21 Tips That Will Help You To Double Your Sales

Sales Techniques – Examples

Time is money, so let’s not waste it and move on! Below, you will find sales techniques for everyday use at work.

Reply to the Contact Request as Soon as Possible

If the potential customer has requested a contact, don’t wait forever to reach him, but contact him immediately.
It is proved statistically the faster you answer, the more likely he’ll become your client.

A survey conducted in 2007, 2012 and 2014 by Insidesales.com among 14,061 companies based in the United States of America shows that companies, which respond to the contact request within 5 minutes have almost 100 times greater chance of dragging the lead to the next stage of the sales funnel. With CallPage, you can reduce time to lead to a mere 28 seconds.

Make 6 Contact Attempts

Most traders give up after the second phone call attempt.

It’s a widespread mistake!

Research show that the amount of six phone attempts is the key to success.

Velocify report mentioned above states that as many as 93% of leads could be reached only after the sixth attempt.

So, it is not worth giving up!

READ ALSO: How to Talk to Customers? Client Communication Best Practices

Call on Wednesdays and Thursdays

Did you know that the day of the week in which you decide to contact the customer can affect the success of the conversion?

You probably guess that Monday is not the best day to contact your clients.

When is it worth doing then?

Research shows that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the most favorable days to reach your potential customers.

Call in the Early Morning or Late Afternoon

The time you contact your customer can determine whether this deal will be closed.

You certainly cannot read your customers’ minds or predict if they have an important conversation with the boss at the moment or if he/she will pick up their children from kindergarten.

However, according to the surveys conducted by Lead Response Management, the best time to contact a client is between 8 am  – 9am or 4  pm – 6pm.

Tell That You Don’t Take Much of Their Time

Try not giving the potential client an excuse to hang up the phone.

Therefore, instead of asking questions like “Do you have a minute to talk?” or “Is it a good time to talk?”, “I hope I didn’t inconvenience you.”say that talking to you will not take long.

At this moment it is worth determining precisely how much it will take.

Why?

We like specifics, and people who rely on it are more trustful.

You admit that the sentence: „I’ll only take 3 minutes” sounds more professional than „I’ll take only a moment.”

No one will tell you exactly if the conversation took three minutes or five.

But remember not to overdo it.

Smile!

You should smile from the first seconds of the conversation. Even if you are on the phone, don’t worry, your interlocutor will notice the difference. When we smile, our voice sounds differently.

The smile makes us seem more positive. We then create a better impression on the potential customer.

Speak Slowly and Clearly

The basic principle of effective communication is a clear pronunciation of words.

Do not let conversation with you become an effort for the client. Take care of diligent pronunciation and try not to speak too fast.

If you are on the phone, watch the position of your phone.

Specify the Purpose of Your Call

There is nothing worse than a conversation that leads nowhere.

Always remember to tell the customer why you called him and what is your offer.

This rule also applies when the customer calls you.

Try to determine the purpose of the contact and define the way in which you will solve the problem reported by the customer.

You will both represent yourself as a professional and avoid misunderstandings.

Ask Open Questions

Involving a potential customer in a conversation is the first step towards closing the deal.

To make it happen, try to ask more open questions to which the client will be able to give a longer answer.

For example: if you want to encourage your potential customer to buy a new phone plan, you can ask him if he is satisfied with the idea he is currently using and why, or what he would like to change.

Open questions will help you to keep the client involved, understand his needs and match the right offer for him.

If you start bombarding the interlocutor with closed questions that can only be answered „yes” or „no,” he will feel interrogated and will try to escape, i.e., hang up the phone or leave the store.

Use the Public Opinion as a Proof

Opinions of other consumers have a huge impact on the purchasing decision-making process. Most of us are more inclined to believe in the value of the product if it is approved by others.  You can benefit from it! Use customers’ reviews and recommendations by placing them in a prominent place on the website or by mentioning during the conversation that the product is in high demand.

READ ALSO: 7 Ways To Use Social Proof And Drive More B2B Sales

Be Optimistic

You should stay optimistic.

That way you are not only in a better mood, but you are also a better seller.

Research carried out by Dr. Seligman indicates that optimists sell 20% to 40% better than pessimists.

This is probably a sufficient encouragement to learn how to look at the world positively.

