Do's & Don't Do's

from SalesDog.com:

Successful Selling Dos and Don'ts

by Michael Dalton Johnson

The best salespeople have a solid understanding of human nature and what motivates prospects buy. It's always good to revisit some of their winning sales strategies and touch on behaviors the pros avoid.

• Do get emotional. When presenting your product or service, do not attempt to appeal strictly to the buyer's rational mind with a list of perfectly logical reasons to buy. Instead, fire their imaginations, and appeal to their emotions. Stress the benefits and rewards of owning your product or using your services. Use colorful verbal illustrations that stress benefits. Sprinkle in some brief case histories. Be likeable. Have some fun. Smile. Above all, let the customer do most of the talking. Take the pressure to buy out of the experience, and the successful close will come naturally.

• Don't interrogate buyers. A recent article in a leading sales publication advised "intense questioning" of prospects to determine their needs. The writer included a laundry list of questions that were both intrusive and transparent. Sophisticated buyers perceive too many probing questions, especially in the first stages of a meeting, as a pitch-tailoring sales tactic—which, of course, is exactly what it is. If you get prospects talking and follow the 80/20 Rule—you listen 80% of the time and talk only 20% of the time, many of your questions will be answered before you even ask them. Sure, you will still have to ask questions and seek clarification. But your fact-finding process should flow naturally in response to buyers' comments and conversational pauses. Do not put them on the hot seat.

• Do have the answer. In most business-to-business sales situations, the central question on buyers' minds is, "What's in it for me?" Take note: the question is, "What's in it for me?" not, "What's in it for my company?" Let prospects know how your product or service will help them to:

Make their jobs easier		Look good to management
Gain respect and prestige		Advance their careers
Be appreciated		Save time
Have some fun and excitement		Minimize their personal risk

Remember, the central question you must answer for the prospect is, "What's in it for me?"

There's 7 more tips right here.

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