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Are You Making this Sales Mistake?

Written by: Cheryl A. Clausen

Article Overview: The best laid plans of many business owners have resulted in failure because they tried to build a business around products or services no one wanted. What sounds exciting, meaningful, useful, desirable to you may have zero interest to your prospects. The only way you can know for sure is by doing your homework.

Are You Making this Sales Mistake?

The best laid plans of many business owners have resulted in failure because they tried to build a business around products or services no one wanted. What sounds exciting, meaningful, useful, desirable to you may have zero interest to your prospects. The only way you can know for sure is by doing your homework.

When you research your clients and ideal prospects you’ll discover what they want. When you read what they read, listen to what they listen to, and watch what they watch you’ll gain a valuable understanding that will transform into increased sales. Be on the look-out for where they go or gather, and who else they do business with.

You have to know beyond a doubt what their top 3 wants or problems are. Then make sure your solution is tied to something they already want or a problem they’re looking to get rid of. Don’t try to create a want or invent a problem. Rather focus on an existing market instead of trying to create one.

If you aren’t a member of your target market be sure to pay close attention to the language they use. Every group has its own language and acronyms. Make sure you know what those acronyms are and what they mean as being able to use their language in your prospecting efforts will immediately position you as one of them. It will at least position you as someone who understands them. And that’s important!

Discover who they respect as an authority and why. If you have a connection to or can form an alignment with this respected source it can sky rocket your position in their minds. If you can’t at least learn from them and pay attention to what they say. You will find it’s easy to incorporate this knowledge in your prospecting efforts and increase your effectiveness.

Who sells to your target market? Pay attention to who else sells to your target market. Notice what they are selling them. Notice how they do it. Look for potential marketing partners and referral sources.

When your prospects don’t have what they want, what additional problems does that cause or what can it lead to? It’s not uncommon for your prospects to only have a superficial view of how what they want or don’t want is impacting them. When you can help them gain clarity you win. A confused buyer won’t buy, but a buyer who has clarity about both the emotional and logical reasons for taking action and taking action now will not only take that action they’ll buy.

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Article Tags: acronyms, alignment, best laid plans, business owners, doubt, failure, homework, increased sales, marketing partners, prospects, referral sources, sky rocket, target market



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