happy selling

The single biggest void in professional sales today is the skill needed to cultivate meaningful customer relationships. Ironically, making customer connections has never been easier, thanks to social media, email, and texting. But, because our ability to connect is never more than a few keystrokes away, we have a false sense of our position with customers and prospects.                     

Making Connections via Technology Is Not a Relationship

As I told Selling Power publisher Gerhard Gschwandtner in the video interview below, we often confuse a voicemail, email, or one-way texting with productive progression in a customer relationship. This level of engagement may or may not help us get or stay on our customers’ radar, but it does not create opportunities for problem-solving conversations and needs assessment. Nor do these connections drive purchase decisions, displace competitors, or facilitate influence. For these outcomes, you need a bona fide relationship with a degree of influence with your customer. Such relationships are based on trust, credibility, rapport, and respect; all four are the building blocks to a long-term, productive, and profitable relationship.

How do you move your position from remote engagement to a deeper relationship, such as trusted resource and advisor? Consider these tips.

1. Create Curiosity. Make yourself interesting and valuable to your customers and prospects by giving them information related to them and their interests. This information includes competitive information, industry-specific insights or news, or general business information. 
   
   These materials may have no direct connection to your products or services; they may not always have a direct connection to the customer’s business, but they must provide new insights of interest. Be a strategic resource: you should provide detail and thoughts on why the information impacts their organization and market. Research articles related to industry trends or concerns specific to your customer. Share insights from blogs, articles, or the latest business/leadership books – these can be leveraged across all of your customers and prospects. Customers often miss published coverage about their own company, and are appreciative when it is shared. Even when the subject matter isn’t of direct interest to your customer, you are demonstrating your insight and that you have your finger on the pulse of current events and thinking in business. You are positioning yourself as a credible information resource with insights that can help achieve their business objectives.
2. Be Curious. 
   
   The best sales professionals always have an authentic interest in their customers and the business reality in which their customers live and compete. It is often surprising how little sales professionals know about their customer’s worlds. In our everyday struggle to become more networked, we have to be interested to gain and keep access to the higher levels of an organization. Cultivate your own intellectual curiosity. Understand more than is required to hold your own in discussions with customers. Doing so will not only improve your insights and progress your position with customers, it will make your professional life more interesting and fulfilling.
3. Create Opportunities to Listen, Not Talk. 
   
   This perspective is often counter-intuitive to sales professionals, but it is the time spent listening, not talking, that deepens our relationship with customers. Think about the most significant relationships in your personal life. These were not cultivated with one-way conversations in which you continually talk about yourself, your assets, and your strengths. They are the culmination of reciprocal contributions and emotional investment. 
   
   Customer relationships are different only in that the investment may not be reciprocal at the outset; initially, you need to do the lion’s share of the work. Invest in the relationship. Stay focused on the customer. Nothing is more disingenuous than listening for advantage to launch into your own agenda. This is a one-way ticket to the exit. Every meeting or conversation in which you learn more about your customer – his/her competitors, concerns, goals, and personal interests – is a meeting in which you have increased the depth of that relationship and improved your position with the customer.

Don’t make the mistake of considering unanswered voicemails, emails, or even text messages as evidence of quality interactions, or assume  that customers are just busy and will get back to you when they have time. Although these  conversations of good intent get shared with sales leadership and added to the CRM as customer contact, no real progress was made in developing the relationship.

Scroll through your “connections” or “friends” lists. For each name, ask yourself what you know about the individual. Do you really know this person at all? The answer will help you understand your own professional gap and provide the starting point for deepening your customer relationships.

18 Phone Sales Skills Tips You Can Use Right Now

18 Phone Sales Skills Tips You Can Use Right Now - www.v4all.org 

1. Your tone of voice matters more than you think. If your tone of voice is flat and lacks any sense of enthusiasm, how do you expect the other person to ever show interest in your call? 

2. Use the person’s name. People always love to hear their name, so use it.  In a typical telephone call, I want to use the other person’s name (almost universally that means the person’s first name) three times.

3. Unless there is no other way, avoid negotiating anything over the telephone. Since you can’t see them, you don’t have the advantage of using body language as a tool to help you negotiate.

Click on above image for a free infographic on negotiating skills!

