5 Success Principles for Sales
A five-letter word that can make top bosses of any company jump in their hot seat. Sales. Because sales equals revenue. Revenue means profit. And profit translates to growth. Engaging prospects is clockwork work for any salesperson. Closing sales, however, is an art. There are few among the sales force that have what it takes to pile on the numbers on sales sheet at the end of every target period. They conjure up no tricks; they just follow some simple guidelines that work for them every time. Here are 5 of those to help you in your bid to nail your objectives.
• Create a need that isn’t there: A principle practiced by the legendary Steve Jobs. In his own words he was a salesman, not an innovator. What he did best was to talk his way into compelling consumers to purchase. Even if they didn’t have a need for the product that time. All with carefully selected adjectives and aesthetically pleasing demos through his keynotes. That was his way. You need to find yours. The fact that people have come to you indicates that they’re grappling with the thought of buying. Learn to exploit the situation to your company’s benefit. Work out a way that’s most likely to turn their uncertainty into a certain sale.
• Let consumers open up about their budget: When you’re trying to help someone find what they’re looking for, begin with a conservative approach. That is, don’t jump to taking them through high value good. If they aren’t satisfied with what you show them, they’ll ask you to up the offer. Let them bring up the budget matters and take over from there. Do it yourself, and you make them reconsider their purchase decision due to tight purse strings. It’s human psychology to put off something for later if it can’t be afforded then. They’ll thank you for your cooperation and walk out. You’ll be the one with a duck next to your sales score.
• Let them rest assured about after-sales service: Perhaps, this is one of the major causes of abandoned purchases. People unsatisfied with after-sales information. Salesmen tend to brush aside this enquiry with service center numbers, which doesn’t help the cause. Instead, what you should be doing is have the rest assured about it. Take them through the process of registering and booking complaints on the particular product’s website clearly. Or call up a senior manager at a service center closest to their home and make them have a word with the person. Even give them your number as the last resort. Small steps like these can calm consumers’ pang of worry. And help you close the sale where others may fail.
• Become their go-to person for related or future needs: Don’t limit your job to just pushing the product off the shelf. Follow up about its functioning after couple of days. Ask your clients if they’re facing any difficulty with its functioning. If so, action a complaint on their behalf. Give them a tip or two off the record on how to have the best experience or how can they avoid spends on repairs. Plus, send them reminders about warranty extension (if that’s an option). It maybe a bit beyond your job role but you’ll end up as their go-to person in case they require something related to their earlier purchase and for their future buying plans.
• Wear the consumers’ shoes occasionally: Visit showrooms like a customer. Have their salesperson take your through the process of buying. If someone was able to convince you, pick up pointers from how they did it to better your skills. Because if it worked on you, in spite of knowing the tricks of the trade, it’s more than likely to work on field.
Now sales also equals simple.
