KNOW YOUR PRODUCT AND PRESENT IT WELL
Lets say youre working in a retail electronics store. For the most part, customers have researched, and will know what particular big screen TV set they want, but may still ask which is the better of the various options offered. If you dont know the answer, you wont instill much confidence in you, nor your store. If you describe another model as the top notch item, make the sale, but it just doesnt perform as you described when the customer tries it out at home, youve not only got a return to deal with, but an unhappy customer who probably wont buy from you again. Now, there are going to be times when you just dont know the answer to a question. This will happen. Just say, Ill find out for you, and go get the answer. Your customer will be satisfied, and youll learn something new.
Theres nothing wrong with not knowing everything nobody knows everything. Learn as much about your products as you can. Every manufacturer supplies product training information, geared specifically for sales teams. Some manufacturers even send their own reps to personally train sales teams on how to correctly use their products. Take advantage of these opportunities, as they are extremely valuable factors to your success.
Another thing to remember is to not oversell your product. Sometimes youll go through the whole sales pitch before you close the sale, and other times youll be halfway through when the customer says Ill take it!. STOP selling! Zip it! Youve done your job, so just wrap it up and move on to the next customer. Youd be surprised at how many done deals are lost because the sales rep continues to sell a sold item. Remember, the more you say, the more you have to explain.
What if youre not working in a store? As a kid, I sold greeting cards, flower seeds, magazine subscriptions, candies, and so on. Kids are still doing this, and some are pretty good at it. Theyve got the cutesy factor working for them, theyre good at memorizing their scripts, and weve all bought their overpriced cookies and candy bars. So, why do we spend twice the price for something we dont really need? Well, it could be that cutesy factor, or maybe its the cause; such as a trip to a theme park for the kid. Theres a bunch of reasons, but the result is that we buy. The kids are doing their job. After a while, though, we all get tired of hearing the same pitch, the same spiel over and over. I get high school students knocking on my door selling their subscriptions or whatever theyve got, and I tell them no. These could be the very same kids I bought those overpriced cookies from. Why not buy now? Maybe because theyre not as cute anymore, or I dont feel their cause warrants the sale? I cant speak for others, but for me its that their pitch just doesnt do it anymore. One spiel I heard was that, by me buying their items, Id be keeping them off the streets and helping them stay good kids. This is an example of what I call a guilt trip script. If I dont buy, am I creating a delinquent? Of coarse not. They are attempting a sale from the wrong angle; theyre not conveying the benefits of their product, theyre not convincing me that I need what theyve got for sale. To be fair here, its not the fault of the kids, as they are given scripts to memorize. Its their mentors who most definitely need lessons in marketing (marketing will be discussed in another chapter). What Im getting at here is that, from time to time, you have to adjust the method of pitching your product.
I was taking a walk on the pier at a local beach here in Southern California one afternoon. A young girl about maybe 10 or 11 years old came up to me, holding a box with 3 candy bars in it. My first thought was, here we go again. She introduced herself, then just started talking. I dont remember her exact words, but she asked if I liked chocolate, caramel, and so forth. As it turned out (and by no coincidence), these were the flavors she had with her. She described her favorite flavors, and why she liked them. She would make eye contact, then would glance down at the candy. We were having a conversation, and not once did she try to sell me. We were talking no more than maybe a minute and a half, when I asked how much they cost. Now, I dont remember the price, but she said something like theyre only $1.50. I bought all three. I didnt need those bars, so why did I buy them? Well, she knew her product, she did not come across as too salesy, and she had a different approach to selling her product. She talked to me, she didnt try to sell me. The point here is that, once you know your product, you can be versatile in your presentations. If youre given a script, most definitely learn it, but mix it up now and then and see what the results are.
A cookie cutter script is never effective with everybody all of the time. Youll be surprised as to how people view and react to varied styles of presentations. People dont want to be sold to, nor pressured to buy. They are going to buy something, but want to make that decision themselves. Remember, even though they are receiving something in return, you are still separating them from their money, so make this comfortable for them. Retail shoppers are very fickle, and it doesnt take much to kill a sale.
THE TAKE IT AWAY METHOD
Another approach you should try is what I call the take it away method. I worked for a private outdoor club for a few years. My job was to interview potential members and, if they met the requirements, sell them memberships. This was a pretty exclusive club, with access to certain private, and very prime areas for camping, and other outdoor activities. Well, the first step was to complete an application, which included the prospects pattern of success, or not, on public lands. Keep in mind now, fishermen and hunters just love to brag about their prowess (Im no exception to this), and I noted all their alleged successes in the form.
After the form was filled in, the prospect would look through the photos. After a couple of minutes, and after he was done looking at the photos, I would calmly start putting all my literature away, getting ready to leave. He would wonder whats going on, as I didnt even start talking about the membership cost and so forth. I explained that, since he was so successful camping, hunting and fishing on public lands for free every year (according to his information), why on earth would he want to pay for a membership in this private club? It just didnt make sense to me. Well, he would come up with a whole array of retractions and, in just about every case, would end up buying.
What happened here was a shift of control. These interviews were conducted at the prospects home, so he had the feeling of control, that he was running the show. But, just by me taking away his chance of membership, based on his bragging, everything changed. Its amazing how much more desirable your product becomes when its being taken away. This method works very good in a lot of scenarios, but youll have to be the judge as to when to use it.
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS SALES
Sales in a business to business (B to B) setting is a bit different. Youre usually dealing with a purchasing / procurement agent who pretty much knows what he or she is looking for. These agents are always on a schedule, and dont have time to listen to a sales spiel youd be giving in a retail setting. But, if youve got new products to offer, they will listen to what youve got, as they all want the edge on their competition with any new products. Be careful, though, these agents know their business and their products. Dont waste their time with all the fluff. Remember, theyre still on schedules, so give specs, and a brief synopsis of how they could benefit using this new item over what theyre using now. If theyre interested, they will let you know, then you can do your thing. B to B sales usually gives smaller margins, but you make up for this by selling in larger, wholesale quantities.
