You can create a website, build your traffic and establish a mailing list, but unless your visitors and readers become customers, it won’t do you a lot of good.
It can be difficult overcoming buyer resistance in a down economy, but unless you do so, you won’t be able to pay your expenses, much less make a profit. Therefore, here are some steps you should follow for increasing sales.
1. Qualify the prospect.
In off-line selling, you want to find out who the decision-maker is and establish a rapport with him or her. At this point, you can determine what his or her needs are and whether you can fill them.
If the customer has needs, that means that he or she also has a set of problems or obstacles to overcome. So you merely need to convince them that you can solve the problem. in the online world, you must do this through your website and with the relationship you have established with your customers in the past.
2. Gain your prospect’s trust.
Price and product are not the only selling points you can use. Another powerful weapon is rapport, if you can establish it with your customers and potential customers.
Remember that customers are as likely to buy for emotional as for practical reasons. Show them that you are like them in many ways, that you have many things in common, that you are sincere, honest and keep your word. If you promise you’ll call them on Monday, then do so.
In the online world, if you promise that you will send visitors a free report upon signing up for your newsletter, then make sure that the necessary systems are in place to do so.
3. Define your unique selling point.
What are the specific benefits that only you or your product can provide? Choose something that will make you stand out from the competition. Apple did this by creating the first successful prebuilt computer for consumers. Later, it introduced its easy-to-use Macintosh, which it dubbed “The computer for the rest of us.” Today, it offers such innovations as the highest resolution screen on a laptop computer. Determine what makes your own company stand out.
4. Listen.
Too many of those in sales try to oversell the product and fail to listen to their customers’ wants and needs. Ask open-ended questions in order to get the prospect talking and pay attention to what he or she says, right down to the tone of voice and inflection of speech. Determine what his or her needs are and how you can fill them.
Online, you can provide forms and questionnaires to determine what your prospects want. You can also study your analytics to determine what content grabs visitors’ interest the longest.
5. Be focused.
There are certain tasks and chores associated with running every business, but you should try to spend at least 50% of your time on activities that will produce revenue. Set aside a certain amount of time in each day for specific tasks. Online strategy for business, you might devote your mornings to site promotion and your afternoons to content and product creation.
6. Do your homework.
Research your potential customers so that you know what their needs and concerns are. That way, you can ask better questions and detail better solutions. If you’re meeting your customer face-to-face, you’ll be better prepared and more confident. If you are creating a sales page, you will know better what sales points you should highlight in order to sell the prospect.
7. Build on your success.
Many entrepreneurs fail to leverage the success they have with one type of client. If you have been successful in selling to dentists and realtors, then you should refer to these successes when dealing with similar types of clients. You will have an easier time establishing credibility if they know you have had success with others in their field.
There are many ways in which you can increase your sales and revenue, but the best way to do so is to provide value for the customer and to let them know it.
Remember that there is sometimes a fine line between mediocrity and excellence. Remember also that the only thing that sets an all-star baseball player above the others is one more hit at every ten turns at bat. So step up to the plate and make that sale!
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