You are in the business of “sales” regardless of whether you are a parent, business owner, entrepreneur, lawyerpreneur, contractor, freelancer or employee. At some point, you will have to influence and persuade someone to believe in your ideas, products, services, performance achievements, etc.
I recently read an interesting article in a past edition of Fortune magazine (September 2008) about the most common mistakes that people make when attempting to influence others (aka selling). Let’s explore 10 of the most comment mistakes and what you can do to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Focusing on your needs instead of your target market’s pain. Solution: Your target market does not care about your needs or the features of your programs, products or services. Your market cares only about their pain and if you can provide a solution or relief. Your ability to influence people to see your value is directly related to your ability to understand and address their pain. Bonus Questions: Do you really understand how the current economy is affecting your target market? What is your solution to their pain?
Mistake 2: Focusing only on the “sale” instead of your integrity and reputation. Solution: When you focus on adding value by understanding and responding to your target market’s needs and being visible, the money will follow.
Mistake 3: Seeing sales as something outside of your “real” job. Solution: Influence and persuasion (aka making “sales”) are key to sustainable success. You cannot serve others with your gifts and talents if you do not have clients. If you believe in the value of your work, you have a moral obligation to be visible in a way that showcases your ability to meet your target market’s needs. If your target market cannot find you, you cannot help them. You must “promote” your ability to transform and be visible so those who need you can find you. It is also important to stay connected to your colleagues, current and former clients. At UpwardAction, we stay connected via eMarketing and the UpwardAction Cards system. Click here to learn more.
Mistake 4: Not knowing how to accept rejections with grace. Solution: Appreciate everyone. Send “best wishes” notes even when you do not close the sale. Do not burn bridges.
Mistake 5: Not being prepared to overcome objections. Solution: Mentally prepare to close each deal by knowing how to deal with common objections.
Mistake 6: Following a “sales” script. Solution: Know your product, services and your unique promise of value, inside and out. Be genuine. Engage others in conversation instead of reciting a sales “pitch.”
Mistake 7: Failing to understand your client and appeal to his or her soul’s desire. Solution: Most sales are based on intangibles and are connected to emotion. It is important to have innovative ideas, but essential that you speak to the heart and soul of your prospective clients.
BONUS Mistake: Not taking good care of relationships. Solution: Always stay in touch. It is important to remember birthdays, anniversaries and other special days. Invest in a great contact manager system and auto-responder service. The best sources for new business are referrals, returning customers and testimonials.
Today’s Suggestion for Your UpwardAction :
Call one former or prospective client each day this week. Do not make any pitch for business on these calls, simply check in to see how he or she is doing. Focus on making a genuine connection based on care and concern. This UpwardAction is designed to help you build stronger relationships while raising your visibility.
Love and Blessings!
Coach T.C.
“Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.”- Seth Godin
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s really interesting to see how prevalent the part of point 1 about focussing on your target’s pain is becoming these days - is this a respons to the current economic climate do you think?
Having just started a couple of companies recently I had no idea how important sales were and what an art form it actually is! Good tips here so will be trying not to make them from now on!
I too like the idea of knowing your target market’s pain. We’ve tried to address our target market’s pain by adding little video snippets to our site offering guidance on what we do. It’s low cost and so far the feedback has been good.
Leave a Comment