Sales Jobs Tips - The Stages Of Selling

The Sales Team is an integral part of any organizational tree, they have the most critical responsibility – that is to make sure that products are sold. Choosing excellent sales personnel is important, however it is time consuming. Once you have your sales force, it is important that they undergo training. Even a salesperson who sold 100 cars in his old job needs a lesson or two about the products he’ll be selling. The consumers will also be different however generic the product is. Aside from product instruction, offer training for sales techniques – which are continuously. However, it’s better to focus on time tested techniques before you have them set out on an important task, that is to represent the company.

The basis for a lot of new sales techniques were derived from the following five stages.

Attention: For most companies, the only way their products will get noticed is through print and TV advertisements. Most consumers’ attentions are grabbed by packaging, pricing and brand association.

Interest:“Life is so much easier with …” How many times have you heard that slogan or at least a similar one, describing how your life will change with this product. Consumers will want to know why!

Desire. Once your consumers are curious about the product, the next thing you can do is build up their desire to have that product in their household. Give them a sample of the product, or let them handle it. Touch is the best way to increase a person’s desire.

Conviction. Further their desire by providing consumers with testimonials from happy customers. Compare your product to others in the market, and explain why yours is significantly better than the competitor’s.
Action. This could very well close the deal for consumers. Gently persuade the customer to buy the product, by asking how many they would like to order. Or if it’s a car, ask what color they want it in so you can check if it’s available.

There are numerous closing techniques ranging from soft sells to hard sells, but focus on these more successful methods when closing a deal with a customer.

1. Direct Close – When you’re sure that the customer is ready to purchase, just ask for the order.
2. Deal/Concession Close – By giving the customer the feeling that they are indeed saving money or at least making a clever purchase, they will feel inclined to buy from you. You can start by saying, “If you order this today, I’d be happy to give you a discount or free shipping”.
3. Time-Driven Close – You can start out by saying that the items are selling like pancakes and that they should order that day before prices go up or stocks run out.
4. Trial Offer – By giving your customer a chance to test the product in their home or office, they can find out for themselves what the product can actually do for them. A customer who has experienced a good product first hand will most likely buy it.