In the previous article you learned two important ideas: 1) Everyone sells, even you and 2) Keep Kipling’s helpers (What, Why, When, How, Where, and Who) in mind when selling.
Next I’d like to share something with you that’s taken me a long time to figure out: a simple, easy way to sell. It’s based on plain common sense … and it works.
I’ve seen a bunch of ways to sell during my career. Some were so convoluted that I gave up trying to remember them. One day I sat down and thought “What’s the easiest, simplest approach to selling I can think of?” I put it down on paper then realized “Hey, I’ve been doing this my whole life, not just in business.”
Convince Me! Why should I buy what you’re selling?
Convince Me! (CM! for short) is about a mindset (Think like a buyer, not a seller), a four phase sales cycle, and concentrating on five steps to make the most important phase happen: #2 Educate your buyer.
Here are Five things about Convince Me! I’d like to share with you:
Ask any company that sells a product or service — or anyone promoting a specific point-of-view — they can always use more sellers! You can never sell enough. You and your team should ALWAYS be selling.
Why then, do we overlook recruiting our best sales talent? A SMART buyer — a happy buyer, one that is a Satisfied, Motivated, Advocate who is Remorseless and Trusting — is the best sales person you can have! Your goal is to turn every buyer into a SMART buyer. When SMART buyers get excited, they tell others … lots of others.
Every sale of a product, service, or point-of-view cycles through four phases: 1) Find the buyer, 2) Educate them about what is being sold, 3) Close the sale by asking for their business, and 4) Foster the relationship to lay a foundation for future sales.
As theideamechanic I focus on the second phase: Educate your buyer and convince them to buy. While all the phases are important, I firmly believe every sale is made or broken on how well you educate your customer.
Here are five simple steps you can use to educate and convince your buyers. In fact, they are five tools EVERYONE needs in their sales toolbox:
- PLAN the trip – A sale is like taking your buyer on a trip. You need to get them from where they are (their point A) to where you want them (your point B). What will they see, how will you get them there?
- TELL your story – You have a great story to tell, so tell it! How? Use the five building blocks of convincing. Don’t tell any story, tell YOUR story.
- SHOW proof – When you tell a buyer your story, they need proof. They need to know what you said is true and can be counted on. Demonstrations or customer testimonials are great proof points.
- TRY it – Nothing beats an awesome, memorable, personal experience. Make it real; prove what your buyer saw and heard you deliver was not just a smoke-and-mirrors performance.
- SATISFY completely – We all have questions and concerns, even if we’ve decided we’re going to buy. Every hesitation from a buyer is your opportunity to start building a long term relationship for repeat business.
You know, I’ve had this whole Convince Me! idea in mind for several years. When I’ve shared it with other people they’ve said “I love it! Hey, you ought to write a book about that.” So that’s what I started to do. Several times.
I’ve got drawers of notes and ideas that — well, if you stacked them up — would reach from floor to ceiling in my office (did I say I had a 10′ ceiling). I finally decided though, it makes more sense to put them on the web first. Why? Well, it just makes more sense (yes, I know I repeated myself). I can reach more people (like you) AND I can keep adding to it.
Someday I’ll get my book written, I promise you. And when I do, I’ll be using this incredible tool — Lulu.com. With Lulu it’s pretty easy to publish (notice publish does not mean write) a paper book, a photobook, calendar, DVD and more — yourself. Check it out!
There was a day when the best way to tell your story was with a book. Now, even though self-publishing services like Lulu.com are around, using a tool like a storySite has advantages. Like I mentioned earlier, you can easily add more content. And that content isn’t JUST copy, it can be audio, video, and more. You can make it searchable; a big plus! And you can create gazillions of environmentally friendly links to other learning resources.
If you want to keep learning better ways to sell, just keep coming back to theideamechanic. Like I mentioned in my welcome message, my guarantee is if you follow theideamechanic and practice what you learn — you’ll end up with a bushel crop of opportunity!
. . . . .
If you stopped right now and closed your browser window I’m willing to bet you would have learned some helpful things. But don’t stop now, you’re on a role. The right process is important, but so is having the right mental foundation. Read the Five Convincing Principles next.
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