Skills You Need To Make The Sale

You do not have to be born with natural charisma, charm, and persuasion to be an excellent salesperson.

There are tactics you can utilize and follow to ensure that your customer experience is so good, your customers will likely continue to do business with you for a long time to come.

Attracting long-term loyal customers is harder, and more valuable than attracting one-off customers.

There is a small store here in Annapolis Royal, and one day as I was walking by I noticed a blue Buddha in the window. It was the perfect shade of blue and it matched the door in my office. There was also a green and white Buddha, but the blue one, I had to have it!

It was going to make a great addition to the bookshelf in my office so I went in the store and asked the owner how much the blue Buddha was.

She responded to me in a sharp, unfriendly and direct voice and said “It’s 29.00 but I’d rather sell them as a set.” I paused, and responded, “Oh…Okay” and I left without that blue Buddha.

What just happened?

Where did this business owner go wrong in the sale?

When you speak to a potential customer in a tone that is unfriendly, they’re likely never going to step foot in your business ever again. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling Buddhas, running a restaurant, offering coaching, programs, or shoes – you need a clear strategy around how you and your employees treat your customers.

Also, if you want to sell something as a set, price it accordingly.

Create things that are easy to buy, easy to sell, and easy to use. Make the shopping experience a positive one for both you and the customer.

Believe it or not – two years later, that blue Buddha is still in the window.

If that shop owner had’ve been polite and told me, “Oh, that blue Buddha is part of a set. There are three and the message they convey is see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. It’s 69.99 would you like me to get them out of the window for you?” I would have walked out with the whole set.

How you treat your customer when they inquire about buying something almost always determines whether they will spend their money with you, or go somewhere else. If you are a business owner looking to grow your business, you have to be more comfortable with selling and know how to establish rapport with your buyer.

Here are some tips that you can use to make the sale:

1. Listen to your customer.

If you want to sell someone a product or service, you first have to know what they need. If someone comes in looking to buy shoes, and you aren’t listening to what they need, you’re not going to make the sale. Do they want running shoes, hiking boots, or work sneakers? What kind of job do they have? If you don’t listen to what that person NEEDS, you’re not going to make the sale.

2. Telling is not selling.

There is an example that I used in my book, Pilot to Profit. Lets say you walk into a car dealership and all of a sudden you get attacked by the salesman. He starts spewing off the features on that brand new Cadillac Crossover that you looked in the window of. He’s telling you about the bluetooth, the GPS and rear camera, how it has heated seats and all kinds of fancy features that you (obviously) can’t live without. That’s telling, that’s not selling. He should be creating conversation to get an idea of what your lifestyle looks like, and then match a vehicle with your needs. So stop, listen, and deliver what fits for your customer.

3. People buy from people they know, like, and trust.

You have to build rapport with your customers if you want to make the sale. People will decide if they’re going to buy from you within a very short amount of time, so first impressions are very important. Be the first to start the conversation, and develop a relationship with your potential customer. Ask questions to find things in common so you can build trust and rapport through conversation.

4. Overcome and understand an objection

For whatever reason, not everyone is going to say yes when you try and close the sale. It’s okay – but you need to learn how to overcome objections so you don’t get stuck. Figure out why you couldn’t make the sale. Was it because they can’t afford it? Did they need to think about it? If you can understand why they don’t want to buy right then and there, you can figure out where to go next.

As soon as you hear the word “selling” I bet you think about that time that you were bombarded by someone shoving a product or service at you, and it left a sour taste in your mouth. I don’t want you to feel that way anymore.

If you think selling is a bad word then you’re probably not going to do very well making money in your business.

I want to teach you how to get comfortable selling, to be respectful, and effective without making your customers feel uncomfortable.

Annually, I host an event called Money, Mindset, and Marketing event in Ottawa, Canada. Being really great at selling requires you to understand money, have a good mindset and be creative and efficient with your marketing strategy. It’s going to be a great day with even better people. If you want to be there you can get your tickets here: https://lisalarter.com/event

Leave me a comment with a sales experience that sticks out in your head, whether that be a good one or a bad one.