Today, we will talk about how to sell anything like a pro. There’s a skill to knowing how to sell- whether you are selling offline on selling online. Sometimes we think that selling is for the salesman alone; no, every one of us has been selling in one way or the other.
You are selling when trying to convince your child to wear a particular dress or eat a specific food. And when you’re trying to convince your friends to go out with you, you are also selling, and when you’re trying to get your spouse to do something, you are selling. Finally, when you are trying to get your employer to give you a raise, you are also selling.
Different Ways Of Selling
Here are the different ways we find ourselves selling.
- Convincing
- Persuading
- Negotiating
- Debating
- Arguing
- Resolving arguments
- Getting along with someone
Selling is like getting from point A to point B. And we are going to be looking at practical sales techniques to sell anything like a pro. Selling could be convincing or persuading someone; it could be you negotiating a salary, debating a point, and telling people why they should follow a line of thought.
Selling can also be likened to walking on a tightrope. So the person you’re trying to convince is at one end of the tightrope while you are at the other end. In this case, your customer is at one end with their money while you are at the other with your products and the services.
How do you sell to them? The things you have to do to convince your customer to part with their money and take your product or your service are what we will discuss in this article today.
This is a transcript of the video on Entrepreneurs Channel– How To Sell Like A Pro.
Steps To Staying On The Tightrope Of Sell.
How do you ensure that the customer remains a viable lead until you close the deal? We are going to share the steps with you:
- Prepare
- Don’t be late
- “They don’t like you.”
- Find out what their needs are
- Show benefits
- Objections not discovered
- To close
- Following up.
So, to stay on the tightrope, there are skills that you need. First, you need to prepare and research who you want to sell. After that, secure a meeting. And when you’re going to that meeting, don’t be late.
There’s also the question of what if you do everything and the client doesn’t like you? So I am also going to share with you the things you need to do to improve your chances of being liked by your clients.
So the process of selling or staying on the tightrope means that you also need to find out your clients’ needs. What are your customers’ needs, and are you going to meet those needs? And when you then find out those needs, do not just present the features of the needs to them.
You have to show them the benefits because people want to know what is in it for them. If they’re not getting anything out of it, they’re not going to be parting with their money, so always show the benefits.
There’s also something vital for you to know if you want to become a professional salesperson. In selling, even before you begin to sell, you need to think about the objections that your clients may have about your product or services. What reasons will prevent them from buying your products?
When you know the objections beforehand, you can prepare ahead to answer their questions and assuage their fears.
If you follow all the listed steps, close the deal by asking your client when they will make payment. Don’t be shy to ask because your business success depends on your sales.
And if the client is not ready to make the purchase, don’t forget to follow up so that you close that deal. Studies have shown that people lose sales because they fail to follow up. So do not fall into this category of people.
Get this ultimate selling guide – How to Sale Like a Pro.
Two Processes of Selling.
- The old process
- The new process
Old Process Of Selling
The old process is a terrible process with four steps to it.
The first stage is where a salesperson contacts you out of the blues. They might have gotten your contact from a contact book or database, knocks at your door, and boom, they’re selling to you.
The second stage is where they qualify and profile you to see if you qualify for the sales. For instance, if they want to sell the virtual office package to you, they will find out if you need it. For example, are you a freelancer who needs a virtual office address?
Then the next step is where they present the products to you. They can arrange a meeting with you and take you through a product or service presentation. They may throw in an incentive to quickly make you make up your mind. For instance, if you take the virtual office package, we will give you access to the meeting room.
With this process, the customer will feel pressured to make a purchase.
New Process Of Selling
Now, let’s look at the new process of selling.
The new selling process is where you build relationships, diagnose customers’ needs, and proffer solutions to them. In this method, you don’t feel pressured. Instead, the salesperson attends to your needs and builds relationships with you.
So, which would you prefer? I bet the new method.
Selling is about building a relationship and being liked. It is about making sure that people feel that you’re helping them solve a problem, and if you’re helping them, it’s like you’re making new friends.
So I need you to employ the new process of selling and build relationships with people, diagnose their needs, prescribe a solution to them, and then confirm and take the order. That way, it will be them saying, I need this thing, not you selling to them. So that’s how to sell anything like a pro.
See also, 4 Guaranteed Ways to Increase Sales and Win More Customers.
How To Get Clients To Like You.
- First impression matters
- Smile
- Perfect your handshake
- Use eye contact
- Use their names
I did mention that I was going to tell you how you can improve your chances of being liked by a client.
First impression matters, so your appearance is important – your hairstyle, dress style, and nails. You have to appear professional, and you have to appear groomed because the first impression matters.
The second thing is to smile. A smile is the best makeup anyone can wear, so you have to smile because the customer will think you don’t like them if you don’t smile. So even if you have difficulty smiling, please have a relaxed expression. Visualizing the close will help you have a relaxed expression.
If you have to shake hands with your customer, make sure that your handshake is firm.
And, use eye contact by looking them in the eye, or they will think that you don’t like them.
Don’t forget their names; use their names when exchanging pleasantries. If you think you might forget the client’s name, write it down somewhere before calling them.
