How do we put “The customer is always right” into practice and sell to anyone? l heard the saying “people buy from people.” But what does that mean, exactly? And how can you use it to your advantage when selling your products or services?
Persuasion is an art form, and anyone can learn it. With the proper techniques, you can sell almost anything to anyone. Whether you’re selling a product, a service, or an idea, these methods will help you close the deal.
Sales is the profession of persuading customers to purchase products by offering them attractive deals. A person who is good at sales has a natural talent for approaching strangers and then engaging them in conversations that are entertaining, informative, and persuasive.
Types of Sales Processes- Which One is the Right One for You?
There are many product and service sales processes. Each process aims to interest the prospect and persuade them to buy. Here are some of the most popular types and which one might work best for you.
Inbound Sales Processes
This process is a more personal sales process that focuses on the benefits of the company and its products. Inbound sales can be used to sell a product or service to people or businesses who need it. This is used when companies that don’t exist yet want to promote their product or when starting a business.
Outbound Sales Processes
These are used in businesses that sell products or services to other companies.
Outsourced Sales Processes
These focus on a company’s interactions with other companies, such as business customers or suppliers.This is the process of sending an unsolicited proposal for any type of service or product to another company without any form of introduction.
The 7 Types of Product/Sales Presentations and How They’re Utilized
There are many different types of sales pitches. In order to make the most of your presentation, you need to know what type of presentation you’re giving.
Presentation 1: Executive Summary.
This is the first step of the presentation process and what it does is to provide a high-level overview of the presentation’s content. This can either be in written, or visual form. The executive summary usually only contains one to three paragraphs and is meant for executives who are not as familiar with your business as you would like them to be.
The purpose of this presentation type is to provide context for why they should take action. The executive summary is usually one to three slides, but can be more if your presentation requires it. This type of session is meant for executives who are less familiar with your business or need a brief history of what you do.
Presentation 2: Storyboard.
This is the second step in the presentation process and what it does is to provide a visual representation of your product or service in a sequential order. This can either be in written, or visual form. The storyboard usually only contains one to three slides, but can be more if your presentation requires it.This session is for executives who need more context on how your product fits into their company’s strategy.
Presentation Type 3: Animation.
This is the third step in the presentation process and shows your product or service sequentially with animation. This session is for familiar executives who need more context on how your product fits into their company’s strategy.
Presentation Type 4: Case Study.
This is the fourth step in the presentation process and shows how your product helped a client achieve their goals. This session is for familiar executives who need more context on how your product fits into their company’s strategy. All types of presentations require different types of content presented in different ways at different stages.
Presentation Type 5: Drawing.
This type of delivery is meant to be a visual and interactive presentation.This type of presentation typically uses a PowerPoint or Keynote slide deck with audience-specific content. You’ll need different interactive slides for your CEO versus your CMO or Sales VP versus your Marketing VP. The idea is that the slides are interactive.
For this exercise, you need to create the following slides:
Company Overview: Heads up, you will be introducing your company and your product or service for this slide. It is important for a CEO or other executive to introduce their product right off the bat. Plus, it’s also a great opportunity to mention any interesting facts about what makes your company unique. This would be an ideal slide to include a video if it is available online along with some gifs or images.”Our company is one of the only providers of this type of service, so your finger won’t be left behind!”
Presentation Type 6: Flowchart
This flowchart is a quick and easy guide for you to use in your next product or sales presentation. Example:In order to create a flowchart, begin by identifying the source of the data or information you are presenting. For example, if giving a presentation on an interactive map at work and you will be discussing locations of clients in your city, use this template to identify those locations.
Presentation Type 7: TV or Video Presentation
This TV or video presentation is a great way to make your product or sale pitch memorable and entertaining.
Methods to Close the Deal
Know your product inside and out.
You can’t sell something if you don’t believe in it yourself. This means that before you even think about trying to sell something, you need to make sure that you know everything there is to know about it. Do your research, ask questions, and get acquainted with every feature and benefit of your product. This will not only make selling easier, but it will also give you the confidence you need to close the deal.
Actively listen to the customer and identify their needs and wants.
This will allow you to tailor your pitch and show the customer how your product or service can meet their specific needs. By addressing their specific pain points, you can show how your product can benefit them personally.
Establish trust and build a strong rapport with the customer.
If people don’t trust you, they’re not going to buy anything from you. So, the first step in learning how to sell anything is to establish trust with potential customers. There are a few ways to do this: be honest about what you’re selling, show that you’re an expert in your field, and build rapport by getting to know your customer and their needs.
Be prepared for objections.
Unexpected customer objections are the worst. Objections are natural in sales, so be prepared.
The best way to do this is to anticipate objections and develop direct answers. So, if someone raises an objection, you’ll be ready with a response that eases their mind and clears the way for a sale.
Close the deal with confidence.
Once you’ve established trust, shown that you know what you’re talking about, and addressed any objections, it’s time to close the deal. This is where confidence comes in—if you don’t believe in what you’re selling, your customer never will. So take a deep breath, relax, and go for it! Remember, if you don’t ask for the sale, you’ll never get it—so don’t be afraid to go for it!
Always follow up with the customer after a sale and continue to provide excellent service.
This will improve the likelihood of repeat business and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
6 Common Sales Objection and How to Handle Them
Sales objections are a part of every salesperson’s life. You can’t avoid them, but you can prepare for them. The following is a list of the top 6 sales objections and how to handle them:
1. “I need to think about it”
This is the most common objection in sales. Your prospect may be interested in your offer, but they need time to think it over and decide whether or not they want to buy your product or service.
2. “It’s too expensive”
This objection usually means that your prospect doesn’t see the value in what you are offering and feels that your price is too high for what they are getting out of it.
3. “Can I get a better deal?”
Your prospect may be feeling very confident about their bargaining skills and wants to negotiate on price with you before making a purchase decision. They may also be trying to see if there’s an opening for a better deal from another company.
4. “What are your terms and conditions?”
Your prospect is trying to find out more about the type of payment that you require, return policies, the length of time for a trial period and other terms before buying.
5. “I want to see a product sample first”
Your prospect is trying to gauge how well your product will work on them before placing an order. This could be one of a few reasons, including they may want to return the product if they don’t like it, see if the product has any issues with it in case they need to send it back or cancel their order.
6. “I’m not interested at this time”
Your prospect is rejecting you and doesn’t feel like buying anything right now. This can happen for a variety of reasons such as an impulse purchase that your prospect doesn’t want to invest in, or because they are in the middle of a buying period and don’t have money right now.
Conclusion
These methods will help you sell anything to anyone—but they won’t do the work for you. It takes time, practice, and perseverance to master the art of selling—but once you do, the sky’s the limit!
