Mastering the Art of Selling

1. Introduction: Welcome to feel successful sales costs. In this course, we're going to explore the key points of selling. We'll look at examples of successful setting, hints and tips for improving your customer relationships. And the many different departments in business who both depend upon and contribute to your success. This course is aimed at both those of you who may be new to a sales role and those of you who are looking to further your skills that the content lends itself to various industries, exploring both selling products and or services. Since we'll look at the core necessities that make up every excellent salesperson. First and foremost, let's take a look at your role. 2. Why do you want to sell?: Why do you want to sell? Before we begin, it's worth asking yourself why you want to sell will become a successful salesperson. Being successful in sales requires much more than just being able to talk the talk to many people. Selling and being a salesperson is seen as an easy but relentless task. Many, if not the vast majority of entry-level sales roles a commission-based and its death will often viewed as being an unsustainable role. Unguaranteed salaries aren't for the faint-hearted after all. It's a common myth that selling is a basic and easy to acquire skill and not the career path for longevity. That is simply not true. Being a successful salesperson requires a multitude of skills. And harnessing such skills will guarantee you a successful long-term career path, but opens many different doors. Successful sales don't start and end with a simple transaction. There were about building customer relations, continued customer support, and excellent communication both pre and post sale. So let's start with the first step of the customer journey. You. 3. Selling yourself: What makes you stand out from the rest? You are the best sales skill you have. So ask yourself, what makes you stand out from the rest? When you think of some of the best sales experiences you've had, it's usually the salesperson you dealt with who's springs to mind. Not so much the product. People leave an impact, whether positive or negative, and it will easily make or break a sale. Thinking back on your most positive sales experiences, what made them different to others you've had? Perhaps it wasn't someone who was extremely knowledgeable about the product, or even someone who gave you an amazing discount. But I can guarantee you'll remember the salesperson who went above and beyond to help you out. Being personable leaves a lasting impression. It means you're relatable. And people like that, often salespeople can get too caught up in making their sales pictures and forget the vital ingredient. Being human. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes along the way. What matters is that you are friendly, approachable, and correlate to your customers. Selling yourself. One of the most important points in any successful sale is to ensure your customer wants to purchase from you. Selling yourself is of Almighty importance. And the first step to achieving a happy customer. After all, you can have the best product in the world. But what would make a customer want to purchase it from you? Unless you were lucky enough to work in a very elite industry, the chances are that the product or service you are selling is available elsewhere too. So what can you do to ensure the customer chooses you? At this point, it is often regarded that you should be offering incentives such as discounts or freebies to achieve the sale. Whilst they certainly can play apart, it doesn't help you sell yourself. By selling yourself. We mean ensuring the customer has experienced throughout the sale. And indeed, post-sale is a happy one. We can contribute to a positive experience with these three key skills. Trust, knowledge, and honesty. These three vital ingredients will be the make or break to your sale. You need to make sure your customers trust you. If you're a startup business or selling a new product, why should the customer believe what you're saying is true? How did they know they can trust you to give them what they want? Building trust can take time. And that's why in successful sales were very against the heart cell. Hot selling is a term coined to describe a pushy salesperson who can very often be described as aggressive. This type of forcefulness almost always has the opposite effect on your customers. After all, is this how you would like to be treated? Take a look at these examples. You want totally clueless about bikes. But you've decided that cycling will be a good way to keep you fit. As a novelist, you decide to visit your local cycling store to get an idea of what you're looking. For. Example, one, on entering the stool, the salesman immediately greets you and asks what you're looking for. After briefly explaining your limited knowledge and requirements for the bike, he picks a mid-priced bike from the floor and suggest that this will be the best fit for you. He even offers a 10 percent discount on any accessories if you were to buy here and now, which you would recommend because the model he chose for you is telling very quickly. Example 2. On entering this tool, a salesman introduced himself as James and mentions if you need any help to give him a shout. He lets you take a look around the story, your own pace for a few minutes before asking what it is you're looking for. After explaining about your limited knowledge and requirements for the bike, he suggests that they book you in for a buck fitting so that they can see what bikes they have available in your size. He spent some time showing you the different types of bikes they sell and what the benefits are of each. And point you in the direction of an article on their website aimed at cycling for beginners. Which example is hard setting prevalent? Yes. Example 1. Can you see the difference between building a rapport with the customer and being pushy. In the second example, the salesperson gives some great advice on bikes, but gives the customer a time to think my purchase through. This is a great example of being able to build a trusting relationship with the customer. They have booked him for an initial bike fitting. They've been pointed in the direction of the company website for even