TURN PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS
For many small business owners, the hardest part of running their business can be gaining new customers. For those business owners that can afford it, hiring an experienced sales person can help them find new customers that they need and help them close those sales. For business owners that do not have the budget to hire a sales staff or those business owners that prefer to be more hands on in the sales process, we have three tips to help you turn that prospective customer into an actual customer.
SALES TIP 1: ASK AND LISTEN WITH BOTH EARS
Ask your prospective customer what they need, as it relates to your business, and then listen. Really listen. It is important that you have a clear understanding of their actual needs and the problems that they want solved by hiring someone in your field. Often times, just by truly listening to the prospect’s needs you will find solutions that you offer that will fit there needs perfectly.
SALES TIP 2: BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT YOUR IDEAS
Once you know what the prospective customer wants and needs, you can tell them very clearly what you can do for them and how it will address their problem. Using “industry slang” may impress some prospects, but the majority of customers just want to know what you are going to do and how it will benefit them, and they would like to hear it in a way that they can understand with out learning the current buzz words or techno-speak. You run the risk of creating distrust between you and your prospective customer when they don’t know what you are saying. Just say what it is that you are going to do for them and how it fixes their problem.
SALES TIP 3: WORK WITH THEM, NOT FOR THEM
Ask your prospective customer what they think of your suggestions and if there was any issue that you missed. Work together and be open to their feedback. Together you can come up with something that works for the both of you. If they say that they just aren’t interested, ask them what would have made them more interested? Don’t be pushy, be curious. Genuinely listen to their response. You may find another opportunity to capture their sale by addressing what you missed, and even if you do not, thank them for listening to you and let them know that you are available if they should ever need anything.
Selling anything can be intimidating, but like everything, the more you do it the better you get at it. Remember that no one likes to be ‘sold’ to and at the end of the day prospective customers are busy people that simply need a solution to their problems. If you can show them how you can fix their problems-those that they tell you about and those that they may not have thought about-you have a much higher chance of walking away with a new and happy customer.
[Via Olea Works]
