Earning the Right to Sell
How often do people try to sell you something before you’ve even expressed an interest for what they have? Many salespeople try to sell to anyone and everyone regardless of the interest level, and the end result is often the feeling of an outright spam assault.
The most effective type of selling, both online and off, determines a need before attempting to match a buyer with a product or service. Effective selling is about providing enough information for a buyer to make the best decision based on needs. And the better the match between buyer and product, the more likelihood for a successful sale. Read on for more.
Start with the Experience
Whatever it is you’re selling, the buyer’s experience from the initial visit and/or purchase will likely determine whether or not they’ll ever purchase from you again. This is because a customer who has a great experience from the beginning is a customer who’ll return to the source of that experience again and again and again.
Unfortunately, what’s often missed in sales and marketing is the opportunity to turn a first-time or occasional customer into a lifetime customer. Don’t bypass this opportunity. Plan and provide your customers with an awesome experience in addition to a high quality product or service.
Exploit Our “Try Before You Buy” Society
Before buying a high ticket item, buyers will “test the waters.” They test drive a car, take a tour of a home, or ask friends and associates for a recommendation. Online, they test electronic products with a free information item or an inexpensive version in search of things like great service, high product quality, fast delivery, and reasonable response time.
What are your own buying habits? What process do you go through before making the decision to buy? Your customers will do the same, so do your best to provide the best.
Focus on Trust
When you gain the trust of customers, people not only want to do business with you, they want to tell others about the experience they’ve had with you. Buying decisions are made for a number of reasons, but they ultimately depend upon whether or not the buyer trusts the process. And if they trust you, it’s through the process of building trust that you’ve ultimately earned the right to sell.
External Resources:
1. The Psychology of Selling
2. Advanced Selling Strategies
3. The New Strategic Selling
