More Sales with Less Selling

Have you ever passed by a bakery display case without feeling the urge to buy at least one cookie, dessert or cinnamon bun? Have you ever taken a child into a candy store and not had them ask to buy at least one of their favorite sweets?

The smell of fresh baked goods and the memory of the taste of a candy bar makes us want to buy more. The owners of bakeries and candy stores don't have to spend a lot of time extolling the merits of their goods or the length of time they've been in business; they can concentrate on helping us satisfy our appetites.

Wouldn't you like to be in a similar situation with your marketing? How would you like to have prospects who were so eager to buy that you didn't have to sell, but could focus instead on taking more orders?

If you are like most small business owners you'd like to increase your sales but you don't enjoy selling. You don't want to be seen as a pushy person, whether it is on the phone, in person or in your marketing materials. The problem is that you don't sell baked goods or candy - instead you may sell accounting, design, engineering, or informational products and services.

What can you do to increase your sales and spend less time selling?

Stop Selling
Stop worrying about closing the sale. Focus instead on understanding what your prospect wants, and open the door to a mutually profitable relationship. When a prospect thinks that all you care about is getting their money, they'll view the relationship negatively and this can easily kill the sale.

Start Helping
Once a prospect is at your web site or on the phone with you, they've demonstrated an interest in finding a solution to one of their problems or concerns. Take the next step and demonstrate your interest in them. Use your conversation or your site to ask them questions that will identify what they want to accomplish and how you can help them.

Help them clarify the problem they are trying to solve. Even our prosperous bakery owner has questions to ask. Is the hungry customer looking for bread for lunch, or a dessert for a celebration? How many people are they feeding? Once you have all the details, you confirm it by repeating the information back to them. "You are planning a party for five couples and want a chocolate cake with mocha frosting. Is that right?"

When your customer says yes, you've got your order. You just used a series of questions to get your prospect to tell you what they wanted. You didn't have to sell anything: they sold themselves. You helped them get what they wanted. Isn't that what you'd prefer to be doing?

Obviously, the questions you use to "sell" are going to be unique to the products and services you provide. Remember that when people come to you, they are hungry for a solution. The questions you ask can help them define exactly what they need and, more importantly, what they want. Then you can take their order.

Does this approach apply to selling less tangible and less immediately satisfying services and products?

Imagine you're a financial advisor and you're having an initial conversation with a prospect. You could launch into an explanation of your services and the seven ways you help clients grow assets using a strategic mix of stocks, bonds, currency and commodities. If you did this you'd be likely to miss connecting with them. Or you could ask them a couple of questions to identify what they want.

Most people have a common set of concerns related to managing their assets. Use these to formulate your questions. Ask them:

- Do they have an investment strategy?
- What is it?
- What have the results been over the last five years?
- How risky or safe do they feel their strategy is?
- Are they happy with the investment return of their portfolio?
- Do they want to know how to get better returns without additional risk?

You could use a similar set of questions to ask them about their taxes, investments, and whether their individual financial strategies complement or conflict with each other.

Whether you sell cakes and cookies or services and informational products, you can use questions to move your prospects to become clients and customers.

Ask the right questions and you'll establish your credibility while you help your prospects clarify what they need and help them determine the value of your products and services. Focus on helping instead of selling and your prospects will thank you by increasing your sales.

Charlie Cook 2005© In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Plan eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

---

Simple Technique for Isolating Objections

To isolate any objection quickly you can use this effective... Read More

The Art And Science of Closing - How To Close More Sales Right Now

One of the questions I often get asked as a... Read More

3 Hot Ways To Crank Up Your Sales

1) QUICK FOLLOW-UPSWhen you make your first sale, follow-up with... Read More

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

Would you like to multiply your web site sales? Or... Read More

Sales Performance and Motivation: How to Get Your Edge Back

Performance and motivation are like chocolate & peanut butter; the... Read More

Close More Sales With This Very Simple 3 Step Sales Process.

As Financial Services Sales Professional you need to build trust... Read More

Increase Your Sales With an Incredible Offer

What are you selling?Coaching? Consulting? Professional services? A product? Information?To... Read More

Three Secret Keys to Persuasion Magic

Just a few critical distinctions can supercharge your communication skills:1... Read More

Sales Prospects Avoiding You?

This issue's topic on sales prospects comes in response to... Read More

How To Become A Sales Superstar And Have Fun Winning More Business - Start Here!

One of the interesting things about being a coach and... Read More

The Changing Role of the Sales Consultant

"Leadership rests not only on outstanding ability. It also rests... Read More

Are You Deaf? Dumb? Blind at Trade Shows?

I'm constantly amazed how otherwise smart marketeers become deaf, dumb... Read More

Quiz: What Kind of Sales Shoe Are You?

Have you ever wondered what type of saleswoman you are?... Read More

Sales Lessons from Bob Vila

There's more to what he does than meets the eyeWith... Read More

Transforming Problems into Sales

My silent fish tank was no more. Enough water had... Read More

Failed Salespeople Share Similar Traits

We are each responsible for our own success - or... Read More

10 Ways To Improve Your Sales

1. Determine your current situation. How are you currently positioned... Read More

Are You Risking The Relationship for the Sale -- And Then Losing the Sale Anyway?

Losing a sale can be disheartening, especially if you lose... Read More

Do You Fold Like A Taco?

Have you ever eaten a soft taco? The shell isn't... Read More

How One Simple Concept Can Increase Your Sales

We all want to belong. As humans we feel the... Read More

Why Sales People Are Creating Their Own Objections

I'm about to reveal the biggest secret to growing any... Read More

How to Spellbind Your Prospects in 10 Seconds!

You've got yourself 10 seconds to HOOK your prospects or... Read More

Secrets to Getting in Front of Your Best Prospects

As a salesperson, your ultimate goal, of course, is to... Read More

Boost Your Productivity, Networking and Sales: Make an Impression

Through out our career and lives we regularly get an... Read More

How To Win Business By Networking

In sales we do tend to become focused upon our... Read More

Build Rapport by Mirroring

Traditionally, salespeople look for something in the office that begs... Read More

The 7 Deaths of a Salesman

In sales, you can work one of two ways. You... Read More

Peak Performance

One of the best books I have ever read is... Read More

You Dont Need Health Insurance!

Seems almost every situation in our lives is centered on... Read More

The Business of Closing the Sale Without Killing It

You must be able to coordinate your sales talk to... Read More

Instant Rapport: The Key to Sales Success

Did you ever meet someone with whom you just clicked?... Read More

Four Ways To Increase Your Sales Fast... In 2-4 Weeks?

You built a very good web site...You have a great... Read More

Keep Sales Simple

For those of us working in the exciting world of... Read More