How to sell more: ”Sell” Less! March 30, 2014 – Posted in: Sales and Marketing – Tags: ,

Value client relationships

This method flies in the face of many sales programs that tell you to get clients to buy $XXXX amount in the first meeting.  It is extremely unfortunate that many business hire professional con artists to lie and steal from customers.

I know because I have seen programs geared to this objective.  They teach sales people to take as much money in the first meeting as possible and they even reward their employees for using this approach!

Anyone with half a brain will tell you that this is a disaster plan over the long run for any business.  Clients will resent and hate a business that manipulates and treats them as a means to an end.  Personally, I have been deceived, taken advantage of, and even outright lied to by salespeople and I know the feeling is terrible.

Theoretically there’s nothing wrong with this approach as long as you don’t scare off potential buyers. But in reality, the more reasonable, profitable and consistently successful method is to earn trust first.

How to Sell

Personally, I’v found being overly aggressive and trying to make a bank raid on the first meeting isn’t always the best approach. Don’t ever try to get your clients to over commit. Just concern the business with over delivering. The rest will take care of itself.  This is how to sell.

The best way to sell is to get your customers to become lifetime repeat buyers.  This is the best sales strategy you can possibly have.

How To Sell 300x182

3d illustration of a conceptual gauge with needle pointing the last stage of a sales process. Inbound marketing concept.

Answer these 3 questions:

  1. How can you make them actually want to come back again?
  2. What will you do to facilitate this?
  3. How can you make the next purchase both an easy and irresistible no brainer decision for your client?

With this approach you will ensure that the customer is getting his needs and wants taken care of.  For us, we want to ensure that his needs are taken care of, but perhaps more importantly, the client wants his wants taken care of as well. Try to deliver both.

In most service businesses, clients are actually more concerned with their wants then their needs.

For example, a fitness client is more interested in fun then losing fat.  A dentist client is more concerned with comfort then teeth health.  A massage client is more concerned about a relaxing experience then healing their body.

Our job is to make sure that the client’s wants are delivered.  This is what will make them want to come back.  But it is also important that their needs are taken care of as well.  A true professional at the top of his game does both.