In many ways, person-to-person selling is the most difficult, and the most effective sales approach. You are certainly selling a product, but you are also selling a relationship. As with any relationship, trying to make a connection to a customer involves subtle signs, and a salesperson’s ability to present the properly energetic, but measured and knowledgeable approach to his customer will make or break a sale.
The Right Salesperson Makes the Difference
There is an old saw that a good salesperson can sell anything, and to an extent, that’s true, particularly in retail sales. There is no sleek sales material or slick website to interfere with the perception of credibility that a salesperson either creates or fails to create.
What is the Customer Looking For?
Customers are looking for a reason to buy. There is a great advantage in having them come to you; you already know that they are interested. How do you best utilize their desire? The biggest secret of in-person sales is that a product will sell itself if you don’t get in the way. Salesmanship isn’t about controlling an exchange; it’s about having real trust in your product. If you understand and believe in what you are selling, the customer will know it.
Learn Your Product
Knowledge is more than power; it’s sales. The best way for you to increase your sales and bolster your sales presence is to become an expert in what you sell. This isn’t just about memorizing promotional materials. It involves the kind of comprehensive knowledge that you have to do research to discover.
Know the product the way a user would know it. Anticipate questions and have a response ready. If your products use consumables, know how much they cost, their availability, and how long they last. If there are tricks to using the product effectively, know what they are, and share that information in an entertaining way.
Know Your Competition
Understand the competition and recognize their strengths. Address questions about those products in an honest and sincere manner. Avoid criticizing anyone’s products. These tactics backfire far more often than they succeed. Discover the competition’s strengths and weaknesses so you can give yourself a full and complete picture of what the market has to offer. Use the information as background material, and not a selling platform.
Be the Expert
Once you really know your products, competitors, and the market, you will sell more. The knowledge will give you confidence, and that confidence will make you credible with the customer. Credibility is gold in sales. If you can succeed in developing a consultative relationship with a customer, you will make the sale.
Listen to Sell
After being an expert at what you are selling, the next most critical characteristic you need to develop is the ability to listen. This can sometimes be difficult to do because the type of personality that is drawn to sales is naturally outgoing and enjoys doing the talking. Think of it this way, you have developed credibility about yourself and your product, now your job is to make the customer confident that you know what he needs.
If you are having problems in this area, use this simple exercise. After each statement you make, force yourself to remain silent until the customer responds with either words or body language. If he doesn’t respond, ask him a question. This is good because it gives you an opportunity to get new information. It’s also encourages a dialogue. In order to avoid lecturing, try for this approach as part of any face-to-face sales or marketing opportunity.
Learning the Sales Close
Always ask for the sale. Consider the close a simple acknowledgement that you would like someone’s business and think that you have provided the information necessary to get it. Always be polite, patient, and gracious, even in defeat.
The best salesmen can direct an exchange without ever appearing to do so. Learn to use a conversational and consultative approach to inspire the customer to do what he wanted to do when he walk through the door...buy your product.
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