How to sell anything to anyone - sell yourself!

[iArtist]

You know yourself, that there are sales people who seem to have the Midas touch, they can sell anything to anyone!

So how do they do it?

There are many tricks of the selling trade, not least recalling names, and details about your client so you can ask about progress with family or business matters when you meet again several months hence. How to ask the questions that elicit YES answers so when you are ready to close a sale the client is already in 'YES' mode and much more besides, but it all boils down to one thing!

Building a personal rapport with your client.

If you look at the sales people you cannot say NO to, you'll get some clue as to the true hidden power behind selling. One of the tools is to endear yourself to them, by getting a little personal. Share a little story about yourself and speak freely with them about the news of the day or whatever diversion from the product comes up during a sale as things do come up! When a rapport is established people find it VERY hard to say NO, when their new best friend makes them an offer.

Watch how prospects DO the same thing with you.

The more personal you get with them, the better 'deals' they will negotiate out of you! You will give more, do more and for less with those clients you 'like'.

Think about how you behave with different clients and see if this isn't right.

I know the sales people I would give all my business to in the past were the 'sales rep who told me about his recent heart operation'. The clients I gave the best service to were the one 'in pain constantly due to her poorly knee' and the 'cheeky joker' who would get everything knock down price.

Clients can sell you just as you sell them.

Work on your personal skills and be personable!

A great book to read on establishing rapport can be found in 'How to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie. Every sales person should read this book!

( I've recommended this book here before)

It will not only help you with sales it will help you with making friends and networking and so much more. I am not on commission for recommending this book, it just happens to be one of the most useful books I ever read.

 

[telemax]

Hi

Good article. Unfortunately though, all salespeople get a lot of no's, thats part of another quality a salesperson must possess ie persistance, being able to move on to the next one. After all if every single prospect said yes we would all be multi millionaires.

I think if you like the prospect and they really like you, then you are halfway there but it has to be genuine. Don't forget that they must be in a financial position to buy the product and have a need for it.

How to win friends is an excellent book though, I think it was written in the 1930's but it still holds true.

 

[David White]

The salespeople you cannot say no to are usually the ones who push you into decisions you don't want to make. Sometimes that leads to good things but other times it can lead to bad.

I am a sales person by profession for over 10 years and I have quite an aggressive style but only when the time is right (after I have answered all questions and overcome any objections).

I hate the salespeople who call and expect decisions to be made on the spot because they dont offer you the time to think and anyone with 1/2 a brain needs some time to think over a decision unless we are buying something for a tenner.

I would recommend www.tomhopkins.com for anyone looking to learn the skills to become a great sales person but it does not happen overnight.

PS. You have to cut the cheese out of Tom's pitches, they won't work in the UK like they do in the States

 

[wayney]

Thank you guys for sharing.I've been into sales also, building rapport with your client or customer is very crucial, its very hard to sell them anything if they don't trust you, but apart from this, we also need to consider their needs, not just pushing them just to make a sale

 

[patientlady]

sorry not sure if that got posted, as I was checking out some of the icons above and then just disapeared!

 

[MH1]

I hate the salespeople who call and expect decisions to be made on the spot because they dont offer you the time to think and anyone with 1/2 a brain needs some time to think over a decision unless we are buying something for a tenner.

Disagree, if done correctly there is no problem selling "on the night", salespeople need to understand one thing, you cannot make anyone buy something they do not want, which is different from someone buying something because they are happy with a deal, end of the day they still want the product.

When people say they need time to think, 95% of the time what they are really saying is no, a skilled salesperson should have overcome all objections before trying for a close, which only really leaves the end price open for discussion.

I have sold for more years than I care to remember in direct sales, and never had an argument with any client, but have had many occassions where I have had to control the visit to get the sale. I will go back if truly necessary, which is probably only a couple of times out of a hundred clients.

It's an easy excuse to always come back and say "they needed time to think" for both the salesperson and client, but it doesn't earn much money in the long run. Over the years I have made a small fortune in commissions from all the "nice" salespeople who walked away giving the client time to think, leaving them all warmed up for my call the next day.

 

[David White]

Completely agree with you although maybe I never made it completely clear that I was more referring to the people who call you and start telling you about a product or service you have never seen or heard of before.

If I am calling someone to sell a product they know everything about then your damn right I am not going to sit around waiting for them to call me back and order

 

[MH1]

Completely agree with you although maybe I never made it completely clear that I was more referring to the people who call you and start telling you about a product or service you have never seen or heard of before.

Have to disagree once again. I have spent half my life securing deals when simply calling for a survey, or dropping literature off, when the client knows absolutely nothing about the product, that's when they are at the best stage for a sales pitch, with no pre-conceived ideas.

I haven't been in direct sales for ten odd years now, but used to regularly obtain £5-20k deals on the night, with cash/cheque deposits of 10-50% as well. Selling an unknown product or service is no harder than something a customer thinks they know about already.

It's only as complicated as a salesperson wishes to make it.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I haven't been in direct sales for ten odd years now, but used to regularly obtain £5-20k deals on the night, with cash/cheque deposits of 10-50% as well. Selling an unknown product or service is no harder than something a customer thinks they know about already.

I can't agree with that.

All things being equal, someone who has knowledge of, and interest in, a product is far more likely to convert than someone who knows nothing and isn't already motivated.

Steve

 

[David White]

MH1 - I of course this depends on what you have been selling, would I be correct in guessing that you have been a door knocker throughout your career?

 

[MH1]

would I be correct in guessing that you have been a door knocker throughout your career?

Only partly correct, I used to run around 300 door knockers for three years, but I prefer to work by appointment myself.

All things being equal, someone who has knowledge of, and interest in, a product is far more likely to convert than someone who knows nothing and isn't already motivated.

Agreed, but what I was saying was they are no harder to sell to, yes the conversion ratio would differ, then again so does the commission. With selling in particular, perception of the worker is key, believe OAP's never buy and they rarely ever will, believe they buy just as often as anyone else and they order more often.

 

[mr magoo]

I have won sales competitions bought/sold/borrowed the t shirt.
Ive read, listened studied etc etc etc.
And I gotta say, people buy people and the more clients you talk to the more success you have!
mr magoo
ps agree with MH1