Answering objections the customer hasn’t asked

Informing a customer of previous customer objections and giving your answers to them makes you seem defensive and creates value uncertainty in a customer who may then choose not to buy and you will lose the sale. Don’t convey a defensive attitude.

 Leaving the next step to the customer

Sales letter and sales emails should never put the ball in the customer’s court and ask them to respond only if they are interested or want to learn more. The probability that you will get a response is minimal. You should be the one following up with further sales pitches designed to get an impulsive reaction from the customer to your communication which is made so that it is too enticing to resist.

Selling features or accessories rather than the results or usefulness of the product or service

With the possible exception of personal cars, customers are not interested in accessories or features especially if they don’t add greatly to the main utility or results which they are looking for. Sell a product or service based on the way that it will positively affect their lives or business and find out if there are any ways that your product is superior to competing products or services and stress that point more.

Don’t fake intimacy

Don’t display excessive flattery or affection which is a form of kissing up to the customer since you should be gaining their trust gradually. Saying “how are you doing today” will repulse a customer because he will feel that it is none of your business how good he or she feels or how well they are doing that day. Stick to a businesslike conversation and avoid probing for personal details or engaging in flattery or affection when you don’t know the customer’s personality at all.

Writing a sales proposal too soon

Writing a lengthy time consuming sales proposal is a waste of time and is very presumptuous and cocky if you first have not received a verbal agreement to buy from the customer.

Talking more than listening

Being a pushy aggressive salesman who talks too much is a repulsive personality which most customers will try to avoid. More important is listening to the customers concerns, asking questions about these concerns, and offering solutions to them with your product or service. Respond appropriately to what the customer does and says rather than focusing in on your sales pitch and continuing it whenever you can get a word in on the conversation. Soft sell to a customer considering their needs or wants first before you try to impose your need or desire to make a sale.

Don’t waste time on dead end customers

First probing whether a customer is sales material is important. Spend the first five minutes of the conversation asking questions to find out if the customer has a real need for your product or service and can afford to pay for your product or service. There is nothing so time wasting and disappointing than to find out after 15 minutes of random talking that the customer really does not need or want your product or service and doesn’t have the money to pay for it.

If you liked this evergreen blog then read more of them or read one or more of my evergreen books, especially COMMON SENSE.

Enjoy!!!!!!

 

Keep your promises

 

Gaining and then maintaining trust with a customer means not lying to them or offending them. Not meeting your promise punctually at the promised time is a form of lying which wastes your customer’s time, energy, and even money.

If you know that you can’t fulfill the commitment or promise that you make then don’t make it because one failure to deliver when promised means dropping the ball once and you will probably not be given a second chance and will be out of the game.

 

Treating one sale as the end of the process or relationship

 

Aim for long duration relationships rather than short duration income. Referrals or word of mouth advertising is much more efficient a way to further sell your product or service than winning new business all over again from scratch. Make arrangements and try to contact a customer after the sale also so the likelihood of them being a word of mouth salesman for you will increase in probability.

 

Don’t ask for referrals right away after the sale

 

Until a customer has used your product or service for a while they are really not in a knowledgeable position to recommend what you have to offer to a friend or an acquaintance. Give the customer time to use your product or service and then ask for referrals in writing or in person.