When you are running your own business, it’s always time to get in front of customers and help them buy from you. Yes it’s time to make sales.
There I have said that ‘s’ word.
This makeover is about helping you find your sales style so that it really doesn’t seem like selling at all.
Some truth about selling...
Selling isn’t a performance and it isn’t manipulation. Selling is simply a matter of fulfilling a need, or solving a problem. Great selling is helping people buy. You can all remember bad sales experiences, but the reason you don’t remember the good ones, is because it doesn’t feel like you were being sold to.
Your sales job is to find new customers and to guide them through their decision making process, to help them find the right solution to their problem or need. Think of yourself as someone who can educate and inform their decision and help them make the right decision about your area of expertise.
How to get out there and do it for yourself...
Most businesses start with an idea and a passion, but to be successful, you need more. You need profitable clients. Getting new clients is simply about connecting your passion with their need. So where do you start?
First step is to know who you are targeting and the key problems that those people experience with your type of business. Build an idea on how you address this problem then go and test this theory with some real people.
Tip: Talk to people on their wavelength – on WIIFM (What’s In It For Me – the radio station that everyone listens to).
Think about your problem in words that speak to the listener, your target client. How do you do that? I start with talking about the problem that I see and how to solve it. It looks like this.
“The problem that I see is that most business owners don’t understand selling. In fact most say they hate it. They feel uncomfortable about asking people to buy.”
At this point, the people who have this problem are nodding, they want to know more because people what to solve their problems.
“...My solution is to help people understand that good selling is simply helping people buy things that will solve their problem or fulfil their need.”
Now those clients who are interested want to know how...
“It starts with looking at how you think about selling and then helping you change what you do.”
If you are going to talk to this person in a way that further engages with them, you need to find out what they need. Have a few questions up your sleeve on your area of expertise so that you learn more about how they think and feel about their business.
Now over to you...
Your next job is to go out and practice and learn with clients and people that you meet. The first job is to refine your message by finding what resonates with people and about being comfortable with what you say. You do this by practicing the above and adding these questions:
Selling is a numbers game, now is the time to get in front of clients and talk to them and find out how you can help them solve that problem.
Napoleon Perdis: The Man — Napoleon Perdis is a renowned, award winning, international makeup artist with over 20 years experience in the industry. Napoleon remains one of the few makeup artist developed brands who still owns, operates and actively works in the industry. With strong and strategic presence in both the Australian and US markets, Napoleon Perdis is the KEY Australian beauty brand currently available in renowned luxury US retailer, Nordstrom. A key element of the Napoleon Perdis brand and person is that of educator. He pioneered and democratised makeup artistry education, and since the creation of the Napoleon Perdis Makeup Academy over 20 years ago, he has trained over 25,000 students in Australia and the US.
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Napoleon Perdis: The Brand
Passionate about supporting the Australian fashion industry, Napoleon and his team remain runway fit as he continues to lead the largest, most experienced team of makeup artists each season at fashion week. Extending beyond fashion, Napoleon's support and passion for the arts has been realised through his sponsorships of The Australian Ballet as well as the AACTA's, Astra Awards, Sydney Film Festival.
Napoleon Perdis: The Brand Builder
In 2008, and one of the first international makeup artists to be involved in the Designers for Target program in the US, Napoleon Perdis created NP Set, a colour cosmetic offering for the masstige market.
NP Set launched soon after in Australia where the easy-to-use, multi-purpose products at very accessible price points were fast a winner with the savvy Australian consumer. In April 2012, Napoleon took the NP Set brand (and his famed expertise and knowledge) to the television screens of up to 7 million Australians via TVSN. With the identification of the evolution of omni-channel retail combined with his experience on the US powerhouse home shopping network, QVC, home shopping networks were a natural next step for the brand and the man. In May 2012 Napoleon opened his first Napoleon Perdis Life.style store in Sydney's Woollahra, restoring the iconic Post Office. Representing the next visionary step of the Napoleon Perdis brand, Life.Style was borne out of Napoleon's passion for art, fashion, design and all things beautiful. Housing an eclectic mix of international men's and women's accessories, jewellery, art and homewares that sit beside the Napoleon Perdis Cosmetics range as well as a carefully curated selection of vintage items.
Napoleon Perdis: The Innovator
The Napoleon Perdis cosmetic range is innovative, award-winning, and wearable. His lauded Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer has been prepping and perfecting complexions for over 10 years. While Napoleon was not the first to ride the mineral makeup trend, he patiently waited until he was most satisfied with the innovation level and formulation before offering mineral makeup to his customer. The introduction of two Mattifying Lip Palettes to the lip stable have been acknowledged as industry changers by Shop Til You Drop magazine, who recently awarded the Double Agent Nude a 'Shop Genius Award'. The brand's latest skinnovation comes in the form of The One. A one shade wonder concealer and a sales success story! Sometimes an upgrade is as important as innovation. In the past 12 months, the brand has continued to see the upgrade of many of its original and core products to new luxe gold packaging. For NP Set, the multi-use products are as innovative as they are environmentally friendly. Ingredients are key to the NP Set range which boast the latest and greatest ingredients with organic benefits, are 98% paraben free, in recyclable packaging.
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This is great article Frances - \"First step is to know who you are targeting and the key problems that those people experience\" - This step is so often overlooked in the rush to get clients the instinct of new businesses is to talk to as many people as possible about their service or product, hoping that someone will find it attractive!
The first step is so important because everyone is in the business of pain relief and like every good doctor you need to find out where the pain is in your clients before talking to them about the treatment that will take away their pain. If you do your research and just ask your potential ideal clients and listen to their answers you can then talk about your service or products in their language, not yours.
Warmly, Liz
Comment by Liz Parker — September 11, 2012 @ 7:38 am
Thanks Marty & Liz for your great comments.
Knowing what you can do and who needs your help are critical steps .... and whilst we can all guess what these might be in our area of expertise, there is nothing quite as enlightening as going and testing your hypothesis with real clients & prospects. You learn so much that helps you refine your message & your products.
Cheers, Fran.
Comment by Frances Pratt — September 11, 2012 @ 11:15 am
Here are some great examples of the pitch in action ... . http://ow.ly/dDLkf
Comment by Frances Pratt — September 12, 2012 @ 8:59 am
Great post Fran! I have often been in the enviable position of not really having to ask for a sale but I know that\'s not a situation I can rely on.
I love the structure you\'ve provided. It\'s like an elevator pitch customised to a client. I\'m definitely going to use it!
Belinda
Comment by Belinda Weaver | Copywrite Matters — September 12, 2012 @ 9:25 am
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You offer specific fantastic advice here.I currently handle a website which lists businesses for sale.
We have located many of the businesses we get have failed as a consequence of mismanagement.
We really have to do far more research on just how businesses work right before getting into one.
Comment by Marty — September 10, 2012 @ 8:59 pm