How to Set Up a Successful Sale
There are no short cuts when it comes to sales and selling but here are a few sales and selling techniques which you should find helpful, especially if you're new to the industry or even if you're just looking for a bit of business advice.
The role of a sales person has traditionally had negative connotations attached to it. People don't see it as a desirable job, those that do consider it as a career option often find themselves constantly fearing the word 'no'. One these obstacles have been overcome, sale can be a very rewarding profession. Remember, no business would exist without sales, it is a very important job which requires skill and talent (both of which can be learnt). So how do you get your sale set up? There are several ways to draw up a list of potential customers, by buying in a list or by driving around, by reading magazines or newspapers or by looking through yellow pages. You must bear in mind that you cannot sell to a company; you can only sell to a person. After you've got the company name you need to find the name of the right person. There is no point doing a sales pitch to someone who doesn't have the power to affect change. If, after phoning the company, you always ask 'can you help me please' to whoever answers the phone, you are more likely to get the name you need. It will be more effective than reeling off an introduction of whom you are and where you're phoning from, you then ask for the name of the person responsible for which ever department it is you need. It is also important that you just get the name and not get put through, you are just phoning to get the name, and you are doing research and therefore won't be in the right frame of mind for selling.
When selling, you need to be proactive as opposed to reactive. If you are being proactive, you are seeking out new business and this can often be cold calling. Cold calling is very rarely a profession sought out by many people, if you're picking up the phone the end result needs to be having a meeting set up, not selling a product over the phone. Cold calling will not be favoured by many, a more popular method will be sending out a letter. The letter should be addressed to a specific person. You should explain the purpose of the letter is to introduce yourself and your company. Then explain what it is you can do for them, rather than just selling them a product, you need to tell them what your product can do for them specifically. You need a statement which is the result of your product or service. You need to keep it as simple as possible. You will not sell them anything through a letter; the desired end result of the letter is to arrange a meeting. This is when you sell your product. The letter doesn't need to contain any fancy broachers or leaflets; you simply inform them that you would like to call them at some point over the next few days to see if you could arrange that meeting. This will be more effective than call calling as they are not put on the spot and they have time to absorb your information. You do however, need to follow up your letter quickly, the chances are whoever you have sent your letter to will have a lot of information to retain, whether it be through paper on their desk, phone calls they've relieved or email. Your letter will still be in their mind for a day or two, if you leave it much longer than three days they are going to start forgetting about it, anymore than a week and they've forgotten about it. You have already told them you are going to be calling them, it's not being pushy, it's informing the customer of what you are going to do next. This will set a good precedent in their mind. Someone who keeps them informed is someone they are going to feel more comfortable going into business with. When you make your follow up call it can sometimes be difficult getting past the person on the other end, the receptionist may be hesitant about who they're putting through. To get around this you need to ask for the relevant person straight away, rather than doing a long winded introduction. This approach is more likely to get you put straight through, if they ask who is calling its best to just give your first name as this connotes you already know them, if they ask what it's in relation to simply tell them it's regarding your previous correspondence. If you still have problems getting through, try phoning out of hours before the switch board opens, there will be more of a chance of the specific person picking the phone up. Now all you need to do is arrange a convenient time for a meeting.
About the Author:
For more information about sales and selling techniques visit, http://www.guruonline.tv/richard-denny-sales-selling where you can access hundreds of free videos containing free business advice about the industry.
Visit www.guruonline.tv for free valuable advice covering crucial business related topics broken down into easy-to-absorb, instantly streamed videos!
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How to Set Up a Successful Sale