more helpful advice. And they know the sales person by name, so they know who to ask for on returning to the stole. The second important skill is knowledge. Being knowledgeable about your product is one thing. But how well do you know the market that you're selling to? Customers want it to be understood and know that the product you're selling them will work well with their lifestyle little business. As we spoke about earlier, it's really important to make sure that you can relate to a customer's needs. Let's take a look at the bike purchase example again. The salesperson can have excellent product knowledge, but the key ingredient in having a personable approach is being able to apply that product knowledge to the customer's needs. Finding out a little more about your customers lifestyle, their requirements, and the budget will go a long way. It's always helpful to try to work these types of questions into the conversation. Rather than having a set list of things you ask each time. Asking him more open questions such as, tell me a little more about your lifestyle, will often give you much more understanding of the customer's needs. Over closed questions such as, do you want to use the bike daily? Finally, we need to make sure that we are honest at all times. After all, honesty is the best policy. Put yourself in your customers shoes. Would you purchase a product from a sales representative who was unreliable and responding to your queries, would you want to purchase when the contact you have doesn't know any of the answers to your questions. Customers don't expect you to know everything. They expect you to be the person who will liaise with the rest of your team in order to find out though, being honest with customers is a huge selling point. If you're unsure of an answer to a query, it's absolutely fine to admit this. It can even make you seem more human. However, instead of shying away from it, It's better to inform the customer that you're going to find out that information for them. After all, any contact is better than no contact. And it goes a long way in building trust. If you can keep regularly communicating with the customer throughout the process, even if it takes a couple of days to get the answer, then at least they are happy in the knowledge that you're on the case. There's nothing was then leaving a customer in limbo. In the fast-paced world we live in, it's very easy for a customer to lose interest and move along to another retailer who can help them. 4. Understanding your customer: Understanding your customer. We've already discussed the importance of having an open conversation with your customers when reacting to their needs. However, understanding your customer goes much further beyond an initial discussion at the point of sale. In order to understand your customer, we need to consider their four main needs. Price, quantity, choice, and convenience. How do we ensure that we meet the needs of the customer before they even meet US? Market research. There are two routes with market research. The first route is to conduct surveys with or analyze the behavior of your existing customer base. Surveys are very easy ways to collate information on your customers experiences, their current needs, and their thoughts on new ideas you may have. They can be conducted in person, by email or sometimes by phone, depending on the audience that you have. However, as consumers, we are so often invited to offer our opinion on product purchases or customer experiences. But it's fairly easy for us to either ignore or give a very concise review at best. It's therefore important to make sure that the surveys you conduct appeal to the customer in the first place. Nobody wants to spend 30 minutes answering a long survey. So keep your survey short with no more than 10 questions at most. Also, be careful not to include too many opportunities for free-text answers. Whilst it's great to receive insightful views, It's obscenely difficult to collate them altogether when you receive hundreds, if not thousands of responses. And show your surveys have closed relevant questions that cover the full main needs of the customer. Price, quantity, choice, and convenience. What does the customer want to buy? I0. What is the reason for needing such a product or service in the first place? How easily can the customer adapt the product to their needs? For example, is this product a one size fits all? Or will there be a requirement to customize to a certain extent? How much hassle is involved in purchasing the product. Will there be Adams? Is there an ongoing subscription? What price is the customer willing to pay? And finally, what is the biggest motive for this purchase? Does it need to have one main purpose? Is cost the biggest motivation. Whilst it's great to survey your existing client base, It's worth bearing in mind that these might not be your target audience. Remember, your existing customers purchase your product as it was, or is already. In order to attract new customers. Their opinions may not be as paramount to your research as serving potential audiences. Say, how do you understand the needs of potential customers before you're even in contact with them. That's where using syndicated research comes in. Syndicated research is conducted by third parties who designed the surveys, administer them, and analyze the collected data before selling it to those wishing to get an insight into their market audience. The use of such research gives you an overall understanding into the demands for a new product or service and whether expanding into a potential new market would be worthwhile for you. The data is not biased as consumers aren't aware of your product or company. So their viewpoints and much more trustworthy. Competitor analysis. Knowing who your competitors in the market are is another essential step to help you both improve your product or service and help to differentiate yourself from them. It's important to regularly assess the key competitors europe against to ensure that you can meet or exceed their offerings. The four key needs of the customer are a useful way to assess against a competitor. Price. Perform a price analysis with other competitors in your market. Do you commend more costly or your prices similar to others? If your prices are more expensive