Extracted from “The Star – 15th October 2013”
We all know that sales and the people behind it are the driving force in every industry, but that is no surprise.
The real surprise is how few business owners actually understand the elements needed in their planning and strategy to really push the sales process forward and reap the financial rewards they seek.
Well, if you are one of those business owners stuck in this rut, don’t worry! The truth is, rectifying the situation is relatively simple.
As such, here are four great tips you can use to get out of this little kerfuffle and on the fast track to great sales figures.
BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR OBJECTIVES
In sales, nothing is more important than knowing exactly what you want your company to achieve.
In this aspect, being clear about the objectives means having a very specific, quantifiable goal for you and your team to accomplish.
For example, if you were in the coffee business, your objectives may include:
- Converting 25% of all new customers
- Earning RM2mil more in net profit, and
- Selling 15 tonnes more coffee powder by the end of the third quarter
Of course, coming up with set objectives is useless unless your staff know how to achieve your desires.
It is important to provide a roadmap to guide them towards turning your objectives into reality.
This includes setting up the necessary funds to reach your goals, laying the marketing groundwork to attract qualified prospects and even streamlining your operations to be more aggressive in terms of profit-making.
SELL THE SIZZLE
In every sales situation, there is always something called a “Sizzle Point”.
This basically is a factor or element in your business offering that is an emotional peak point which “heats-up” the desires of your clients and makes them want to proceed with buying behaviour in anticipation of satisfying their needs.
Now, I find that for most people, their “Sizzle Point” is usually the prospect of achieving a positive end result.
Conversely, seldom are people deeply-enamoured by the process of getting there because the excessive amount of details will dampen their enthusiasm.
As such, it is important to ensure that your sales message focuses on helping prospective clients to achieve their results rather than boring them with too many details.
PROVIDE SOCIAL PROOF
One of the biggest problems in any sales situation is that most people are sceptical. In other words, they would prefer to let other people adopt products first before actually considering its viability in their own lives.
The crux of this issue belies their risk tolerance. The hard truth is that the risk tolerance of consumers, especially in our region, is relatively low.
To circumvent this issue, one of the best ways is to provide social proof. Now, social proof is basically examples of how other clients have benefited from your business offering.
Examples of social proof include testimonials, pictures, articles and industry accreditation.
With this social proof, you will provide undeniable evidence and support from the market, your industry and even the media with regards to the authenticity and effectiveness of your product.
This reduces the perceived risk of your clients and entices them to adopt your product or service. However, please note that these accreditations need to be highlighted in all your marketing collaterals; from flyers to your website and even advertisements to ensure maximum exposure.
HAVE A CLEAR CALL FOR ACTION
One interesting thing about conducting sales is that people generally need an instruction to take action.
This instruction, or call-for-action, can be seen as a final and gentle encouragement for them to open their wallets. However, in order for it to be effective, a call-for-action needs to be explicit and yet not overbearing or threatening.
For example, one of the best ways is to highlight the value of your business offering and remind your customers how much they stand to lose if they do not partake in it now.
Another technique can be in providing bonuses for the first 10 people who sign up. By providing a limit on the number of people in relation to additional benefits, you will spur the competitive instincts of your customers towards accepting your deal.
On a final note, please let me state that these techniques are really just the proverbial tip of a very substantial iceberg.
Over years of helping hundreds of corporations and business owners hone their sales techniques, I believe the most important factors towards generating great sales is to have a continued desire towards learning new methods.
Only then will you have the ability to supercharge your sales and pursue stronger, better and more substantial profit margins.
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