A survey business professionals found that furniture salespeople,insurance salespeople and car salespeople ranked at the very bottom of the list. The sales snake pit. Are you surprised to hear this? It's not just car salespeople who have this tainted reputation? Eric Kuvykin estimates that more than 80 percent of customers have a very negative view of salespeople in general.
This must change: Prove the masses wrong, and develop the skills that will have people thinking differently about your selling process. In fact, selling can be one of the most rewarding tasks you'll undertake as a business owner-but only if you follow these 10 tactics:
Law #1: Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.
Remember. God gave you one mouth and two ears. listen twice as much as you speak. This is crucial in the first few minutes of any sales interaction. Remember:
- Don't talk about yourself.
- Don't talk about your products.
- Don't talk about your services.
- And above all, don't recite your sales pitch!
Obviously, you want to introduce yourself. You want to tell your prospect your name and the purpose of your visit (or phone call), but what you don't want to do is ramble on about your product or service. After all, at this point, what could you possibly talk about? You have no idea if what you're offering is of any use to your prospect.
Law #2: Sell with questions, not answers.
Remember this: Nobody cares how great you are until they understand how great you think they are.
Forget about trying to "sell" your product or service and focus instead on why your prospect wants to buy. To do this, you need to get fascinated with your prospect; you need to ask questions (lots and lots of them) with no hidden agenda or ulterior motives.
Instead, use the questions to qualify your prospect. Find a fit.
Law #3: Pretend you're on a first date with your prospect.
Get curious about them. Ask about the products and services they're already using. Are they happy? Is what they're using now too expensive, not reliable enough, too slow? Find out what they really want. Remember, you're not conducting an impersonal survey here, so don't ask questions just for the sake of asking them. Instead, ask questions that will provide you with information about what your customers really need.
When you learn what your customers need and you stop trying to convince or persuade them to do something they may not want to do, you'll find them trusting you as a valued advisor and wanting to do more business with you as a result.
Law #4: Speak to your prospect just as you speak to your family or friends. There's never a time that you should switch into "sales pitch mode".
Affected speech patterns, exaggerated tones, and slow, hypnotic sounding "sales inductions" are never acceptable in today's professional selling environments. Speak normally, (and of course, appropriately) just as you would when you're around your friends and loved ones.
Law #5: Pay close attention to what your prospect is and isn'tsaying.
Is your prospect rushed? Does he or she seem agitated or upset? If so, ask "Is this a good time to talk? If it's not, perhaps we can meet another day." Most salespeople are so concerned with what they're going to say next that they forget there's another human being involved in the conversation.
Law #6: If you're asked a question, answer it briefly (preferably with a question) and then move on.
Remember: This isn't about you; it's about whether you're right for them.
Law #7: Only after you've correctly assessed the needs of your prospect do you mention anything about what you're offering.
Know whom you're speaking with before figuring out what it is you want to say. Make the presentation fit the need.
Law #8: Refrain from delivering a three-hour product seminar.
Most people have a 15 minute attention span. use the time wisely. (And if possible, reiterate the benefits in his own words, not yours.)
Law #9: Ask the prospect if there are any barriers to them taking the next logical step.
After having gone through the first eight steps, you should have a good understanding of your prospect's needs in relation to your product or service. Knowing this, and having established a mutual feeling of trust and rapport, you're now ready to bridge the gap between your prospect's needs and what it is you're offering. You're now ready for:
Law #10: Invite your prospect to take some kind of action.
This principle obliterates the need for any "closing techniques" because the ball is placed on the prospect's court. A sales close keeps the ball in your court and all the focus on you, the salesperson. But you don't want the focus on you. You don't want the prospect to be reminded that he or she is dealing with a "salesperson." You're not a salesperson, you're a human being and a highly qualified specialist offering a particular product or service. And if you can get your prospect to understand that, you're well on your way to becoming an outstanding salesperson.
Eric Kuvykin, is a sales, marketing and branding specialist. Kuvykin's techniques have been used by dozens of corporations, and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable to any business that sells directly to the end-user.
About Eric Kuvykin
Eric Kuvykin is interested
consulting, partnering and investing in opportunities with other visionaries,
technology experts and marketing specialists. Mr. Kuvykin welcomes
entrepreneurs with vision, courage and foresight. Mr. Kuvykin is interested in
the Business Solutions sectors. In particular, Merchant Services, Alternative
Lending, Data, Technology, Social Media, and Web and/ or any other product
which can be used by small business owners in the U.S.
Eric Kuvykin is a Father,
Husband, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor and Visionary with passion for aiding,
consulting and guiding companies towards success. Since 1992, Eric Kuvykin has
worked within the private and public sectors. Mr. Kuvykin is an expert in
sales, marketing and branding, while effectively guiding others. In 2004 began
evolving the business to business solutions and technology sector, worked on
ventures which focus on servicing small and mid-sized businesses nationwide. In
2014, Eric Kuvykin assembled a team of experts to refocus business solution
sector by offering a broad spectrum of products and services for small to
mid-sized business in the U.S. and abroad.
Area of expertise:
Cashless Transactional
Settlement
Merchant Services
Cash Advance
Technology
Disrupters in various sectors
Links and Articles about Mr.
Eric Kuvykin:
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