to others, it's worth working out exactly why that is the case. As we discussed earlier in this course, price may not be the deciding factor for some customers, and it can be offset by other offerings such as excellent customer service, easy to access, aftercare, and ease of use. However, it's important to ensure that you aren't overpricing your product or service. And if you are, you need to ensure that you have good reasoning for doing, say, after all, it's almost certainly you'll be asked, Why are you more expensive than company a by a potential customer? Quality? What makes your product or service of better quality than that of your competitor? Customers will always expect some level of quality, no matter how much they are paying for a product or service. It's worthwhile taking a look at what features, functions, or offerings your competitors have for the same product or service you offer, so that you can justify the price you sell yours out. If your product or service is cheaper than others, customers may well be happy to sacrifice some of the features you do not offer in comparison to your competitors. On the other hand, if your product or service is more expensive than others, customers will expect it to be superior to your competitors offerings. Choice. Depending on the product or service you sell, customers may expect to have a choice and what they purchase. Do your competitors offer more choice for their customers than you to? Take the example of online streaming services. What differences are there between Netflix and now TV? Now TV offers a modular based platform, allowing you to stream just movies or just TV shows, rather than paying for the full service. Whereas Netflix has just one choice. It's worth noting here the extensive choice isn't always a pro. Sometimes having too many options or choices can overwhelm the customer. Which is why research in your competitors will help you make the decision on your own offerings. Convenience. Finally, customers and consumers always want convenience. When comparing your own product or service to that of a competitor. Consider what would make purchasing from you more convenient. Let's look back at the example of purchasing a bicycle. What happens when the bicycle arise with the customer? Do they need to build it themselves or is it already built and ready to go? How about when the customer has a problem with their product? Will they need to send it back at their own cost? Or do you have local stores where they're able to visit for a sit and wait service. Convenience in today's busy world is a very attractive add on to any sale. And you may find customers are often willing to pay more for it. 5. Understanding your product: Your product, features versus benefits. It's a given that you should know what your product or service offers. And whilst it's certainly not a requirement to know your product inside out, It's important that you know the general features and purposes it serves to your potential customers. The next step is to understand the benefits of your product over and above the general features it has. This means, you know, how well a product lends itself to the customer's requirements are. How will it benefit them? When researching your product or service and other competitors in the market? Customers will generally be presented with a comparison table to tick off what features each one offers. For some, this may be old, they need to make the right decision. But depending on the circumstances, many customers may also need to see how well the product will benefit them. It's sometimes tricky to separate benefits from features. But generally speaking, a benefit is something that can be removed from the product or service that you offer. And it would still be perfectly operational. For example, if you're selling clothes online, would you consider free returns a feature of the product or a benefit for the customer? Well, the types of benefits may be on limited training, ongoing support, regular updates, warranty, discounted upgrades. By separating the benefits from the features of your product or service. You will be more confident in saying the benefits of your product. A great way to help customers see how well a product will benefit them is to use case studies. Case studies on your existing customers can help consumers relate to your existing audience. Vacancy similarities between the uses and have confidence that it will meet their requirements. Not only that, but it will help you to sell the added benefits. Ie. How easy was it to get the item repaired when it went wrong? How quickly can they get that stuff trained up to use the new syllabus? 6. Perfecting your communication: Perfecting your communication. Your communication skills are equally as important in determining your chances of a sale as both your understanding of the product and your customer. Developing your conversational and questioning skills will most certainly help you establish a better rapport with your customers. Positive language. Being positive doesn't mean you have to be overly Cherry, are excited to be conversing with the customer. Positive language is more about building confidence with your audience. And by tweaking just a few phrases we use in our day-to-day language, we can make a huge difference. Let's take a look at some of these phrases we use every day and how we can improve them to reinforce positivity. Should it should be with you tomorrow, I should be able to do them for you. The way it should. Whilst probable, denotes some kind of hesitancy. Using it in a sales environment can make a customer feel uncertain as to the guarantee of your offering. Instead, we can consider using will as a replacement. It will be with you tomorrow. I will be able to do that for you. All the words to avoid with similar connotations are, might, probably, likely, maybe, possibly. No problem. Saying no problem sounds fairly positive. However, by indicating there was a problem in the first place, it can sometimes have more negative connotations than we implied. Try using your welcome or it's my pleasure. Instead. Unfortunately, opening a sentence with the word, unfortunately, simply sets the customer up for a negative response. Simply consider moving the word in the sentence, IE. We don't have the unfortunately or not using