How to sell it?

Project #1: The Effective Salesperson

Manual: Advanced Communicator (AC) - Persuasive Speaking

Feb 01, 2008

Fellow Toastmasters and dear guests, imagine that – It’s your first day as a salesperson at a popular toy store. Your boss’ secretary comes and congratulates you for being the 25th person for that position. Wait a sec, 25th person. Are you kidding me? She says “No” and adds that Boss has your probationary assignment ready and will meet you shortly. Now, you get very anxious and start to stare at the door. Your boss, 6 ft 2 inches tall, a stout retired army general with petrifying eyes & smoking cigar in his mouth marches into your office and says, “Welcome aboard Alex! Your first assignment is to sell 2-dozen toys in a week. Either you sell it or walk out. By the way, 3 dozen will be awesome.” Other than few advertisements you have heard or seen you do not have any clue about selling a product. But, this is the job you dreamt for years and you cannot let go at any cost. Now, you begin to wonder, “How do I sell it?” Folks, I am going to present you the persuasive sales process that you can use at such situations.

Identify Buyer’s Needs

“One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears - by listening to them.” First, gather information about your buyer’s needs and goals by asking questions. Do not overwhelm your buyer with annoying questions. Avoid questions with one-word responses. Ask questions that require longer responses and enable you understand buyer’s present situation and his/her needs and wants.

Introduce the Product

Second, once you understood the buyer’s situation, introduce your product or service. Point out the features of the products and more importantly, how that benefits the buyer and meets his/her needs. Remember the sale is important to you. But, integrity is more important than the sale. Do not hide or mask information and lose his/her trust.

Obtain Commitment

Finally, obtain commitment from your buyer. Look for signals from your buyer. It could be either a smile or nod or a statement such as “This sounds great” from the buyer. Some salespeople are reluctant to ask for commitment and guess what? They lose a sale. Remember, if you do not ask, then the answer is a sure “No.”

Role Play

To illustrate the above-mentioned sales process, Saro and I are going to enact a short scenario. Saro is a prospective buyer of a mobile phone and he walks into the Blackberry Retail store, where I work as a salesperson.

[Ask for any questions/concerns he has such as “Do you have any further questions or concerns Sir? Would like to buy this model? Assure that Saro made a right choice and will not regret it.]

Conclusion

[Get connected with the buyer – Through series of questions understand and funnel down the needs of the buyer – Introduced the product (BB Pearl or Curve) – Obtained commitment. Ask audience as to what I could have done to make it better or effective?]

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Copy of this presentation can be found here.