Selling From the Inside Out
By John D. Schultz   ©2004 All Rights Reserved

If you are pushing for sales, itıs time to change your strategy. The fact is that with the advent of the Internet the psychology of the sales process has changed drastically. While once, it was push, push, push, to coax the customer to make a buy, it is now passé to use this antiquated approach. Not only that your likely to win enemies and influence irritation.

We live in the age of information, which, in turn, means consumers are smart and educated, and above being manipulated into a buy. A manipulated buy means only one thing. A sure return. So how do you approach the selling process successfully?
Become Armed and Authentic Todayıs buyer expects you to know your product, service, and industry inside out and provide the kind of insider details that only you will know how to deliver. Buyers want to do business with experts. While they want a good deal, they donıt want shoddy products or services to come with the good deal. The pressure is now on for business owners to stay on the leading edge of their particular business. The more you arm yourself with information the better you position yourself to make the sale. Be yourself. Authenticity is not a plastic smile, with a high-pitched attitude. Allowing your customer to get to know the authentic you is also allowing yourself to be approachable no matter how successful you might be or become. So while the consumer wants you to have leading edge knowledge they also donıt want to feel stupid. Success will be a lifelong partner if you continue to be authentic. Let your prospect feel comfortable with you. Allow them to feel at ease asking any question no matter how elementary it may seem to you.
Understand the Difference Between Motivating and Manipulating One thing has not changed about the selling process and probably never will. Sales are most often driven by an emotion. Only now the emotion has changed from coercion to motivation. To put it simply, whatıs in it for your prospect? Honestly and truly, without the hype, what about your product or service will in some way enhance their life or business? Once you understand your buyerıs motivation and can meet that need, the sale will come naturally.
Permission Requested The Internet has brought about a much more courteous form of salesmanship. Selling with permission, rather than intrusion. This means that you must ask for permission when the opportunity exists to do so. Take advantage of every conceivable opportunity to gain that permission both on your website, in person, and by email requests. If a prospect enters your site on anything other than the loading page is there a subscription box to your newsletter inviting them to subscribe? Do you even have a newsletter on your site? If you donıt, you are missing a big opportunity with every visitor that comes to your site and then leaves. How will you locate them again? When real time, in the flesh, business opportunities come your way are you armed to invite? At business organization meetings, associations, etc. have a business card on hand that includes your website and a free invitation to subscribe to your online newsletter. One businessman I know builds his subscriber base by 500 each and every month with this simple technique. So, donıt forget the real world or they will forget you! When email inquiries arrive in your e-box, always include a sentence in your reply that invites them to subscribe to your free newsletter. This will enable you to continue being in contact after, and if, initial email contacts do not result in a sale. The selling process has changed. It has become much more sophisticated and consumers have become smart and more assertive in their choices. This means you must become more knowledgeable and authentic to create the kind of sales that stick. In many ways, itıs become a nicer way to do business and more enjoyable for all concerned.

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