One of the top questions I get is this, “How do you SELL when no one is buying?” Of course, if NO ONE was buying, you simply couldn’t sell. But, that’s not really the case. Sales ARE being made — across price points — across industries… and if YOU aren’t making them, well… you need to read this post. =) It’s possible you’re missing one of the #1 sales strategies practically guaranteed to make the sale.
The sales strategy is this: Keep the prospect shopping within YOUR WALLS — be they virtual or made of wood.
You do this by giving OPTIONS. Too often, we quote a client a price and give them a YES or NO decision to make. Big mistake! What they do — and this is no surprise, we’d probably do it ourselves — is take our product or service and price and shop us against our competitors. This practice is standard, and it encourages your prospects to shop around.
If you want to make MORE sales, you need your prospects to shop WITHIN your walls. Here are three ways you can implement this strategy:
1) Listen. Ask more questions about your prospect… what they want… what they want to avoid… why they’re interested right now… and what may have held them back from moving forward in the past. Then, put together several options for them to consider — at different price points. This not only shows that you’re listening, but feels CUSTOM to your client. ANY business can and should be doing this– regardless of what they sell.
2) Consider taking on some “business partners” that you can refer to freely. No need for legal partnerships, and you don’t even HAVE to profit when you make a referral to one of these partners. (I don’t.) But, have your circle of people that YOU can refer to…. and that refer to you… so you can keep EACH OTHER’s clients shopping “in house.” (Obviously trust and integrity is essential here, but CAN be found and built!)
3) Bundle, Un-bundle, whatever. Do whatever it takes to make an apples to apples comparison DIFFICULT (at best) for your client. Put services together with products. Create a custom – bundled “bundle” of services — based exactly on what they need.
Bottom line: Do whatever it takes to make your options a custom-fit and it will be very hard for your prospects to “shop around.” These simple steps require a bit more time and thought and creativity, but they make your prospects feel safe — and served — shopping within your walls.
