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Is Product Discounting the Way to Go?

Sure, you want the business, but is discounting the way to go? Studies have shown that once the reduced price goes away, so may the customer. Better to slowly build a base of customers who really want your product "at the regular price" and who will stay with you due to your service and expertise.
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One-of-A-Kind Marketing

Many folks buy because of a "fear of loss". Can you market your product as a "one-of-a-kind" for a "limited time only?" Show them what they stand to gain as well as what they will lose if they don't order now. One auto salesperson we know always shows the purchaser a model that is a "second choice" in case the "preferred model" gets sold before the customer makes a decision. This can really speed up the sales process.
quote:
Originally posted by Art Post:
One-of-A-Kind Marketing

Many folks buy because of a "fear of loss". Can you market your product as a "one-of-a-kind" for a "limited time only?" Show them what they stand to gain as well as what they will lose if they don't order now. One auto salesperson we know always shows the purchaser a model that is a "second choice" in case the "preferred model" gets sold before the customer makes a decision. This can really speed up the sales process.


Yes the "impending event close" is still a viable choice in our business. Whether it's the classic "This special price is only available for X amount of time" or "This is the only one we have at this price and my sales manager said the first one with paper work get it" still work. I know it can sound cheesy but if you can make it NOT sound cheesy.. it's good.
Be Ready for Those Last-Minute Purchasing Decisions

Many customers and prospects always seem to make buying decisions at the last moment...leaving you scrambling! Preparation on your part is essential if you want to continually win the hearts and business of the "last minute Charlies." Some tips:

- Prepare proposal "templates" on your computer that can be easily completed, then faxed or emailed.
- Purchase a mobile phone that you always carry with you. Make sure that your prospects know the number so they can reach you any time during the business day.
- Send direct marketing mailings or e-mails every 30 days so that you keep your name in front of them
Don't Be Outdated

Many customers and prospects always want to feel they are purchasing services from someone "in the know." The smart marketer always keeps up with the latest information in their prospects' industries. Make sure your prospects know that you know. Make it a point to call or email them when you come across information that can cause changes in their industries. This extra effort can be time-consuming on your part, but can lead to more sales in the long run. Time-saving tactics.
Major Shift? Go to the Top

If you are selling a service or product that causes a major shift in a corporation, then only sell to the top. A smart day-care center owner we know only markets to the presidents or CEOs of large corporations. Most large organizations don't want the "shift" and overhead of providing an in-house day-care center. Our entrepreneur proves to top management that she can provide them a needed service without a major shift.
Don't Be So Exclusive

In business, it's easy for clients to think that you only offer one service or product - the one they've most recently bought from you. Make the extra effort to educate your clients about all your products and services. A financial planner we know conducts a monthly direct mail campaign that highlights one service or financial product that he offers. This has lead to a great number of referrals from clients who may not need that particular service/product, but pass the word to those who do.
Highlight What's Important

Sending out FYI articles to your prospects and customers? Go the extra mile and use a yellow highlighter marker to identify the information in the article that you believe will interest each person the most. This saves the prospect/customer time by allowing them to immediately focus on the most important sentences, which in this busy world, will be greatly appreciated.
Displacing a competitor

from their accounts can be a very difficult task. At the same time, displacing a competitor can be very lucrative for salespeople and an extremely profitable way for your company to increase its market share. To be successful, salespeople should be careful in their approach and message to the competitor’s client.
So you are going to sell a product that you believe in.

Next thing you need to do is your research. Do your "homework". Find out as much as you can about the product and the sort of people you will be selling the product to.

If you are selling to a select clientel then you will need to understand them and be able to talk to them in their "language" using their terminology.

If you are going to be selling to a wide range of people then you will have to become adept in being able to pick people and then speak to them in their language. Being able to communicate on all levels is the key....
When you communicate to a person at their level they feel comfortable with you and will relaxe and lower their resistance to sales people.
If you talk to a person and use a lot of technical terms that are over their heads they will think you are trying to make them feel stupid and will resist what you are saying and think that you are lying to them.

Therefore its important to keep things simple...learn how to translate anything complicated into more simple terms..if the situation lends itself you can have paper and pen and you can draw things and write things down to explain it to people using visuals will help someone understand something a bit more complicated.

Research doesn't stop with just your product. You will need also to research all of your competition. You will have to understand them and their product so you can compare your product to theirs and explain to a person why they should buy your product instead of the competitors.

If it was a retail situation, I would personally be a shopper in the other stores and find out what their key selling points are and come up with counter selling points.
Sales pros have compiled a list of 25 critical questions that organizations must be able to answer before they can achieve record-breaking sales results.

Questions like:
Which lead sources result in the highest percentage of closed business deals?

What sales process does your best sales rep use to close the most deals?

How effectively do you distribute sales leads among new and experienced sales people?

Which competitors do you lose the most business to and why?
The very first rule about selling anything is you have to believe in what you are selling.

How many sales people do you meet and you know straight away that they don't believe in what they are selling because you can feel it when people are lying to you.

I have quite often got that feeling from used car sales people because they often know they are selling you something that you will be having trouble with later. Most of the time people sell cars because they are having trouble with them or they think they will start to have trouble with them soon.

People will know when you are genuine and will be able to feel your enthusiasm for the product.

