion: the process of turning a non-customer
into a customer
Cross-selling: selling an additional product to a
someone who already a customer for one product
Prospect: a potential customer
Sales cycle: the time it takes the average prospect to
become a customer
Up-selling: selling a product which costs more
money to someone who is already a customer
Resources