Use Principle of Unavailability

You certainly know that the harder you get something,  the more your interest rises. Therefore, a proper sales technique is to suggest to the client that offer you are talking about is time-limited (e.g., the promotion lasts only a week) or quantitatively limited (e.g., just a few items are remaining).

Present More Than One Product

Although we make a large part of purchasing decisions under the influence of emotions, we also like to believe that our decisions are rational. The opportunity to choose is important in the process of making a purchasing decision.

In the article published by Journal of Consumer Research, Daniel Mochon has proven that customers are more likely to decide to buy a product if they can choose between several options.

During the experiment conducted by Mochon, customers were offered to purchase a DVD player.

In the group, where one product was shown, only 10% of the customers decided to buy. In the second group, two different products were presented, and sales increased by 66%.

The provision of choice gives people the feeling that they have control over the situation and make conscious and rational decisions.

Create a Contrast

Since we are already at the point of giving the customer option to choose, one more very important moment is to pay attention to the principle of contrast, based on presenting the customer two different offers.

While talking to the customer, it is a good idea to present him the more expensive product first, and only then the second one, a bit cheaper – which accounts for major share of total sales.

Compared to the first one, the second product will seem very attractive – even if its price will be quite high.

This is how the principle of contrast works.

So, remember the order in which you will present the offer is crucial here.

Be an Expert

If you really want to sell, you need to know everything about your product.

Customers often ask various question concerning details of the offer, product specification, or ask for comparison with other products available on the market.

If you answer their questions in a reliable way, you will increase trust and, as a result, the client will be more willing to buy.

Use the Principle of Reciprocity

We are taught that favors should be reciprocated.

As a seller, you can use it.

If you notice that the client needs help (even if it is not directly related to your offer), try to solve his problem.

There is a good chance that the customer will feel obliged to you and decide to buy your product, return to your company, or recommend it to others.

What if not? Well, it’s always worth helping others!

Be a Fan of Your Product

Would you buy the product from person, who seems to be completely not interested in the product he/she is selling?

If your answer is yes, then you’re in minority.

Therefore, as a trader you should not only know your product well, but also be enthusiastic about it.

Enthusiasm is extremely contagious, so do your best to make it reach your clients.

Use the Technique: “You Cannot Afford It”

No matter what, objections will arise during each conversation with the client.

You cannot avoid this. The whole art is to be able to overcome them.

When a customer complains that your product or offer is too expensive, try to put it into the context and indicate that the costs that he/she may incur if does not decide to accept your offer will be even higher.

Suppose you sell insurance.

When the customer refuses to purchase, justifying his decision with the price of the offer, try to make him aware of the treatment costs, that he will incur if an accident occurred, will far exceed the insurance price.

You’ll see – it will work.

Find Out the Reason Why Client Is Not Interested

As a trader you have probably often heard from potential customers that they are not interested in your product and you have finished the conversation.

This is a mistake!

Next time try to continue the conversation.

Find out why the client is not interested in your product, and by asking questions you’ll involve him into the conversation.

Who knows – it might turn out that he can still be persuaded to buy.

And if not, at least you will gain invaluable knowledge about your clients, their needs and what you can improve in the offer.

READ ALSO: How to Use Sales Call Recording to Close More Deals

Indicate Your Competitive Advantages Over the Market

You probably have heard from the customers that your product or service is very much alike to what your competitors are offering.

What to do in such a situation?

First of all – avoid criticizing the competition, otherwise you will make a bad impression.

Instead, indicate the significant differences between your product and competition (e.g. better quality, more functionalities, longer warranty period, etc.).

In short, prove that what you sell is better.

Feature – Advantage – Presentation

According to this technique, the product’s features should first be turned into an advantage and then – represented to the customer.

No one is interested in the features of your product, but in the profits that may arise from them.

Therefore, do not go deep into the description of technical details, and explain how they can improve the client’s life.

For example, by offering the customer a new model of LTE phone, explain that thanks to LTE he will have access to the fastest Internet in the region and will be able to browse Facebook or information portals anywhere and anytime.

If you are selling software for project management, explain that it will make the project team work faster, easier and more organized.

This tactic is relatively simple and amazingly effective!

These are all sales techniques for today.