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What do most successful companies depend on for their sales success?
The answer: Past customers. Your existing customers are your businesses most valuable assets.
When you are talking with your customers, stay focused on the things that they are wanting right now and stay alert for future opportunities to build business with them. People will want new, different items soon, and you want them to remember you when they do. Initially you will end up spending more money on travel expenses (on traveling to find customers), but if you use these tips they will come back again and again knowing you have the business they need.
Also give your customer the chance to see things that they will want in the future. To do this best, you need to be focused on what is important to them, so that you can offer them exactly what they want.
Add On Sales
As you finish a sale with someone, ask him or her what else they expect to be needing in the future. You can also make recommendations that they will love.
Some salespeople don’t want to do this because they think that this is being pushy. To them it brings up images of someone who won’t take no for an answer; and who pressures the customer towards doing something that they don’t really want to do. None of us like this sort of situation, and your new customer probably won’t either. However, politely giving people some new ideas is really the best service that you can give to them, and almost everyone will be impressed by the higher level of service they are receiving from you. You are paid to help people, not to make them defensive with your offerings. Mentioning other products, ideas, or options to your customers will make you stand out as someone who wants to help them.
You should be looking for repeat sales whenever your customer is making a purchase from you. You can do this by asking the customer about their future plans, and asking them to remember you when they have a birthday, holiday, or other event that you can help them with.
Mention the “next time” during your conversations. Your customer will remember you much better if you remind them to. If you have genuinely helped them this time, they will want to remember you the next time. Otherwise they probably will forget all about you (or at least forget how to get in touch with you) as soon as you walk away.
Ask your customers if there are other products that they have wanted that they have not been able to find. Ask about problems that your customers have had with other purchases. This can help you to avoid having these problems yourself; and can insure that you are meeting their needs one hundred percent.
New sales opportunities
A great way to increase sales is to ask if there is something that your customer really like that they buy from someone else now. Without trying to ‘steal’ business from anyone, ask if they would give you the chance to provide them with something similar or the same if you could give them a better price, better service, or something that is important to them. Maybe you have something else that would be better for your customer than whatever it is they are getting from another source now.
Referrals
You can also make the most from your customer contacts by using referrals. With referrals, you don’t need to spend money on advertising or other marketing tools to get all of your new customers. In the selling profession, there is a saying that states, “Always ask for the sale”. When you are looking for referrals, the adage can be “always ask for the referral”. You normally get referrals when people have had a good experience with you.
If you have helped your customer to find something that they are proud to have; or you have given them exceptional customer service; they will want to tell other people about you. We all have a lot of other things filling our minds however. This means that you should ask your customers to remember you when someone asks about the item they purchased from you.
If you forget everything else, remember that business is basically a way to serve other people. No one wants to deal with people who are trying to get their money, and give them as little as possible in return. Be sure to ask your new customers, current customers, and prospective customers “What can I do for you?"
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