Before you even interact with the customer, you need to be armed with a few simple tools:
- Expert Domain-specific Knowledge – especially if you intend to be able to convince someone to trust you enough to give you money for something, you need to know not just your product or service thoroughly, but you need to know as much as possible about competitors and the market as a whole.
- Know Customer Types – you should have customer categories already laid out in your mind which can be applied to your customer. This will help you build rapport and gain the customer's trust, increasing the chance of making a sale.
- Confidence – no one is going to take the advice of someone who doesn’t seem to believe in him or herself. Be confident in your knowledge and ability to help the customer. It will help you stay in control of the conversation, which is a must.
- Honesty – you should always be honest with your customer. If you sell them a bill of goods that they later find out isn’t what you described, they may set out to tarnish your reputation to the best of their ability. Be prepared to only offer services relevant to their needs. You should also be ready with personal stories of your own which may help you to empathize with your customer, building a relationship of trust.
MORE RESOURCES
Critical for attaining competency in this topic.
4 Customer Social Styles and The Adaptive Sales Approach
This is a handy article which describes four different types of social styles of customers, and how to adapt your sales approach to maximize the odds of a successful sale.
Becoming Familiar with Your Products
This video explains the importance of becoming a product expert, and how you can do this to increase your sales.
Studying Companies that Sell Similar Products
This video explains the importance of becoming a product expert, and how you can do this to increase your sales.
Identifying Reasons to Choose Your Business
This video explains the "elevator pitch", and how important it is to develop a quick pitch which describes the value of your business over others.