No business is done until a sale is made

I know a ton of people who are happy to dive in and try marketing but hardly any who will have a go at selling.

Lots of small business saw the arrival of inbound marketing as a good reason to ditch the need to learn about selling.

While it’s true that cold calling, hard-sell persuasion tactics are distrusted, the most successful people are still the ones who are good at selling.

It’s often something as simple as asking for the sale that turns a prospect into a customer.

Questions are the most powerful sales tool

Far from spouting a stream of benefits at prospects, asking questions is the most powerful way of increasing the number of people who buy from you.

Questions reveal needs

If your prospect has no need for what you’re selling you’re both wasting your time so get this out of the way early on!

Questions get people talking

This has two benefits: the more your customer talks, the more you find out about them and the more likely they are to like you. People love to talk about themselves and if they find they have something in common with you they’re more likely to buy from you.

Questions focus attention

Lets face it, some people will talk about anything except what you’re there for. While football, pets, children, and the weather are good ice breakers, when you ask questions related to what you’re selling, you focus your customer on their needs in a powerful way.

Questions persuade

If we disagree about something, we both have heaps of reasons for feeling the way we do. Instrad of arguing about them, asking questions can open up new ways of looking at things and persuade someone to a a new point of view.

Are you generating leads and not converting them to customers?

I’m always being asked for advice on marketing, on email marketing, on social media marketing and for any quick fix that will increase sales.

While all of these activities should generate enquiries and leads,  the leads need to managed – usually with CRM systems and sales pipelines. Then they need to be converted into sales.

If you can’t sell, all your marketing efforts are likely to go down the drain!

If you’re hesitating to take the final step, let me know and I’ll help you to find the right questions to ask!