How To Increase Your Sales Using These 5 Effective Strategies
Valuable experience gained from working over seven years in a highly self-dependent sales environment
I’ve gained some valuable experience over the years, resulting in high payouts and consistent performance bonuses. The thing is, it doesn’t take much to excel in a sales-related position. By applying these strategies, even the most mediocre salesperson has a chance of genuine success.
Be Personable
People sell to people. When working in sales, you must focus on building a relationship with your customers. It’s your job to identify what the client needs before they know they need it. To identify the needs of your customer, get to know them better. As a rule of thumb, I always ask at least three questions during our transaction: these questions should somehow relate to the customer.
- Do you have any kids?
This is a great question, especially if you have kids, but even if you don’t, knowing whether the customer’s a parent or not can make a huge difference when personalizing the sale.
- Watch any good shows recently?
Talking about something other than sales is a great idea because it takes pressure away from the sale. If you can’t find a show to relate to, try recommending something good to watch. (Peaky Blinders on Netflix!)
- What do you do for work?
Knowing what your client does for work has multiple advantages. For one, you’ll able to personalize the sale better. Above all else, however, people love to talk about themselves, specifically, what they do for their 9–5. Sometimes, you’ll even discover that your client owns a business, which opens up a whole other world of opportunities.
“Great salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win” — Jeffrey Gitomer
Dress To Impress
First impressions mean everything, especially in sales. If a customer has a poor first impression of you, it could take a while to earn their trust. As a rule of thumb, I aim to dress my best every day, whether I’m working or not. You don’t need a fancy suit or an expensive dress to look nice. Start with the basics: take showers often, groom yourself, and make sure your clothes are clean and free of stains. To make a quality first impression, you must dress nice; however, you could adopt a few other strategies to increase your chances.
- Maintain proper body posture. Don’t slack or lean on furniture. Stand with your back straight, shoulders to the side, and head raised high.
- Keep eye contact. It’s hard to trust someone if they can’t maintain eye contact.
- Smile. For the love of god, smile.
- Try imitating the clients' posture, also known as mirroring. When done correctly, it can make you seem more likable, increasing your chances of making the sale.
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression,” — Will Rogers
Make Them Feel Important
It doesn’t matter who I’m dealing with: my customers always leave happy, regardless of how they felt before entering my store. I’ve got regulars that’ll stop by to buy something, though I’m 90% sure they’re just having a bad day and needed someone to chat with. As a rule of thumb, you should always do something to make your customers feel important.
- Compliment their hair.
- Ask them how their day was.
- Listen to what they have to say, even if it doesn’t pertain to the sale at hand.
- Remember their name.
If you can make somebody feel important, they’ll want to be around you more, they’ll trust you more, and — most important — they’ll buy more from you.
“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life,’ — Mary Kay Ash
Know Your Numbers
Most sales positions are commission-based, which means that you’re in control of your money. The amount that you make and your level of success in the field are highly dependent upon whether you know your numbers. I make it a habit of mine to review my numbers daily, and I’ll ask myself questions like; in what areas am I doing well this month? What needs improvement? How much do I need to sell by the end of the month to hit my quota? After asking myself these very crucial questions, I’ll move on to design my game plan for the rest of the month.
“If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business,” — Marcus Lemonis
Know When To Shut Up
It’s a well-known fact that salespeople like to talk. Yet, the most successful individuals understand that in sales, sometimes, the best thing to do is to shut up and let the customer decide. Don’t draw out your pitch. Say what you need to say and let the customer decide the rest. If you followed the previous two steps — be personable and dress to impress — and you have a strong initial sales pitch, then it’s likely that you’ve already done all that there is to do. Just don’t forget to close the sale. After a successful sales pitch, I always end with, “so if you’re ready to move forward, I can get the process going. How does that sound?” Unfortunately, I’ve seen hundreds of talented salespeople mess this part up by continuing to talk after closing. Silence is good. It means that your client’s thinking — they didn’t say no, that’s what matters. They might ask a question or two, which’s a good sign, so use that opportunity to fill in anything that you might’ve left out in the initial pitch, but besides that, just shut up.
To Recap
- Be personable.
- Dress to impress
- Make them feel important.
- Know your numbers.
- Know when to shut up.
But if you take away anything from this post, let it be this:
“How you sell matters. What your process is matters. But how your customers feel when they engage with you matters more,” — Tiffani Bova
