Brilliant Checklists for Entrepreneurs, 3rd Edition

156 brilliant checklists for entrepreneurs

10 top tips on closing more sales

Sales orders are the energy that fuels your business. But even when con-

fronted by an interested new customer, you still have some work to do.

Here are ten tips that will help you close more sales.

1 Consider why you buy – reflect on the things that encourage you to buy. What do

you like salespeople to say to you? Do they show genuine interest? Learn by buying.

(But don’t spend too much!)

2 Look – watch salespeople in action. Exhibitions are great for this. In particular, look

at how being too pushy usually drives the prospect away.

3

Listen – people will only give you the time of day if they have decided that what

you are offering is interesting. Ask them what they want from you. Let them do the

hard work!

4 Know – get to know your rivals’ products or services inside out. Never knock them –

simply focus on the differences that support your case.

5 Deal with objections – if the customer says no, ask them why and then deal with

their concerns. Then ask for the order again.

6 Care – think of your prospects as human beings and not orders waiting to be placed.

Show that your interest in them is genuine. Take the time to build rapport before

seeking the order.

7 Reassure – build confidence in you and what you are selling. Be confident in

yourself.

8 Illustrate – pictures can say more than words. Use pictures to show people how what

you’re selling can be used.

9 Use testimonials – collect positive feedback from past customers and use them to

illustrate your presentation. They don’t have to be high-profile past customers, just

honest ones.

10

Believe – if you are passionate that you are offering the best option to your customers,

you will succeed. If you’re only after the cash it’ll be much harder. You must believe.

You don’t necessarily have to be well versed in the stages of the sale to suc-

ceed at selling. Sometimes the so-called professional salesperson comes over

as being just a little too glib to be totally believable. In fact, some of the

Get sales: how to win and keep customers 157

most successful salespeople don’t conform at all. Instead, they win business

because they know their industry, are passionate about their product and

take the trouble to understand their customers. Enthusiasm and honesty

outweigh manipulative techniques!

Buying motives

A good way to think about how you are going to sell is to consider the rea-

sons why people buy. A good mnemonic to help you remember is the word

SPACED. Each letter represents a common reason for buying – what sales-

people call a buying motive:

Security – is this safe and will it work?

Performance – will it meet my needs?

Appearance – does it look good? Will buying it make me look good?

Convenience – is it easy to introduce and use, or will it cause me problems?

Economical – can I afford to run it? How much will it save me?

Durability – will it last long enough for me to recoup the investment?

brilliant

recap

There is no secret to sales success. You just have to believe in yourself, believe in

what you are selling and, above all else, believe that your customer will gain real

value from the transaction you are hoping to do.

brilliant

example

Jamie Mulhall, Mayday Office Systems, www.maydayoffice.co.uk

Jamie started his sales careers selling office equipment and is now sales director

of a successful and diverse office systems company. He remains one of the best

photocopier salesmen in the business. He’s very popular with his customers.

The secret of Jamie’s success is that he always sees things from his customer’s

perspective. He takes the trouble to know what they will use his equipment

s

158 brilliant checklists for entrepreneurs

for and how it can integrate within their existing systems. He even helps them

calculate their current in-house printing costs and the cost saving his suggested

solution can offer.

Jamie is good at selling because he makes it very easy for people to buy from

him. He helps them to weigh up the pros and cons of what he is proposing. Only

if they can convince themselves does he take their order.