Here are 7 high-powered selling tactics many businesses overlook or ignore. How many do you use?
1. Create Higher Priced Offers
Increase your average size sale by combining 2 or more related products or services into a Special Combination Package. Price this combination package lower then the total cost of buying each item separately -- and promote it as a Special Offer.
Tip: Don't complicate your package offer by including an option to buy any items separately. Limiting customers to a simple "yes" or "no" decision generates more sales than confusing them with a "yes", "no" or "which one" decision.
2. Tone Down Your Claims
Avoid making any claim about your product or service that sounds exaggerated ...even if it is true. When your claim sounds too good to be true, your prospective customers will assume it's not true -- and they won't buy. Reduce any bold claims to a more believable level.
Tip: Express numerical claims as odd numbers with fractions or decimals. For example, "Our clients save 17.7 percent" sounds more believable than "Our clients save 20 percent" ..even if 20 percent is the accurate number.
3. Trivialize Your Price
Demonstrate a low cost for your product or service by breaking down the price to its lowest time increment. For example, "$349 per year" frightens many customers away. But presenting it as "Enjoy all of this for less than 96 cents a day" attracts them to the low cost.
4. Reveal Who You Are
Prospective customers are more likely to buy a product or service from a business when they can reach the person responsible for operating the business.
Make it easy for prospects and customers to reach you. Publicize your real name and personal contact information. Include your name, address and phone number on everything you use to promote business ...including your web pages and email messages. Few prospects will actually contact you. But more will buy because they know they CAN contact you if they have a problem.
5. Provide Fast Answers
Answer inquiries and questions from prospective customers quickly... while their level of interest is high.
If you find yourself personally answering a lot of questions, post the answers to your most frequently asked questions on a Questions and Answers page at your web site.
A Q&A page enables your customers to get fast answers to their questions while reducing the number of questions you have to answer individually. But it deprives you of an opportunity to impress your prospects with the personal attention that usually leads to an immediate sale.
6. Welcome Complaints from Unhappy Customers
Don't avoid complaining customers. Give them priority attention. Unhappy customers or clients who complain help you grow your business.
Complaining customers are giving you an opportunity to resolve their problem and keep them as a customer. They're also alerting you to a problem you need to correct before it causes you to lose business from other prospects and customers.
7. Make Testing a Habit
Continually measure and compare the results of your advertising and promotional efforts. Continual testing enables you to make adjustments to improve your total performance. It pays off in higher profits and reduced financial risk.
Many successful businesses use an 80/20 formula for testing. They invest 80 percent of their advertising budget in proven promotions and 20 percent in testing new variations. This formula generates a constant stream of profitable business from proven promotions while it forces the business to continually test and find ways to produce better results.
These 7 simple selling tactics are easy to use and highly effective. They will quickly increase your sales volume and profit -- without increasing your expenses.
Copyright 2002
Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in generating low-cost leads. He recently wrote a manual for small business owners, "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards", and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more info: mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com?subject=Postcards Phone: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV.