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How would you describe selling? As far as I am concerned selling is the art of influencing people's decisions in favour of your product or service. Nothing more, nothing less.

In a showroom situation, the majority of people who walk through the door are potential customers, but not necessarily yours. They enter the sales area because they wish to make a purchase but at this stage they will more often than not be looking around and comparing the propositions that are put before them by various competing retailers. And this is where the effective salesman takes control of the sales situation. The short time he or she has with the customer has to be used to full effect and the case for making a purchase from him has to be made clearly, precisely and overwhelmingly.

It is now that the effective salesman will identify the prospective client's needs, and then satisfy every need by demonstrating the relevant benefits of his product or service. He will never list the features of the product, only the benefits that the features bring to the table. He will demonstrate what the feature does not what it is.

At the end of the demonstration the experienced salesman will recap and ask if there is any aspect of the proposition that the customer does not understand, and satisfy any query straight away. He or she will then ask for the order and shut up. The next person to speak should be the client, and if the salesman genuinely believes his product or service is the best choice there is no reason why the sale should not be made.

So, has the salesman actually SOLD the product, or put the best case forward for the client to BUY the product or service?

I believe the latter to be the case. The professional salesman will simply have shown the customer why he should buy from him. He will explain why his product is the one best suited to his prospects needs. He will not have used any underhand techniques; he will not have exaggerated or made any false promises. And on that basis the customer will buy the product and he will not feel he's been sold it.

There will always be situations where a salesperson will use undue pressure to gain a sale. He will use pressure to get a signature and pat himself on the back for being such a good salesman. But he is not. The customer will have been sold something unsuitable or inappropriate and in no time at all the company which sold the product or service will gain a poor reputation. It is a fact that a satisfied customer will on average recommend their supplier to seven other people. A dissatisfied customer will warn on average twenty people not to go anywhere near your showroom.

Let the customer buy. You will benefit in the future.

Learn more about this author, Keith Hillman.
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