Some potential customers may want more than product images and text to read. They want to see how it all works and hear more about it. Perhaps your business model doesn’t include an audience this large, but you may need to make sales calls and talk to people face-to-face. Feeling up to it? Since public speaking is one of the most common fears people have, let’s look at some tips that may help if it’s one of yours.
Before
Nerves can be tightened when we’re not comfortable with what we are going to say – especially if we want to be convincing. To be sure of what you want to cover during your sales talk, create an outline of the important points about the features and functions of your product or service. Review what you want to say and consider carefully what this particular prospect wants or needs. Rehearse to remember those details and rehearse some more. You need not memorize what you will say, but know enough about the main points to speak comfortably. Right before your meeting, check in the mirror and smile. Do you look your best? Breathe in deeply and get ready to speak.
During
Make a light but short comment, something you share in common like the weather, to put you both at ease. Move right to the gist of your pitch after that so you cover the salient points right away. Think of your sales talk as an inverted pyramid, like a magazine article’s first paragraph. You want to pack the important details into the first minute or so. Slow your pace since you talk more quickly than you normally do. Glance at the person from time to time, punctuating main points with a gentle smile. Watch for visual cues so you can tell how things are going. Go into more details if the person seems interested in one of those. Wrap up, emphasizing the main points, working your way to a call-to-action for the sale. Then stop talking.
After
Wait for a bit to see if there are questions. Too often people new to sales don’t stop talking. In fact some rookies may pause briefly and then express the doubts and hesitations before the prospect does! Answer questions in a calm manner, not rushing your responses. Don’t talk beyond a satisfactory reply. Should your answer spark another question, just remember – questions indicate interest. Avoid overstaying your welcome, set on making the sale right then and there.
Now perhaps comes the most important part. If a decision to buy has not yet been reached, keep in touch. It’s not over until it is over. Say thanks for meeting with you in a quick text, call, or email. Let the person mull things over just long enough, and in a second message, include details about your product or service that were of interest to the prospect. Space out your contact a day or two. The person knows the details now, so these messages are just nudges to remind the prospect of those.
To some, this follow-up contact is the hardest part. Sales can be lost, though, if the effort is given up too easily. Online Sales Pro is the perfect way to keep in touch with your sales contacts. When coupled with your email service provider, messages can be scheduled and sent out one at a time to all of your prospects. Persuading others to become customers is no easy task. We’ve learned how, and we’d be glad to show you.