Sell me this pen. The question that every salesperson inevitably gets asked when being interviewed, and that everyone has a different answer for. In the end the exercise is a bit redundant, because the notion that anyone can sell anything is outdated and the reality is that some people are geared towards certain sales processes & strategies, while others will be better in other areas. Some salespeople might be great at quick, high pressure sales while others will thrive with drawn out sales processes for a higher involvement purchases.
That being said, these are 5 sales techniques that any salesperson can use to increase sales and close rates.
Do your homework
A sale starts before you’ve even met the prospect. Depending on what you’re trying to sell, doing your homework can start from days or weeks before the first interaction up to the quick glance at their LinkedIn right before speaking to the prospect.
With the abundance of information available these days, there’s no excuse for going into a sale blind. The value you can bring by knowing a little bit about your prospect or their business can make all the difference. Perhaps it turns out you both speak the same second language, or went to the same school. Building connections based on common ground is essential. Perhaps the reviews their business has online will give you an insight to the vulnerabilities of their product/service, now you have an angle to add value while presenting.
No matter what you find out, doing your homework will give you an edge to help close the deal.
Pay Attention
Any sales conversation has to be a two way street, and that “incoming traffic” can be vital to gaining valuable information on what angle to take while selling. Whenever you speak to a prospect, or even a gatekeeper or intermediary, pay attention to what they’re telling you. Are they revealing their motivations, their budget, something from their personal life that you can forge a connection over? Perhaps they’re telling you what they didn’t like about one of your competitors.
Salespeople need to be aware and pay attention during all sales conversations. People often, mistakenly, ask how to sell as if there’s only one way to sell all prospects. The reality is that in most sales conversations, prospects will tell you exactly how to sell to them. You just need to pay attention for the signs.
Add Value
Salespeople often mistake information for value. While knowing the specs and features of your product/service is important, providing that as bland information doesn’t make you any better than a website outlining those details in bullet points. Adding value is about adding personalised context to that information, communicating why your product/service can help their specific needs, not just how it goes about doing it.
Adding value during a sale doesn’t always have to be about the product/service itself. Salespeople can add value by citing intangibles or additional bonuses that come as a result of being your client. A great example of this is a concierge service at a hotel: you’re paying for the room, but knowing that the hotel’s concierge will organise a car to take you to your meetings over the week will make it an easier decision to pick that hotel.
Regardless of what the benefits, features or specifications of your product/service are, giving context in order to add meaningful value is fundamental to increasing sales and retaining clients.
Follow Up
In sales you hear a lot of no’s, a few maybe’s, and that small amount of yes’ that make every sale an event, but what you do after any of those responses can be the difference between a no overall or making commision for the month.
Following up with your no’s and maybe’s is a great way to improve sales performance because it lets you build on work you’ve already done. Most no’s and maybe’s are usually more of a not now than an absolutely not. They mean that either you haven’t successfully built enough value for them, or there are external factors outside of your control that prevented them from taking that decision in that moment. Whatever the reason, it’s important not to take that out on yourself or think that all is lost so it’s time to burn the lead.
Instead of burning leads, plan out a follow up call or email in the future so that you can have another crack at it. Using the knowledge you gained from doing your homework and paying attention to the conversation mean that you’ll probably be in a better position to take the right angle in your pitch. In all likelihood they even told you what factor meant it wasn’t the time for them, and if things have changed on your end or theirs then you can now discuss that.
It’s down to you how often you follow up, and of course you don’t want to harass your prospects, but if you can consistently follow up with clients you’re sure to snag a few extra sales.
Document Everything
We live in a data driven world, and whether it’s with the abundance of CRM tools or just a pen and paper, its vital that you document everything. Most sales will span a few conversations, and remember every detail across every client can be overwhelming, so its best to make use of the tools at your disposal to document all the information you collect while selling. As with doing your homework and paying attention, documenting helps you keep tools in your arsenal to refine your pitch and sale to potential clients.
Documentation can also help with selling along with colleagues. If you have a partner on the sale then you can compare notes in order to plan future interactions. Another key advantage to documenting while selling is that you can then pass that information on to marketing so that they can use your first hand insights to get you better leads in the future through targeted marketing.
There are endless opportunities, it all starts with noting down all the frontline information that salespeople are uniquely positioned to acquire.
Using Sales Techniques
At SalesInc we analyse companies’ entire sales process from start to finish. We develop cohesive sales strategies based around using effective techniques and maximising those that your business has already put into practice.
Whether it’s refining your team’s pre-sales research strategy, or optimising your CRM to drive meaningful sales insights, our tailored business development strategies ensure your sales team has all the tools and sales techniques to increase revenue.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help with your business development strategy.