Doesn't it seem like every time you pick up the phone these days, someone is trying to sell you something?
When you think about “sales,” what feelings come to mind?
All too often, people being sold to feel like others are trying to either make them buy things they don’t need or upsell them once they’ve said yes. That’s why, unfortunately, the old cliche of the “used car salesman” is still hanging around in peoples’ minds.
On the flip side, many salespeople don’t reach their full potential because they think that sales is hard and feel like they are being too pushy or overselling if they talk too much. Ironically, when you are so worried about NOT doing these things, you tend to not be a good salesperson because you sometimes miss opportunities to authentically help the customer.
But being a good salesperson does not have to feel “slimy” to either side.
Before you can help your customers feel good about sales, you need to feel good about sales.
Think about it this way...
Sales are all about how to help those people looking to buy.
Consumers are wanting to buy things. They want things that make their lives better, their jobs easier, or to buy a special gift for someone else.
But why would they shop with you?
Sales aren’t just about selling but about serving, and it’s a skill that can be learned. Here are four ways to serve both your current and potential customers and help them see you as a trusted advisor instead of just another salesperson.
1.Use good adjectives when you communicate with them. Be careful about getting stuck on certain words. It’s easy to get stuck in the trap of describing your product as “awesome” or “amazing,” but that doesn’t really tell us much. Increase your vocabulary. Think of words that help your potential customer feel, smell, or see something that would benefit them. Words like “it smells like a spring day” or “feels like your favorite sweater” helps them to “experience” your product before the sale is made by making a connection to something they already cherish.
Words like versatile, painless, step-by-step, effective, simple and at your fingertips can help make the buyer feel that they can easily apply your product to their lives without a lot of work on their end. Words like stunning, hand-crafted, made just for you, special, professional, classic, inspired or ‘exactly what you’ve been looking for’ might help meet your listener or reader exactly where they are and resonate with what they already value in a product. It’s one thing to offer a candle that smells ‘great,’ it’s another to offer a candle that smells like ‘grandma’s apple pie.’ Make a list of adjectives and power words that make people experience your product even before a sale is made.
2.Use great testimonials. Other peoples’ words have more power than yours do. Testimonials give you stories and stories help bring your products to life. Sharing how a current customer used a product in her life will help a buyer begin thinking about how they can apply it to their own life.
The way you generate great testimonials is with follow-up. Reach out and talk to customers. Find out what their experience has been using your product, see if they need any help or have questions. If you do follow-up, you will get feedback, and that’s what a testimonial is. This is the single most powerful ingredient for getting people to take action.
3.Sell in groupings. Think about what products you offer that go together nicely, compliment one another, or complete something for the buyer? When you think in groupings, not only will you sell more, but you take better care of your customer. Help them to identify what else they would enjoy or appreciate. If they already use one thing, don’t hesitate to share with them, “If you like that, you’ll love this.” Instead of ‘upselling,’ think of ‘upserving.’
4.Sell the benefits, not the features. When you take this approach, you let customers sell themselves. Focus on how a product affects them in your conversations and written communication. Remember, descriptions alone don’t sell; how it solves a problem or makes the buyer feel, does.
Human behavior is a combination of logic and emotions. But in sales, it is easy to get caught up in only the logical, descriptive trap. When you do this, you miss opportunities to let the customer sell themselves.
This isn’t to say that describing your product’s details is not important. Next week, in part two, I’ll dive deeper into how to sell from a benefit approach rather than a features approach so you can sell like a pro.