Sales Techniques That Will Close Sales

Have you wondered why, despite being able to describe the benefits of the products you are selling, the customer did not buy? You were told not to sell features but the benefits of the product, and that is exactly what you did. Yet you are not able to close the deal. What is that missing element that is needed?

The answer may be that the benefits you described are not benefits that apply to the customer. The question is what is in it for the customer to be interested in what you are selling.

If you are selling to a business organization, focus first on the business requirements that are driving this deal. Whatever you sell had better give returns to the business. Otherwise, this might be your last sale to this organization.

Once you know the business needs, then connect them to the benefits that your product can offer. This means you must know your product's features and related benefits. If you already know your product well, that is half the battle won. If not, you got to find out. If yours is a technical product, a user based understanding is all that is needed for a sales person. Later, you can bring in technical expertise as needed.

The next thing to do is to establish the needs of the business that your product can meet. Present this from the customer's perspective and your chances of closing the deal are very much increased. There will, of course, be competitive products and prices to be considered.

Having described the concept, how can you do this in a well organized way? In this case, first list all the product features and their related benefits. Now for each of the benefits, write down what is the business need that can be met. Once you have written all of these down, convert these to questions that you can ask the customer.

You will find repetition in this first version. Clean it up and organize the questions in a natural flow. Note down also the benefits and features along with the questions.

You can now use this questionnaire when you meet the customer. If required, you can also discuss benefits and features of the product. Getting quantifiable information will help in the business justification later.

When the customer sees that you know your contents, you can expect a better response as the customer knows that you are not wasting any time. The respect you show for the customer's time is a very good basis to build a good customer relationship.

This technique will help you establish which benefits will help the customer based on the business requirements as established by the customer.

The next step is for you to understand the customer's industry and to be able to articulate the trends and why requirements not articulated by the customer should also be considered. Typically, customers appreciate this additional knowledge that you bring to the situation.

So far, it has all been about value to the business. Successful selling also needs empathy to human needs. Quite often, the person you are selling to will be well versed in the operational aspect of the job, but will have a limited knowledge of the industry direction. They are typically driven by the daily operations. While they may know industry directions, they normally appreciate any specific information that will help them.

The impact of technology has made people look differently at how a business can be successfully transformed. Here again, is another opportunity for you to be of value to your client. It is not sufficient that the customer buys a good or great product. They also need to know how to use it such that they can maximize the returns on the investment.

You need to be able to justify why your product will give better returns. If necessary, you may also need to meet others in the business to show how your products will have an impact on their business.

Presenting your product information, features and benefits and the quotation for the product is just not enough. You must articulate how the products uniquely benefit the business. You must be able to provide information and data related to the business. You know how it will help their business. If you can do this very well, they will even sometimes call on you to ask your opinion because they know you care about the success of their business, and not just on the sales and commissions.

There will be other challenges, especially regarding prices. Even if the product price is lower than the competition, if you cannot relate the value of your product to the business's needs, it will be tough to close the sale. With the kind of value proposition that you can bring to the table, you will stand a much higher chance of closing the deal.

One exception will be when you find out during the investigation stage that the customer is not ready for your products yet or does not need them. Be big enough to walk away. You would have established your credibility. When the customer does need your products, he will call you because he knows that he can trust you.

Take some time to prepare a questionnaire as described above, if there is none right now. Use it to understand the customer's business requirements. Then present it based on the unique customer requirements. With these techniques, you will get the customer's attention because you are helping to solve their business issues using your product. You stand a much better chance of not only winning the deal, but building a rapport and trust with the customer for the longer term.

Should Your "Company Ethics" Be Used as a Marketing Tool?

Ethical Marketing. For some companies that phrase may seem like an oxymoron similar to “government intelligence.” For others however, it’s a core operating value.

What exactly is “Ethical marketing”? According to a recently released white paper on that subject, ethical marketing is a model of ethical interactivity between businesses and consumers that includes seven practices – notice, choice, access, contact, security, horizon and intrusiveness.

