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February 13, 2020 |
“Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create raving fans.”―Ken Blanchard
How do you sell to your clients?
What do you bring on the table when communicating with your prospects?
As a brand you are aware that your clients are much more informed about the solutions available in the market, so what do you have to say to ‘convince’ them to invest in the solution you are offering them?
This article has all the answers. Right from why the process of convincing a client matters to how you can achieve their attention for long, this article delivers everything you need to know about selling to clients in 2020.
Let’s get started.
It’s not easy to cater to your clients in today’s scenario.
They are well informed and are comparing and analyzing the solutions that are available for them in the market. As a brand, you need to work much harder to garner their attention to get them on a call with you and convince them to invest in your solution.
Engaging with them through various effective selling techniques is considered to be one of the best ways to conduct such an action because the more you engage with your clients, the better you are able to share your brand’s insights and pull their attention to learn more about what you have to offer.
Many brands commit the mistake of conducting cold calls under the assumption that by speaking what the sales pitch is will win them multiple clients in their hands. But sadly this hasn’t worked in favor of any.
A sales rep must understand why selling to clients should be a process that needs to be nurtured and researched upon before they can pick up the phone to dial.
For instance, say that you have conducted no research about the clients and have dialed their number to begin your sales calls. During the call, you spoke about what your company does and your brand achievements and you continue to read the rest of your script.
What are the chances of sales here? NONE.
The reason being, as a sales rep you failed to understand that your sales rep already has information about your brand, they are getting in touch with you so that you can tell them all the reasons why they should invest in your solution.
When they question you with their doubts, you should be able to sell your solution in a manner which speaks about how your brand can solve their queries.
The reason being:
1. The way you sell your solutions matters because that is the groundwork to capture the client’s attention. Instead of focusing on delivering a better buying experience, many brands strain their focus on what they want to sell when the focus should actually be the first choice mentioned.
You need to stand out from the crowd, you need to develop the trust of your clients towards your brand which is exactly why you need to work on how you are going to make the sales experience better for your clients.
2. The second reason is focusing on minor factors. When you are selling to the clients ensure that you give them all the reason to continue the call, for instance, be an active listener, hear what they are speaking, share solutions accordingly, be more empathetic, don’t just focus on selling only, if you had to conduct a follow-up or have to make a call according to the clients schedule ensure that you are not delaying it for any reason.
All these factors play a huge role in retaining your client’s attention and pulling them towards investing their time in your brand more. To get a clearer picture of what sales reps should be focusing on more, the below chart can help you:
Source:Cerebral Selling
As you can see, being an active listener is important and continuing to engage after that should be your next priority. Always remember that your actions can also contribute towards making a sale.
3. Forrester states, ‘’60% of buyers prefer not to interact with a sales rep as the primary source of information; 68% prefer to research on their own, online; and 62% say they can now develop selection criteria or finalize a vendor list based solely on digital content.’’
Your prospects don’t want to hear you speak about your brand and its achievements in the entire communication, what they want to hear from you is how your solution can solve their exact needs. Selling shouldn’t just be about the solution you need to also explain why the investment needs to be done from their side as well.
For instance, you could speak how your solution is the perfect choice to incorporate with the changing trends, how your solution can help solve client’s issues, how your solution can be beneficial in the long run and more. Always remember that the more value you add when selling to your clients, the better are your chances to increase sales numbers.
4. As you are aware the market keeps changing and technology keeps developing and with such changes there are also other sets of changes such as how you should be selling to your clients, for instance, say if your set of clients prefer to engage more on calls or social media you conduct your sales action accordingly.
This is important as it increases your chances of selling to them better. You can opt for data capture with brilliant technological tools such as web scraping and more to capture data so that you can get a better understanding of what they expect you to do. For instance, maybe a few of your prospects would like to engage better on social platforms before they connect with you over a call.
5. A 2015 study stated, The New Science of Customer Emotions, researchers showed that there were 10 emotional motivators that had a significant impact on customer’s perception of value. Motivators like standing out from the crowd, feeling a sense of belonging, feeling secure, being successful in life, and becoming the person they want to be. What’s even more interesting is that these motivators often reflected deep, unspoken emotional needs. ‘’
Think of it this way, why are you still loyal to a few of the brands? Why are you invested in them even after so many years? When you sell to a client, it is the emotions, the human connection that makes a client stick around. For instance, take an example of software, such as callback software. There are many vendors who sell this solution but why do you invest in just one kind?
The reason being you are able to connect with the brand, you are confident that the brand helps you to cater to your needs in a much more efficient manner and that is exactly why it matters. When you sell to clients, it doesn’t matter what you sell to them, what the focus and importance should really be is the fact that you are able to let your clients connect with you on a more emotional and humane manner.
