Finishing Strong, Part 6: What Do You Know?

A salesperson gains confidence by knowing about the products and services he or she is selling. Knowing your product line also allows the salesperson to be better equipped to conveying features and benefits, as well as answering objections.

Involve the Customer in the Process
The best way to present many products is to get involvement. Want to sell dance lessons? Get the customer on the dance floor and let the fun of dancing do some of the selling. The same is true with clothes, perfume, sports equipment, and almost anything else. Product knowledge is important, but the salesperson must ultimately focus on what makes customers buy. A few ways to accomplish this:

Adapt the Message
Message adaptation involves deciding what information is needed to sell a particular customer and how that information should be presented to that customer. Canned sales presentations lack creativity. An effective sales person will make an effort to adjust the presentation to the customer. If the customer knows about gardens and lawns, the person selling a lawn service should adapt the sales presentation to the level of the customer’s expertise. Don’t bore the customer with information they already know.

Create Interest and Excitement
Be enthusiastic about the merchandise — but be genuine. If your product solves a common problem, draw attention to that. Let the customer know how much better off they will be as a result of using this product. Draw attention to the emotions that this solution will bring about — will they be happier, less stressed, feel more attractive, healthier, etc? Help them to visualize the end result.

Limiting Choices: The Rule of Three
Have you ever gone into a restaurant, and been overwhelmed by the number of choices on the menu? Scaling back on the choices is smart business. Offering less options allows you to make improvements on the choices you have, allows employees to become more knowledgeable and comfortable with the products you offer, and most importantly, it streamlines the selling process.

Unless there is a definite reason for an exception, the rule of three (never show more than three choices at one time) should be followed whenever purchase options are presented. Limited choices have been found to promote sales.