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Many believe selling is a black art. Certainly, some people are better equipped than others, with good inter-personal skills, self-confidence and enthusiasm. Also, we generally respond better to likeable people who communicate well and have a positive attitude, and they tend to be more successful at selling. The good news is this puts being a good sales person within reach of most business owners.
It’s also a fact, we can all sell. We do it all the time, with our peers, friends and family. Selling a new idea to someone, however trivial, involves the same skills: building rapport and trust, and then clearly communicating sound logic and reasoning. A good deal usually follows.
If you nurture and build on these points, then you’re half way there ... so, what’s the other half about?
The Selling Basics
We prefer to think of selling as technique rather than black art. Technique can be learned, and we need to start with some common sense and getting the preparation right. This means being clear about what you are selling, who your buyers are and the best way to approach them.
What is your product or service?
It may sound trite, but you’d be surprised how many people cannot describe what it is they are selling, never mind why it’s any good or why you might need to buy it. Be crystal clear. Understand your product or service offering inside-out, and learn to describe it clearly and succinctly. If you can’t describe it, how can you expect a prospective customer to know what you are selling?
Who is your target market?
Next, you’ll need to identify who exactly you are selling to: individual, business, public sector, etc. If it’s a business, is it micro, small, medium or large, industry sector or geographic cluster? Ask yourself, who has the greatest need or who is suffering the most pain? ... who would readily recognise the value in your offer and be willing to pay for it? These are your high priority targets. This is often referred to as “market segmentation” and it’s important to get it right from the start or you will waste a lot of time and money chasing the wrong people.
Who is your competition?
Every good sales person knows their competition inside-out. They spend time researching their offerings, pricing and benefits. It’s important to differentiate your offer, be that on price, features, benefits or some other basis, and if you are charging a higher premium then you need to be able to justify that too. This research should extend to understanding their selling techniques too. The internet is good place to start, exhibitions might help too, but speaking to your competitors directly or their customers are fantastic ways to gather intelligence if you can pull it off.
What is your selling proposition?
People talk of USP (Unique Selling Proposition), but the reality is that it difficult to be unique unless you’ve invented something new. Most propositions are similar to a competitor’s and everyone’s fighting to get noticed. You should strive for this, and although you may have to get creative, never lie or deliberately mislead customers. Believe me, you will get caught out. Test your proposition by creating a 10 sec “Elevator Pitch”. Get this right, then and your proposition will sound simple and obvious. If not, keep honing it and testing it on people until it works.
What’s the best selling strategy to use?
This depends on your offering and chosen market. Ask yourself, what potential customers would respond to best: price (ours is cheapest), lifestyle (feel good factor), safety (no one got fired for choosing IBM), better (new, improved) or emergency (avoid a disaster). Try analysing what you normally say and see which strategy fits best then, refine your sales pitch accordingly. If you can, avoid the old chestnut of sowing “Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.” It can be a great motivator for clinching a sale, but it can also be a dangerous tactic ... overuse it at your peril.
Now you know what you are selling, who you are selling to and how, you are ready to go out and sell!
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VHQ Article - Selling Techniques.pdf