Improve Your Sales Pitch #5: Just Ask Questions

Asking questions is really quite a complimentary act. A few weeks ago a broadband salesman came to my house for a prearranged appointment to discuss my needs for an internet connection but seemed more interested in my art business. I was not expecting to answer so many questions but was glad to do so.

When the salesman entered my house we first had to pass through a reception room to go through to the room where my PCs are. The reception room, which doubles as a gallery and storage room for my painted art canvases, is usually a conversation starter for visitors and a good rapport builder.

Wasted Opportunities #3: No Written Contract and a Damaged Relationship

This one of many retrospective accounts of a money making idea blundered or not followed up because of procrastination.
It serves as my own reminder and as a lesson for future reference.

Dear diary…

In 2007 I set up a small illustration venture producing postcards and greetings cards depicting my town. Being keen and green I was naturally eager to get these illustrated products on sale in as many shops, libraries, museums and similar locations as possible. My prospecting of potential outlets led to me striking up a good working relationship with the local borough council museum. While working a few part time jobs in addition to the business experiment, the free time was used in volunteering at the museum (good for the C.V. and an ideal way to network). This was the route I took in establishing a mutual agreement for the display and sale of my work. Critically, several important factors were left out of my decision making.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #4: Make Each Word Count

Some sales people regard business as getting into a market, making money and then getting out – before they're found out.  It is these narcissistic characters who regard themselves as having the “gift of the gab.” They imagine prospects as sporting opponents instead of human beings with needs. A good sales person will instead align themselves with the prospect and deliver product or service values to meet those needs.

When approaching a new client you ought to have some idea who they are prior to a meeting. We do not enter a selling situation completely disarmed with no clue what to say. In these circumstances the tendency is to either clam up or talk too much. By all means be enthusiastic but employ suitable restraint plus pinpoint accuracy. Know exactly what you want to say. Adopt an approach where wasted words are left out.

Save Those Receipts!

Keeping records of business expenses by saving your receipts need not be the headache we imagine. Setting up a simple Excel spreadsheet and religiously entering your monthly outgoings shows how the business is performing in terms of costs vs. sales. 

Beside demonstrating potential savings and averting hemorrhages in your cash flow, you can claim back expenses when you submit your tax return.

New businesses can claim costs dating 12 months prior to the official trading date. In other words, once you begin paying National Insurance contributions the costs incurred In the 52 week period before the first N.I. payment is tax deductable.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #3: Use Mirroring

Mirroring is the subtle technique of imitating gestures, posture or words to foster a deeper connection. This builds helps build trust, or rapport, but is a method very easily blundered to devastating consequences. Copy a prospect’s movements like a monkey impersonating its trainer and you may find yourself accused of being manipulative or making fun.

Rather, try to deploy a few similar gestures at key points during the conversation. If your prospect leans back in his chair, you might want to wait a few minutes before doing likewise. With successful mirroring you may discover, for example, when you lean forward to mention something of particular interest, the prospect automatically falls in line with your body language and also leans forward.

Do You Have the Time for Success? - Julio Melara (Book Review)

The premise of this book is that success is a byproduct of learning, information and growth. The acronym “TIME” is used to represent Talent, Information, Motivation and Enthusiasm in what is essentially a self help book. A quick read and laden with good advice, I occasionally refer to it to refresh my mind or receive a pep talk during difficult circumstances.

The discerning reader is often wary of zealous American “motivation” authors, finding their rhetoric so akin to political speak that they’re mistrustful of the message. Despite any pandering, lip service or over the top “You can do it” bravado, the author clearly means well and I am with him 100% in his assertions that we must take control of our lives, thoughts and beliefs if we want to achieve anything worthwhile. Taking action is more important than mere words, he says.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #2: It’s Not What You Say, It's How You Act

It's how you act that counts. It is estimated 7% of overall communication is performed using words. The remainder, made up of gestures or paralinguistic signs acting as subconscious cues, tell the truth about our current state. That is, how we feel, what we think. Speech consists of pitch, loudness, rate, and fluency yet much of the content goes largely unnoticed. With this in mind what do you actually say to others when you talk?

Body language is built into human biology so it is reasonable to assume the physical disposition acts as a pre-sell. Customers make decisions about your products based on how you present yourself. We all like to think of ourselves as being none-judgmental, reasonable people but, unfortunately, no one is perfect. The reality is, we all make assumptions constantly.

Leverage Seasonal Sales Trends

Are you making the most of specific times of the year for a push in sales? Christmas is the obvious example and an opportunity to cash in on people’s spending patterns.

Though confidence in general may not be what it once was (most of us must face a new year money hangover) it is a period when the majority of the population is in buying in mode.

A few years ago I secured business funding from a charity and used it to produce a few thousand greetings cards. Although on sale during most of the winter, and off sale during summer, the remaining weeks in the lead up to Christmas is the time for really pushing the products and raising the profile of my business.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #1: Be in the Business of Selling Ideas

Ever wondered how to increase sales, communication and client rapport in your sales meetings? Would you say prefer to say less and sell more? A capitalist economy depends on sales so let's accept we must practice the art of persuasion and influence to some degree.

You will have experienced situations where you do not buy because the sales man or woman presents poorly. They may be nervous, unenthusiastic or even mildly apologetic. A rookie mistake is to take the phrase “the customer is always right” so literally that they end up talking a prospect OUT of buying because objections are not handled properly. The customer is in fact wrong because they have rejected a proposal they do not fully understand.