Personally I would never ever sell something that I did not believe in. So believe in the Ricoh and you will have successes.
Sales Pipeline:

A sales pipeline is a very important concept in selling because it is the recognition of the origin and result of each sale. Each sale starts as a lead -- which is a phone number, a name, an email address, a referral or someone who walks into your store -- they are leads. From there, you qualify the lead, which means, you make sure this person is capable of becoming a customer -- either they have enough money or the right size outfit for your product. For instance, you might sell mini-vans, and a good qualifying question is: Do you have any children. If so, you might try to sell this person. If not, you would try to sell them another vehicle that isn't so family oriented. From there, after you've qualified a lead, you sell to them and you either get a "continue", an "advance" or a "decline." I'll explain those later. A "continue" can turn into an "advance" which can turn into a customer -- or a sale. chiching.
So a sales pipeline goes like this:
lead ---> qualified lead --> continue/advance --> customer --> repeat customer

Some products have a quick pipeline. Some products have a longer pipeline. Generally, the more expensive the product, the longer the pipeline (although that is only a general rule.)
An important part of selling is to

keep track of the ratios and numbers so you can understand your pipeline and improve it. How many calls does it take to get an appointment? How many appointments does it take to get a sale? And so on. Eventually, you'll find that it generally takes 10 calls to make an appointment and 10 appointments to make a sale, for instance. Then you'll realize that if you made 1000 calls last month and made $5000, then you'll want to make 2000 calls to make $10,000. Once you start knowing your numbers, you start to understand your pipeline.
Suppose you make 100 calls one month and get 20 appointments for the next month, but that next month you're busy going to appointments so you didn't make any calls -- how many appointments will you have on the third month? None. That's because you didn't feed the pipeline.


Of course, if you've done any sales already, you're quick to realize that If you made $20000 in sales this month, it's because you made 2000 calls last month. Or something like that. That's the sales pipeline in reality.

You can draw sales pipeline like one:
* Leads *
* qualified leads *
* cont. *
*advances *
*sales!*
Tracking data

When selling, it's important to keep track of the numbers. It is important for many reasons. Keep track of:
1. The number of dials you make
2. Messages left
3. People you reach
4. First appointments made
5. Number of people who give three "No's".
6. Messages returned
7. Number of new leads added to the intranet
We will also be tracking total number of sales visits and number of sales. Eventually, we'll get a handle on the value of our pipeline. Then we can work out how many calls we need to make each day to reach our goal.
Elements of a cold call

1. Get the person's attention -- saying their name is enough
2. Identify yourself and your company -- give a commercial for the company
3. Give the reason for your call -- the objective of the call is to get an appointment
4. Make a qualifying/questioning statement -- give an opportunity for the lead to respond in kind (ie. favourably)
5. Set the appointment
Drink Water

Before you give a speech, deliver a sales presentation or make phone calls - drink one to two glasses of water. It lubricates your vocal chords, helps your voice and gives you needed fluids that you lose while speaking. Lukewarm water is best. Cool water is OK. Ice water is not good for your vocal chords. Avoid dairy products because they create phloem in your throat.
There is a general impression held by many both inside and outside the business world that salesmen are full of hot air.

Many people associate the sales profession with the smooth-talking car salesman who wants to sell you a car that was owned by the proverbial little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays.

Reality is that most sales people are average everyday individuals who are friendly and considerate and have friends and families, just like people who are accountants, engineers, journalists, architects, house painters, scientists and the like.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to travel far without coming across a sales rep who likes to talk, talk, talk and push, push, push. The most common personality types found in sales are admittedly not the best listeners. They can be impatient and more focused on closing the sale rather than listening to their customer’s needs. Even the best sales professionals can use a refresher on how to listen effectively.
The very first rule about selling anything is you have to believe in what you are selling.
How many sales people do you meet and you know straight away that they don't believe in what they are selling because you can feel it when people are lying to you.

I have quite often got that feeling from used car sales people because they often know they are selling you something that you will be having trouble with later. Most of the time people sell cars because they are having trouble with them or they think they will start to have trouble with them soon.
People will know when you are genuine and will be able to feel your enthusiasm for the product.

Personally I would never ever sell something that I did not believe in.

So you are going to sell a product that you believe in.

Next thing you need to do is your research. Do your "homework". Find out as much as you can about the product and the sort of people you will be selling the product to.

If you are selling to a select clientel then you will need to understand them and be able to talk to them in their "language" using their terminology.

If you are going to be selling to a wide range of people then you will have to become adept in being able to pick people and then speak to them in their language. Being able to communicate on all levels is the key....
When you communicate to a person at their level they feel comfortable with you and will relaxe and lower their resistance to sales people.
If you talk to a person and use a lot of technical terms that are over their heads they will think you are trying to make them feel stupid and will resist what you are saying and think that you are lying to them.
Therefore its important to keep things simple...learn how to translate anything complicated into more simple terms..if the situation lends itself you can have paper and pen and you can draw things and write things down to explain it to people using visuals will help someone understand something a bit more complicated.

Research doesn't stop with just your product. You will need also to research all of your competition. You will have to understand them and their product so you can compare your product to theirs and explain to a person why they should buy your product instead of the competitors.

If it was a retail situation, I would personally be a shopper in the other stores and find out what their key selling points are and come up with counter selling points.

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