While sales people learn the principles of selling as part of their training, to most others – especially women – they remain a secret. For example, very few lawyers, social workers or job seekers consider themselves sales people. However in reality, all are selling or promoting themselves to clients from who they want business; to bosses from whom they want a raise or promotion; to banks from whom they want a loan; to practically everyone with whom they interact. All face `prospects' who want to know. “What can you do for me?” Those who are best prepared to answer convincingly will sell their ideas or products.


Set the stage

“The business world is a stage. It is your chance to dress the part, play the part and go for the Academy Award. Likewise when you prepare yourself to superiors, subordinates, clients, interviewers or anyone else prepare as you would for an audition.” Sherren Leigh (president, Leigh Communication, Chicago)

Successful marketing depends on the ability to focus on others and their needs. You will defeat your sales effort if your energy is all directed to yourself alone.

It is important to develop self-confidence – to truly feel comfortable with how you look and sound, so you can exude energy. People who lack self-confidence tends to mess up their presentation; they often ramble away –m often repeating themselves- and neglect vital signal from the other person, like body language suggesting that it is time for them to leave; they tend to make presentation more like a speech rather than the interchange it ought to be!

To develop self-confidence, you must be prepared. Invest time and money in your appearance. Seek candid assessments from your family, friends and peers at the office. When you develop an individual style, you have a foundation to work off and refine the rest of your life.

You have to be objective and have an ongoing assessment of how others perceive you and constantly redefine your image to present yourself in the best way.


Announce intentions

One of the biggest barriers for our associates and clients comes from not knowing what to expect from you in business. Usually they will want to understand but they need help from you.

You need to make sense early on in the encounter, or your prospect will lose interest. You must state clearly what you hope to happen, as to get a result form the meeting – it could be to get an assignment, a raise in salary, whatever.


Learn to ask

Poor negotiating skills often limit people. Negotiating begins with asking what you want, a business strategy most people have not learned.

There is an element of risk and in business you must be prepared to take a risk. It is wrong to expect to have things handed to you in silver plate. Before your meeting, consider the worst scenarios, determine the pros and cons of asking, and plan your approach accordingly. Importantly, learn to trust your gut feeling, and be yourself!


Be specific

Successful selling dictates that you know exactly how you can help the prospect. For example, if you are selling your ability to do a job at a higher salary, figure out how your boss can benefit from giving you that raise, then seek a persuasive way to present that information.

“Most business decisions are two-fold: emotional and rational. When marketing your services, be prepared to present the rational basis on which the buyer can make a decision. Learn the needs of the field in general, those of the particular organisation and those of the individual to whom you speak.” N G Barkley (president, John C Crystal Centre, New York ).

Equally important as knowing the prospect's need is knowing your own; it is hard to convince others to buy what you have if your are not certain you want to offer it to them.

Convince yourself on the specifics, know what exactly you have to offer and set your goals keeping those objectives in your mind.


Go for the close

Often a strong sales presentation falters at the conclusion. It is not enough to simply present what you have to offer, conclude by asking directly for what you want. Go for the closed by asking the boss what your chances are of getting the raise; asking the client or customer when the decision will be made.

When you have followed these rules of successful selling, you can present yourself with self-confidence….the essential ingredient for closing any sale!

When you're introducing your product or service to a potential customer, you should capture his or here attention immediately. The best way to do that is to tell your prospect what the `end result' of having used your product or service will be. In our case, we would not say, “We conduct seminars, workshops, and consulting projects in local marketing and telephone sales.” That gives our prospect just enough information to decide that there is no interest. Instead, we would say, “We can teach you how to advertise, promote, and increase sales without spending a lot of money.” Instead of telling your prospect what you do, stress the unique benefits of your product or service.

One of the most challenging benefit statements we had to work on was for a life insurance agency. The minute some one says he or she sells life insurance, people head for the doors. It seems that nobody wants to talk to life insurance salesperson. The challenge was to create a benefit statement that would grab a prospect's attention and avoid the turnoff associated with life insurance.

You can test the effectiveness of your benefit statement at a party. In a conversation, when someone asks what you do, presenting your benefit statement should cause the person to respond, “No kidding. How do you do that?” In essence, he or she is asking you for a sales pitch about your product or service.

In the case of the life insurance salesperson, one of his major areas of concentration was helping well-to-do people plan for significant retirement income. So, the benefit statement we developed was, “We specialise in helping people accumulate more than a million dollars for retirement, with only small monthly contributions.” Nowhere did you hear the words “ life insurance.”

Ask yourself, “What do I do that clients will find very valuable?” How can you phrase it so that, when asked, most people will response, “No kidding. How do you do that?”

For example, if you said merely that you're an accountant or a CPA, that might be of some interest. One the other hand, if you said, “I specialise in helping people dramatically reduce their tax bill,” that would get most people's attention. The fact that you are a CPA, then you're automatically lumped in with all the other CPAs.

A stockbroker might say, “I specialise in finding under valued companies with strong long-term potential for people who want to maximise their investment profits.”

The branch manger of a local bank might say, “I specialise in helping businesses handle just about all their finance needs, including establishing lines of credit and cash flow management.” He sells loans, CDs, and checking accounts but that is irrelevant. What's important is the result, the benefit of using this banker's services.


