Sell Without Feeling Like A Used Car SalesmanBy Julie Chance
Many business owners and professionals are appalled at
thought of having to sell their products or services. If you are going to be successful though, regardless of your profession, you are also going to be in business of selling. But you don’t have to don a plaid jacket and adopt sales techniques that have made used car salesman infamous.
If we are uncomfortable “selling” our services, it is generally because we are trying to “sell” before someone has reached purchase stage of buying process. While selling may never be favorite part of your job, by implementing a systematic process you can move potential clients into purchase phase and increase your comfort level and success with selling.
Imagine that you were in market to purchase a big screen TV. You had visited a couple of stores to see what was available, done some research on internet, talked with friends, and narrowed choice down to 3 models. Now you have a few questions you need answered to help you make your decision. You go to appliance superstore, a salesperson approaches you as you enter department and asks if she can be of help. She asks you a few questions about where you plan to put it, your budget, and what primary use will be. She answers your questions and helps you decide on model that is best for you. Not only are you not put off by salesperson, you would have been upset if there would not have been a salesperson to help you.
Contrast this with a situation where you are visiting an appliance superstore with a friend. You decide to go check out big screen TVs because you’ve been thinking about getting one. The same salesperson approaches you and asks if she can help you. You say, “No thanks I’m just browsing.” As if she hadn’t heard your reply, she starts asking you same questions as in scenario above. However, this time you find questions annoying and sales person pushy.
The difference in these two scenarios is simply your position in buying process. How would it have been different if instead of insisting on asking you a series of questions she had simply given you an article re-print from Consumer Reports and a list of 10 questions to consider before purchasing a big screen TV with store’s name, her name and telephone number at bottom?
The process people go through in making a buying decision is:
•Phase 1: Awareness and Knowledge •Phase 2: Liking and Preference •Phase 3: Conviction and Purchase
The only people you should try to sell your products or services to are those people in conviction and purchase phase. The problem is many businesses do not implement necessary steps to move prospective clients to Phase 3 so they are constantly trying to sell to prospects that are in Phase 1.
Think about it like this, you and your products or services are standing at edge of a chasm on Mount Everest. I call it Purchase Chasm™. Your potential customers are on other side. Your job is to get those prospects to cross chasm on a flimsy aluminum ladder, one step at a time and ultimately purchase your services. At this stage your objective is simply to get them to take that first step out onto ladder, followed by another until they reach ultimate decision to purchase. You don’t push, manipulate or cajole them into purchasing. You simply serve as a guide providing information and assistance through process.
