sales tips & articles

This week's blog post is from my very good friend and business mentor, Andrew Griffiths. If your not familiar with Andrew or his books, he is Australia's Number 1 Business Author with releases such as "101 Ways to Market your Business, "The Me Myth"and "Bulletproof Your Business".

Each week he writes a business bullet (well worth signing up to) on a topic relating to small business; this week it was all about sales and well worth sharing.

1. Being a great sales person starts when you get out of bed in the morning.

People who are really good at selling normally have a very positive outlook on life. They are energetic and enthusiastic about what they do, sincere with their customers, interested in their industry and passionate about their products. Every morning I take a few minutes to think about my day ahead. I visualise how it will look, the positive encounters I will have, the things I will sell and the great things I will get to do. Most of the time, this becomes the reality. How you think about your day is more than likely how it will turn out. So I suggest that you make it a fantastic day and it will be. A great attitude is always rewarded.

2. Take a few minutes extra to look the part.

I believe very strongly that looking the part is just as important as playing the part. When it comes to any kind of retail it is really important to take the time and make the effort to be well groomed and have clean and well-ironed clothes. Right or wrong, people form an opinion about you in the first seven seconds of any interaction. If you look smart it shows that you respect yourself and the people you will be selling to.

3. Have a big, warm and welcoming “hello”.

Many people are really terrible at saying a simple “hello” to their customers. My advice is very simple. Stop whatever you are doing, stand up straight, put a huge smile on your face and give them a big, warm hello. Most importantly look the person in the eye when you are smiling. We are rarely greeted so well in any store and if you do this, your warm smile will not only be remembered it will be sought after. Your customers will tell everyone they know just how nice you are. An added bonus to you is that it is really hard to feel anything but fantastic about life when you are spending your day connecting with people simply by smiling.

4. Stop what you are doing and focus on the person in front of you.

There is nothing worse than having a distracted sales person try and half sell something to you. Their focus is elsewhere, they mumble answers and they offer little help or advice. Whenever you are with a customer give them you full and undivided attention. Focus on them, listen to them, show them what they are looking for and make sure you have given them what they want. It really is simple yet less than ten percent of sales people do this. If you want to shine in the world of sales this is a great place to start.

5. Never judge a book by its cover.

It is surprising just how much we all do this. I have been caught out a number of times and now I make a point of treating everyone exactly the same. Who knows how much money someone has or doesn’t have? You certainly can’t tell that by what someone is wearing even if you think you can. Treat every single customer as your most important customer right then and there and I guarantee you will sell a lot more of anything to anyone.

6. Make someone’s day.

It is surprisingly simple to really make someone’s day. We all seem to be so focused inwards, thinking through the various issues and challenges that fill our day that often we are shocked and pleasantly surprised when someone makes our day by saying something nice. I suggest that you become really good at giving sincere compliments to people. At first you might be a bit uncomfortable with it but believe me, it will grow on you and it will start to feel fabulous in a very short amount of time. Tell someone if their hair looks nice, or their necklace is pretty, or if they have great taste in books, or if they have a great smile. The only catch is that you have to be sincere in your compliment otherwise it just doesn’t work. Make it your mission to make as many people’s day as you possible can.

7. Have some recommendations ready in each section.

Being a great sales person means being able to make a recommendation on the products you are selling. After all if you can’t do this, you are really nothing more than a money collector. Be clear about what products or services you do actually recommend and you have to believe in them 100%. If you don’t it shows. And always give a recommendation. If you do, you will be amazed at how many more sales you actually get.

8. Use every interaction to let the customer know more about your business.

All this takes is a few words at the end of a sale, or during your conversation, to let your customer know that you are open “seven days a week” or that you will be open on the public holiday coming up, or that there is a sale due to start in a few days and so on. Use every interaction as a wonderful opportunity to educate your customer about your business. Remember it is our job to tell our customers what we can do for them, it isn’t their job to find out.

9. Make it really easy for your customers to buy from you.

If you want to attract more customers and keep them coming back more often, develop a can do attitude that promotes making selling easy. What could be improved or streamlined to speed things up and to keep people moving? Is your sales area cluttered? Do you struggle to find a pen for people to sign credit card slips? Look for any way possible to make it easy for your customers to buy from you and they will.

10. People want to hear their own name.

We all like the sound of our own name and in the retail environment I suggest you try and use your customers name whenever you can. Make the effort to remember your regular customers names, they will appreciate it a lot, more than you realise. Think about how it makes you feel when you go into your favourite store or coffee shop and they know your name. When handing back a credit card thank the person using their formal name, Mr Smith or Ms Smith. They will notice it and remember that you did it. Even if the name is hard to pronounce, that in its own right a great talking point.

Next week I will give you another 10 top sales tips. If you can’t wait till next week visit a friend of mines website – Karen Andrews from Shine Sales – she has a pile of excellent sales tips and a sensational newsletter that is all about selling.

Read more of Andrew's Business Bullets by clicking here

If you are just starting out in business or in sales here are some quick tips and tricks you can use to get you in sales mindset, develop a sales language and start selling !

1. Be yourself
2. Have you ever bought anything of anyone you didn’t like?
3. People buy people, not companies so relax and just be yourself
4. Having a good Introduction/Elevator Story ready
5. This will help to give you confidence whenever you go into networking or face to face business meetings. Your introduction should only be around one minute and include who you are, what you do, your experience (if relevant) and what is the benefit of doing business you.
6. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions
7. It’s the only way you will know what your clients really want. When you know what they want you will know how you can help them.
8. Think about the benefits of your business and its products and services. What makes then unique or superior to your competitors?
9. Why do I need to buy your products or services? How will they make a difference to me?
10. Talk more about the benefits or the ‘why’ elements rather than the features so your clients understand why they would want them.
11. Know where to find new clients
12. Get out there and find your potential clients, don’t wait for them to come to you. Networking is a good place to find clients and there are hundreds of groups around. Try BNI, Chamber of Commerce, and Women’s Network Australia, Australian Institute of Management or type ‘business networking’ into Google.
13. Sales takes time
14. Increasing your confidence in sales and the ability to win new clients takes time, it isn’t easy for everyone, so give yourself some time. Allocate some time each week to focus on building new sales.
15. Follow Up
16. One of the hardest elements of building a business is finding a constant stream of new clients. You have already done the hard work through networking, advertising or marketing so don’t waste it. Make that follow up call now! The biggest complaint that people have in relation to sales is that no one ever followed them up.

 

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