Sales Tips from an Expert
Prepare for Sales Success.
The selling process begins with preparation.
All professionals prepare properly and a sales person’s routine is no different.
Preparation is an in depth endeavor.
We have to be mentally and physically prepared.
We have to be personally well groomed, and also, have the surroundings aesthetically prepared.
We need a game plan.
Here are some tips to make sure you’re prepared for sales success:
Always know your business inside and out.
Make it your business to know stock status, available delivery times and advertising schedules and promotions.
Create an atmosphere that your store is having the biggest event of the year.
Make sure that your store reflects the event.
Look busy and successful.
Remain upbeat and always be in a positive state of mind.
Let your customers know that you’re having a great, successful day.
The confident aura with which you carry and present yourself will go a long way towards creating the right atmosphere.
“This is the place to buy your product” should be written all over your face.
Know your competition and all of their strengths and weaknesses.
Know your industry and all of the corresponding product information.
When you know more than anyone else, there is really no need for a customer to shop anywhere else.
While it is very important for you to know the features of your product, it is more important that you fully embrace your product and what it can do to make life better for your customer.
Having confidence in your product line and the company you work for will allow you to make many more… and higher end sales.
You should get to know your customer and be able to relate to them.
This may vary in different neighborhoods.
Get in touch with your community and know the type of customers that live there.
Always be prepared with the proper sales ads, price sheets, costs and product information at hand.
Looking and acting organized makes a difference to the customer.
Be sure to use urgency words such as “now” and “today” in your presentation.
Always use proper and friendly body language.
Keep all of these points in mind when preparing to engage customers.
A customer picks up on everything.
It is a known fact that a customer makes their decision, on whether they are at the place where they might buy, in the first two minutes.
They can do this because the brain subconsciously processes millions of thoughts per minute.
When your shoes are not shined, your outfit is messy looking or your store is disorganized and cluttered, you are starting the sales process with strikes against you.
Take the time to be prepared and your sales figures will reflect it.
Practice and preparation make it perfect.
Customer Feedback
Only gather customer feedback if you intend to use it for improving your operation.
Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time and money.
Creating customer surveys takes time and your employees, or an outside agency, will be paid for their time spent creating them.
Given that customers don’t get excited about doing surveys unless there is a) an incentive to do so or b) they have something negative to say and they want to make sure you hear about it, it only makes sense to embark on a project like this only if there is a good reason to do so.
Another thing to pay attention to is the timing of the survey.
I have a great example to share with you.
Recently, I had an online ‘chat’ with a Customer Service Representative for an internet provider.
Strange things were happening and I really needed help.
Unfortunately, the CSR had no idea what the problem was and he gave me bad advice as to what to do next.
He didn’t want to take any responsibility for getting the problem solved.
The conversation was disappointing, to say the least.
Clearly, I was going to have to spend more time and call someone to get the situation resolved.
Immediately after signing off the ‘chat’, a survey popped up.
They wanted me to rate my experience with their online ‘chat’ function.
What luck!
With the experience fresh in my mind, I got to vent and explain what went wrong during the ‘chat’.
My comments…and all of my frustration… went into this survey!
It made me feel better.
But, really, I don’t expect to get any better service or information if I should have an online ‘chat’ with a CSR from this company again.
I should be able to expect improvement, but as experience has shown me, I cannot.
There are plenty of good reasons to ask customers to do surveys but, as I mentioned above, only gather the feedback if you intend to use it for improving your operation.
Or, of course, if you just want to give your customers an opportunity to vent.
