Stay Brilliant on the Basics

"Effective selling involves not only the power of persuasion, the art of negotiation, persistence and timing - it also demands, as much as any of these, the proper marketability of your product."   Mark McCormack

Whether or not the prospect is willing to buy depends largely on his or her internal feelings at the time. These feelings are strongly influenced by the prospect's perception of what you say and do, how you act and whether or not you are perceived as being trustworthy. Since prospects act on the basis of what they perceive, you must form the habit of saying and doing those things that will cause prospective customers to perceive you as being trustworthy.

Stay brilliant on these basics:

1. Build credibility. This starts with preparation. Demonstrate a sincere interest in the prospect as a person as early as possible.
2. Be well mannered. This may seem to go without saying, but demonstrating common courtesy tends to win the confidence of prospects.
3. Simplify your suggestions. The power of your recommendations will always lie in their simplicity.

4. Speak the prospect's language. Stay away from industry jargon. Keep your explanations simple as you focus on "owner benefits."
5. Speak as one having authority. Show enthusiasm for your suggestions. Look and speak in terms of success. Prospects like to buy from salespeople they perceive as being successful.
6. Sell at the buyer's pace. Let prospects interrupt you, but never interrupt your prospects.
7. Avoid the overstatement. It can imply the prospect is naive. It can result in lack of belief regarding anything else you say.
8. Avoid dogmatic statements. Skillful salespeople say, "Many of our customers have found it best to ..." and "Others have said ..." instead of, "The only sound way to do this is ..."
9. Use repetition. The initial reaction of the human mind is to reject anything new. If something is repeated over and over, the prospect's "natural defenses" tend to weaken, because the idea is no longer "new."
10. Make it the prospect's idea. Each of us is best convinced by reasons we ourselves discover. Be judged an expert without "flaunting" your knowledge. Avoid even the slightest appearance of feeling superior to the prospect.
11. Summarize strategically. "Let's examine again ..." Cement in the owner benefits. Make certain you have gained understanding.
12. Close with confidence. Master and perfect your strategy for securing action on your recommendations. Close by assuming. Close by assisting the buyer.

You'll want to review these basics frequently. They go to the heart of the decision-making process the prospect moves through in deciding whether or not to buy what you have to sell. 

2020 - When Dreams Become Reality!

Kinder Brothers International