We all want to make more money, and today sales trainer Tessa Stowe tells you how!
Step One: Be completely trustworthy
You need to be a completely trustworthy person when selling. In part, that means you need to be an active listener, be your word, be open, be honest, be authentic, be non sales-y, be appreciative, be caring, be a giver, be passionate and persistent about helping them. If your solution has a weakness, they should know about it, so tell them. If your solution really is not the best one for them, tell them and recommend a different one. If you are trustworthy, prospects will start selling themselves to you!
Step Two: Use a sales process which conveys trust.
It's all very well if you are being completely trustworthy, but (and it's a very big but) if you use a sales process that does not create trust, it will negate that personal trust.
You need a sales process that is focused on helping people get what they want vs. what you want. If you are using a sales process that is focused on persuading and manipulating and being clever with objection handling and closing techniques, it is obvious whose interests you really care about. Such an obvious sales process will destroy trust. You may get a "one-off" sale, but they'll pressure you on price and probably won't come back for more.
Take a critical look at your sales process and ask yourself if it does convey trust. Ask yourself if you were on the receiving end, would you trust you? If not, then find and implement a sales process that conveys trust. You'll know it when you come across it, as it will align with the trustworthy person you are being and it will feel good. You'll actually be excited about selling when you use such a sales process. Sales resistance from both the seller and the buyer side often comes down to the type of sales process.
Step Three: Make a longer term offer
Since you have created trust, they will want to be your client for the long term. This will be the first of many sales. Since they are going to be with you for the long term, make it worth their while to make a long term decision NOW.
When you present the pricing, give your clients both immediate and longer term options.
Option one is for their immediate requirements. This is what all your competition will be giving pricing for as well. It is also what the client expected to receive from you and your competitors.
Option two is for what they will need for a longer term and asks for a much bigger commitment. With option two, you are simply asking them to make a future buying decision now rather than later. In exchange for making that decision now, you will give them some additional value in return. This could be a reduced price on one of the items or you could add extra items. Perhaps it is a creative pricing and invoicing strategy that solve a client's short term cash flow problem.
Your clients are probably not expecting a second option, and your competitors have probably not offered one. Since they will be spending a greater amount over time anyway, it will be logical for them to buy more now. This is your chance to be creative and come up with an offer that is in their best interests and compels them to commit now. It leverages the personal trust you have worked so hard to build with another offer that confirms your intent to provide your clients more value over time.
When you win the larger sale with the second option, your competitors (who were probably focused on lowering their price to win) will be flabbergasted when they find out about the size of your sale! But even if the clients turn down the second option this, they will remember that you offered an attractive alternative, and that in turn helps to build more trust in you for the future.
Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople simple steps to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. Her FREE monthly Sales Conversation newsletter is full of tips on how to sell your services by just being yourself. Sign up now at www.salesconversation.com.
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