How To Succeed At Face To Face Selling

Say enough but not too much.
I’ve heard of many sales lost because the seller kept talking after the client decided to buy and then changed their mind as the verbal torrent continued.

I’ve never heard of anyone losing a sale because they listened too much.
Of course, you listen intelligently, don’t you?

When you reply to something your client said cover the points which your client said in your own words so that they know you are paying attention and understand the points which they made.

Take time to ask your client if there is any point which they have any questions about?
Don’t exceed your authority or make any commitments which you cannot keep.
Don’t commit other people to any action or a meeting without checking with them first.

If your prospect asks a question you cannot answer with full confidence, do try to bluff.
Apologize and get them the information which they need.

If that means giving them some of your most productive time about something which won’t generate any business directly, so be it.
Don’t direct them to someone else and leave them to find their way.

When you ask for the order, give the other person time to answer. Many people will not answer straight away because they are thinking about their options. It’s not just courteous to give them a little time; it’s much more likely to produce a positive response.

Just give the customer what they need to make a decision. Too much information can make it hard for them to remember the points which are most important about why your product will fit their need.

A great example is the way some computer program manuals are set up. They may be 200 pages of fairly important information, but the smartest companies always include a quick reference sheet with just the bits the customer needs to set up and get started right.

A good salesperson is like the full manual and they provide the customer with only the information they need for now (the verbal version of a quick reference sheet).

That’s a good rule for your own business education. Focus your business reading on what you need to know now. Then, find out how to get more information if and when you need it. Add to your own knowledge when you have time and focus on current information, but keep aware of trends in your area of activity.

Give each person that contacts you your attention.

Looks can be very deceptive. Some sales people try to focus on people they think will be good customers and often can be abrupt or dismissive with other people if they don’t fit the image they have of a likely prospect.

That can be a huge mistake because people dress to suit themselves and no-one dresses to attract sales people.
Listen to each person. Let them tell you what they need and then you can decide on a factual basis which people need your product.

The main thing is to treat everyone as you would want them to treat you.

Although we have been speaking for most of our lives, many of us have developed bad habits with interfere with the messages we want other people to hear and act on.
Few schools give their students any training in how to present themselves. Most of us are left to learn through interacting with our equally inexperienced classmates and friends.

So, we all are likely to make the same mistakes and misunderstandings that our parents and their friends did.
Over time, we will probably develop some bad habits in our speech, posture and outlook.
If we want to improve, it is usually up to us.
We also tend to ignore any mistakes we make. But, other people won’t always be so understanding.

Those mistakes could be blocking our sales message and costing us a lot of money!
It is very important that sales people do everything they can to present themselves and their products or service in the best possible way.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money or time on lessons.
I got great value from Toastmasters International, even though I had no desire to do any public speaking. The carefully prepared step-by-step program and supportive atmosphere was very valuable and I soon noticed that I was having much greater rapport with my prospects and my colleagues.

You just need to carefully review the image you project and how you might improve it.
I found the sound of my own voice very off-putting when I first recorded myself. It was a shock because we hear our own voice differently to everyone else.
I suggest that you also record the way you speak to your prospects, friends or colleagues.
Do they get the right message, clearly presented in words they understand?
Is there a lot of static (ums and ahs, pauses while you think about what to say next).
When you talk with your prospects, any problems will be magnified, especially in our early sales presentations.
Most people probably won’t buy from you unless they connect with you. You need to project a positive image whether you are talking on the phone or face to face.
If you have access to video equipment, get a recording of yourself making a presentation just like you probably do every day as part of your job.
If you find there are things which need improvement, don’t worry too much, that’s to be expected.

Don’t rush into making a number of changes quickly. You won’t be able to adapt a number of significant changes smoothly. You will be starting to correct habits or speech patterns which you developed over years.

Give yourself time and focus on one change which is important to you.
When you are happy with that, start to work on something else.

Don’t try to change your accent or adopt another style of speaking which is significantly different from the way you and your friends have spoken for years.

Although most people are relaxed about using first names in casual and even most business conversations, I’ve dealt with a lot of people that seem to put up with it but are more responsive to being addressed with Mr., Miss or Mrs., whichever is appropriate, if you do not already have a business or personal relationship with them.