The problem that occurs is sales reps like you depend on sales pitches completely. Have a sales pitch to guide you and continue to add more uniqueness while you create one and continue to speak on the phone. This will keep your selling strategies on track and helps you to convince your clients to make that purchase.
To help you begin the sales process, as mentioned above, you need to first get the process right, which means you need to understand all the requirements which can help you to convince your clients better to purchase your solution.
Let’s dive into the details.
The number one measure you need to undertake before you can even convince your client is research. Research is very important when you want to sell to your clients. Without research, it becomes difficult to cater and sell to your clients. For instance, when you research you are able to understand the following factors:
When you sell to your clients, the agenda is to understand what they expect from you and that can only happen when you are keen on the research work you conduct. Your clients will invest in a solution when they are convinced of how your solution can help them, so when you conduct your next sales call ensure that you are able to answer all the relevant questions being asked to move one step forward towards making a good sale.
Another important measure for you to undertake is to keep your competition and the competitors at a closer rate. For instance, say you are a software brand and your main product is software that can help your clients function better online. Just like you, there will be multiple vendors who will be selling the same solution, so how can you differentiate from them?
The only way to do this is to analyze your competitor’s actions and find answers to the below questions:
When you sell to your clients, you need to understand that they are aware and have researched about your solution and the similar ones in the market. What you need to sell to them is the answers to the above questions. You need to explain to them on what basis are you better and more efficient than the competitive crowd. Conducting such an action will make it easier to sell to clients and increase your conversion rates quicker.
The whole reason why a client is looking to invest in a solution is that they have a need that needs to be fulfilled. This need cannot be fulfilled with just any solution it needs to be unique, efficient and the best. For instance, say if your clients are from the B2B sector and are looking for a callback software that can help them to cater to communicating with their customers more quicker and faster.
So if you are a vendor of such software you need to understand their needs better, such as:
When that happens it becomes easier to cater to the needs of your clients. As a brand, always ensure that you are able to understand in the first place what your client’s needs because that is exactly what you would be selling in a more refined manner to the clients.
As mentioned earlier, what matters is how you sell to your clients which will retain their interest to continue the communication with you. An effective way of conducting this action is to sell the benefits of your solution. For instance, if you are a vendor of software while communicating with your clients you need to mention the following information such as:
At the end of the day, your clients will not invest in you because your brand is great, they will invest in you because they find their needs to be resolved with your solution. They don’t want to hear what your brand is about, they want to explore more abo9ut how your brand can help them to satisfy their needs.
When you are able to speak about the benefits of your solution, chances are your prospects will tend to invest more of their time to explore the details of your solution.
When a prospect visits your website, you need to understand that not all of them will be a potential sales lead. A few of those leads would be warm leads or non-interesting leads and even hot leads, you need to now understand how to cater to them. Here is when the right timing to capture them will work here.
For instance, when it comes to hot leads, you are aware that they are interested leads, so what do you do, you cater to them immediately. Similarly, when you know a few of your leads are not interested, you would fix a schedule to retain their attention again. Ensure that when you are following up with your clients it should be at the right time and should be done spontaneously.
This factor refers to you analyzing and putting yourself in the shoes of your clients. What happens here is you think from the point of view of your client and are able to gather information and possible answers which can help you to cater to the clients better. Ty conducting the following practices to sell better to clients:
Once you have conducted the above actions, you need to move ahead and work on acquiring and brushing your skills which also play a vital part in selling clients your solution.
Let’s get you in form.
The number one reason for a sales rep like you to sell better to clients is to first work on your communication skills. You need to communicate with a subtle tone and should be understandable in your language when you are selling to your clients. Don’t speak too fast nor speak too slow, speak the way you would with your peers.
Ensure that you sound confident and are able to deliver a positive tone with each of your statements because that is exactly what will retain the interest of your clients. Think of it in this way, when you communicate well to your clients, you are able to sell with clarity. When this happens, your clients are able to understand you better and form their purchase decisions accordingly.
Another skill set which you can acquire to sell better to your clients is the liberty to sell more value of your solution rather than just the main factors about it. For instance, when you are selling your solution on the phone, you should avoid the following:
Instead, your main focus should be on:
See it in this way, when you sell to your clients, you should not be repeating the information they are already aware of such your brand details or the solutions you sell, you need to add value by addressing them with valuable information about how your solution can help them. The more you practice this action, the better you get on selling the focus factors.
Many sales reps tend to lose the main focus of their selling strategies. They get carried away in explaining the great things about their solution that they forget that the whole agenda of conducting a sales call is to satisfy the client’s needs. In simpler terms, when you sell to your clients always ensure that you are providing a solution for their needs.