4. If you do have to negotiate over the telephone, use pauses and your tone of voice in the same manner as you would in a face-to-face negotiation. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into a quick negotiation just because you’re on the telephone.

5. Show the same level of respect to the gatekeeper or other any other person who answers the phone as you would show to the person you’re looking to talk to.

6. Use descriptive words that paint a picture when you’re talking. Remember, the other person can’t see you, so it means the picture you paint has to come with the words you say and how you say it.

7. Always have the person’s name and the name of their company on a piece of paper in front of you as you call. Last thing you want to do is to accidently forget who you’re calling just as they answer.

8. Limit the background noise. Some background noise if fine, but the last thing you want the other person to hear when you’re calling is loud music or the sound of informal activities going on in the background.

9. If the phone call is important, stand up when you make it. It’s amazing how much energy and focus you’ll have if you stand to make an important phone call.

10. Never be the first person to hang-up the telephone. Always allow the other person to disconnect first.  You never know when the other person might just share with you one more important piece of information.

11. Be quiet when the other person disconnects. Many times a person will think they have ended the call when they have not actually disconnected.  You might just surprise yourself with what you hear from the other end.

12. Don’t be distracted by email or other items popping up on your computer while you’re making a call. Be focused. Because you can’t see them, it’s easy to become distracted with your eyes.  Allowing yourself to become distracted may easily cause you to miss a key point.

13. Reaffirm everything. Again, because you’re only communicating with your voice means you must very reaffirm everything.

14. Use open-ended questions as a way to build the dialogue. Just because you’re talking with someone on the telephone does not mean you can’t use open-ended questions.

15. Don’t make an important telephone call from a telephone that is not stable, whether that be a cell phone with spotty coverage or a weak handset. Quality counts and it represents you.

16. Always answer the telephone with both enthusiasm and at a pace (words per minute) that allows the other party to know exactly who it is they’re talking to. Too many times people who answer many phone calls each day get into a habit of answering quickly, resulting in their words slurring together, making it hard for the other party to hear who they’re talking to.

17. Keep a mirror on your desk to allow you to see yourself talking. It’s amazing how much energy you’ll put into a phone call when you can see yourself.

18. Talk with your hands, as it allows you to convey more energy in your voice. Use a high-quality headset to allow you to talk with your hands.

5 Sales Training Tactics that Really Work

5 Sales Training Tactics that Really Work - www.v4all.org

Today's post is by Matt Tuson, EVP of Sales at NewVoiceMedia. 

Do your sales training efforts change the behavior of your sales reps and make your business more money? In many cases, sales training amounts to a booklet of old-fashioned ideas that have little to no impact on your business culture. 

However, proper sales training is essential – not only as a way to ensure you’re getting the best out of your team, but also to make sure processes are uniform across the company. And training isn’t just about new recruits. Every member of your team needs training from time to time.

Here are five tactics for effectively training your sales team – from beginners to experienced sellers.

1. Role play is still effective!

Most people learn best if they’re actually doing something, as opposed to just listening. Role play can give your team practical, hands-on training that forces them to think on their feet. Here are some good situations to role play:

• how your team works in CRM
• how they overcome objections
• elevator pitches
• cold calls
• negotiation tactics

This is also a great opportunity to look for common selling mistakes, such as talking too much, over-educating, or failing to ask questions.

To make the most of role plays, record them. For example, ContactWorld for Sales allows you to record calls for training and legal compliance; this means you can analyze real calls with your team to see how they’re performing and whether they’re putting their training into action. Sometimes it’s only by evaluating what you do on a day-to-day basis that you can truly learn and improve.

2. Set up a peer mentor system

Peer mentoring is obviously essential during ramp-up for new hires, as there’s so much about the company itself to learn before you can begin selling effectively. But having input from a senior sales professional can also be useful later on in a sales person’s career.

3. Ensure your training covers why people buy

Too often, sales training covers the ‘logical side’ of sales – in other words, the features, functions and business benefits of the product or service and how to best communicate these to the prospect. While this is still important, sales training should also cover the emotional, political and subconscious forces that have an impact on the decision.

4. Build confidence with easy sells

Confidence is an essential skill for any salesperson. But, if you’re new in a job or you’re struggling to start out, your confidence – and, consequently, your ability to sell effectively – can take a knock.

