Sales & Selling Advice

3 Keys to Selling Success for a Small Business

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You’ve probably heard that the ability to sell to people is something that you either have or you don’t have—an innate talent. But in truth, it is something that you can learn through experience. You must learn how people think and make decisions. People who are successful at selling usually come to a sales transaction equipped with confidence, information and intuition.

Confidence

People are very perceptive and they can detect when you’re unsure of yourself. If you show that you are unsure of yourself, that might mean that you’re unsure of the product or service you’re selling as well. Avoid stumbling over your words, shuffling about or glancing around nervously. Look the potential customer directly in the eyes and tell him what you’re selling. Remember that you, as a person, reflect on the product you’re selling—in many cases a customer chooses you, not the product. So carry yourself with confidence whenever you are talking to a prospect. Practice pitching your product or service in the mirror or to a trusted friend who will give you constructive advice.

Information

If you master every feature of the product or service you’re selling, you increase your chances of converting sales. Customers are bound to have questions—every time you intelligently answer a customer’s question, you remove a potential barrier to making the sale. Also, once you identify the customer’s needs you can easily match them to the product’s features.

Also, when it comes to selling, people usually need to see it to believe it. Do a product demonstration if possible or offer a free trial of your service. Provide the potential customer with as many samples as they need to be convinced that what you are selling is great.

Intuition

Intuition is not something that is easily taught when it comes to sales, but it can come with experience. An expert salesman eventually comes to a place where he can predict how a potential prospect will respond to his product and pitch. He learns how to read faces, gestures, body language and comments from the potential customer to know what he should say or do to get the sale. If you don’t have this ability, ask a more experienced sales person to mentor you.

Of course these are not the only traits you need in order to become a successful sales person—having an awesome product or service is a large part of the formula. However, when you go in prepared with plenty of confidence, information and intuition you’re putting yourself in a good position to start pulling in some sales.

 

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Online Business Tips: Choosing a Product to Sell

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Selling products online successfully depends largely on how aggressively you promote your website, but even more important is the product that you choose to sell. In the early stages of planning your new website, take plenty of time to brainstorm a list of products that you might want to sell in your online store, then ask yourself a few questions that will help you make a final decision in the matter.

How Many Competitors?

You do not want to set up the millionth website selling bedazzled cellphone cases. Yes, phone cases may sell, but you will be getting a very thin slice of the pie—if anyone happens to find your website. So before you decide to select a product, find out more about the competing online sellers, if any exist. If you do find a number of competing sites selling the same items, explore whether the site is doing a good job of presenting their products. Do they have high ranking on search engines? Would you have some sort of strong competitive advantage compared to these other sites such as a much better price or better quality?

Where Will You Source It?

You have two main options for supplying an online store: you can either manufacture the product yourself or order from a distributor. So before you choose a product to sell online, figure out how you will source it and how quickly you will be able to either manufacture or receive it from your distributor.

Do You Have Knowledge of the Product?

Another question to ask yourself: do you have any expert knowledge of the product that you plan to sell? While it isn’t necessary, it is a competitive advantage. For example, if you have intimate knowledge of automotive parts, knowing the ins and outs of each type of part is very important to potential buyers. They may ask you questions via email or phone and if you can answer as an authority the chances of a sale increase. Also, when you know plenty about the product that you’re selling online, it is easier to write informative product descriptions that entice sales.

Does It Ship Easily?

The next question to ask yourself is how easily you’ll be able to ship the product to buyers. The shipping process should be as simple, straightforward and affordable as possible if you want to maintain a profitable online business. If you plan to sell large, fragile, perishable or odd-shaped objects just keep in mind the complications that may arise, as well as the additional costs.

When you’re done answering these questions for all of the products on your list, evaluate them all side by side. Make your final decision based on how well you believe you can profitably market, ship, source and sell the products in your online store.

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