Sales is an immensely important skill in the world of business and it is especially true when it comes to small business and the efforts of the new entrepreneur. As entrepreneurs, you may not have a dedicated sales force, a marketing department, or specialized negotiators on your staff. At least not yet, anyway. We all have to start somewhere and my aim here is to help you, saleswise, through that critical early phase of growth for your business where you may be wearing more hats yourself.
The path to successful sales is littered with the empty briefcases and blank order forms of salespeople who didn't truly believe in the product or service they were selling. They may have been good at telling people why they needed it, but deep down, they weren't sure themselves. Let's take the example of the vacuum cleaner salesman. He or she can show their clients all the features and even give compelling demonstrations of its power. Then, in one foul swoop, it all falls apart and they are turned away without a sale. What happened?
In this unfortunate example, the salesperson was asked the question they were dreading during the whole presentation. 'This sounds great. Do you have one of these yourself?' Oops. Most people, being of honest inclination, are not going to lie to someone to get a sale. What happened is that the value of the product was immediately overshadowed by a lack of personal credibility. How could a salesperson know all of this and talk so highly of it without owning one themselves?
People want to be sold, no matter what your default impressions may be. People who need a car don't walk into a car dealership without wanting to be sold. Sure, they may want a deal but they want to be sold and shown why they should have what they want or need to buy. What rationalizes this? Knowing that the salesperson has one himself or that someone with a similar career or goals (i.e. just like them) just purchased a similar car gives the salesperson credibility and makes the client or customer believe in them.
Don't underestimate this factor when pursuing your own sales efforts. Your clients and customers will want your product ore service for all the reasons you imagine they will. That's not enough. They also need to believe in you. Your own passion and ability to generate rapport with them will go a long way in satisfying this need for them to believe. So too will showing them how their neighbor, competitor, or peer also saw the same benefits and chose to take action.
Fundamentally, sales is based upon both human nature and a customer client believing that they want or need the product or service that you are offering. For this to happen, they must believe in you. They may have their doubts as to whether or not they need it and that's where you come in. Sure, it's your product or service. It has to have benefited you and other clients in some way and that needs to show when you are interacting with clients in a sales environment.
People determine what they want or need based upon two things: their own present situation and what has happened to other people who have bought or used the same thing. When you show them how your product or service meets both of these requirements, they will believe in you and your sales will show for it.
Dr. Matt Fagerness left the academic world to pursue his own dreams of business ownership and doing things "his way". Today, he is a successful real estate investor, venture capitalist, business consultant, and author who has touched the lives of new entrepreneurs who are looking to build upon their own dreams of success. Focusing on written materials and coaching services for success-driven and business-minded people, Dr. Fagerness has a no-nonsense approach to starting and building small businesses that speaks volumes to the clients with whom he has worked. Dr. Fagerness and his various professional services are accessible by visiting http://www.jakejasper.com