For the first few months, focus new hires on products or prospects that you know to be an easy sell. Let your new sales team make sale after sale, and watch their confidence grow. When they come to tackle the riskier prospects later on, they’ll be filled with self-confidence, which will swing the sale their way.

5. Ensure training is consistent

Training needs to be consistent. This is because the only way you can get every member of your team to use a CRM the same way is if they all get the same information at the start. Experienced sales reps may be great at what they do, but, if the way they log progress on the CRM is different to everyone else (or lacking detail), they’ll be harder to manage and some information could get lost.

Without the right information, you’ll be missing valuable insights and will be unable to forecast accurately, which could have a direct impact on the business’ goals.

The Ten Traits of High Sales Performers

A big benefits-management company recently conducted a survey where they asked 365 CEOs and sales-management executives, “What are the three key factors that separate high-performing sales professionals from moderate- to low-performing sales professionals?”

Both CEOs and C-level sales executives (all people who don’t sell, but rely on their salespeople so they get paid) ranked self-discipline/motivation as the most important factor.

Next in line were customer knowledge, innate talent/personality and product knowledge. Further down the list were experience and teamwork skills. Totally bogus.

These are qualities of corporate greed, not value, service or help—the three things that customers require to give you their business and maintain loyalty.

If you’re interested in the most important qualities of a high-performing salesperson, let me give you a realistic list of success characteristics.

Perpetual, consistent, positive attitude and enthusiasm. This is the first rule of facing the customer, facing the obstacles, facing the competition, facing the economy and facing yourself.

Quadruple self-belief. Unwavering belief in your company, in your product and in yourself are the first three parts. But most critical: You must believe that the customer is better-off having purchased from you.

Use of creativity. Use creativity to present ideas in the customer’s favor and to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Ability to give and prove value. Prove the value of your product or service, as well as your ability to give value to the prospect beyond the sale so you earn the order, the reorder and the loyalty.

 Ability to promote and position. Your use of the Internet to blog, create e-zines, utilize social media and achieve Google top ranking leads customers to perceive you as a value provider and a leader in your field.

Exciting, compelling presentation skills. You must develop not just solid communication skills, but superior questioning skills, listening skills and a sense of humor, as well as the innate ability to capture the imagination (and the wallet) of customers.

Ability to prove your value and claims through the testimony of others. Testimonials sell where salespeople can’t. The best salespeople use video testimonials to support their claims. But you don’t get testimonials; you earn them. Same with referrals.

Ability to create an atmosphere where people want to buy (because they hate being sold). This is done by engaging and asking, not presenting and telling.

Ability to build a relationship, not hunt or farm. I wonder if the executives talking about the factors of great salespeople are the same morons dividing their salespeople into hunters and farmers. Great salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win. Unyielding personal values and ethics. Great people have great values and great ethics. It’s interesting that 365 executives don’t deem them in the top 10.

The personal desire to excel and be their best. This is a desired quality of every salesperson, but the best salespeople have mastered the other 10 elements. And the key is that all 10 must be mastered in order for this quality to manifest itself.

There is no prize in sales for second place. It’s win or nothing. The masters know this and strive for—they fight for—that winning edge.

We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying

The key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle - is switching statements about you – how great you are and what you do, to statements about them – how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service.

Here’s the Secret: Take the word “we” and delete it. Delete it from your slides, your literature, and ESPECIALLY from your sales presentation. You can use “I” but you can’t use “we.”

Here’s the Power: When you stop using “we,” you have to substitute it for the word “you” or “they” and say things in terms of the customer. How they win, how they benefit, how they produce, how they profit , how they will be served, and how they have piece of mind.

“We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying.

Mandate for Understanding: Go through your entire presentation and  record it. Listen to it actively – which means take notes. Count the amount of times you use the word “we.” Take out the “we,” and begin to make value statements instead of selling statements.

Here’s the reality in plain English:

1. The buyer, the prospect, and the customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff. To transfer that knowledge, the prospect needs to understand and agree with your ideas, feel your passion, feel your belief, and feel your sincerity beyond the hype of your sales pitch.

