Romance Your Customers By Making The Easy Sale First
Romance Your Customers By Making The Easy Sale First
Thinking back, I realize that one of the reasons Gavin got slapped so often, is that he was trying to make a very difficult sale. He tended to fail more often than he succeeded. He just didn't know how to romance his prospects.
When dealing with your customers, are you trying to close a sale that is hard to make?
If you are advertising or selling to people who have never heard of you and you start off asking for a relatively big commitment, the answer is almost certainly yes. It is also true when trying to sell big ticket items or complex solutions to new prospects. Are you making the same mistake as Gavin, and turning off many prospects, simply because they are not ready to take such big a step?
As marketers, we can't afford to undermine our efforts with this kind of mistake. To reach a qualified prospect and get turned down is simply too expensive, and the opportunity cost is too high. Like most marketing mistakes the issues are subtle and are not always obvious to the casual observer.
The key with marketing is understand that no matter how much success you have with a program, you owe it to yourself to continually find ways to improve your results. It costs exactly the same to run a direct mail piece, a sales campaign or an advertisement that yields 2%, 3% or 4%. So why be content with any response rate, let alone a modest one? What's more, you can often get dramatic increases with only very minor changes, that cost nothing.
I have found the easiest way to increase your success rate with customers, is to get a little romance going. The key is to make the easy sale first. My young friend might have been more successful if he had built trust by inviting his prospects for coffee, getting to know them a little better and understanding what they were wanting out of a relationship. So it is with your customers. You have to be prepared to invest time and energy in building trust.
Making the easy sale first, usually involves offering something free. Let the customer try out your services at no risk. What can you offer free, without breaking the bank? The most simple gift is information. Do you have information that is useful and valuable to your prospective customers? It must not be self-serving, otherwise it defeats the purpose. The best kind of information is the kind that helps them avoid making bad buying decisions, or protects them from dangers they might not be aware of.
You can also offer a free, no obligation, consultation or service to new prospects. If your services are good and your prospects are properly qualified, the downside risk is minimal for you. You should get a lot more people trying your service and becoming customers.
Remember, I did say, make the easy sale first. You still have to sell, but it will be easier. Be clear about the benefits your prospects will get, if they take this first step. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you are offering something free, people will automatically take you up on your offer.
However, once they do take you up on your offer, you are well on your way to developing a profitable relationship.
Romance Your Customers By Making The Easy Sale First - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Hepworth's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
When I was a teenager, I had a friend Gavin, who had a very direct approach with the young ladies in the town where we lived. We used to laugh because he got a lot of slaps, and we were also envious because he was sometimes successful.
Thinking back, I realize that one of the reasons Gavin got slapped so often, is that he was trying to make a very difficult sale. He tended to fail more often than he succeeded. He just didn't know how to romance his prospects.
When dealing with your customers, are you trying to close a sale that is hard to make?
If you are advertising or selling to people who have never heard of you and you start off asking for a relatively big commitment, the answer is almost certainly yes. It is also true when trying to sell big ticket items or complex solutions to new prospects. Are you making the same mistake as Gavin, and turning off many prospects, simply because they are not ready to take such big a step?
As marketers, we can't afford to undermine our efforts with this kind of mistake. To reach a qualified prospect and get turned down is simply too expensive, and the opportunity cost is too high. Like most marketing mistakes the issues are subtle and are not always obvious to the casual observer.
The key with marketing is understand that no matter how much success you have with a program, you owe it to yourself to continually find ways to improve your results. It costs exactly the same to run a direct mail piece, a sales campaign or an advertisement that yields 2%, 3% or 4%. So why be content with any response rate, let alone a modest one? What's more, you can often get dramatic increases with only very minor changes, that cost nothing.
I have found the easiest way to increase your success rate with customers, is to get a little romance going. The key is to make the easy sale first. My young friend might have been more successful if he had built trust by inviting his prospects for coffee, getting to know them a little better and understanding what they were wanting out of a relationship. So it is with your customers. You have to be prepared to invest time and energy in building trust.
Making the easy sale first, usually involves offering something free. Let the customer try out your services at no risk. What can you offer free, without breaking the bank? The most simple gift is information. Do you have information that is useful and valuable to your prospective customers? It must not be self-serving, otherwise it defeats the purpose. The best kind of information is the kind that helps them avoid making bad buying decisions, or protects them from dangers they might not be aware of.
You can also offer a free, no obligation, consultation or service to new prospects. If your services are good and your prospects are properly qualified, the downside risk is minimal for you. You should get a lot more people trying your service and becoming customers.
Remember, I did say, make the easy sale first. You still have to sell, but it will be easier. Be clear about the benefits your prospects will get, if they take this first step. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you are offering something free, people will automatically take you up on your offer.
However, once they do take you up on your offer, you are well on your way to developing a profitable relationship.
Romance Your Customers By Making The Easy Sale First - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Hepworth's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| |||
 |
No article feedback found. | ||
|
Leave Your Feedback | ||
|
|||
 Office Romances
| |||
 This season on The Apprentice, two of the candidates - Tim and Nicole - had what I guess you would call “an office romance.” The romance ended up hurting Tim because he couldn’t figure out if his loyalties were to N... |
|||
|
Romance Your Customers By Making The Easy Sale First
| |||
| When I was a teenager, I had a friend Gavin, who had a very direct approach with the young ladies in the town where we lived. We used to laugh because he got a lot of slaps, and we were also envious because he was s... |
|||
|
Cupid in the Workplace
| |||
| Do you allow romance in the workplace? According to SHRM, 72% of companies surveyed have NO written policy regarding dating in the workplace. But at the same time, SHRM also found that 66% of the employees surveyed ... |
|||
|
Romance Your Goals: Seven Secrets for SMARTER Goal Setting
| |||
| Romance your goals? What am I talking about? Think about a great romance you are experiencing or did experience. What makes or made your romance great? Passion. Well, we are going to create passion for your goals... |
|||
|
Tap Into Possibility - From Romance to the Dance
| |||
| Whether it be in relationships with significant others or starting a new career you are passionate about, the presence of love and enthusiasm fill you with intense emotions. Initially, there is an exhilaration that ... |
|||
| |||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Bernard ReberBack in late 1992, MS Access hit the streets. About that time the company I managed needed new software to handle their growing client base and I decided to try this new product. I had little difficulty writing and adapting a database to suit us and discovered a hidden talent for programming. A business was born. With business studies and 25 years of management experience in three different countries under my belt, I could offer a unique combination of skills and my customers agreed. From these humble beginnings my software 'invoiceit' emerged in 1999 and has since been taken to 49 states (hello Wyoming, won't you join us?), all across Canada and more than 70 other countries. From the very beginning the program included cashbook accounting, the simplest form of keeping financial business records. The Dictionary.com defines 'cashbook' as "A 'book' in which to record money received and paid out". For 'book' substitute 'simple software' and that's what I'm about. Now I have published Simple Accounting, an inexpensive spreadsheet solution which even you can master. For just $14.95 it costs less than a takeout meal! More at http://www.scrambled-card.com/simple_accounting_main.htm - Visit Bernard Reber's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
 Michael Hepworth (Visit Michael's Website) The StreetSmart Marketer's business is training and coaching owners of entrepreneurial service businesses to rapidly become customer acquisition experts. His popular free marketing tips magazine is read by thousands of business owners around the world in more than 47 countries. You can get it free at www.streetsmartmarketer.com
|  |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
| ||
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 |
 Content Challenged Intro to M&A Double Digit Growth eguide Professional Networking The Flowing Point |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2007
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
|
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2008
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
| ||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
