Archive for June, 2009

1. One Product at a Time
Only promote 1 product or service at a time. Prospects will not be easily swayed to look around at other options. This limits your prospect’s buying decision to "yes" or "no". Remember every "yes" answer produces an immediate sale.

Avoid promotions requiring prospects to make more choices after making the decision to buy. Some won’t be able to make a clear choice. They’ll avoid the risk of making a wrong choice by making NO choice — and you lose the sale you already had.

You can develop separate promotions for each product or service you sell. Or you can combine several products and services into one package for one price. But always make your prospective customer’s buying decision a simple "yes" or "no". It produces the maximum number of sales.

2. Lead with Your Biggest Benefit
What’s the biggest benefit you offer to customers? That benefit is your strongest selling appeal. Use it to attract prospects to your promotional message.

State your biggest benefit in the headline of your ads. Put it in the first sentence of your sales letters. Include it in a title at the top of your web page. Use it as the opening of your audio or audio-video promotions. Leading immediately with your biggest benefit captures your prospect’s attention and provides a compelling reason to continue reading or listening to your message.

3. Make it personal
More people will buy from you when they feel you are talking directly to them about their individual needs. Develop customized versions of your sales message to cater to the specific interests of prospects in each market you target. Use the language and style of prospects in each market to communicate your message to them.

It’s easy to use different versions of your sales message when you control who gets it. But how can you personalize your web site to appeal to prospects in one market without losing your appeal to other prospects visiting your site?

One way is to create special web pages for prospects in each market you target. Customize the content of each to appeal to prospects in that group. Then add a link to each of these special pages on your home page.

4. Be Specific
Marketers often describe their product or service with words like, "It’s fast, easy and inexpensive". But a specific description of how fast, how easy and how inexpensive will generate more sales.

For example, a general statement like, "Our clients get more sales", is dull. It won’t produce sales. Replace it with a specific statement like, "Most of our new clients enjoy at least a 17 percent sales increase in the first month". This statement creates excitement. It motivates prospects to sign up now so they can start enjoying that 17 percent increase in THEIR sales.

5. Be Dramatic – Use Your Feelings
Customers usually buy on impulse, not logic. They base their buying decision on how they feel about your product or service. Get them excited about using your product or service and you’ll increase your sales.

Revise your ads, sales letters and web pages to dramatize the emotional rewards your customer will experience when using your product or service. Use vivid word pictures to help them imagine themselves already enjoying those benefits. For example, a financial planner could describe what it feels like to enjoy an affluent lifestyle without debt.

Each of these 5 selling tips will help you increase your sales. They produce immediate results. And they won’t cost you anything to implement.

Are you looking for a winning sales pitch example?

Easy step by step example of an effective sales pitch.

Step 1 – Get Their Attention

Step 2 – Identify The Problem – Clearly

Step 3 – Build Interest and excitement

Step 4 – Give A Testimony – Let them see what others have said

Step 5 – Validate Their Objections – Make them feel good throughout the sales cycle

Step 6 – Create Desire – When you write your sales pitch

Step 7 – Move Them To Action – Land the order with the right sales pitch

Step 8 – Be Sure To Follow Up

Every salesperson has a bad day, week or even month.  Regardless of your skill level, beginner or seasoned sales person, you will make mistakes.   Here are some basic tips that you should read every month to make sure you’re on track.

1.  Not listening: Do not just listen to what the customer is asking for; look past that to find out what they need. Too often salespeople sing the praises of a product without hearing what the customer wants. You cannot sell to someone if you do not know what they want. Listen to your customers, identify the need, and fill it.

2. Overselling: A nonstop sales pitch leaves your potential customer with no room to make an intelligent decision. There is a fine line between being a good salesperson and being pushy or obnoxious. Know when to stop selling and don’t become the information train and run them over.

3. Being unprepared: Whether you are making a sale in a showroom, a board room, or on the phone, you need to know the details about what you are selling and be able to answer all pertinent questions. Be prepared. If you are prospecting for new business, know what you are going to say and be ready for questions you may be asked.

4. Jumping straight to the sale: In any type of sales business, you need to establish a relationship. Even on the Web you need to have landing pages to provide information about your products or services before jumping to the shopping cart. Do not rush to the sale. Take the time to educate your customers, and they will reward you with sales.

5. Not closing the sale: This is the flipside of the previous mistake. Once you have provided your customer with the information he or she needs, ask if the customer is ready to make a purchase. It may seem unnecessary, but sometimes asking for the sale can be the nudge your customer needs to make a final decision.

6. Going off topic: Some salespeople overdo the need for a "relationship" with excessive chatter. Others continue to talk about the product or service but spend an inordinate amount of time on irrelevant information.  Remember every minute not advancing the sale along is money out of your pocket.  While you do want to build a relationship and make your customer comfortable, the goal is to make the sale. If the sale is the topic, don’t veer too far off on tangents.

7. Not researching your customer: If you are trying to sell to a specific client at a meeting, you need to know what he or she is all about. Do some research before the sales meeting and get a good idea of the prospect’s likes, dislikes, interests, and manner of doing business. The same holds true for consumers. Get to know who makes up your target audience.

8. Judging books by their covers: Don’t be a judge! Salespeople routinely miss sales because they prejudge their customers.  Treat every prospect as an opportunity and let the deal do the speaking.

9. Not following up on leads: Remember it takes 6 no’s to get a yes.  Just because someone does not buy immediately does not mean he or she will not be interested later, particularly if he or she requested information. Follow-up is a critical aspect of sales that is often neglected.

10.   Failing to prospect for new customers: Even when sales are at their peak, you need to devote time to looking for more customers. No company can survive without a constant influx of new customers, so no business can afford not to prospect for them.

 The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.

• Delivers the message clearly
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes User Loyalty

Many small to mid-sized businesses desire to reach new markets but lack the experience or man-power to do so.  As a marketing professional in Oshawa, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby or business owner you may have asked yourself “How do I reach new markets economically”?  It is possible to reach these markets without spending your entire budget.  Having a planned approach that looks at strategic markets, local media and competitive landscape is a good start to building an effective strategy.  AMR Media has over 15 years experience building effective websites for the Toronto, Markham and Durham Region.  Our depth of knowledge on how to sell abroad and brand effectively has benefited many of our customers.  Businesses needing a website designer often miss the critical business components that go along with a profit driven strategy.  Understanding the technology and markets is fundamental in making your project a success. AMR Media has helped companies build strong markets both locally and around the globe.