Here are three simple ways to sell anything. You can use them in person, on telephone, or with email.

Way 1: Start a conversation. I never realized how effective this super-simple method was until I met Ted. He is able to get an order an amazing 98% of time.

How does he do it? "Simple. I just talk to people," he says.

It all started early in Ted's career when he couldn't seem to sell anything. "I had recently gotten married and just when I really wanted to succeed, no one seemed interested in my sales pitches."

Sometimes our best ideas come when we're really discouraged. Ted got so down on his sales technique he forgot about it and just started talking with people. Amazingly, they bought. Sales started to trickle, then turned into a flood as Ted became company's top sales person for his region.

I watched closely to see how Ted does it. He starts up a conversation. As soon as you mention something about yourself, he show a big interest. He talks about whatever you are interested in.

I immediately feel like Ted is a friend I've known all my life. After twenty to forty minutes, Ted casually says "so can we get you set up with an order?" After such a good conversation, 98% of his prospects say yet.

Way 2: Ask questions. This is a very simple way to sell and it works for both products and services.

Most customers don't know half as much about your product as you do. In fact, most probably don't know much at all. Yet it is a rare customer who starts off by saying I'm a complete idiot on this.

Ask questions to help find customers find areas where they need more information. They may not even know what areas they want to know more about.

Customers have learned they can ask you for a lower price and often get it. If you don't offer some kind of concession, a big percentage of your prospects will move on to another business who WILL give them a price cut.

Price cutting is more prevalent in some industries than others. I wouldn't dream of asking my doctor to drop his fee for an office visit, but I wouldn't think twice about asking salesperson at car dealership if they could knock a few hundred off sticker price.

How do you drop your price without losing your profit? I mean, lots of sales are good (which you're likely to get if you drop your prices), but lots of sales that don't make a profit will bankrupt your business in a hurry. Here are a few tips:

1. If you recently dropped your price, point out that cut to customer, then give her an additional 10 percent reduction. Note total amount she is saving over your old price. When economy is tightening and prices are dropping, this strategy can work well for you.

2. Vary amount of price concessions. If you give customer a $20 price cut, don't give her an additional $20 price reduction next time she asks. Your customer will immediately figure she can ask a third time and once again get an additional $20 off. Instead, make your second price reduction $15 or $10. This tends to stave off additional requests.