In today's world, people are surrounded by a huge abundance of goods and services. And in order not only to survive, but also to develop, not a single company can do without the ability to promote their products well. Any business is built on making a profit, and it directly depends on the quantity and quality of transactions.
Sales technique
This definition usually means the totality of the seller’s actions aimed at attracting the attention of the client to his product and ending with a transaction. The correct and well-established sales technique is the key to the prosperity of any company.
The ability to establish contact with the buyer, build trust, competently present their goods is very appreciated and well paid. Today there is a mass of educational literature, courses, seminars and trainings where you can gain special knowledge and acquire new skills.
A good manager should be able to not only correctly describe the merits of the goods offered. It is necessary to be able to work with the client’s objections, to recognize and determine his needs and concerns, and to correctly respond to various situations.
Types of sales
There are several main types:
- Active sales. Most often used in the b2b segment. Their essence is that the manager forms the customer base and begins active work with it. This includes cold calls, meetings, presentations, work with customers who have already bought. Hence the name - active, since the main initiative comes from the seller.
- Passive sales. It's the opposite here. Activity comes already from buyers - they are interested in buying a product or service and they themselves find sellers and come to them. Examples include supermarkets, shops selling household appliances and products, online stores. Those. This type is used by all organizations focused on a wide consumer.
- Direct sales. A variation where the seller communicates directly with the buyer. For example, in the showroom of a household appliance store.
- Indirect sales. The main difference between this type and the above is the lack of direct contact of the company with customers. A striking example is the use of diverse advertising.
Sales Technique Stages
In theory, it is customary to distinguish 5 classic actions aimed at establishing contact with the client and the subsequent purchase of goods. In fact, this is an ideal plan for a transaction, on the basis of which it is necessary to build a dialogue with a client.
However, in reality, it is rarely possible to act strictly according to the indicated scenario. Therefore, the stages are interchanged, some are skipped - it all depends on the specific situation. But in any case, building a dialogue with a client according to a predetermined plan is much better than spontaneous actions. Since it’s much easier for a prepared person to improvise.
The main stages of the sales technique:
- Acquaintance with the client, establishing the first contact with him.
- Identification of customer needs.
- Competent and unobtrusive presentation of the goods.
- Work with customer objections.
- Make a deal.
Acquaintance with the client and determination of his needs
The most important stage in sales is the first contact with the buyer. A connection has been long established between customers' sympathies for sellers and their purchases. This means that if a person for some reason does not cause the buyer sympathy, the transaction is likely to fail.
There are simple rules, following which helps to make a good impression on a person at the first contact:
- Goodwill towards the client. A simple smile really helps.
- Neat appearance.It is unlikely that anyone will want to deal with a seller with spots on his shirt.
- Ask a couple of questions that the client will answer “Yes” to.
It usually takes a couple of minutes to form a first impression, however, if it is negative, a person will leave without buying anything.
The next step is to correctly identify the needs of the buyer. It is advisable for the seller to unobtrusively ask the leading questions to find out what the client really wants. It is important here not to go too far and structure your questions in such a way as to get detailed answers.
Presentation of goods, work with objections and closing the transaction
Proper presentation of the product is always based on the information collected in the previous step. Thus, two goals are achieved at once. Firstly, the customer is clearly shown how the purchase solves his problems, and secondly, part of the objection is cut off. But they will certainly be. Very rarely, a transaction is closed without objection, since everyone is simply afraid to make a mistake. At this point, a good sales technique is important. Work with objections is the need to fully listen to the buyer and dispel his doubts as much as possible.
After you have sorted out the main objections, you can smoothly proceed to the completion of the transaction. Here it should be gently but surely push the buyer to pay, because usually a person still has little doubt.
Following these simple steps helps to avoid many difficulties and sell easily and confidently. Of course, each industry has its own nuances that must be taken into account, but the basic principles remain unchanged. For example, the sales technique in a store can be very different depending on the product being offered.
