Can a blogger learn anything from a salesperson? Isn’t a salesperson someone who rings the doorbell of people’s homes and bother them with unwanted goods? Still, you do enjoy buying stuff from some salespeople, don’t you? How do they make your experience memorable? Here are 10 things you can learn a salesperson and incorporate them on your blog.
1. Listen
A true salesperson listens; he or she does not just pitch the product and focus only on a sale. When you really listen to your potential customer’s needs, you learn a lot about them. Good sales people want to add value to their customer’s lives, not just make money.
2. Follow Up
Great salespeople don’t wait for the customer to contact after the first sales pitch has been made. They allow for a decent interval and then call and follow up. They’ll even offer to visit and demonstrate the product again if required. Sometimes a potential customer might be very interested, but forget to get back to you. A good salesperson knows when the fish is ready to bite and will throw in a tempting offer at the right moment to close the sale.
3. Establish A Rapport
How do you deal with your customers? Do you bother to network with them on a personal basis? Do you try to understand their wavelength and build a rapport? Is your customer happy to talk to you about other things besides your product?
4. Offer Personal Guidance
Some customers are quick to the uptake and don’t need much explaining. Some of them need greater handholding. It doesn’t do to show your annoyance with them, through voice or action. Explain product features multiple times and resend that email if your customer has lost it. It doesn’t matter – you’re here to make money out of them, so it’s your duty to go the extra mile and be available to the customers that need you more.
5. Be Patient
True salespeople know that it takes time to close a deal. They have the confidence to know that eventually, the customer will buy and that a relationship will be built. They know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. A solid business takes years to build and a long term customer is a permanent asset.
6. Establish Long Term Relationships
A really good salesperson focuses on the relationship and not just the sale. He or she knows, that you can sell one product today, but it’s the repeat orders that keep you in business. Focus on your clients’ well being and not just on the numbers. Remember their birthdays and anniversaries, and make them feel special.
7. Make The Customer Happy
A good salesperson knows how to create the right impression, and how to make a sale and yet make the customer happy. They make their customers comfortable, get to know them, empathize with them and show that they truly care. This is what makes the difference.
8. Be Tenacious
You try once and if the customer doesn’t buy your product or doesn’t listen to you, do you give up? The best salespeople don’t give up easily. They take the first ‘No’ as a ‘Maybe’ and keep going. They just shift tactics, but they don’t give up.
9. Keep Closing Deals
The closing of a deal is a salesperson’s winning game, just like winning a race is an athlete’s game. They keep themselves motivated by closing deals all the time. To achieve this, they throw a wide enough net so that there are always prospects to close.
10. Show A Calm Face
Your business may not be doing well, and you may be personally unhappy, but there’s no call to let your customer know that. Keep a calm face, a ready smile and a cool handshake for your customer. Let your customer see your suave side and put the rest behind a curtain.
Steven writes for website design company GO-Gulf.com, a leading provider of web application development solutions in Middle East.
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