Gloria Achola (was my classmate at UoN marketing class of 2012) called me this
morning after going through all articles I have done on this blog
looking for something on service marketing. Sadly there was none she
could look at, so I did this article
specifically for her and for everyone else out there who
is in the business of selling services. My approach to this was to look
at the mistakes people make since I assume you've definitely gone
through a product training and a sales programme at your workplace.
If you want to make money through selling,you just need to avoid these common mistakes.
If you want to make money through selling,you just need to avoid these common mistakes.
1.Don’t forget to qualify
Before you can sell, you have to find someone to sell to, right?
Whether it’s someone coming to you or whether you are finding someone
to sell to, the first thing you have to do is qualify your potential
customer.
If you forget to do the qualifying step a large
percentage of your time will be wasted on potential customers who don’t
really need your offering, or can’t afford it.
Every opportunity
isn’t equal. Through qualifying you’ll get a better understanding of
what each customer wants, when they want it by, their budget, and most
importantly you’ll be able to figure out if you are talking to the
person who can actually make the decision. Work with prospects, don't just sell to anyone!
If you aren’t sure how to qualify people, all you have to do is ask them simple questions such as:
- What are you looking for specifically?
- What’s your budget?
- When are you looking to start?
2.Don’t be a “yes” man
Do you know what the biggest sales mistake you can make?
It’s saying “yes”. When
a potential customer makes a request, you’re naturally going to want to
say “yes”. And once you say yes a few times, you’ll realize that you’re
walking on a slippery slope because the customer will keep on making
requests and each one will not only cost you money, but it will let the
customer know that they can be demanding and walk all over you. When I
handled social media for Coca-Cola Kenya some crazy ideas were 'thrown
to us' (Digital agency) suggested by guys who certainly did have any
background in digital marketing & social media. At times we'd just
say "we'll see what we can do" but certainly did nothing!
If
you can do what a customer wants and it is profitable for you, say yes.
If the request is unreasonable, say no. By setting this precedent early
on, you’ll have more happy customers.
When I first started
selling years ago, I had a tendency to constantly say yes (I was desperate for the sale) even when I
couldn’t deliver. This caused us to have unhappy customers and it added
unnecessary stress to the business. So don’t do what I did.
3.Don’t offer too much information
The
more information you offer to people, the more likely they’ll be
confused. And when people are confused, they won’t become a customer. Learn
to get your message out in a quick and short way as it will be easier
to understand. Trying to look smart by using sophisticated language or
talking in technical jargon is just dumb.When pitching customers, make sure you only
tell them what they need and want to know. I’ve found that when you
tell them more than they want to know by trying to throw in something
that’s mind blowing, sometimes you’ll increase the likelihood of closing
the deal, but in most cases you’ll just bore them to death.
People have short attention spans, so be careful about dragging things
on. Just address their pain points by talking about what you're offering
is beneficial to them (your prospect) and finally do not forget to ask
for a sale! Always approach the client from a 'what's in it for them'
angle, get them to the edge and finally offer them a solution!
4.Don’t over sell
Similar to offering
potential customers too much information, you shouldn't over sell. If
you’re too pushy it’s a big turn off. You
have to think of sales like dating. Don't stoop so low, because you end
up looking desperate and shoddy, no one
will be attracted to you! You have to be casual with your sales
techniques and really act like you don’t care to make the sale. Because
at the end of the day, if your product or service is that good, the
person you are selling to should be privileged to use it.
If you
are one of those people who want to be a bit pushy instead of just
waiting things out, you can always create a sense of urgency to close
the deal… plus it won’t seem like you are overselling.
Secondly do not sound
like you are just after the cheque alone, seek to build relationships,
don't focus too much on that one transaction!
5.Don’t lose sight of the goal
You’re in sales meetings to make sales, right? Well of course you are, so why would you waste your time chit chatting about random topics with a potential customer?
You
don’t have people’s undivided attention forever, so make sure you are
keeping track of time and you get your message across as quick as
possible. If you have spare time after that you can start chit chatting
about common interests as that will help build a stronger connection,
but you shouldn’t do that until you get all of your major points across
and have the person on the hook. I know of sales ladies who meet a group
of guys for a sales pitch and the meeting turns into a date;ensure your
prospect doesn't take control of the pitch! The same applies if you're
doing a pitch over beer, food or coffee, focus on the major reason why
you're meeting these people. (The $$$$ plus offering them a solution
from Company X not about you and how cute you look)
6.Don’t delay your sales
If
your product or service isn’t ready, you’ll have a tendency to not sell
until it’s ready. The big problem with this is that you can’t predict
when things are going to be ready! You don’t have to give your customers your
product or service right now, you can give them access to it in the
future. And by having them sign up right now, you can always give them a
discount to entice them. Or what I like doing is to close the
sale ahead of time and tell companies how there is a 30 to 60 day
implementation time frame as this buys me time. This works really well
in a service oriented business. Start selling a conference or a training 3 to 6 months months prior as you plan for it
7.Don’t talk past the sale
After
you close a deal, you need to learn to stop talking. I’ve seen people
lose deals a countless number of times because they keep on talking
after the potential customer is ready to become a customer. They do this
by saying something stupid which makes that person think twice.
Learn
to keep your mouth shut after someone tells you they want to be a
customer. If you can’t, this is the best time to chitchat about random
subjects like sports, music or the Nairobi traffic; kindly note that your views on politics, religion and such subjects could also cost you the SALE!
Conclusion
You
don’t have to be a good sales person to close a deal, you just have to
avoid the mistakes I talked about above. If you can do that, you’ll
start to close more deals and make more money.
So don’t focus your
time on trying to become an exceptionally great sales person, just
focus on avoiding the common pitfalls I discussed. If you liked this
article kindly share your comments with me on Twitter @KenyanMarketer
and Like my business page on Social Edge Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment