Sell it to me!

Is selling something one person ‘does’ to another?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Selling is not a one-way process and without clarity, about what it really is it’s impossible to become very good at it.

I believe selling is a conversation between two or more people at the end of which somebody makes a decision.

Ultimately customers buy from us when they come to a point in their decision process that gives them the confidence to act. That decision journey, if you like, starts firstly with clarity about the need for the item/service based on many factors that have nothing to do with you or your competitors. That intrinsic first level decision is the basis for how urgently they will search for the ultimate item, how much they will pay for it and when they will act.

If all of that occurs privately before they engage with potential suppliers than the salesperson has very little influence over the decision processes and they become nothing more than a talking brochure and price is the only issue left to resolve.

True selling is being part of the fuller journey of bringing that need up from a subconscious idea or unplanned issue to a conscious detailed process. The earlier in that process you are talking with your prospect about all aspects of their actual or possible need the better you can position your offering when it’s time for them to act.

In the Emotions in Selling course, I teach how to conduct these conversations from the earliest stages and how to prospect so you can engage your prospects long before they are actively ‘shopping’. Equally importantly you will learn how, through conversation, you can manage their fear to effectively build trust so that they can confidently complete the transaction and not withdraw or becoming swayed by competitors.

Call 0407 005 290 or email maya@salesinventoryprofile.com to find out more.

How To Series Episode 6: How to Sell

Many of us get into selling entirely by accident and many of us are petrified of being sold to. But selling is just a conversation – it is as simple as that. But selling is a conversation with a purpose; selling is a conversation at the end of which someone makes a decision. As a salesperson, you need to guide the conversation to a point where somebody can make a decision and that is the only thing to it. It’s deciding when is the end, and how much information do you need, to buy?

So, it’s a conversation between people, which means you need to ask as many questions as you’re giving answers because in order for a customer to make a decision, they need to have all of the facts and figures. Yet, when they come to you when you first meet them, they don’t have any questions because they don’t know, yet, what it is that’s missing in their framework, and that’s why it’s a conversation. You need to explore what they know, and what they believe in order to fit the new information in so that it makes sense to them. So, giving your blanket product information and the Ten Top Benefits of buying my teaspoon is not a conversation, and therefore, it’s not selling. You need to find out, first, what they know, what they believe, and why they wish to buy one. And then, you present your information.

Emotions in Selling program provides lots of various, specific things about how to converse, how to provide information, and how present yourself in such a way that engenders trust. Because if they don’t trust your information, then they won’t accept you.

Selling is a conversation – it is as simple as that.

How will you drive yourself in 2013?

If something is truly important to us we are motivated to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Very few people think getting more money is important enough to endure the angst of prospecting.

To have people push through their pain they must be clear on how important the result of their prospecting really is; self pride, glory, respect, providing for their children. It has to be really important to them.

— Maya Saric