For instance, say if you are a vendor of software, and your client is looking to invest in a few software solutions which can help them to conduct their business better. Understanding this, you would have to conduct the following steps:
The more you showcase how your solution is the ideal match which fits your client’s need, the better are your chances to increase conversion rates.
The competition will never stop growing and this should be an awakening call for you for the sole reason that there are multiple vendors like you in the market, you need to not just sell to your prospects the solution you have, you need to make them understand why their investment matters?
In simpler terms, let’s understand it in this manner. If you are going to ask the clients to invest in your software solutions, you cannot just get away by saying that the software can help your brand grow, this is a secondary sales attempt to capture the client’s attention. You need to first speak about how the client can benefit from your software in terms of monetary value.
For instance, you need to layout the crucial factor such as:
There are multiple competitors who share the same solution as you, how are you going to sell different from them? When you showcase the above actions, how can you possibly not win over your client’s attention?
When you pick up the phone to speak to your clients, your main focus should be selling them your product but you should also include another important factor that can enhance the way you sell to your clients. In fact, if you consider this factor selling your solution becomes a whole lot easier. That factor is called ‘listening to your clients.’
When you listen to what your clients are speaking you project a different image in that client’s mind, for instance, when you listen to them, you showcase how much you value their needs and how efficiently you want to help them. You understand that your product is the best fit for that clients’ needs, but how exactly can your product help that client in the ways they want to seek help from, this is the factor that is important.
Hence keeping in the mind the following rules can help you to conduct efficient client sales calls:
The more you learn about what your client’s queries and images of their needs are, the better are you able to assist and sell to them.
You cannot hesitate as you continue to speak to your prospects. For instance, when selling to your clients, you can’t be unsure of how exactly your product can help the client. You need to be confident in selling to them so that they are able to understand that your solution is the ideal fit for them.
All you need to is you need to first understand that to convince someone you need to be confident in the solution you are selling. When that happens, selling becomes more real and delivers a confident vibe for the clients to follow through. To make this action happen try conducting the following measures:
You now have all the information needed to prep yourself to sell better to your clients. Now it’s time for you to get started with how the process should actually be conducted.
The number one reason why many sales reps like you are not able to continue the conversation for longer is that the dependency on exactly what is written in the sales pitches are. Everything is technological today, anything your clients want can be researched by themselves whenever they want.
This means that the clients when they are being contacted they find it as a source where they can learn more about their needs solution. When this happens, you cannot recite the same thing that your sales pitches are delivering, you need to be more humane and real in your communication.
Think of it in this way, when you pick up the calls from other brands, would you continue to stay on the call despite the sales agents sounding like he is reading a script? The answer you have given matches the same with your clients as well. Ensure that when you communicate with your clients you are conducting the below measures:
The great way to create a good bond from the start of the conversation is to ensure your clients that this isn’t the usual and annoying sales calls. Many clients when they realize that it is a sales call, immediately try to avoid out, if that happens chances are you can be missing out on an opportunity to tap a potential client.
Hence ensure that when you communicate with a client, you should begin your statements by asking them how are they doing, One of the online articles revealed that ‘’sales increase significantly within the group of customers, who were asked about their well-being.’’
Enquire about how your clients are doing and then slowly move to the main agenda of the call. Give your clients the opportunity to be comfortable so that they can open up to you. During the conversation ensure that when you are addressing their issues, you are giving them the liberty to speak out why they are looking for a solution and what are the expectations from their side to invest in your solution.
| Note: When a client gets comfortable, they tend to speak more and open up better which opens the doors of easy selling much faster for you. |
An online article stated ‘’Psychological research shows that people like to hear their name and are much more likely to make a friendly relationship when the other side uses it.’’ When someone addresses you with a name, there is a friendlier approach. When you are addressed with a Mr or Mrs, there is a formal tone in the voice.
You need to understand the difference and address your clients in the same manner.
For instance, before you can even continue the conversation enquire with your client how can they be addressed such as by saying their name or with Mr/Mrs. According to their answers, you can continue to address them in the same way during the entire conversation. Conducting such action helps you to respect the manner your clients want to be addressed and doesn’t imprint any bad impression upon you or your brand.
As mentioned earlier, you are aware that there are many competitors similar to you who sell the solution you are doing currently, with so many options available for your clients to choose from how can you convince your clients of the uniqueness your solution holds?
When you sell to your clients ensure that you also include the information which helps them to understand what they should invest in your solution rather than the similar crowd in the market. Ensure that the below questions are being acknowledged when you communicate those answers to the clients:
| Note: Always remember that a healthier competition is better than a rageful one. It is wise to eliminate any ill communication of your competitors during the communication and instead stress your focus on how your solution is the ideal fit to satisfy the client’s needs. |
You have just a few seconds to make an impression. Forbes states, ‘’Within the first seven seconds of meeting, people will have a solid impression of who you are — and some research suggests a tenth of a second is all it takes to start determining traits like trustworthiness.’’
