If you are not an experienced salesperson, the thought of starting to sell can be daunting. Think of it as meeting needs rather than selling!
There are lots of coaches and training courses available which can help – all will take time, money and practice. Here are our hints and tips:
Honesty is key in business, and especially in sales. Do not try to be something you are not. If this means you really cannot sell then recognise that and recruit someone to do it for you.
The best salespeople are expert listeners. They ask potential customers about themselves or their business, about the challenges, ambitions and issues they are trying to sort out. Then they use the information to explain how their product or service can help. Importantly, if they cannot help, they say so (and try to recommend someone who can)!
One sales technique you may hear about is FAB – Features And Benefits. This is old school selling where the salesperson goes on for ages about the features of their product and what benefits they offer, not really stopping to draw breath so the customer can’t get a word in edgeways! It is almost as if they are trying to wear the customer down until they give in and buy.
Only do this (and not for a great length of time) once you have listened to the customer and understand their needs – and just talk about the features that are relevant to them!
Put simply, this just means cut out the jargon. Do not try to impress your customer with your intelligence, but rather with how much you understand them and their needs. That does mean you need to understand your customer so do as much research as possible about your target market.
The customer will only buy from you if they can see that your product or service meets their need – and if they want to do something about that need now. Often, a no simply means not now so do not pressure them into making a decision!
If you offer to send them something after a meeting, make sure you do – this is a key part of building a level of trust which will lead to sales.
Make sure the customer knows what is in it for them. If your product or service will give them increased income for example, and you know that is their need, explain how much it could be worth to them.
Find out which social media they use and connect with them if possible.
If you have an accountant, they should be your first stop for business advice. If you don’t have an accountant or they can’t help, BuBul has a wide range of experts available. For more advice, contact our expert* Hayden on LinkedIn.
*We’ve picked experts we know and trust who are good at what they do. All of them will give you at least an extra 30 minutes free advice if you contact them and would then charge their normal prices. They don’t pay to be on BuBul and don’t give us any money from anything they earn as an expert.