6 fool-proof persuasive techniques to help you make a successful sale
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” - Zig Ziglar
My friend Kirti was always the ring-leader of the group. And being the elected head of a group of flaky and easily dissatisfied seven-year-olds is quite commendable, indeed. The reason she was the ‘President’, as we’d be made to call her, is simply because she convinced us to. Kirti was always the one who would provide a logical explanation for any mischief we were up to and would then follow it up with the benefits we’d gain from the event. While her apparent overconfidence definitely got us into more than our share of trouble, we couldn’t say no to her because what she said would always win us over.
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Today, Kirti leads the sales and marketing team at a reputed firm in Mumbai.
I use Kirti’s example to showcase how her intensely persuasive nature helped her become an effective salesperson today. While the basic element to making a good sale is directly proportionate to your convincing skills, there is a multitude of different factors overlaying this simplified statement, which is instrumental in carrying out the same purpose.
While many of you may have religiously employed one or two of these factors into your sales game-plan, here are few more tried and tested measures, which when used in the right combination, can you get you above and beyond the results you desire.
Point out benefits
It is part of human nature to seek a benefit in everything. Unless you have taken the route of sainthood and are currently (not) reading this in the mountains of the Himalayas, then you as a consumer will agree with the fact that when it comes to spending your hard-earned money, you’d rather it be on something that’s going to add to your life in any way. Going by this law of nature, as a salesperson, the first thing you need to show your clients is how they could benefit from investing in your product or service. Make sure that you don’t spend wasted breath beating about the bush before you jump onto the specifics and consequent benefits so that you can pique the client’s interest before it wanders off elsewhere.
Case studies
Case studies are instrumental in strengthening your pitch to a potential client. The latter will definitely show greater interest in your product or service if you can prove to them that the same product or service helped your former clients. To this end, make sure that you use specific numbers because that will help make your position more reliable and your pitch more accurate.
Positive client reviews
As humans, we tend to trust the ‘word-by-mouth’ opinion base. Our confidence in a product, service, or even company is determined largely by what others recommend of it. Hence, you should ensure that when you’re pitching to your future clients, you first gather enough ‘social proof’ or ‘testimonials’ from the clients you have the best relationship with, who can vouch for the product or service in question. This will serve as a base for securing the trust of your potential client, encouraging them to also invest in your services.
The what-if strategy
Just like in all social relationships, where men and women (dramatically) do not understand another’s worth until it is taken from them, in the professional world, clients will not understand the value of an offered commodity unless it is taken from them. To cater to this behavioural tendency, as a salesperson you should list out all the things that your client will miss out on if they don’t invest in your product or service. This will make them snap out of their indecision and help you make a successful sale.
Use visuals
You will notice that children’s books are filled more with pictures and less with text, because that’s what appeals to them most. The same applies to a sales pitch – pictures, diagrams, charts etc. all make the appeal of the pitch stronger. That is also the reason people even make presentations in the first place. So always remember to take the help of powerful visuals while making your pitch, to attract the immediate attention of your potential client.
Social media presence
Finally, having a strong social media presence will always help you convince your client on why they should invest in your brand. Today, having an online presence means everything. Prudent clients will always do their research on your brand and product before even agreeing to have a talk with you about a potential purchase. At such times, having a strong social media following will definitely help raise your esteem and their confidence in investing in you. At the same time, if you have been covered by local and national newspapers, magazines, and digital news companies, then be sure to mention that (on paper, through a link on the official site, or otherwise), which again will help build your reputation in the client’s eyes.
If you have more pointers on measures to implement for making a successful sale, let us know in the comments below!