Owning an online or offline business means you have a product or service that you want to sell. If selling was easy, wed all be rich! The thing about salespeople is that many of them are selling something they know little about, or something they dont even like or care about, just to make a quick buck. When the quick buck doesnt come, they might take desperate measures to make a sale, which also might turn out to be the wrong approach entirely. What they are not realizing is that their focus is on the product or service they are selling, when the focus should really be on themselves, and on their customers. To sell a product or service, you must first sell yourself. This means letting the customer know that you care about them, that you can be trusted, that you love what you do, and that you believe in yourself, in the customer, and what you are selling them. You cannot expect to influence someone when you have little credibility to begin with. The salesman is in a tough position, as most people consider them to be pushy and manipulative, and will often disregard them right away. But the customer is in a difficult position too, not knowing who to trust, and sometimes taken for a sucker whenever they do fall for a sales pitch! In order to sell yourself then, you must discover what your customers needs are, work with them, build a relationship with them, and ultimately do what is right for them, not what is going to make the sale for you. What will make the sale in the end is your genuine desire, willingness, and commitment to serve and help your customers. A salesperson with a bad attitude to begin with is going to be powerless. If you think you wont make the sale for this or that reason, and feel that its out of your control, then you wont make the sale. There is no room for doubt. You are going to make that sale! If you dont know how, then there are many ways to learn and grow into the salesperson you thought you could never be! A bad attitude can also be how you feel when you are not making sales. If you work extra hard to build your business but see no results, you may find yourself down in the dumps and losing energy over it. Desperate measures are often considered and taken when sales are down or non-existent in the first place, and when you are feeling down in the dumps. Desperate measures can include pressuring someone to buy something, creating a sense of urgency if they dont buy, or belittling someone who wont buy. Unfortunately this can lead to negative results that could end up backfiring on you and ruining your reputation. What you have to keep in mind is customers needs and whether or not your product or service is going to satisfy their needs. If not, then have the integrity and courage to walk away, even if you lose a sale, because the sale wasnt right for that person to begin with! Acting with integrity will keep you consistent in words, beliefs, and actions and desperate measures will not be a part of your plan. Instead of taking desperate measures, you can gain a lot by educating your customers. Give them some quality information that they will need or want to have. Define the thing that is missing for them, and then offer a solution. Tell them what they can do to fix it with your product or service, and what your product or service has done for you! |
