Selling Geek

How Work With Your Sales Team

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For a business to have a successful sales team, and earn and maximize profits in order to stay ahead of competitors, they will have to send sales personnel to sales training seminars. This is a great way to teach the sale staff the ins and outs of sales, what it takes to make and close the deal, how not to drive customers away, and how to follow up on customers who may be interested in certain products which the company offers for sale. Making sure the sales staff is ready to close any deal, is the only way which a business that sells goods, is going to survive, and be able to have the customer base to make the right profits.

Learning not to be too pushy as to push a customer away, versus asking the customer if they are ready to make the buy, is one small tool these seminars teach. This can make the sale, even if the customer is not 100 sold on it, just asking for the sale, might get it. Sales personnnel also have to learn to follow up with customers who were interested, if not, you will completely lose the customer after a period of time.

Knowing When to Turn Down a Sale

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

How many times have you gone shopping and after having paid for goods and or services, you have a feeling that you made a mistake, or that the service/goods received were either poor or sub-standard. That is what I am going to address in this article. After having been on both sides of the “counter”, so to speak for over 15 years, it is possible for me to see the transaction from both sides.

From a client/customer point of view, here are some, but not all of the red flags that would cause me not to make a purchase of goods or services:

1) Rude store personnel or office workers
2) A store or office in dis-array. Nothing is more off-putting than a store or office that is completely disordered or dirtty.
3) Salespeople that are unknowledgeable about a product or service.
4) Overly inflated prices.
5) If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
6) After the banking and mortgage scandals that we encountered recently, make sure that the banker/lender/broker, etc. is in compliance with all federal and state licensing requirements.
7) Products that have been previously used or are labelled “refurbished”…they could be defective.Warranties and guarantees need to be explained fully.

While this covers some of the pitfalls dealing with retail and service providers and some of the reasons to not proceed forward with a sale or purchase, it does not cover all of them. The adage caveat emptor should absolutely be observed with reasonableness and fairness.

6 Tips to Conveying Value Every Time

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sales is never easy but it can become a lot easier if you are able to convey value in the product or service you are offering. Here are six tips for doing just that:

Stress the great benefits that the product or service has to offer. How can what you are selling be of value if it has no value? It can’t! This is why you need to shine the spotlight on the value it possesses.

Always promote the “hotness” of the item from the perspective that it is definitely in demand. The more people realize something is in demand, the more value they will see in it.

Value often equates with scarcity so be sure to note how scarce your item may be in the market. Scarcity plus demand will drive perceived value up enormously.

When your have something that can save others money, the value of the item will increase immensely. If you want to increase other’s perception of value, cost saving benefits must be stressed.

Clearly identify the quality of what you are selling because high quality always correlates with high value.

Be as enthusiastic as possible about what you are selling. Enthusiasm rubs off and leads others to see something as a “must have” purchase.

Of course, there are other steps you could take and these six are a good start.

Closing the Deal

mrice — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Have you spent hours upon hours on your Satellite Internet Broadband connection researching effective ways to close a sale? We’ve got a few easy tips for you that may not always be 100 truthful but darned if they don’t work…
“Switching Groups” – If you’ve got a client that just won’t seal the deal tell them you’re changing groups within your company and you can only offer the deal for a limited time. If that doesn’t get the fire burning under them, nothing will.
“Manager Authorization” – Give you client a small discount but not before telling them you’ve got to get manager authorization to do it. It will instill trust in them that they’re a special client and they’ll think you got your manager involved because you want to make them happy.
“Tax Free” – If you think it will help, tell your client you’ll pay the sales tax on your transaction. It’s usually a small sum but it’s the principal that sometimes pushes people over the edge and finally convinces them that they’re getting a great deal.

Top Selling Secret: Let Prospects Come to You

admin — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sells are what makes the business world go round and round. Businesses rely on sales in order to generate revenue for their company. Businesses rely on revenue to pay their bills and pay their employees so each of these things goes hand in hand.
Cold Calling
Cold calling is a great way for you to generate sales leads. You can start the cold calling process by going from business to business or person to person. When you make a cold call in person it tells the customer that you are involved in the business and that you are dedicated to your work. When making cold calls in person you will need to remember to dress for success. First impressions are everything and you want to make sure that you make an impressionable first impression. If you can’t physically get out there and go door to door then you can try calling your prospective customers on the phone.
Emails Are Not Recommended
We as a society now heavily depend on email to communicate with other people. However, sending an email to pitch a sale is never a good idea. First of all you can never tell the tone of an email so they are very hard to read. Secondly, when you send an email you will never know if the person actually received it or read it.

Use Social Media to Connect, Not to Sell

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The use of social media can be a very helpful tool in assisting individuals in the marketing of their business enterprise. Due to the fact that social media reaches millions of individuals around the world, there is a great opportunity for an individual to make initial contacts with potential customers. Social media helps an individual to find millions of new opportunities in which to promote their products to others, which will eventually lead them to initiate communication with those individuals that are interested in their services.