2. You have to know their industry, not just your product.

3. You have to know their business, not just your product.

4. You have to know what’s new and what’s next, not just your product.

5. You have to know the current trends, not just your product.

6. You have to know their marketing, not just your product.

7. You have to know their productivity, not just your product.

7.5 You have to know their profit, not just your product.

key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle

The key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle - is switching statements about you – how great you are and what you do, to statements about them – how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service.

Here’s the Secret: Take the word “we” and delete it. Delete it from your slides, your literature, and ESPECIALLY from your sales presentation. You can use “I” but you can’t use “we.”

Here’s the Power: When you stop using “we,” you have to substitute it for the word “you” or “they” and say things in terms of the customer. How they win, how they benefit, how they produce, how they profit , how they will be served, and how they have piece of mind.

“We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying.

Mandate for Understanding: Go through your entire presentation and  record it. Listen to it actively – which means take notes. Count the amount of times you use the word “we.” Take out the “we,” and begin to make value statements instead of selling statements.

Here’s the reality in plain English:

1. The buyer, the prospect, and the customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff. To transfer that knowledge, the prospect needs to understand and agree with your ideas, feel your passion, feel your belief, and feel your sincerity beyond the hype of your sales pitch.

2. You have to know their industry, not just your product.

3. You have to know their business, not just your product.

4. You have to know what’s new and what’s next, not just your product.

5. You have to know the current trends, not just your product.

6. You have to know their marketing, not just your product.

7. You have to know their productivity, not just your product.

7.5 You have to know their profit, not just your product.

Experts have been telling us for years that following up with your prospects and customers can increase your sales by 30%.

Experts have been telling us for years that following up with your prospects and customers can increase your sales by 30%.

Ohhh, I think I just heard a loud groan from quite of few of you, along with, “Follow up? I hate following up, it feels like such a waste of time!”

So if that 30% number is really true, then why do less than 10 percent of salespeople actually follow up?  Well, we’ve got the “usual” reasons: lack of time, desire or it doesn’t work… and that might be true for some, but honestly? The simple fact is that most salespeople have never been taught how to effectively follow up.  And that’s probably not your fault.

Okay, so is it worth it to you if you could make one more sale a week?  What about getting one more qualified referral a week?  30% — that’d be a nice bump right? Yes? YES!!

Now for the disclaimer: there’s no magical follow-up formula, but use these three follow-up techniques and they’ll consistently net positive results.

1.  Find something you have in common with the customer, making your follow-up contact memorable. It could be hobbies, like interests (music, movies, sports, etc.) or philosophies. Just something that will let them know you can relate to them on their level.

2.  Make a friend of the customer – nobody minds being contacted by a friend. This doesn’t mean you have to invite them to your son’s wedding.  It might be something as simple as being more “neighborly” than “salesy”, sharing a joke and a laugh, or getting their advice on something you have in common.

3.  Speak to your customers’ goals, dreams or passions. If your customer loves cooking, send them a subscription to cooking magazine along with a quick reminder of how your product or service could give them more time or money to be doing what they dream of.

Essentially, you’re building a relationship with your customers and finding ways to connect with them only helps you reach that goal because it shows your prospect that you’re interested and willing to take the time to get to know them.

So using the 3 tips above, practice at least five different methods of follow-up – call, write, email, text or drop by. It really is that simple. We recommend you commit to follow up at least five times before you move on.

And finally, track the results of your follow up strategies – at least for a while – for two reasons:

1) to prove to yourself how beneficial effective follow up can be

2) so you can continue to do what brings you the greatest success.

What are you waiting for? Go get that 30% bump!

Salespeople wanna make sales

“I’ll have the CHICKEN please!” said the salesman. - www.v4all.org

Salespeople wanna make sales – and for the most part feel alone in the process.

One of the challenges all salespeople face is: What’s the best way? What is/are the way, the path, the words, and the actions that will lead me to the promised land? The sale.

Well, the one path that all salespeople want to avoid is the one that leads to “no.” Better known in the business as rejection, salespeople will go to great lengths to avoid “no.” Sometimes, many times, they will actually lose the sale by avoiding a situation where ‘no” is a possibility.

