In today’s competitive business environment, if you want to increase your bottom line and close more sales, you must master the art of persuasion. Due to the fact that most people see salesmanship as sleazy and persuasion as manipulative, you must overcome these stereotypical views in order to be successful at properly selling your business, products and services. Good persuasion is an art; a masterpiece of you and the person you are persuading. One of the basic principles of sales is mastering the art of persuasion. If your goal is to truly help the person you are persuading, then you are doing them a service and there is absolutely nothing dishonorable about it. After all, the sales process is nothing more than the exchange of a product or service for payment. Let’s look at 4 easy steps you can take to help you master the art of persuasion so you can close more sales.
Inspire and engage. In a sales conversation, you must capture attention by using creative descriptions to showcase the best features of your product or service. Try not to focus on the mechanics of what you’re offering by using too much product or service lingo or industry jargon. When speaking to someone about a particular offering you must inspire them by evoking an emotional connection. The prospect must fall in love with your product or service before they buy. Engaging the prospect with a colorful, compelling description will help you get closer to landing a sale.
Start Name -dropping. Most of us deplore name-dropping and find it obnoxious. However, in the sales conversation, not only is it acceptable but it is expected. Name-dropping allows you to showcase your pedigree of top-notch people who endorse, support or promote your product or service. Do you have a celebrity endorsement or a local hero that supports your business? By all means, name drop away. Of course, credibility and believe-ability go a long way here. You must only name drop when the person’s name you are using can create value and assist you in developing either your brand and or your sales.
Testimonials matter. This one is quite simple. People like people. Most customers want to be convinced that they are in good company before they sign on the dotted line. Of course this means you must provide social proof that you have a crowd of people who know you, like you and trust you. It’s a fact, people like what they believe is most popular or widely accepted. If you have a list of people who say positive things about your business, show them off. Showcase your testimonials in everything you do. Providing testimonials is a very common way to persuade prospects to join the party.
Tell a story. People forget people. People forget things. However, most people remember a good story. Try telling a compelling success story to captivate attention the next time you’re in a sales conversation. Do you have a new product or service you recently launched that flew off the shelf or sold like crazy? Make it a point to tell the story when you’re in a sales conversation. Sharing positive, success stories helps to peak interest and are definitely easier to remember than jargon and industry lingo.
Selling is strategic and involves various facets of mastery including persuasion. If you want to be more successful at selling and closing more sales, you must get comfortable with the concept of good persuasion. Remember this, sales is not sleazy. Sales it’s simply providing solutions to people who need what you have to offer. And persuasion is simply selling in a creative and compelling manner.
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This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group your marketing and sales success mentor, and founder of Marketing For Trailblazers™ & ABC’s of Successful Sponsorship Sales System;™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To purchase consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.