When you’re trying to sell a product or service to business owners, there are some important things that can sometimes get overlooked. In this article, we will go over several tips to help you succeed in your sales calls!
Tip #1 – Create an action plan before each call
This is very important because it creates consistency which helps you stay focused during the conversation. You should have everything ready ahead of time so that you don’t need to worry about leaving something behind until later.
Your action plan should include what services or products you will be talking about, how much money you will ask for, and any milestones (like getting a response or closing) you want to reach with these items.
Having all of this information at hand makes prepping more efficient and keeps you motivated since you know exactly what you are going to do next.
Also, being prepared changes the way you feel about the sale- you're clearly thought out and determined, which removes nervousness and self-doubt that may otherwise hold back performance.
People are usually more influenced by appearances than they realize. When you make an effort to look presentable, this signals that you care about your appearance and how you appear to other people.
This can be in the form of grooming yourself (hair, nails, etc.), putting together your wardrobe, washing your car, or whatever else matters to you.
When it comes time to approach a business owner for a sale, making sure your looks are up to par is important!
If you don’t take enough time to groom yourself, put some things away, wash your hair — anything to show you took time out of your day to do so will give you big dividends in terms of perception.
The same goes for wearing clothes – if you don’t feel like investing in new ones, try going shopping with someone who does. If possible, dress in similar clothing as them too, since they likely influence others in their field when it comes to fashion.
Running late always looks bad, even if you're just coming from work. So, get a ride, arrive on time, and leave a good first impression.
The next thing you need to do is determine if they are looking for a solution already and whether they are looking to upgrade their current solutions. If they have a solution in place now, then offering a better replacement makes sense!
You can also find business owners at a similar stage of their company’s life as yourself – there's always something new that they're trying to get off the ground or improve.
By being aware of what types of products and services they're looking for, you can position your own product or service as the best one.
One of the biggest reasons business owners don’t buy products or services is because they think you are not listening to them!
They feel like you are looking at your phone, or that you are talking too much rather than paying attention to what they have to say.
It is important to be a good listener – really listen to what people are saying, respond in kind, ask questions if needed, and keep an eye on their body language.
But beyond just being polite and acknowledging someone else's points, add value by giving meaningful responses that inspire trust and confidence.
If you hear about a product or service that could help you achieve your goals, do some research and see whether it would be helpful for them.
If you learn something new that can boost their business, pass it onto them so that they can use it for themselves.
Sell with purpose and invest time into relationships that will result in sales.
A few years ago, I read an interesting article about how to sell more books. In it, the author mentioned something that stuck with me because it made so much sense. He said instead of trying to sell people what you want, ask them if they need anything before diving into your product or service.
He explained that when we try to convince someone to buy a book from us, by telling them what our products are, this can sometimes backfire and hurt your business.
By asking whether their department needs a certain item, you take away the pressure to make the hard sale. You also show interest in helping them succeed, which is very attractive to business owners.
So how do you go about doing this? Simply send out an email stating “I have a new eBook I think you’d be interested in" or "I know this may sound weird, but would you be open to talking about [insert topic here]?"
This applies not only to selling merchandise, but services as well. If you're offering phone coaching services, ask if anyone has contacted her/him about such things already.
The second way to sell to business owners is by making it clear that you are a sale-focused individual. Are you someone who loves getting rewards? Then apply those reward systems to your life, and create more goal settings or milestones for success.
You can also use examples of things you have done well in the past and add them as lessons learned to help you succeed now. For example, instead of telling yourself “I’m going to be successful next week,” tell yourself “I’ve been successfully delivering results for X weeks, so I know how to do it again.”
Alternatively, find something you feel is related to what you want and learn about it – then improve upon it or get totally new information. If you wanted to be good at basketball, start watching games and studying players.
Running into businesses in your area that are looking to expand is a great way to meet people with potential new customers. These types of encounters can be done at restaurants, conferences, or even informal get-togethers where there is already some form of conversation.
If you’re not sure what to say when attending such events, don’t worry! There will almost always someone else who has been through this process before, so ask them for tips and tricks they used to success!
Another good idea is to put together an event invite yourself and then see if anyone else had ideas about how to approach different attendees. By doing this, you’ll have lots of input and recipes from others like yours who have sold before!
Running out of things to talk about? Try asking questions about their company and what products they use. If they mention something interesting, add it as a link to your website or product.
One of the best ways to sell to business owners is by offering them a free sample or trial of your products or services. This is definitely not something that every entrepreneur does, but it makes sense!
Most entrepreneurs start their journey with a well-paying job first before switching careers or taking time off to focus on their business. Because they’ve already paid their dues in the working world, they have built up an impressive level of trust in others (which is very valuable).
By offering them a chance to try out your service or product for themselves, you can build a relation of trust and gain some new clients.
What about the rest of us? Non-business people might be surprised to learn that most wealthy individuals are actually self-made. The rich didn't earn their money through inheritance or big lottery winnings, they made it investing in businesses and/or properties.
The more times I talk about my business strategy, the less convinced other people seem to be. It's like when someone goes into a restaurant and orders only dessert because all the foods on the menu look terrible.
"Wow, how could this person enjoy eating food if she has no idea what kind of dishes exist?"
That's what other people do when they don't understand the basics of investing. They believe everyone who says investment is scary or difficult, so they avoid trying.
But investors aren't killers, and starting your own business isn't too complicated.
Before you even approach your potential customer, you must ask them if they are looking to buy something. If you see someone with their hands in their purse or bag, chances are they do not have money there to purchase anything at that moment.
So, before approaching anyone about buying a product or service, you must first get permission from them by asking if they are looking to make a purchase. This is a great way to test the waters as well!
If they say yes, then you can start talking about what products and/or services you offer and how much this product costs. But if they tell you no, simply acknowledge what they said and move onto the next person.
Your time is worth more than you think so don’t waste it trying to sell to people who aren’t ready to buy yet.