NOTE  WELL: I’m trying to be nice and write this in the third person, so as not to make you feel less than whole. But these conditions in the main refer to and apply to YOU. And I recommend that as you read them, you take specific notes as to how you can improve the weaknesses I’m addressing.

In no particular order, here are the examples and pitfalls of the actions you take or omit to avoid “no.” And here are the grim reality bites of what you will and won’t do:

•  Try to please everyone, without following the fundamental rules of salesmanship.

•  Willing to give a proposal without demanding an exact time and place for a face to face follow-up meeting to go over it with all decision makers.

•  Won’t ask to change or modify the terms of a bid or a proposal that would put you in a more favorable condition (years in business, video testimonials to prove your claims, financial worth).

•  Failure to get to a decision maker for fear of going around or over the person you’re meeting with. Sometimes you won’t go over someone’s head because you have nothing of value to give them other than your sales pitch.

•  Won’t start higher up the ladder on a sale, because you’re afraid to go beyond your comfort level of sales.

•  Accept the first no or I’m not interested as a final answer, and leave, rather than try to be rejected three or four times in the same call.

•  Call reluctant on cold calls instead of being prepared with a value message and confidence based on deep belief that the customer is better off having purchased from you.

•  Call reluctant on follow-up because you don’t want to get rejected. Reality: you have nothing of value to say or offer and just want the money.

•  Have five big customers but no ideas to call them with other than to ask for more business. So you don’t call (and you miss an opportunity that your competitor grabs).

•  Won’t call to confirm an appointment for fear it will be canceled. Because you have given no perceived value.

•  Won’t leave a voice mail. You know your call won’t be returned because you have/had nothing of value to say.

•  Will email when you should call, and wonder why it goes unreturned, or worse, unopened.

•  Will phone or email when you should visit. You think it’s “safe” when in reality it’s delaying the sale.

•  Taking the wrong approach. Looking for pain, because you don’t understand any other way. Why not look for pleasure?

•  Not using testimonials as final proof.

And then there are the 4.5 game changing elements of a sale that require your courage and intestinal fortitude. (Also known as having the guts to do, say, or pull it off.)

1. You won’t demand to be in on the final meeting – where the decision is really made.

2. You won’t call an angry customer back – and pass the complaint off to someone else, making the customer even angrier.

3. You will let accounting handle collections, and damage your relationship.

4. You don’t have the guts to tell someone “no,” when the situation just won’t work.

4.5 You don’t do what’s best for the customer. Offer a different product, a different service, even a different company, because you’re afraid to lose a sale or a commission.

Salespeople develop these “chicken” habits as they mature (or immature) in their career, based on their actions and reactions, and the actions and reactions of others.

• You walk on eggshells so as not to offend.

• You get stepped on and pushed aside by prospects.

• You take it on the chin from all people all the time.

• You try to mirror instead of harmonize.

• You’re scared to lose the sale (money) rather than doing the right thing, and helping the customer.

• You’re scared to ask for the sale for fear of rejection.

• You think you’re alone in the selling process.

• You’re asking for referrals rather than earning them.

Well, that’s enough evidence for you to change out of your chicken suit, and put on some designer clothes. Look the part, act the part, prove the part, and you’ll get the part – and the order.

Success in Sales

Success in Sales - www.v4all.org

This website is based on two truths : Sales success is self-determined : and sales success is based on four requirements.

Success in sales, as in life, is self determined. That is, it has more to do with what you do on a daily basis than any other factor. It is not our product that determines our success. For every product available, there is a successful sales person. It is not our territory that determines our success. We can take almost any territory, place in a new rep and often see a 10 to 20 percent increase in sales. Likewise, it is not our age, sex or even our experience that determines our sales success.

Success in sales is what you do and how well you do it. Let's look at the four requirements of a succesful sales strategy. They are considered requirements because each step is linked and as you master each one, you become more successful.

Desire:

Desire is the starting point for all sales success. If you do not have a strong will to get better...you won't. We all know of sales professionals who reach the top of their fields because of a burning desire. You can develop and fuel your desire daily. The strength of your desire is shown by the goals you set and the quality of service you give to others. You build your desire through goals.

Belief:

Many of us handicap ourselves as sales people due to underdeveloped belief. Without belief, we limit our growth, our experience, our sales and our income. Because we are told of all the things we think we can't do well, we start to think in terms of can't. Belief in oneself is developed one day at a time through a continuing process. Self-confidence is built by putting learning into action.

