Wanna make more sales?
Think WHY? Not how to!
Think about the last time you bought something. How attuned
was the salesperson to the reasoning behind your purchase?
Most salespeople make the fatal mistake of selling or pitching their product or service rather than discovering the prospective customer’s motive, reason or desire to buy, which is usually a level or two beneath the initial stated motive.
EXAMPLE: “I want my daughter to go to college” is not a motive. Why you want your daughter to go to college is the trigger for writing the check. Maybe it’s that you were too poor to go, maybe she’s been talking about being a nurse since she was 7 years old. Whatever the motive is, all the sales pitches in the world won’t mean anything until you discover, and press on, the emotional nerve.
Old-world sales tactics, closing techniques and other sales drivel is over. The Internet has replaced the pitch man. All facts are retrievable in a nanosecond. The Internet has made business buyers and con- sumers smarter than ever. Even smarter than salespeople.
Today’s salespeople better be question-based, value-driven and customer-focused. They better be able to prove the value of product, rather than try to sell it. Proof comes from testimonials, not sales presentations. Testimonials will reveal motives to buy.
In case you haven’t noticed, the world is changing. Not just the economy. The world. This will affect the way sales are made. At present,
customers are reluctant to buy. Many have the money but are reluctant to part with it. Some are afraid, some are waiting for prices to fall, some are just sitting on the sidelines. Whatever the reason, sales cycles are lengthening. Significantly.
It’s interesting to see companies, management and salespeople react to this. Most are panicked to make their numbers or push for more sales. Or worse, they’re worried what their shareholders will think about falling sales. Total mistake.
Now is the time to find out why and where your customer is hurting, and try to help them. Now is the time to keep your customers loyal by providing extra service. Now is the time to invest in attitude training for everyone in your company.
I am telling my readers and clients to do the following four things and if they do these things there will be a reward – it’s number 4.5.
1. Serve your customers beyond their expectations.
Fast deliveries. Error-free order processing. Ease of doing business. And all of this with friendly people.
2. Help your customers beyond their expectations.
Your sales are suffering because their business is suffering. Look for ways to help them. Maybe the help is in the form of volunteering to work there for a day, maybe it’s an idea or brainstorming session, maybe it’s a lead or a referral. Your gesture will be remembered when the economy begins to rebound – and it will.
3. Look to increase your present sales volume with existing customers.
Most companies provide opportunities to increase sales by offering a greater percentage of its business. It may be at the same location, it may be at a different branch, it may be at a different division, but sales are out there and the easiest path is through the people with whom you’re already doing business.
4. Work your ass off.
Start an hour or two earlier, work an hour or two later. If you’re looking for more sales, it’s likely they won’t come between nine and five. Have breakfast or lunch with customers and prospects. Tell them you have a prospect that wants to do business with them; they’ll be available. Finding prospects for your customers requires work. Get it? Be willing to do the hard work it takes to make selling easy.
4.5 Referrals will come your way because you’ve earned them.
It might not be many at first, but the harder you work, the more value you provide, the more positive you are, the more help you offer, the more the world will pay you back.
In these times, it’s not just about being great – it’s about being the best. Second best in sales is first loser. Ask yourself: “What am I doing to be my best today?” The answer to that question will lead you to a loyal customer and a sale.
My (trademarked) sales mantra is, “People don’t like to be sold, but they LOVE to buy.” That is the underlying principle of the importance of uncovering buying motives. Motives lead to checks and credit cards. 
Jeffrey Gitomer is author of The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.
P | 704.333.1112
E | salesman@gitomer.com