Scrap Your Sales Techniques And Turn Yourself Into A Trusted Advisor

Some of the best marketers on the Internet today seem more like success mentoring experts, or trusted advisors than hard-nosed sales people.

They believe the products and services they sell and they believe in the company they represent. They believe in themselves, and, above all, they believe in offering honest, high quality service to their clients.

One way of thinking about the art of selling is to see it as a process in which belief in a product or service is transferred from the seller to the buyer.

If you believe in and are enthusiastic about the products or services you are selling, then the AIDA model becomes much easier to apply. The acronym describes the sales process in four stages:

Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

If you have problems selling, it is likely that you have failed to hit the mark in one of these areas. Prospects buy because they are persuaded that some feature of your product or service will be of benefit to them in a way that is significant enough for them to feel good about the purchase and justify it to themselves.

So what are the benefits that are most likely to stimulate desire and enable the client to justify the purchase?

It will save money or make money for the client. It will save time or speed things up and be more convenient or productive than current solutions. It will improve or restore health or fitness. It will offer security or protection. It will boost the customer's popularity, respect, personal magnetism, or make the customer feel fashionable.

When a prospect or client consults you, it is your job to find out what the client needs and which of these benefits you can assist with. If you can link the benefits your product or service offers to the needs of the customer, then it won't be difficult to make an honest pitch for businesss.

Equally, if you do not have a suitable product or service that will meet the client's need, then it is actually better for you as well as for your client if you do NOT try to close a deal.

The reason for this is that your position as a trusted advisor is one that you will have spent a lot of time and effort building up, yet it takes no time to destroy such a reputation. Trust is a most valuable asset to be in possession of, so if it would be better that your customer does not buy from you on a certain day, then saying so and explaining why will increase the trust that your client places in you.

If your clients trust you, you need never "sell" your product or service.

What's more, you'll be on such good terms with your client that it will be easy for you to ask for referrals, or people who might be interested in your particular offer.

So, instead of trying to convince your prospects to buy from you, engage them in a discussion that focuses entirely on them and their needs and then make some suggestions about the best solution for your client.

Once you grasp this powerful "sales secret" and begin to focus your enthusiasm on helping your client rather than on achieving the sale, you will have the potential to become a super salesperson - without even trying!

If you are not convinced by this suggested sales strategy, I suggest that you read The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green and Robert M. Galford to find out what benefits you would obtain if your clients trusted you more.