This post is contributed by Jason Dirkham,
Sales are crucial to a small business’s success. However, it isn’t as easy as rolling out a new product or service and waiting for the consumer to bite. You need an effective sales plan and to be proactive in pushing sales and targeting your customers for ongoing success.
This post shows how you can improve sales as a small business and improve what you do.
Listen
Listening to what people want, what they are asking for, and what their actions tell you is vital. You can’t effectively sell to them if you don’t know what they need or want from our product or services. Take the time to look at what they tell you, be it verbally, via their purchasing habits, or their interaction with your business, to use this to your advantage to make changes for increased sales.
Ask The Right Questions
Look at how you are talking to your customers and the questions you are asking them. Avoid asking questions relevant to the sales, and use the “peel the onion” technique to uncover more information that can help you seal the deal. Ask what they will be using the product for rather than why they are thinking of buying it, or ask them how they are paying for the item instead of whether or not they are thinking of buying it. This can help you seal the deal more efficiently and be more assertive when making the sale.
Showcase Yourself and Your Product
People respond better when you can show them how your product or service will benefit them in real-time. Have testimonials from other customers, and use reviews and user-generated content to showcase it in its best light. This can be via video or images on social media, in-house demonstrations, or directing them to a customer using the product or service to see how it is applied in different settings. The easier they visualize how this works, the more likely they are to pin down a purchase.
Get Pricing Right
You don’t want to price yourself out of the market, nor do you want to be underselling yourself. Being competitive means you can justify the price point and confidently sell your product, knowing you are getting the best price. Look at different types of conjoint analysis to help you discover the other variables influencing how people and what they look for allow you to price accordingly based on your product. This can go a long way in finding your place in the market and being confident you are doing things right to help you move forward.
Share Information
Don’t be afraid to share too much information upfront. In many cases, business owners who hold back on the details can be seen as hiding something, and the secrecy can be off-putting for some. Making the sale can sometimes mean divulging enough information that the customer understands what they are buying and is confident they are purchasing the right thing. Plus, the more they know upfront, the less likely they will need to return it or move to a different solution, as it did not do what they thought it would or needed it to. So be upfront, share the details, and ensure the customer has all the information to make the sale.
Push for A Decision
The last thing you want is for a prospect to walk away, leaving you with a ” maybe.” “Maybe” is no man’s land and does absolutely nothing for your business. This answer leaves both parties in limbo, with you waiting to see if they make a sale and a customer waiting for the correct answer to drop in their laps.
Don’t settle for the dreaded maybe, push for a decision, not a sale., Ask what they think. Is it worth their time? Where they impressed, it might not be the decision you want, but you shouldn’t end the meeting with questions but rather certainties about whether it results in the sale or not.
