Want all the secrets to sales? Well, let us assure you – these sales hacks that you’ve probably been trying are absolute bologna. Unfortunately, many common sales techniques used today are actually more likely to drive customers away than attract them.
So, let’s get things straightened out here. These are the five biggest sales tips that you need to be avoiding – and the five that you should be trying in their place.
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Many businesses still engage in cloaking their prices, but let us assure you – there are no advantages to it. There are, however, some serious negatives.
For starters, you could end up actually driving away business – more often than not, if the price of a service or product isn’t listed, a customer assumes that they can’t afford it, and they move on.
You could also end up wasting your own time and the customer’s. You’re likely to receive a wide range of leads, including ones from customers who are in a different price range to your services.
In which case, they’ve wasted their time reaching out to you to find out about pricing, and your sales team has wasted their time trying to sell to a client who they’re just not going to close the deal with.
Being transparent and upfront with your prices will bring in more quality leads over quantity. Customers are likely to contact you once they’ve viewed your pricing sheet and have determined that your services are in their price range.
Your sales team is far more likely to close the deal with a client who has determined that you are within budget, than one who’s determined that you’re not.
This will save you an immense amount of time, as you won’t waste efforts trying to sift through and sell to low-quality leads.
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Can we all agree that automated responses are the absolute worst? The laziest of sales hacks out there, nothing disengages a customer like getting an automated response.
We get it – you’ve got lots of leads, and it takes a lot of time to respond to each one individually and personally. But nothing cuts a deal off quicker than the breakdown of communication.
We’re pretty sure that poorly automated email responses are actually proven to make human eyes glaze over.
Look, there are plenty of areas within sales that you can (and should) automate. But you don't want to over-automate and remove the human element of the prospect-salesperson relationship.
Responses don’t have to be long to be effective. Pick out key elements of your customer’s inquiry, and make notes of them in your response. If you’ve already had an actual conversation with the person, even make a comment about something you discussed.
You don’t need more than a few lines to let the customer know that you have paid attention to them and that their business is valued. If you don’t have time to answer questions right away, simply let them know that you will as soon as possible.
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We beg of you – Stop. Doing. This. There’s nothing customers hate more than feeling pressured. I can’t tell you how many times I have walked out of a store because a salesperson wouldn’t leave me alone.
Applying high pressure to create urgency is still a relatively common sales technique, and sure, maybe it works occasionally.
But more often than not, your customers feel badgered and undervalued, and they’re likely to go elsewhere – somewhere where they feel that they’ll be allowed to take their time in considering their options and making the right purchase for them.
We get it; deals are closed on the clock. But there’s often a big benefit to slowing the conversation down and taking your time to really nurture the lead.
Take the time to listen to what your client wants, and ask questions. Make them feel valued, and even make small talk! Don’t make the customer feel like you’re eager to close your third deal of the day – nobody wants to be a notch on your sales bedpost.
Taking your time to slow down your conversations and make the customer feel valued can have a substantial impact on improving your ROI.
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Scripts alone will never close a lead. While they can sometimes help you understand how to guide through a pitch, they’re more likely to frustrate your customers than anything.
In fact, customers likely know when you’re reading to them from a script, and they’ve probably rolled their eyes in annoyance within the first three seconds of your pitch.
Reciting scripts makes your customers feel like they’re talking to a robot, and honestly – is there anything more frustrating?
Mirroring the tone of your customer brings you two to the same level. If you can match the inflections of your customer, their volume, and their energy, then your customer will likely be more engaged in the conversation between you two.
Make the communication feel personal, and you’re more likely to connect with them and close the deal.
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Oof, major mistake. With the wealth of information online now, it’s likely that by the time you speak to a customer, they’ve already got at least a base knowledge of the features and benefits that your product or service offers.
Yes, your product has lots of great features, and that’s why it sells. But it’s unlikely that the customer will want to sit and listen to a pitch of things that they already know.
Honestly, this isn’t so much of a sales hack as a sales blunder.
Take the time to learn about your customer and their pain points. Why is it that they’re searching for this kind of particular product or service?
While it’s important for a customer to know the major features and benefits of your product, they ultimately want to see the bigger picture – how is this product or service going to make a difference in their life?
Instead of selling a pile of features, sell a solution to your customer’s problems, and you’re far more likely to close the deal.
Right, now that you’ve learned which sales tips are right – and which are wrong – it’s time to make these adjustments in your strategy and see the change in ROI. Sales can be a tricky business, so remember that you don’t necessarily need to make all of these changes overnight.
If you just flip your sales strategy over like a table in one big dramatic swoop, you’re likely to end up with food all over the floor. Huge bummer. Instead, ease into each of these sales tips one at a time, and make sure that you’re really committing yourself to mastering these new tactics.