These people are mostly old enough to have been around when that was the common usage.
But, I haven’t heard anyone that minds being given that courtesy. So, there’s probably no harm in using those terms when it seems appropriate. The other person can always say that they want you to use their first name if they would really prefer that.

Everybody likes to hear a great joke well told but most people find that jokes get in the way of a sale.
Different people can have widely varied views of what is funny that it’s probably better to leave the jokes until after the check clears.

Except in high-volume, low-margin retailing where the customers are attracted just by the bargain prices, your aim should always be to make a connection with each customer so that they want to return whenever they need something you offer.
The truth is that it is more profitable and less work to sell to people you’ve dealt with before than to have to keep finding new customers for one-off profits.

What do you say when someone asks you about one of your competitors or their products?
Keep it respectful, upbeat and honest.
After all, that’s only the way that you would hope they speak about you.

I had good connections with some of the people that were my competitors.
Some salespeople will make negative comments about competitors at every opportunity but it’s likely to rebound on them.

Saying anything unfavorable will create a bad impression of you and the whole business you are both part of.

The last thing that you do before you leave a new client is to ask them, "Thank you for your order, Mr. Brown. Do you know anybody that could benefit as you are doing by using our product?"

More often than not, your customer will probably suggest one or two people that he knows who have similar business needs to himself.
If he doesn't, there is nothing lost. But, if you are willingly given the contact details of one person on average by each of your customers, you have the possibility of doubling your customer list in a short time for free!

That's a great return for just asking the question!
Whenever a customer suggests someone for you to contact, always ask if you can use their name when you contact their colleague.

This is the really important question. Asking their permission will help cement a good impression of your methods in your client’s mind and their agreement means that your approach the new prospect will be boosted from a cold call to a recommendation from some they already know and trust.

I know that some people will take the suggestion of a name as implied permission to use that client as a reference but, if you use their name without asking for their permission first, you may find that is the last name that the client ever suggests to you. Copyright ©

This is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most important parts of my sales process.
But, it's amazing how many people don't do it.
It's one of the things which I learnt to do by watching the other salespeople in the company where I began my sales career.

I noticed that the most successful sellers always contacted their new clients shortly after making the sale. They wanted to:
Check that the product arrived on time and was in good condition.
Ask if the client had any questions about the product or its use.

Offer a small but useful free item which would enhance the client's use of the product.
Sometime this was a promotional premium. Others were more substantial. It was always something useful and it usually had the contact details for the seller and the company displayed prominently somewhere on it.

It became a silent reminder always in sight of the customer.
The salesperson would often deliver it in person. But that would be a low key visit where they would not make any attempt to sell any more products at that time.

Reassure the client that they've made a good decision with that purchase. Ask them if they have any questions about using the product.
That will re-enforce in their mind that you and the company you represent will support them if there are any questions or problems.

Experienced sales people know that there is a condition called "buyer’s remorse". It affects the majority of people when they make a major purchase for either their business or their home.
Their customers probably got other offers which were similar in value in their opinion, and they inevitably start to wonder about the decision almost straight away. Taking that extra step to follow-up is good insurance.

You have probably heard that suggestion many times before. But, most people only use it in the sense of formal teams.
The truth is that every bit of success came in part with the support and efforts of other people in your company.

It’s the salesperson, or maybe the manager, who gets the credit and probably most of the cash, but we know that we did not and probably could not have done it alone.
Maintain a good relationship with the people in other areas of the company, and try to make their job as easy as possible.

W.W. "Foots" Clements, who started selling Dr Pepper when he left college and stayed with the same company (makers of Dr Pepper®) to become its Chief Executive Officer, had a sign on his desk which sums this up:
No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us

If you want to contact a lot of people, that’s very easy to do through the Internet or with advertising.
If you want to make a sale, the best way is face to face.
But, it is important that you make the best impression that you can with every chance you have.

Even the most talented sportsman or singer has to and review their performance and practice regularly to ensure that they are always at their best. CHANGE from HERE!
Listening is something we’ve all been doing from when we first opened our eyes but most people get so involved with an internal dialog and getting their own point across that we fail to understand what the other person really wants from us.

The experts estimate that we understand and can recall less than 35% of what people tell us.
It really doesn’t take much more effort to make sure that you get the whole message.
Just focus your attention on what the person is telling you.

Every person I know that has a reputation for being a good conversationalist is really a good listener who gives everyone plenty of time and attention.
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