Increase sales by speaking well
Three examples from retail, entrepreneur, and corporate of how to lose sales occurred over the past 2 days. These are provided to give you insight on what not to do so that you may pave a better path to get to the sales you desire. As a job seeker about to go on interviews, excellence in communication is essential.
On the retail level, as I treated myself to prepared sushi and ready to pay, the clerk said, “Oh I see you picked up our sushi. It’s okay, but not nearly as good as getting it from a restaurant.” If it hadn’t been late in the day, I would have put it back. Fortunately, I took it home and it was actually fresh and quite tasty.
Red Flag: The owner of the market would have been horrified to hear those words uttered as it could cause the loss of many future sales.
Example two was that of videos providing testimony for study programs. Half of the videos, ironically of children, were heart-warming, engaging and brought excitement for the success they said they found. On the other hand, videos of parents showcased them has suffering from their own lack of confidence. The parents stuttered, couldn’t find the right words, and frequetly looked up at the ceiling rather than straight at the camera. These videos do not encourage potential clients to watch them in their entirety because they drain one’s energy.
Red Flag: If the videos of the parents are clicked first, the visitor to the website will quickly go elsewhere.
On a larger scale, a corporation has a set time for online meetings with their sales staff spread throughout the country. Last week, one such salesperson did not receive the invitation to join the meeting nor did he receive one this morning. As a new person on the block, he emailed and called the sales manager to diplomatically ask if a setting needed to be adjusted. But the thought also crossed his mind that perhaps he is no longer wanted as a member of the team. Ten minutes after the usual meeting start time, the salesman received word that there would be no meeting.
Improved Strategy: A far better approach would be to notify everyone on the team well ahead of time so that doubt will be eliminated and the week will progress with a positive state of mind.
Underneath all of these examples is the simple yet most effective sales technique of all:
Put yourself in the other person’s shoes as you speak to build the relationship, understanding between you, and deliver outstanding customer service to encourage further business.
This one small effort will put you on the wave of the Smooth Sale!
Read Addtional Strategies and Techniques:
Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks
HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews, Career Press
