Sales Thoughts

People don't love to be sold. Do you? Don't we all cringe just a bit when salespeople are even just being friendly? We're conditioned to think something negative about sales people. Except for those of us in sales, probably. I rather look forward to chatting with floor sales people and figuring out if they know what they're selling. That's fun to me.

Warped, I know.

Think about this: People love to buy! It's a basic tenet of spending in life: we love to acquire and buy and spend our money on things we want. We just want to do it free of being bothered. If we have questions, we want answers, right? So... how well do you know your product? Hopefully well enough to have answers on hand and keep the customer interested, but not drive them away with banal figures (unless they ask). You have to find a way to get customers and potential customers in a buying mode. On top of your product, which may or may not sell itself, you can lean on two big things: testimonials, and benefits of product application in everyday life.

If you can get someone to vouch for your company and what it or your product has done for them, that's tremendous. Don't be afraid to ask for those testimonials from your favorite clients (and referrals, too)! Offer to do something in return for them if you use a product of theirs as well. In fact, offer around to do some testimonials and watch people jump on board to give you one back. One warning: mean what you say. There's nothing worse than endorsing a bad product just to get some positive spin in return. That backfires more often than not.

Also, make sure you can pinpoint the impact of your product or service in the customer's everyday life. How does this give me more time? Save money? Impact my family? If you can show a person that they will have more time, it's almost always a no brainer. We all wish we had more time. Money is another good failsafe. In addition, ferret out whether someone places a priority on personal comfort and ease of use. If it can do something easier than they currently do it, that's another winning strategy.

To qualify your lead, make sure you ask those questions that get them talking. Stay away from yes and no answers! Those will kill your pitch pretty fast. Example: "Do you like this widget?" Answer: "Yes" BOOOOOOO! That stunk. Try this: "What do you like about this widget? How do you see yourself using it?" If they can't imagine how they would use it, you can either offer a suggestion if you have solid knowledge of their business model, or ask them questions based on your product strengths. Just the customer telling you what they like about your product leads you down a golden road, because you know your product well enough to play up any potential bright spots... right?

Once you have them opening up, get them thinking placement of the product/service in their own little world. If you can see that new car in your driveway, you're going to want it there. If you know how nice that leather recliner would be in your living room, it's halfway home already. You get the idea... you've got the customer wanting to buy, but not being sold! Now it's their idea, and that's the most powerful thing you can get them thinking.

But of course, there's bound to be objections. We'll cover those soon, and ways to overcome them.