Effective Selling Techniques1
Effective Selling Techniques
Following the Guidelines of the American Psychological Association Style Guide
Introduction
According to Corporate Visions (2016) there are five selling techniques that work that can be based on Maslow’s Theory of Motivation and Emotion. They are challenging the status quo, finding your value wedge, telling stories with contrast, making the customer the hero and using 3D props (Corporate Visions 2016). This essay will outline these five selling techniques. I will begin with challenging the status quo.
Challenging the Status Quo
As Corporate Visions (2016) states, many salespeople see doing sales as being linear, however it is not. Sale is a non-linear process that does not always have a beginning, middle and an end. The only way sales does have an end is if in the end the potential customer chooses the competitor, however if the customer chooses you, you have the potential of an indefinite sales relationship with your customer (Corporate Visions, 2016). As well when it comes to sales it is possible that the customer may choose no decision, which is the choice that is often taken by the customer (Corporate Visions, 2016). In this case a salesperson would require persuasive tactics in order to try to get the customer to sway their opinion in agreement with the salesperson. However, this can be a difficult thing to do.” Studies show that20 to 60 percent of deals in the pipeline are lost to “no decision”rather than to competitors,” (Corporate Visions, 2016). The true way to win this battle is by challenging the status quo to try to get your customer to sway their opinion to your side, showing them a sense of change (Corporate Visions, 2016).
Most salespeople see the sales process as a linear process. At some point, it has an end – the prospect will choose either you or your competitor. The truth is that those are not the only two end points. There’s another option – no decision – which is chosen all too often. Studies show that20 to 60 percent of deals in the pipeline are lost to “no decision”rather than to competitors. It’s only by challenging the status quo that you can get your prospects to see that change – i.e., adopting your solution – is necessary.
Next, I will discuss finding your value wedge.
Finding Your Value Wedge
It is important to find in your product or service how your product or service is unique in value when compared to your competitors. You need to look at what you produce from various angles:
How much overlap is there between what you can provide to your prospects and what your competition can provide? Most B2B salespeople admit that overlap is 70 percent or higher. So rather than focusing on that “parity area,” you should focus on what you can do for the customer that is different from what the competition can do – this is your“value wedge.”Your value wedge must be unique to you, important to the customer, and defensible (Consumer Visions, 2016).
Yes, is your “value wedge” (Corporate Visions, 2016). The unique edge that you as a salesperson have over your competitor for the product and/or service that you are selling. Next, I will discuss telling stories with contrast.
Telling Stories with Contrast
A key way to win in sales is to tell the before and after story of a company and this will help customers to want to belong to what the company stands for and what you do (Consumer Visions, 2016). Think of the company Facebook. Facebook was popular before the movie regarding how it got started came out, however after the movie came out regarding the beginnings of Facebook, Facebook became even more popular. The owner Mark Zuckerberg going on interview talk shows such as Oprah also helped people to understand how hard the owner worked at getting his business from the ground up. I can still remember when Mark Zuckerberg said that he was still sleeping on a mattress on the floor when Facebook had already made him a millionaire. The same goes with millionaires such as Warren Buffet who is well-known for still living in his humble family home even with all of the wealth he has. Stories like this make the customer want to belong to the seller.
Messaging is about telling your company’s story in a way that attracts prospects to your doors and turns them into customers. The challenge is that, if you’re like most companies, you tell your story in a way that doesn’t differentiate you much, if at all. But to create a powerful perception of value, you need to tell both the “before” story and the “after” story – you need to tell customerstories with contrast. When you tell customer stories, don’t be afraid to link data with emotion. Often the best way to do that is to talk about the people who were affected by the challenging environment they were working in. Then talk about how their lives became better, easier, more fun, or less stressful after using your solution (Consumer Visions, 2016).
Next, I will discuss making the customer the hero.
Making the Customer the Hero
When a salesperson makes the customer feel like a hero, the salesperson makes the customer feel great and larger than life (Consumer Visions, 2016):
Every story has a hero.Who is the hero of your story? Is it your company and/or solution? If the answer is yes, then you need to rework your story – and make the customer the hero. The customer is the one who needs to save the day, not you. Your role is that of the mentor. You are there to help your customers see what has changed in their world and how they can adapt and better survive and thrive (Consumer Visions, 2016).
Next, I will discuss using 3D props.
Using 3D Props
A salesperson product or service could be the very useful 3D prop that could help to cinch a sale (Consumer Visions, 2016). Giving the customer time to use, touch, feel, smell and bond with an item that they want to purchase will increase the probability that will buy it, plus if they know how to use it, increase the probability that they will not return the product:
There are many ways to tell a story. But one extremely effective – and underutilized – technique is touse 3D props. Props break the pattern of what’s expected – and can make the prospect sit up and pay attention. Props make a metaphor or analogy tangible. Props create a physical reminder, and can continue selling even when you’ve left the room.
Conclusion
According to Corporate Visions (2016) there are five selling techniques that work. They are challenging the status quo, finding your value wedge, telling stories with contrast, making the customer the hero and using 3D props (Corporate Visions 2016). This essay outlined these five selling techniques.
References
Corporate Visions. (2016). Corporate Visions: Conversations that Win. Online: United States.
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