You recognise that training is important – perhaps MORE important than it’s ever been, but you’ve not got money to throw at it. Perhaps you’re reading this looking for some new ideas and new material.

One of the best books I’ve read over the last couple of years that has an impact on selling is a book called Influence : Science and Practice written by an American psychologist Robert Cialdini. He supports all the theories he puts down on the page with some well documented experiments.

If you’re involved in selling I strongly recommend it. You can go straight to it on Amazon by following this link http://www.amazon.co.uk/Influence-Practice-Robert-B-Cialdini/dp/0321011473/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227621443&sr=1-5. It gives an insight into how people behave and how you can persuade them of things. How much use could that be ?! For instance he shows that if you ask for a commitment from someone, when you’ve already given them something previously – no strings attached, they will more readily agree. They are naturally seeking to redress the balance, they feel they owe you one. This is known as the law of reciprocity.

Similarly if you advise a customer not to go for the most expensive option (thereby proving your credentials as an honest broker) they are much more likely to take your advice in the future – no questions asked.

Think how these 2 devices could help you in your selling !   

The most natural thing is to want to say yes when someone asks you a question. You will often do it instinctively without even thinking about it. We all like to please I think.

I was away staying in a hotel in Warrington (while running a 2 day customer service training), and I was about coming to the end of my meal. I’d had a bottle of beer and couldn’t decide whether to have another one or not. The waitress came by and said “Are you ok for drinks ?” I instinctively said “Yes.” There it was, the word was out and she was gone. I realised that if she’d asked the same question in a different way the outcome would have been different too. She could have said “Can I get you another beer ?” to which I’d have said “Yes !” and an extra sale would have been made. I wonder how many sales opportunities are missed because of this !

JH suggested the following ; 

“One of my favourite examples was about 10 years ago, and is not about a product or service we offer that is different to any one else, it is more to do with how I tried to stand out from competitors selling the same thing.

I was quoting a very large contract for a Council authority. I, like everyone else had been walked round to assess the size and nature of the job. At the end of the walk round I asked several questions that I already knew the answer to, and a couple of questions that were slightly irrelevant to the quote (as far as I was concerned), I even inspected their present product, even though I new exactly what type it was and who supplied it. To the Council contact, no one else had done this or asked these questions and it gave an instant boost of confidence in my company that set us apart from the competition. The other big difference to being awarded this particular contract came from the written quote I submitted. The other 3 companies were fairly short “products to be supplied x, total cost £………..”  type of things.

I made my quote stand out completely by making it fill a couple of pages, giving details of the quality of the product. I then listed all the areas individually, pointing out any potential problems they may have in the future. I backed it up with references and some tips about information I’d read that I thought would help them. We were told that we were not the cheapest quote, but the council contact said it was chalk and cheese comparing our quote to that of the other 3 companies. It made him think these guys are professionals who I want to work with. All the companies were using the same method, all I did was present it in a way that made us stand out both on site and in the written follow up.”

Nice advice, just doing that bit more, taking more pride in your work can make all the difference. And remember in selling there is only one winner. You can find out more about the training that To Market offers by following this link   http://www.tomarket.co.uk/training.php There are telesales and telemarketing courses run around the country including open courses in Leicester, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Cambridge, Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Warrington, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Nottingham 

“Apart from the usual communication skills, a key part of selling is to try offer something that sets you apart from the competition, a Unique Selling Point. – this could be either goods or services your company offers that no one else is doing. It could  also be a USP about you as an individual, some thing that sets you apart from the (as always) 2- 3 other people quoting the same thing. It must be something that makes the customer remember you and persuades them to look at you and your company as the preferred option. This could be as simple as something you say on the phone or what was in the written quote, or even how the quote is structured and laid out.”

So it is worth giving it some thought. There are always some unique points to use – sometimes it just needs a little thought and imagination. We cover the idea of using benefit statements with one of the telesales audio CDs in the series on telephone selling and telemarketing http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=5 It covers the use of benefit statements, reason statements and open questions. These are the key parts to bear in mind when opening the sales call.