Sales Tips for Businesses

The following are tips from Phil Heffernan, Creative Director of Heffernan Webdesign Advertising.

During my business career over the last 35 years, I have gained an extensive background in sales of both services and products in various fields particularly in advertising and marketing.

One of the main aspects of a good sales person that has stayed with me over the years is the understanding; how to present a solid argument on why a business or individual should buy what you have to offer.

Let's face it, no one likes pressure sales people so don't talk like one. Just calmly put forward the benefits of your products or services with confidence and authority, whether over the phone or face to face.

Don't sell but just learn to present your case better by using key word phrases rather than blurb on for minutes on end.

If more customers never sought out other prices from our competitors but rather elect to use us on the basis of a great presentation, it would make our job a lot easier.

Stop quoting and make more face to face sales on the first meet with the prospect.

A good website is an excellent way to promote your services and create good sales leads, however generally this must be followed up with the one on one contact with the client to secure the sale.

Selling products on the internet is in most cases very straight forward, compared to selling your services online. Products are less complex, when it comes to outlining description, benefits and cost etc and the sale can be easily generated online through E commerce.

Because I believe the art of a good selling technique is important, when it comes to outlining the benefits of services, I have put together some tips for your information and hopefully will also benefit you in the future.

A good website design and the phone are two of your most cost effective sales tools.

A website can generate very good leads for future sales, however if your business relies on face to face selling then contacts from prospects need to be converted into on site meetings.

If you can increase these leads from the website into on site meetings, you will win all the time.

What is the best sales approach from your website leads?

Most responses from visitors on a website are by email and to a lesser degree by phone. Be sure to respond promptly to all inquiries preferably by phone or if they haven't emailed their telephone number then email back asking for a contact number.

Once you contact them make sure the prospect gets the key points on why your business is a sensible choice and make sure when they shop around you bring them back.

If you are speaking to them by phone within a busy environment, be careful to listen, just shut down to everything around you and stay focused on what the caller is saying.

Learn to ask the prospect more questions and let them respond as this creates a healthy environment in winning their trust.

Your voice tone is the key, the caller can't see you but they can feel your voice, so be firm and confident.

Let the over the phone prospects know you are writing down what they want and need as this is always helpful when you deal face to face.

What ever you do don't get caught speaking too fast on the phone, slow down and make your points clear, you're not in a race and you can easily lose the prospect's interest.

Give them your full name and repeat your name a few times during the conversation.

A sales prospect, who remembers your name and what you have said, will increase your sales closures by 5 times.

If the caller likes your voice tone, what you say and that you care, your sales will skyrocket!

So, initially don't focus on selling, but make your presentation interesting and enthusiastic with a confident manner.

Every time I talk to a potential client on the phone about a new website, a re design or so on, I know my time is limited, so I get to the point by key wording what I want to say, similar to how a television presenter may present a topic on the news.

You are not a free advisory service so don't give the prospect to much information on the phone in your office, but rather key words some very relevant points only and do the rest when you are on site quoting the job, which is what you want to achieve here.

When preparing to meet the client, develop some solid personal skills to use when face to face with your prospect.

We all know our business but how many of us can express what we do clearly and precisely.

In my days of sales training I taught people always to focus on, not what they know, but how they say it and then I watched their sales grow.

Write up a script yourself and rehearse that script and think of yourself as a TV Presenter who has the task of holding the audience.

You need to set an impression, that you know what you are talking about and that you are an expert in the field.

Show your enthusiasm; the benefits of what you can do and always educate the prospect on what you know.

Experience and knowledge sells as well as personality and enthusiasm.

Then close the sale not later but now.

Good luck!