Sales skills are inherent skills such as public speaking, social intelligence, extroversion, coping skills and good storytelling. But, on the other hand, sales skills can be learnt. By learning, you can improve your existing skills or acquire new ones, which will make you a good salesperson without the prerequisites listed. There is a wide range of sales literature which reveals the main difficulties many retailers face and also provide solutions for the latter. Sometimes details make a difference and prevent you from achieving excellent results. Here are three main reasons why you are not closing a sale.
1. The decision-maker does not know about you yet
When presenting your product or service, it is essential to do so in front of a person who has the authority to purchase or implement it. In a live or an online conversation, evaluate who you are talking to so you do not waste time and interpret your nicely composed presentation. For example, if you want to talk to the marketing director of a particular company to present your service or product that can make their marketing thrive, that director is the key person for you. Explaining your entire intention to a secretary or receptionist will not bring you the success you need. Often people who are not in a decision-making position can stop further contact. These are gatekeepers whose job is to filter requests from the outside business world to executives. For this phase, prepare a few sales sentences aimed at finding a decision-maker. Request the email address or a phone number of the decision-maker. Once you get in touch, start the sales process. Your presentation is a display of your hard work, so present it to someone who will understand it.
2. The value of your product is not highlighted properly
When we talk about a sales pitch or a presentation, it is crucial to emphasize the value of your product or service and show how your product or service makes your customer’s life or business easier. The value of the product is measured in the solutions it brings. In this stage of the sales process, the aesthetic attributes or specifications are less important, and the main benefit, that is what it serves for, comes first. In the sales funnel, a customer becomes an opportunity when he is in the decision-making phase. The customer has an intention to buy at this stage but is still considering the offer and may even decide for a competing product or give up the purchase. He asks himself “What do I get from buying this product? Do I need it? Will it be of use to me?”. Your task is to answer all the possible questions in advance and your answers should remove all the client’s doubts. More detailed features should be highlighted when a customer gets your product. Uncover what you believe in without hesitation. That is your best selling point. Your story can have an intriguing and seductive narrative with true and accurate facts about the product. The costumer’s trust you gain should be nurtured in the future.
3. The customer has no trust in your product or service
Trust is fundamental for concluding the first sale and all long-term collaborations. Replace the cold and formal approach with a friendly and warm one whenever possible. Use a simple vocabulary that everyone can understand with accurate information about your product or service. It is good to point out all the pros and cons. If you are familiar with a segment that might be of interest to your potential customers, and your product does not meet that part, say so. For example, you have a digital marketing agency that does not offer a Google ad placement service. At an early stage of the client agreement, you should brief that your agency does not provide Google advertising. The client may assume that the latter is part of the services of a marketing agency, so you should immediately point out which services you offer and which do not. Wanting to arrange a deal as soon as possible, we sometimes promise things we are unable to deliver. The truth is soon revealed and then both parties suffer losses. Sometimes customers have high expectations that are hard to meet. Therefore, when we talk about our services, skills and product honestly and with examples from practice, the other party always responds well. In this way we eliminate awkward situations caused by overstating our abilities or the characteristics of our product. Furthermore, we achieve long-term cooperation and a loyal customer who is always happy to return due to previous positive experience that has met the set expectations.
Believing in yourself and what you offer is the basis for a successful sale. To improve and grow further, use tools that many in the sales industry use. One of these tools is the training in presentation and sales skills. Training, i.e., workshop, is good because the participants recreate the roles in front of the mentor and receive feedback on the spot. How the workshops look in practice, you can see here.