it at all. Using vocal pauses is very commonplace with even the best communicators amongst us. We use them to act as pauses for us to take a moment and think about what we're about to say. The problem with uttering such pauses vocally in a sales environment is that it can discredit what you're about to say, or at least show a lack of confidence. If you're constantly altering. At the start of your sentences, the customer may not trust that the information you're giving them is accurate. Or worse still, they may feel that they're not being listened to. It's important that you communicate clearly and fluently. And if you need to take a pause, that's fine. Simply don't announce it. I don't know. By saying I don't know or I'm not sure. It signifies helplessness and a lack of competence. If you're unsure on how to answer the question posed, are your customer it's okay to seek clarification by asking, May I just confirm this or I'll just check with my team and confirm that for you. Or better still. If the required response isn't immediate, find out the answer before responding to the query. Remember, the customer expects you to be the expert in the conversation. Don't try to fill the silence. Let's face it. Silence can sometimes feel awkward doubly. So if you're British like me, so it's often the case, we can sometimes try to fill that silence to lessen the awkwardness. Doing so with customers though, can often have a negative impact. Yes, silences uncomfortable. But when considering a purchase, it's important to give customers a little time alone with their thoughts. So don't try to fill the silence with follow-up questions or pointless chatter. It may be that the customer is debating on whether to move forward with the sale. But if you interrupt, compensate for the silence, it may well jeopardize that sale. Similarly, be shown up to interrupt your customers or talk over them. It not only comes across as annoying ink, that can often be a sign of arrogance, IE, you think what you have to say is more important than the customer? Take regular poses to allow the conversation to flow more naturally. Repetitiveness. Repeating oneself can very often be regarded as nervousness. It's easy to mistake in the repeat something when you're typing conversation. And very forgivable. But regularly repeating parts of your sales pitch may make you seem ill-prepared and nervous. If you're say real repeat to try to keep your conversation shorter. And perhaps write yourself a cue card of the topics you want to discuss so that you can keep on track. 7. Software and processes: Software and processes. In any company, the use of software to aid with your sales processes can be a real bonus if it's used correctly. There are many different solutions out there geared towards sales in any industry. But let's take a look at some of the key pieces you could benefit from. Maintaining a customer database is crucial for any business. So it's important to make an investment in a CRM solution, which stands for Customer Relationship Management. Crm solutions come with various different features and functionality which may or may not be advantageous to you depending on the industry you work in. However, the most important features of any CRM solution are being able to maintain an update customer records. Use triggers and reminders to make sure your customers contact information is up-to-date at every check in you have with them. Having out of date contact information is pointless. But it can also harm your reputation in the digital world. Having too many bounce backs or spam reports on your e-mail marketing will damage further emails you send and limit the amount of people you've seen them. E-mail automation. Creating templates for email communication will help speed up your sales approach. Often people regard email automation is impersonal and too much automation can sometimes be the case as every customer still once a human touch. However, automating your general email such as price lists and case studies is always beneficial. Better still, it's worthwhile finding a CRM system with built-in email editors, meaning your templates can look professional and branded without the need for a web developer. Team collaboration. Connecting with other members of the sales team and other departments in the business is really important in the sales process. Being able to collaborate on projects together through one piece of software, speeds the processor and keeps everyone in the note. It's very easy to get lost in a long email thread when half of the emails don't apply to you. Or even worse, if someone forgot to reply all and you're missing half the story. Having Teams able to collaborate, ask questions, and put updates all in one place, keeps everything simple. Comprehensive reporting. Customer key to providing positive customer experiences. Many CRM systems will offer enhanced reporting to help make you and your team more productive from the best time to contact a lead to your anticipated revenue per month. As we discussed earlier in this course, market research can help you to improve your future sales approach. And having an extensive reporting system on your existing and potential audiences will certainly play a part in your onward marketing research. And finally, live chat. Live chat services have improved two-fold in the last couple of years, with it now being the preferred method of communication over phone conversations. One of the biggest advantages for a customer with live chat is that it feels less of an obligation than a phone conversation. If the service isn't right, the customer can simply close the chat rather than feel awkward about backing out of the sale. It's also a great way to multitask. And you can take your time to respond without having to use those verbal pauses like we discussed earlier. This takes us to the end of today's quick guide to successful sales. We've covered a range of topics to help you become a more competent sales person by understanding your product, your customers, and knowing how to enhance your communication with them. I hope this course has been helpful for you. My let's master assertive communication course acts as a great follow-up, allowing you to develop your conversational skills in the workplace, which will be of great benefit for your customers.