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10 Ways to Sell More

Posted 6 years ago

Sales and marketing expert, Mark Sanborn, writes this week’s story, 10 Ways to Sell More. Mark offers readers 10 valuable tips to find potential clients, form client relationships, retain those relationships, and perhaps – most importantly – GROW those relationships into lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships. Be sure to take notes – if there was ever bulletin board material for ways to sell more, this is it!

10 Ways to Sell More

by Mark Sanborn

I started my career in sales and marketing. Starting my own business required me to increase my sales skills, and in the intervening years, I have spoken to many sales organizations. Sales is definitely not easy, but, it does not have to be complicated either. Here are ten ways to kick start your selling.
1. Make more contact. Getting in front of more people who could buy from you is an obvious way to win more sales. But it is not enough to simply show up. The next key is how you show up.
2. Develop better skills. A hundred sales calls without adequate selling skills will result in a hundred “no thank yous.” Closing more of the prospects you get in front of, means having better presentation and selling skills.
3. Help prospects before they buy. What can you do to deliver value before you get the order? If you can create value prior to making the sale, the prospect has proof you can do so after they buy.
4. Build deeper relationships. People will not buy from you just because they like you. However, they definitely will not buy from you if they DO NOT like you. The best way to keep lines of communication open and maintain the sales relationship is to build a better personal relationship with your buyer.
5. Learn more about their industry/profession. Information gives you context, and, context gives you insight. By knowing more about the prospect’s playing field, you can identify specifically how your product or service will help them be more successful.
6. Follow up faster. Return phone calls immediately, provide what you promised quickly and be accessible. No buyer should ever have to work to get what they need from a sales professional.
7. Give up sooner. Despite the cliche, persistence does not always pay. Sometimes it turns into futility. When you have done all you can reasonably do, quit working the prospect, and move on. You might want to periodically circle back and see if anything has changed, but use the time you were wasting on a dead end prospect to pursue better leads.
8. Stay in touch better. Whenever I hear from a salesperson, I know they want to sell me something. What would happen if you called to be of help? Find out how the customer enjoyed your product? Or, simply to thank them for their business? Use staying in touch to create positive emotions and add value to the customer’s experience.
9. Anticipate need. My printer is inanimate, but it knows when I need to order more ink. Use technology and human anticipation to think about what your customer will need and provide it.
10. Ask for more business. If you have done a great job on these other ideas and have created true value for the customer, there is nothing wrong with asking. How much business, might you be leaving on the table because you have not asked your customer to buy more?


ways to sell more
Follow Mark Sanborn

Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE  is an award-winning speaker and the author of the bestselling books, The Fred Factor: How Passion In Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary, and You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference. Want to spend the day honing your speaking abilities? Call 303-683-0714. To obtain additional information for growing yourself, your people and your business (including free articles), visit www.marksanborn.com.
For information about having Mark speak for your group, call Helen Broder at (703) 757-1204.