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A lot has been
written about what makes a good salesperson. Education, experience,
training, and even a certain inborn "killer instinct" have
all been mentioned as necessary qualities to be good at sales. From
my experience, however, the best salespeople are the ones who are the
best "people watchers."
In other
words, to be able to sell to your customers, you have to be able to
know who they are, what they want, and what they are feeling. All of
these can be determined with good research, strong observation
skills, and an attentive nature.
Knowing your
customers is not just a one-time act -- you want to pay attention to
your customers before, during, and after the sale.
BEFORE THE SALE:
You should have a feel for your "ideal" customer before
you launch any advertising or marketing campaign.
What
newspapers, magazines, and e-zines do they read? What topics interest
them most? What groups or associations do they belong to? You can
devise a questionnaire to send to your best customers and prospects.
Entice them
with a free offer or a big discount. Many actors start developing
their character by writing down a long list of words that describe
the character. This helps the actor think deeply about the part they
are going to play.
This strategy
works well to help you figure out what kind of people buy often. You
likely know far more about your prospects and customers than you
realize. This method helps you get a clearer understanding of what
you probably already know.
DURING THE SALE:
You can save yourself time and energy by paying close attention to
your customers during the sales process. One thing you should
definitely do is watch for signs that the customer is ready to buy.
The more expensive your product or service, the more time it takes to
sell it.
Customers want
to know all about how it works and what it can do to make their life
or business better. Help them work through this process and you will
make more sales. Here are a few signs customers give you when they
are ready to buy.
The customer
suddenly speeds up the pace. She has decided she wants to buy and is
moving with more purpose toward the sale. Some people are just the
opposite. They slow down the pace when they get serious about buying.
Rush them and you will lose the sale.
Your customer
starts asking a lot of questions. Remember that customers only ask
about things that really matter to them. Take this as a good sign
you've got a serious prospect.
Others will
ask all about terms of payment, delivery, and guarantees even before
they tell you which item they want. They feel more comfortable doing
this because they can show serious interest in buying without letting
you know exactly what they want to buy.
AFTER THE SALE:
This could be the most important time to pay attention to customers,
especially if you want to make repeat sales or get referral business.
Contact your customers to see if they are satisfied with their
product or service. If the customers have questions or complaints, do
your best to answer the situation quickly.
Remember that
you can sometimes head off future problems by paying attention to
customer concerns. If you find that your customers are completely
satisfied, ask if you can get a testimonial. Nothing helps you make a
sale like strong testimonials from satisfied customers.
Prospects are
impressed when they hear positive things from those who have already
bought your product or service. "This gadget doubled my gas
mileage and saves me $200 a month! Buy it!"
Some types of
customer recommendations work better than others. "This is great
stuff" is a good testimonial but "This stuff cut my costs
by 20%" is even better.
Try to get
customer recommendations that tell what kind of results the user got.
When customers say something good about your business or products,
ask them if you can use their comment in your marketing.
Almost
everyone will be delighted and flattered that you want to use their
words. Write them down and file them away for later use.
Even though
the Internet is probably the most technological thing in our lives,
we need to remember that Internet BUSINESS still revolves around
PEOPLE. We should always make sure that we pay attention to the
people we do business with -- there is really NO better way of doing
market research.
Kevin Nunley
provides marketing advice and copy writing for businesses and
organizations. Read all his money-saving marketing tips at
http://DrNunley.com/. Reach him at kevin@drnunley.com
or (801)253-4536. |
