Lead generation UK
Today in business every potential sale matters. Sales & Marketing specialist Steve Mills states “if you are only converting 40% of your leads into business, then you are wasting 60% of your marketing budget”. Steve reveals that every salesperson, regardless of the industry, product, or skill level, makes mistakes. Here are some basic sales mistakes to avoid and some tips for selling more and having happier customers.
Number 1
Not listening. Do not just listen to what the customer is asking for; look past that to find out what they need. Too often salespeople sing the praises of a product without hearing what the customer wants. You cannot sell to someone if you do not know what they want. Listen to your customers, identify the need, and fill it.
Number 2
Not being up to date. Would you hire a doctor who told you they had not done any training since medical school 25 years ago? No? Why? Because there have been so many advances in the world of medicine and the doctor would not be well trained and so it is in the world of sales training. You must keep up to date in order to keep your conversions as high as possible. For details of how to do this click here.
Number 3
Being unprepared. Whether you are making a sale in a showroom, a board room, or on the phone, you need to know the details about what you are selling and be able to answer all pertinent questions. Be prepared. If you are prospecting for new business, know what you are going to say and be ready for questions you may be asked.
Number 4
Jumping straight to the sale. In any type of sales business, you need to establish a relationship. Even on the Web you need to have landing pages to provide information about your products or services before jumping to the shopping cart. Do not rush to the sale. Take the time to educate your customers, and they will reward you with sales.
Number 5
Not closing the sale. This is the flipside of the mistake above. Once you have provided your customer with the information he or she needs, ask if the customer is ready to make a purchase. It may seem unnecessary, but sometimes asking for the sale can be the nudge your customer needs to make a final decision.
Number 6
Going off topic. Some salespeople overdo the need for a "relationship" with excessive chatter. Others continue to talk about the product or service, but spend an inordinate amount of time on irrelevant information. While you do want to build a relationship and make your customer comfortable, the goal is to make the sale. If the sale is the topic, don’t veer too far off on tangents.
Number 7
Not researching your customer. If you are trying to sell to a specific client at a meeting, you need to know what he or she is all about. Do some research before the sales meeting and get a good idea of the prospects likes, dislikes, interests, and manner of doing business. The same holds true for consumers. Get to know who makes up your target audience.
Number 8
Judging books by their covers. Salespeople routinely miss sales because they prejudge their customers. Do not let race, creed, gender, ethnicity, age or appearance stand in the way of making a sale.
Number 9
Not following up on leads. Just because someone does not buy immediately does not mean they will not be interested later -- particularly if they requested information. Follow-up is a critical aspect of sales that is often neglected.
Number 10
Failing to prospect for new customers. Even when sales are at their peak, you need to devote time to looking for more customers. No company can survive without a constant influx of new customers, so no business can afford not to prospect for them.
For further details of the sales, or marketing training provided by Steve call on 0118 930 5700, or go to training link
