5. Summarise customer needs and wants

Before presenting your idea, product or service, summarise customer’s needs and wants using following structure: ·Thank customer for giving you information ·Ask them if it would be helpful to summarise key points to check your understanding of their requirements ·Feedback key points from your notes if appropriate (the customer will probably correct any misunderstandings en route) ·Check that you have a reasonable and accurate understanding and ask them if they have anything to add.

6. Present relevant propositions

Based on accepted summary, only present ideas / products / services that are relevant to customer. Link advantages of your propositions to customer’s needs and wants. Avoid ‘pitching’ of irrelevant propositions. Emphasise benefits — ‘pay-offs’ in relation to their needs and wants. As you present, test customer's commitment, e.g. “how’s it sounding so far Mr Brown?”

7. Have relevant proofs to hand

Through above process you will generate a good match between customer’s requirements and your offering. To gain customer’s commitment you need to develop their belief that your solution will work. Your claims need substantiation or evidence to overcome any customer doubt or scepticism. Good examples of proofs are: customer references; case study materials; charts; brochures; product information sheets; press releases etc.

8. Expect objections and prepare for them

Objections are a sign of genuine customer interest. Without them, sales are rarely made! It’s imperative that we unearth any objections as one to fear most is one we don’t know about! Most objections raise their heads regularly and can be anticipated. Get together with your colleagues and develop ‘best of breed’ answers.

9. Develop an information base

Unless you are dealing with a ‘one-off’ contact / sale, develop an information base on company / individual. Whether on a sophisticated CRM system or on ‘shoebox’ record cards, keep details of all previous conversations, in particular their needs and wants. Develop a check list of background information you would like to collect for each customer. Use this as an aide memoire for questions to be asked in conjunction with ones required to define needs and wants for your offering.

10. Follow-up and keep initiative

Every “no” gets you closer to a “yes.” Based on your conversion ratios and average sales value work out how much each “no” is worth. It can be quite motivational! A “no” today is not necessarily a “no” forever. Gain customer’s commitment to next stage even if it’s only to take a follow-up call in 6 months. Never rely on customer to come back to you (usually they don’t). Keep control of sale and keep momentum going. If all else fails, qualify customer out and get on with something else. This in itself is a win.

In summary, our experience is that you will ‘sell-up’ and ‘cross-sell’ more effectively by following these practical guidelines. Furthermore, evidence strongly indicates that customers will more readily buy into your company’s added-value across-the-board if you successfully integrate guidelines into your sales approach.

4. Mistake: Omitting testimonials.

Solutions: Testimonials sell more books than any other information on back cover. Put three or four up. Contact a variety of people. Use one from a top professional in your field, one from a satisfied reader, one from a celebrity who cares about your topic, and one from a famous media person.

In her book, "A Kick in Your Inspiration", Ruth Cleveland got one testimonial from an exconvict!

Jacqueline Marcell, author of "Elder Rage," took eight months to get forty testimonials from celebrities. Her book is endorsed by: Steve Allen, Ed Asner, Dr. Dean Edell, Dr. John Gray, Dr. Nancy Snyderman/ABC, Regis Philbin. Jacqueline Bisset, and Phyllis Diller it was worth effort, because in April, 2001, she made cover of AARP Bulletin distributed to over 35 million readers. It included a feature story, some how-tos and contacts and large pictures of author and her book. She had to dance fast, and order 10,000 books to get distributed by time piece came out. After it came out, she was inundated with speaking engagements. There's a problem you might love to have!

After you write several books and become rich and famous, you, like other professionals, will fill your back cover with testimonials. You won't even need to add benefits, because people have already bought your other books and liked them. Potential buyers will purchase when they see people they trust and know recommend book. Besides filling back cover with testimonials, you may want to even add extra testimonials in front pages of book. The more testimonials, better! for more information, contact book coach.

5. Mistake. Independent publishers submitting galleys to reviewers, distributors, and wholesales without ANY back cover information.

Solutions:People who may help author want back cover! Make back cover your first area of concern, "says Susan Howard, Director of Consulting Services at top publishingfirm, The Jenkins Group Inc., who write "The Publishing Connection" She adds, "Waiting for testimonials is generally reason back cover of a galley is left blank. Failure to realize value of back cover seems to equate with failure to realize that text for finished back cover can always be changed before printing of book."

It's important for writers to "market while they write"-- To make each part of their book sell copies. Your book's back cover is all- important.