Every day there are exciting new technologies being created that open up endless possibilities for Internet Marketers. As a small business owner, your email box is probably already flooded with offers every day, telling you about the “next big thing” that will help you sell more of your products or services to scores of hungry buyers.

Right now, when a customer visits your Website, you’ve got the potential to track what pages they visit, how long they stay, what links they follow. To help make buying from you even easier, your customers have the option of letting you “remember” their personal information – everything from physical address to preferences and previous purchases to their credit card information.

You can even get their personal information – such as IP and email addresses, without them having to type a single word, or lift a finger to click a mouse.

Technology, by itself, isn’t inherently good or bad. What makes the difference is your intent and how you use it.

Here are five issues when it comes to addressing privacy issues that you should be thinking about, to ensure that your company is participating in “ethical marketing” practices.

Gathering Information – Addressing Consumer Privacy Issues

NOTICE: Do you tell consumers what information you’re collecting, how it will be used, whether it will be disclosed to anyone else, and whether or not you’re using cookies?

CHOICE: Do you give visitors to your Website the choice to agree with how you gather information and use it?

ACCESS: Do visitors to your Website have access to the information you collect about them? Do they have the ability to review and make changes to that information?

SECURITY: Do you let your customers know that you understand their concerns about the protection of their private information, and use best practices when transferring or storing their information?

CONTACT: Do your visitors and know how to contact you, and have the name of someone in your company to ask questions or register complaints about privacy concerns or complaints? And are those concerns or complaints handled in a professional manner immediately?

Being ethical and honest in all business dealings has always been considered good business practice. Doing business the way it has “always been done” just doesn’t work with savvy consumers any longer. In the wake of scandals like Enron and Arthur Anderson and others, consumers have become more cautious and skeptical and want to know more about the companies they’re doing business with. Because of their concerns over privacy and safety issues, many consumers are still hesitant about making purchases on the Web.

So can your company’s core operating values – its ethics – become an effective marketing tool?

Some experts say yes.

Here are some of the top ways small businesses can attract new customers and maintain strong support and loyalty from current ones:

1. Include words about your company’s integrity, commitment to excellence and high standards in all your marketing, advertising and on your Webpages. When you’re thinking about what you want to say, think about these questions: How long has your company been committed to excellence? Do you believe in integrity? How do you handle customer service?

2. Offer concrete examples of how you’re committed to excellence, integrity and honesty in all your dealings. Instead of just saying “Our service department is committed to excellence” explain why. What procedure do they follow? How are your employees involved in ensuring customer satisfaction? What guarantees do you offer your customers?

3. Get feedback from your customers. Even if you’re the only employee in your business, you can benefit from one of the secrets used by the Fortune 500 companies – it’s called “primary market research” but what it boils down to is asking your customers questions. Find out what they liked about doing business with you. But also ask what they DIDN’T like, and then take steps to solve any problems right away! Don’t make excuses, and don’t make it tough for your customers to fix something they consider to be a problem. Figure out a guarantee, and then stand behind it.

4. If you own a brick and mortar store, you can run quarterly promotions and in-house contests. For example, one inexpensive idea is to run a contest that rewards the employee who provides the best customer service during a specific time period. Or give your employees buttons that say “Ask about our 100 percent guarantee” etc. You can get really creative and make it fun for your customers and your employees, with the end result that everyone knows about your companies ethics and core operating values.

5. Add tag lines under your company name that talk about your company’s values. Include the same tag line on all marketing materials. Just remember to use statements that your company will be able to stand behind for a long time, because once that’s what you become known for, the image will stick.

Just remember that if you're going to use your company's ethics as a marketing tool, you need to adhere to them completely, with a "no tolerance" policy for any unethical practices. If you don't, this marketing tool could backfire, and you'll end up losing your credibility and your customers.