Smart Marketing action plan

•  Write down all the benefits or the end results a prospect can expect after using your product or service

•  Create your own benefit statement using the following: “I specialise in (benefit) without (negative)”

•  Practice using your benefit statement when you meet people. Work it into conversations and gauge their reaction to it.

•  Modify your benefit statement as needed for specific products and services or for different types of prospects

An effective salesperson gathers the information necessary from the customer to make that sale, according to Harry Friedman of the Friedman Group in Culver City, California. Harry is the author of No Thanks, I’m just Looking and editor of the retail newsletter On the Floor .He told us that there are eight key points that allow you to sell more effectively and in less time.

1. Concentrate on what your customer is saying. There are many distractions when talking to a potential customer Try to tune into what the customer is telling you and block out everything else.


2. Establish eye contact. Maintaining eye contact enables you to understand things your customer’s words alone may not be expressing. It also allows your customer to stay “locked in“on your presentation.


3. Listen to your customer’s ideas- not just his or her words. Often your customer may not express him-or her easily. By carefully listening, you can determine what your customer means without “being right” and losing the sale.


4. Don’t jump to conclusion. Before you make a decision, it is important to listen to what your customer saying. Don’t make a decision on a portion of what the customer has said or you will miss out on useful information.


5. Never prequalify customers. If you judge a customer as unlikely to buy because o appearance or other factors, you’re cheating yourself out of potential business. Treat everyone as a potential customer.
   At one of our seminars, Tony Crusco of Allied Bakers told me that he was at an industry trade show and went up to two shabbily dressed, unkempt youngsters, joked with them, and gave them each a toy (he did this with many youngsters at the trade show). Later, the lad’s father approached him and thanked him for being so kind to his children. During the conversation, Tony found out that the father was a buyer for Kmart, and he eventually becomes Toy’s largest bread account.


6. You should be empathetic with your customer, not sympathetic. Empathy knows how a  person feels. Sympathy is feeling sorry for how that person feels. Don’t trap yourself into “Buying into” your customer’s excuse for not buying.


7. One of the easiest ways to gain trust is to let the customer do the talking. Remember, you known what you know, but you don’t know what the customers knows.


8. Use words to express, not impress. Keep your languages simple and understandable. You are there to listen to your customer and give whatever information is necessary for him or her to decide to buy from you. Communication is a two way exchange of ideas and concepts. A break down in the communication cycle results in a frustrated customer and a broken salesperson.

1. Concentrate on what your customer is saying and listen to his or her ideas
2. Don’t make assumptions based on a portion of what the customer has said to you
3. Don’t prejudge whether a prospect will buy from you based on appearance or other factors.
4. Be empathetic, not sympathetic
5. Make sure you let the customer do the talking
6. Keep your language simple and understandable
7. For a free copy of Harry Friedman’s newsletter, on the Floor, call 800-544-9030

Salespeople have many different kinds of customers to sell. It is important to establish what kind of customers they are, so you know how to sell to them. Harry Friedman of the Friedman Group in Culver City, California, and the author of No Thanks, I’m just Looking, divides the types of customers into several categories. Here are just a few:

• The Marcel Marceau type. This customer has a quiet personality and is shy to talk. As a salesperson, you have done everything properly, from opening the sale to probing, but have gotten little response from the customer. You asked questions about what the customer wanted and have received little or no information. What’s a salesperson to do?
  
  Solution: one way to handle this type of customer is to go for the close. Trying to close the sale will initiate the customer to either buy or not buy. If the customer isn’t ready to buy, then focus on the asking open-ended questions to get some additional information. With this additional information, then go again for the close.



• The Monty Hall type. This customer wants “to make a deal” on everything. He or she wants to buy the finest merchandise for less than your cost and is very relentless in his or her pursuit to get it. The customer agrees on a price only after you offer 50 percent off another item. When you stand firm on your offer, this customer insists on free delivery. What’s salesperson to do?
  
  Solution: let this customer know that you have gone as low as you have the authority to go. However, you’re willing to make a call, if he or she doesn’t mind waiting, to the “boss” (even if you are the boss), who can approve a larger discount. Go back to the customer and say, “I told the boss you were a good customer and I would like to do better for you, but after looking the pricing, he told me I couldn’t go less. I tried!” This customer now knows the bargaining days are over and it is time for you to close the sale.



• The wishy-washy customer. This one likes the product, can afford it, but just can’t seem to say yes. Making decisions is very difficult for the wishy-washy type. Every time you spend time with this customer, he or she leaves without buying. What’s a salesperson to do?
  
  Solution: this customer can’t make up his or her mind, so it is up to you to help. Confirm the choice by commenting on what a wise selection the customer has made. Mention other satisfied customers who have made a similar purchase. To help with the buying decision, write up a sales slip or delivery order. The goal is to build up the customer’s confidence and close the sale.

1. Study the solution to each category, so you know them well.
2. Role play the solutions with other employees until you feel comfortable.
3. Identify those customers who fall into a difficult category.
4. Modify the solutions, if need be.