This Week's Question: I don't want to come across as too 'salesy.' How can I avoid being a pushy salesperson?
Transcription:
I don't want to come across too 'salesy.' How can I avoid looking like that pushy salesperson? We've spent a lot of time talking about marketing, today let's talk about sales.
Now that your phone's ringing because the marketing is working, how do we close more deals? Sales is my favorite job that I get to do, and it's probably because I had great sales training. Believe it or not, in college for four years, I sold Kirby vacuum cleaners, door-to-door, literally knocking on their door and selling vacuum cleaners.
This experience has really helped me as a salesperson understand how do you connect with people, and how do you create a relationship without looking like that jerk salesperson. If you want to learn my secret sales tips on how to feel great about helping that customer make a buying decision, keep watching!
Hi, I'm Tom Malesic, founder and President of EZMarketing, a marketing agency in Lancaster, PA, and you're watching Ask EZ. This is where small business owners go to get real answers to their marketing questions
People buy from people that they like and trust.
Make a strong connection
The first step in being a great salesperson is making a strong connection. Be yourself, find a common interest. If you ask some great questions and share some information about yourself, you can create those commonalities with that person you're speaking with.
This can be as simple as where you grew up, where you went to high school, the sports teams you like, the type of music you like, maybe it's even about your kids.
So how do you find that common connection? Listen in today's day and age, most people have a Facebook page or a LinkedIn profile so you can always do your homework online. The other way to do it is you simply ask a lot of questions, or make some observations.
When I was in college selling vacuum cleaners I was really taught how to look around the room and find something in the room that I had in common with that person, or that I can ask an intelligent question on and get them to share information.
Be a great consultant
Next, I want you to be a great consultant. Remember, sales isn't about convincing somebody to buy something from you. It's your job to help them make an informed buying decision, even if that means they don't buy from you.
So what does being a great consultant mean?
- First, you need to remove any pressure. If the person you're talking to feels that you're pressuring them into making a decision, they're absolutely not going to make a decision.
- Next, you want to ask great questions because remember your job is to figure out can you solve their problem, and if you don't ask them great questions you don't know if you can solve their problem.
My tip for you is that you should be genuinely interested in them and the problem that they have, and that will come through and you will be seen as that consultant that you really are.
Offer your solution
So now that you've established a common ground and you understand their problem, and you feel like you can really help them, it's time to offer your solution. Remember, no one really cares what your product or service is they care what it does for them.
The more clearly and accurately you can explain what you do, so that there's no confusion in the customer's mind that what you do will solve their problem, you have the best possible chance of really helping that customer.
Be confident
Confidence is key at the end of your sales presentation. We want a natural way to get them to say yes to what you're offering. One of my favorite closes is truly the assumptive close.
Throughout the whole process I kind of assume that they're going to buy from me. So then when I get to the close, I'm really just asking them and what would you like to do next. It's very natural, and if you say it without being nervous at all, they're not going to be nervous either.
So how do you not be seen as a pushy salesperson? You establish that connection and rapport, you behave as a consultant and really care about solving their problem, and then you offer a solution that matches the problem that they have. This will help you be a great salesperson and you're going to love meeting with prospects.
your homework
Okay, here's your homework:
Before you go on that next sales call, I want you to research that person. Find some commonalities before you even get together.
And if you ever need marketing services, give our Lancaster marketing company a call. We help clients in Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster, PA.
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