missy-charisma: Training Sales Techniques

Greeting

A very effective technique to train your new employees on is the importance of a greeting. When greeting a customer, make sure you are friendly even if you are having a bad day. Nothing will turn off a customer faster than a rude sales person no matter if the reason is justified or not. Don't complain to a customer telling them how sick you've been or every bad thing that has happened to you that day. Be friendly, likeable, and most importantly, be professional. Greet a customer with a warm hello and a comment about the weather, your cities sports team or something to get a conversation started. Make eye contact and use appropriate and welcoming body language such as keeping your arms uncrossed and keeping your hands out of your pockets.

Asking open-ended questions gives you the opportunity to build a rapport with customers but it also gives you an opportunity to learn what they are looking for in the way of a product or service. Additionally, you may gain insight into their lives. Open-ended questions begin with who, what, where, why and when. This ensures that the customer will not just give you a "yes" or "no" answer. If you ask "What brings you in today?" you will likely get an answer even if it is just "Oh, I am just looking". This gives you opportunity to start a conversation.

Your open-ended questions will do you little good if you are not prepared to listen to the answers and act accordingly. When a customer gives you an answer, restate it so the customer knows that she's been heard. Be empathetic to the customer's needs and moods but don't act arrogant or superior to her by judging her answers. Don't say things like "Oh, that's silly" or "You shouldn't feel that way". Once you have identified a customer's needs by asking questions and listening, you can then provide the customer with solutions.

It is important for a salesperson to understand that people are buying solutions, not just a product or service. Make sure you can identify what those solutions are and sell them, not just the product or service. Be able to discuss the benefits and features of a product. When doing so, allow the customer to see how the product or service's features and benefits can provide solutions and results that the customer needs or wants. Make sure you fully understand supplemental features such as long-term warranties so you can provide that information to the customer as well.

Ethics and integrity are a very important component of sales techniques. Customer loyalty often results from a feeling that customers get when they know they've dealt with an ethical salesperson. Be as honest as you can and if you don't know the answer to a specific question, tell the customer that. Don't just say anything to have an answer as that may come back to haunt you later. Remember: you are trying to gain a customer for life and he will most likely refer you to other customers as well.

Follow-up phone calls are very important sales technique components. Make sure you know what you are going to say before you make a call. If possible, have the call coincide with a sale or interesting event that your customer may want to know about. Be friendly and brief on the call and make sure to allow your customer to talk. Before ending the call, discuss what the next steps are going to be. This might include having the customer come in for an appointment or mailing her some pertinent information. Do not make the follow-up call a sales call; simply treat it as a chance to provide an additional service to your customer.