1. Listen & Respond
If you happen to be on the phone with a potential lead, then one of the absolute most important points to remember is to be a good listener. This comes naturally to some people; others have to work really hard to stop themselves from constantly trying to “handle” the person with whom they are speaking and control the conversation—especially salespersons.
This doesn’t mean that you have to become introverted and never assert what you want to say; it simply means that you have to listen to what someone is saying, and then give a helpful response, based on what they are telling you that they need.
2. Avoid Templates
First off, there are definitely circumstances that necessitate the use of templates for things like mass email campaigns. Basically, if you are targeting a large number of people for the same thing, then it’s of course not practical to compose each email individually.
When it comes to a marketing email or direct message to a specific lead, on the other hand, that’s an opportunity to show that you’re really interested by writing a custom email especially for that person. It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it just shouldn’t be a prefabricated message that you already sent to a hundred other people.
As clever as the template may be, it’s pretty easy to spot. People can tell the difference, and it’s always refreshing when you can tell that a message was written specifically for you.
3. Be Sincere & Straightforward
You may be able to close a certain number of sales with deceptive or misleading tactics, such as things like rearranging your pricing to make it seem less expensive than it is, or promising features or perks for free, when they are actually not free.
The only problem with this strategy is that most people can sniff out deception from a salesperson, and they have little patience for it. This is not to mention that it’s just unethical. You’re much better off being straight and sincere with people, which builds trust with your leads and gives them no reason to reject your product.
As we’ve often mentioned in this blog, you have to start with a great product; then, marketing, promoting, and selling what you have is easy. This is why a sincere and ethical approach to sales is far simpler and ultimately, a more effective strategy for selling your product or service because if what you’re selling is high-quality, there’s no need to trick people into buying it. All you have to do is offer it to them and let the product or service speak for itself.
4. Be Personable
Being personable and likeable doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be a naturally extroverted person; in fact, being outgoing and talkative is not the key to being personable. The most important element is really just to pay attention to the person, truly listen to what they have to say, and then respond in a positive way.
Think about what it means to be “likeable”. People will pretty much automatically like you, if you show that you actually care—that is one of the keys to becoming more personable.
5. Know What You’re Talking About
If you can impress a customer, the chances that you’ll close them are greatly increased. One of the easiest ways to do that is to show a comprehensive knowledge of your product. Secondly, it allows you to come up with a plan for how to make your product work for them.
That, by itself, can sometimes make the difference between making a sale and losing it because the customer may not even know that you can provide exactly what they’re looking for.
Stephanie
Stephanie is the Marketing Director at Talkroute and has been featured in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur as a leading authority on business and telecommunications.
Stephanie is also the chief editor and contributing author for the Talkroute blog helping more than 100k entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow their businesses.