Self-Management:

We do pay the price of success. We pay it in advance. We pay it with our time. When we do not spend our time on higher priority items, then we are by default spending our time on lower priority ones. It is only through learning effective self-management we are able to improve.

People Skills:

Simply put, we cannot succeed on our own. Our success is directly related to the degree we effectively relate to others. Future columns will contain a variety of challenging and profitable ideas that will help you to sell more. Using these ideas will cause you to become more aware of what you do that works...and what you do that does not work. It will make you acutely aware of the truth...that your sales success is self-determined!

Each profitable idea will be followed by a demanding activity for you to complete. Included with each idea will be a contract for you to commit to. These Self-Coaching Contracts are designed to help you act on each time-tested technique.

This information is not about knowing. It is about doing. Remember it's not what you know that makes you money...It's what you do with what you know!

Words that sell

It's true a picture is worth a thousand words, but a few carefully selected phrases can also paint an exciting portrait of your product or service, says the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA).

Many companies spend thousands of dollars on four-colour brochures only to lose the sale because they can't write a sales promotion or direct mail letter. Written correspondence is often the first impression your customer has of your company. Don't lose this opportunity to shine. To make that first contact count, CPSA offers the following tips:

Establish your objective for writing. There are many types of sales letters. You may want to send a direct mail piece that urges first-time customers to buy today. You may want to thank your existing customers by offering them a discount on your spring line. Perhaps your product needs a demonstration and you would like to set up an appointment. Each type of letter requires a different approach. Match the style and the tone of your language to the type of response you're looking for Grab your readers attention. A catchy headline and opening sentence are essential, especially in direct mail. Use exciting, engaging language that demands notice. Most important, demonstrate the benefits of buying your product or service: At ACME we understand that time is money, that's why we guarantee 24 hour service.

Use a call to action. The most important skill in sales is to know when to ask for the order. If you want your reader to respond then you have to explain what he or she has to do: Act now, call 1-800-123-4567 FREEwithin the next 10 days and you'll receive an extra 15% discount! Whatever your objective, make sure you clearly spell it out.

Accuracy is imperative. The most common mistakes in business correspondence occur in the address, the first thing the recipient notices. Make sure you have the correct spelling for each name on your list, their correct address including postal code, and if you're not sure whether a name is male or female, find out. The quickest way to turn-off Ms. Smith is to send her a letter addressed Mister.

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The Product

The very first rule about selling anything is you have to believe in what you are selling.

How many sales people do you meet and you know straight away that they don't believe in what they are selling because you can feel it when people are lying to you.

I have quite often got that feeling from used car sales people because they often know they are selling you something that you will be having trouble with later. Most of the time people sell cars because they are having trouble with them or they think they will start to have trouble with them soon.

People will know when you are genuine and will be able to feel your enthusiasm for the product.

Personally I would never ever sell something that I did not believe in.

So you are going to sell a product that you believe in.

Next thing you need to do is your research. Do your "homework".

Find out as much as you can about the product and the sort of people you will be selling the product to.

If you are selling to a select clientel then you will need to understand them and be able to talk to them in their "language" using their terminology.

If you are going to be selling to a wide range of people then you will have to become adept in being able to pick people and then speak to them in their language. Being able to communicate on all levels is the key....

When you communicate to a person at their level they feel comfortable with you and will relaxe and lower their resistance to sales people.

If you talk to a person and use a lot of technical terms that are over their heads they will think you are trying to make them feel stupid and will resist what you are saying and think that you are lying to them.

Therefore its important to keep things simple...learn how to translate anything complicated into more simple terms..if the situation lends itself you can have paper and pen and you can draw things and write things down to explain it to people using visuals will help someone understand something a bit more complicated.

Research doesn't stop with just your product. You will need also to research all of your competition. You will have to understand them and their product so you can compare your product to theirs and explain to a person why they should buy your product instead of the competitors.

If it was a retail situation, I would personally be a shopper in the other stores and find out what their key selling points are and come up with counter selling points.

Engaging the Customer

You must first make your customer feel comfortable with you.

This takes quite a bit of skill.