Your clients are busy and you have just the above few seconds as mentioned by Forbes to capture their attention and continue forward. The smartest way to get the communication running is to constantly make your clients curious and helping them to understand you better. For instance, instead of saying that your business can help them out better, you could switch your statements by explaining how your business can help them.
This can all help you to retain the client’s interest for longer and give you the time to convince them to invest in the solution you are selling to them. You have just one chance to draw your client’s attention towards your statements, ensure that you are doing it the right way.
When you sell to your clients another factor you can add is to speak highly of them. When you say some good terms it makes the clients happy and also creates a comfortable environment between both of you. An example of good terms is ‘You are one of our good clients’, ‘ It is always great to engage with you.’
| Note:The more you encourage your clients that they are the best, they feel good and continue to engage with you. |
You are aware that the market keeps changing and has gone to be in a more digitized space in recent years. This is exactly why you need to add a human touch in your communication. Instead of speaking to them as a sales lead, speak to clients in a way that you are genuinely interested to help them satisfy their needs.
Speak in a more calm and subtle tone, as mentioned in the first pointer, don’t depend on the sales scripts and ensure that you treat your clients in a helpful manner. Yourstory states, ‘’The only way to change someone’s mind is to connect with them from the heart.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru, Life Coach & Speaker.
None of your clients will invest in your solution until they are able to see the benefits they offer. The business industry is going digital, all its information is now available in a click of a button due to its existence in the online social platforms. Your client will easily learn about your brand and get brief about your solution, but is that enough to convince them to invest in your brand?
Not much, because for a client to invest in your brand, they need to be convinced that your solution is the ideal fit for them. This can only happen when you are able to sell to them the benefits your solution holds such as:
When you speak more about how your solution can help the client assist its needs better, they are drawn towards exploring you better which in turn gives you the opportunity to sell better to them.
You don’t want your client to be confused or lost when you are communicating with them. The main agenda of your sales call should be to engage with clients for the purpose of convincing them to purchase your solution. This can only take place when you are clearer to them in the context.
When you communicate with the client ensure that you are using simpler words that are understandable to them. If you have to convey any technical matters, break it down in such a way where they can also have enough knowledge to understand it.
The more clear you are with your communication, the better your clients will be able to understand you and make their purchase decision accordingly with your brand.
Do you know that when you inform clients about how successful your solution had helped another client, there are high chances that your clients see the possibility of investing in you? When you speak to your clients during the call, apart from listing out the benefits, add in more value by sharing how you helped your existing clients.
For instance, you could speak about:
When you explain all such factors during your communication you are able to convince your client’s thoughts to invest in the solution you are selling to them. Your clients need to develop trust with you and your brand which is exactly why sharing live examples is one of the best ways to capture their attention.
Another great way to convince the client to purchase your solution is to confidently sell the main USP of your product. Your solution would be different from what your competitors are selling, for instance, may your competitor lacks in a feature which only your solution has. You can use this as an advantage to listing out the difference to your clients.
When you conduct such an action it compels your clients to learn more about what features your product holds which differentiates you from the crowd. It is important to understand that your clients are looking for the best solutions to satisfy their needs, and if you want to be the source of that solution, you need to ensure that you are selling the best parts of your solution.
Many brands waste their time because they invest in the wrong kind of audience. For instance, when you are a vendor of software, your target audience should be developers, b2b companies who depend on the software and other similar audiences. You cannot sell to an audience or a brand who has no association with the software.
One of the effective ways to sell better to clients is to first identify who are the right audience for your solution, when that happens you are able to understand their needs better and convincing them to purchase your solution becomes much more efficient.
You now have all the essential ingredients required to convince clients to buy from your brand but apart from the above, it is always wise to stay away from not only the major but the minor mistakes which can cause a hindrance in your selling process.
1. Never rely on sales scripts. Always add your own statements and convert the conversation into a more empathetic and helpful manner. Ensure that the clients don’t feel its a regular sales call instead they should believe that you are looking to help them out genuinely.
2. Don’t try to outsell or defame your competitors, it gives a bad impression of your brand. Ensure that you are just expressing why your solution is the perfect fit for the crowd.
3. Sell better by showcasing your product solution. Remember that if you just go on to sell the features of the product more than the benefits, chances are your clients may not show much interest.
To conduct sales in 2020, a brand needs to work on its empathetic skills, need to showcase more benefits and need to work on how the skills needed to convince clients better.
Which category enhanced your knowledge about the topic better? We would like to hear your opinion.
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A writer by choice. Leena has served her passion for writing mainly into the B2B marketplaces.