The initial communication is a very important aspect of the marketing and sales process, and will usually give the potential customer a first impression of the goods and services that you will be offering them. The initial contact provides you with an opportunity to provide the client or potential client with contact information for your business, so that they can get more detailed information on the services that you offer. Once potential customers contact you about your services, this is the opportunity for fact-finding about the customers needs and wants, and sales negotiation. Social media should only be used for the initial contact with potential clients, and sales should take place outside the network.

Learn the Language of the Sale

admin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

When it comes to selling, people often think its all in how pushy the sales consultant is, or how good of a personality they have. A good personality is key to being a good sales consultant, however, the real importance is knowing the product(s) well enough to make the customer feel that their time is of value. How exactly do successful sales people sell personally and in written form? How do they open and close sales, as well as perform sales calls? Many different systems and theories exist on how they do these things, but most of them follow along the same line.

Most recommended sales procedures are seven steps. The greeting, finding out needs, presenting a product(s) that meet needs, allowing customer to ask questions, the close and follow-up. During the greeting, it is important to make a good first impression. Studies have shown that a bad first impression is extremely difficult to recover from. When finding out the customer needs it is important to separate what they need from what they want, as this can save a lot of time and money. The close should be fairly simple, providing the sales person has effectively followed all of these steps.

You Need to Sell Your Website, Too

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Wouldn’t it be nice if a great product simply sold itself? Unfortunately, this is rarely true. Consumers are very picky regarding whatt they spend their money on, and the market is infultrated with various options of things that people want and need.

You may know that what you are selling is important, however communicating that fact to consumers can be a challenge. A good sales person is able to sell themselves as well as their product, with a pleasant, engaging tone of voice, eye contact (when selling in person) and a smile.

Whether on the phone, in person, or putting together direct mail, sales people need to get to the point quickly, as it implies that they understand the importance of the consumer’s time, as well as their business.

While a website is considered a necesity in sales, it can also easily becom a casualty among all the other websites on the Internet. That is why in addition to promoting your product, you need to promote your website too.

Like phone and in person corresponence, websites need to get to the point quickly and repeat important information so that in sinks into the minds of potential customers. These tactics will also encourage search engines to latch onto your website’s keywords increasing the liklihood even more that your website will be noticed and show in your sales figures as well.

Hot Tips for Cold Calling

www.sellinggeek.com — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Perhaps the hardest sell a salesman can make is the cold call. Dialing up a stranger whom you’ve never met and attempting to talk them into purchasing a product, with no invitation to call whatsoever. However, while difficult, success via cold calling is far from impossible. Don’t expect a high conversion rate, but with the right approach and a swell of persistence, cold calling can still net substantial sales numbers. Here’s a few helping hints to heat up your phone.You Don’t Have to Close Then and There Though it’s important to always have your end goal in mind, a cold call can be an introductory tactic to get your foot in the door. Whether scheduling a more convenient time to call back or setting up a face to face, when it comes to cold calling, anything other than a “no thank you” or hang-up can be considered a victory. Use cold calling to lay the groundwork for more personal selling tactics as it’s not likely a cold call will result in an immediate transaction.Feel Free to Stray from Your Script If you see an opening for casual conversation, take it. This could help to build a connection with person on the other end. It may be a business call, but it doesn’t have to feel like strictly business. A little charm and friendliness can go a long way. However, if you find yourself talking to someone who is obviously busy or in a hurry, don’t waste your time or their time with a longwinded story.Greet Whoever Answers “May I talk to insert name here,” should never be the first thing out of a cold callers name. Instead, try a “Hi, how are you doing today?” followed by a, “is insert name here around?” after their response. Even if your call is all about the bottom line, it should appear as genuine as possible to the family, friends or intended party, no matter who picks up the phone first.

Leaving a Sales Message

www.sellinggeek.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:20:50 +0000

Perhaps the trickiest part of any phone sales job is leaving a message. After all, not even friends return every single voicemail, so what can possibly be done to ensure a call back from a relative stranger? In a matter of principle, leaving a sales message is actually a lot like leaving a message to ask someone you just met out on a date. Think about it; you only vaguely know this person but you know that you might have something to offer them that they are interested in, only you can’t be sure of their level of interest, at least not at this initial stage. Still, in order to drive any further correspondence or eventual transaction, it is necessary to leave a message. Though this advice pertains directly to sales messages, feel free to apply it loosely to the dating arena as well. Ultimately, it is about leaving the message-receiver as few easy outs as possible.Don’t ask for a specific call back time Assuming someone can keep themselves busy for an hour or two at a time, calling you back can be justifiably avoided if you specify a time. A simple “call back at your convenience” leaves little excuse unless this person is working or sleeping on a continuous 24/7 cycle.Leave your phone number in the message Your number is more than likely available online, in the local yellow or white pages or even in their very address book, however, the “didn’t have your number” card is often played out of sheer convenience. This move completely takes the card out of the deck.Give a reason to call back Don’t expect this person to call you back just to chat, bear in mind they don’t know you that well. Leave some sort of incentive in the message, i.e. “If you want to ______, then call me back at phone .” Remember, this incentive should be something that nearly everyone wants to do, otherwise there is little reason to follow up.Use Appropriate Hours Don’t leave a message in the middle of a night. Better yet, don’t leave a message after 9 p.m.