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Selling Face-to-Face
The Sales Conversation
Sales – the One Essential for
Any Business
Without sales, no business can exist. It is only when one
person sells something to another that commerce happens.
Some people take on the role of
‘salesperson’ with great reluctance – probably because of the
image of the fast-talking shyster with pushy, manipulative
tricks that was so common in times gone by.
It’s Not
Manipulating – It’s Helping
Consumers love to buy – that’s what makes them consumers. In
today’s retail environment, there are many ways that they can
buy things without coming face-to-face with a sales person: mail
order catalogue, TV promotion with a 1800 number, Internet
shopping cart. This means that if they are taking the trouble
to get face-to-face with a salesperson, it’s because they want
to. They want to buy – and they want somebody to help them.
A Process
Everyone Can Follow
In a successful business, everyone recognizes the importance of
sales and can handle a basic sale. This does not require a
great deal of training – just an understanding of the simple
4-step process called AIDA which stands for attention, interest,
desire and action.
Attention
The first step seems so obvious – you have to get
your customer to notice the product. You may simply need to
draw their attention to a display in a different part of the
store; or tell them about products that aren’t on show.
Attention-getting displays can act like a silent salesperson;
but the most effective method is still to ask if they’d noticed
the new model on display or if they
knew about the limited-offer
special.
Interest
The second step is where the customer gets interested enough to
investigate further. They may start asking questions about
price, range or features. You should always know or be able to
quickly look-up the answers to these questions. Yet, rather
than just answer questions, you should also be asking them.
The best are ‘open’ questions. (These are questions that cannot
be answered with “yes” or “no” – they usually start with when,
how, what, etc). “What do you want to do with it?” “When did
you decide you needed one?” “How much do you think you’ll use
it?” |
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Desire
For a sale to happen, the customer’s interest has to be
converted to desire. Rather than just being interested; they
want it.Before this desire can become the action step of
actually buying, customers need to resolve one (or more) of the
following questions –
- Is
this the best one for me?
- Is
this the best deal I can get?
- What
will I have to give up to pay for it?
- Will I
be able to convince (partner) to let me buy it?
- What
will others think?
- Do I
deserve/really need it?
In this step, the best role you
can play is of the ally – reassuring them that this is the best
one at the best possible deal.
Action
This is the
final step – where the customer takes action. Ideally, this
will be direct, immediate action – “I’ll take it!” Sometimes,
the process takes a little longer: “I want it, but I need to
talk to my partner first.”Your
job in this step is to be the facilitator – making whatever they
have to do as easy as possible.
Creating the Right First – and Last –
Impression
Customers buy when they feel confident they have the best
product for their needs at a good price and they have been
treated well by the staff. This means that they felt they were
valued as a customer; that the staff serving them actually
appreciated that they had chosen to shop in their store.
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© 2005
Ryan+Associates Australia. Ryan+Associates Australia is a member of
Synergy Partners. |
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