These small things are critical in improving your chances of being liked and will improve your chance of closing the sale.
Why You Need To Listen When Selling.
- You might find common ground with the person.
- It makes them feel important.
- They are more likely to like you because you have given them room to speak about themselves.
- You are learning their need, which is good.
- You are in control; you are the one asking the question.
- It helps you avoid stepping on the mines.
The first rule of selling is being a good listener, and it is going to help you all the way, not just in selling but in every area of your life. Also, find something good about people and compliment them.
So let’s say you walk into an office and you see a painting; you can complement it and be sincere with your compliments. Let it be genuine; it will help if you explain why you like the painting. Don’t just say, “oh, I like this painting, it’s the best in the world”. If you do that, they can see through you.
Selling is a deliberate process; you have to be intentional about it.
Four Types Of People To Sell To
- Analytical
- Controller
- Amiable
- Enthusiast
In selling to people, you need to understand that people are different. For example, there’re analytical, controlling, amiable and enthusiastic people. The way these individuals behave is different; hence you need to understand their personalities to communicate with them effectively.
When you understand someone’s personality type, it will determine how you communicate with them. This increases your chances of selling to them.
The Delight Factor In Seling
In closing deals, you need the delights factor or that ‘extra’ thing that will make quite a difference. For example, how do you feel when someone shows up bearing gifts? You feel happy, right?
That is the delight factor. It is doing better than the average by going the extra mile for your client.
So when next you visit a client, bring a little gift. It could be something they are not expecting – it could even be one of your books or something that will even make them buy more.
Always add the delight factor, and it will improve your chances of selling.
How To Diagnose The Needs of Your Customers Before Selling To Them.
If you go to the doctor and the doctor just says this is what is wrong with you without asking you questions or examining you, you will be wondering what kind of a doctor is this?
The same applies to selling. You shouldn’t prefer a solution to a client without first understanding their needs. If you do so, they will not feel comfortable buying from you. So, what do you do?
- Don’t be tempted to stop asking them questions too early.
- Bring a standardised list of why they would need your service.
- Narrow down your pitch by asking about their problems.
- Narrow down to a menu
- When they want to pass it to you, keep passing it back to them.
- Remember, you are diagnosing their needs, not yours.
- Be more assertive.
By asking questions and listening to customers, you will understand their needs. When you know their need, and they agree with you, it becomes easy to sell to them.
Also, sell benefits and not just the features of the products. For instance, if you are selling a television set to a customer, do not just say this TV set has an HDMI slot; rather, emphasis the benefits of the HDMI ports to the customer. Dwell on the usefulness of the HDMI for screen sharing. People respond positively if they can see and identify with the benefits of a product or service in their lives.
Techniques To Handle Sells Objections.
Here are the techniques you can use to handle sales objections when they arise.
- Peeling the onion
- Feel Felt Found Techniques
- Feel Felt Found – Third-party Variation
- Preparation is Key in Sales
Peeling the onion technique involves unearthing the objections and finding the real objections. Asking questions and actively listening to the customer will help you find the real objections.
The Feel Felt Found technique reassures your customer about the non-existence of their fears or concerns over a particular product or service proposition based on your personal experience while using the same product or service proposition.
The third-party variation of Feel Felt Found uses a third-party’s testimony to assuage the fears or concerns of a customers, who is hesitant to make a purchase.
Preparation is vital in handling objections, so you have to prepare, gather and collect all common objections from your customers over time. As you sell, there may be common objections among your customers. Articulate them and find a way to handle them. It will make the sales process easy.
How Do You Handle Price Objections?
Price objection seems to be the most common sales objection, so what do you do when customers complain about the price of your products and services? Do you quickly reduce the price?
That should not be your first response because the price was not fixed arbitrarily. Production costs and other associated costs have been factored into the pricing template.
Firstly, ask questions to know if the client has a cash flow challenge. Which means that they can’t afford it right now, or is it that they don’t feel it is worth it? So, if it is a cash flow problem, then there’s a way you can deal with it. You can offer them a payment plan.
The second thing to ask your customers is, is it our price or the general price? Again, the answer to this question will help you profile and understand your target audience.
Communicate the value of your product and service in terms of time and cost savings for the client. For instance, if you are selling the Business Clinic program – a 3-day intensive class for entrepreneurs at ReDahlia Workspaces, and someone says that it is expensive, you can tell them how the training can benefit their organisation. Let them know that after going through the sales class, the positive impact on their sales team will offset the training cost in less than a month.
The price is the last thing you discuss. The different techniques used in handling price objection were discussed in the sell like a pro book.
See also – 15 High Demand & Fast Selling Products To Sell Online in Nigeria.
How To Close The Sale.
Closing is the final thing you do after doing the work. Don’t be shy or scared of asking your customers to sign off on the deal because they may not take the initiative by themselves if you do not ask. And if they are not ready to make that purchase, what timeline do you have in place to track customers’ commitment to purchasing at a future time?
That is where following up comes in. Following up is important, and to successfully follow up, you need to keep the ball in your court.
How do you keep the ball in your court? What science will you use to measure your sales process? How do you improve and increase your sales revenue? You will find everything in How To Sell Like A Pro.