For example if you were working in shop that sold beds and you had signs saying not to lay on the bed and made the environment uncomfortable then you would find it hard to make the customer feel comfortable. I would find something about the person that I could relate to and talk to them about it. It might be through observation, like noting a persons dress, aftershave or something that you like, if they have children then you should try to relate to the children as well as this will make a person feel more relaxed if you are comfortable with their children. You might be able to find something by asking questions about certain things. Once you have found something in common and you have talked briefly about it to the person/people you will find they will be more relaxed with you. Understand that the more relaxed a person is the easier it will be to sell them something.

Then you can talk more about the product that you are selling and you will also have a better idea about the best level to communicate to the person on.

The Close

I would have my invoice book handy and would be writing down the products that the person is interested in and making suggestions of other products that would compliment the ones that they are interested in.Of course, before one can close a deal, one needs a merchant account that is responsive to your business. Businesses can have different requirements when is comes to a pay solution.If you need assistance in securing a merchant sales account, then go through a specialist broker.EMerchant Brokers are one such firm.

Once you have a list you can add it up and give them a price (never your best) watch their reaction. If they are happy with the price then you would simply say "Do you want to pay for that with cash or credit card". If you have followed the other steps you will find it will all flow naturally and the customer will just go along with you. If they insist on shopping around then you would naturally understand that. You would give them a card with your name and number on it and write the products that they have suggested on the card. (Don't write the prices) Tell them to go and shop around but to come back to you before they made the purchase. Say to them bring me back some quotes and I will do my best to do better.

They naturally want to buy from you because they "like" you. When they do come back with other quotes all you can do is your best to better them. If there is no possible way that you can do better than another company's price, just tell them.Next: See how to use Network marketing to advantage.

key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle

The key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle - is switching statements about you – how great you are and what you do, to statements about them – how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service.

Here’s the Secret: Take the word “we” and delete it. Delete it from your slides, your literature, and ESPECIALLY from your sales presentation. You can use “I” but you can’t use “we.”

Here’s the Power: When you stop using “we,” you have to substitute it for the word “you” or “they” and say things in terms of the customer. How they win, how they benefit, how they produce, how they profit , how they will be served, and how they have piece of mind.

“We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying.

Mandate for Understanding: Go through your entire presentation and  record it. Listen to it actively – which means take notes. Count the amount of times you use the word “we.” Take out the “we,” and begin to make value statements instead of selling statements.

Here’s the reality in plain English:

1. The buyer, the prospect, and the customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff. To transfer that knowledge, the prospect needs to understand and agree with your ideas, feel your passion, feel your belief, and feel your sincerity beyond the hype of your sales pitch.

2. You have to know their industry, not just your product.

3. You have to know their business, not just your product.

4. You have to know what’s new and what’s next, not just your product.

5. You have to know the current trends, not just your product.

6. You have to know their marketing, not just your product.

7. You have to know their productivity, not just your product.

7.5 You have to know their profit, not just your product.

key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle

The key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle - is switching statements about you – how great you are and what you do, to statements about them – how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service.

Here’s the Secret: Take the word “we” and delete it. Delete it from your slides, your literature, and ESPECIALLY from your sales presentation. You can use “I” but you can’t use “we.”

Here’s the Power: When you stop using “we,” you have to substitute it for the word “you” or “they” and say things in terms of the customer. How they win, how they benefit, how they produce, how they profit , how they will be served, and how they have piece of mind.

“We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying.

Mandate for Understanding: Go through your entire presentation and  record it. Listen to it actively – which means take notes. Count the amount of times you use the word “we.” Take out the “we,” and begin to make value statements instead of selling statements.

Here’s the reality in plain English:

1. The buyer, the prospect, and the customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff. To transfer that knowledge, the prospect needs to understand and agree with your ideas, feel your passion, feel your belief, and feel your sincerity beyond the hype of your sales pitch.

2. You have to know their industry, not just your product.

3. You have to know their business, not just your product.

4. You have to know what’s new and what’s next, not just your product.

5. You have to know the current trends, not just your product.

6. You have to know their marketing, not just your product.

7. You have to know their productivity, not just your product.

7.5 You have to know their profit, not just your product.

Yours 

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