Sales & Marketing
Ask SCORE                                                                        Word Count 419

Supercharge Your Sales with Good Selling Habits

If you want your small business to succeed, selling is certainly an essential
ingredient. As you go about the sales process, you will need to know why your
targeted customers are saying “yes” or “no” to your product or service pitch.

This basic information on your buyers’ habits is essential. Even if sales for
your business have been strong, the effort can run off track at any time. Even
when sales are strong, don’t get overconfident and begin to slack off in your
efforts. That may be precisely the time to step things up.  You competition will
almost certainly be watching.

The key to supercharging your sales is to develop and stick to good selling
habits. In a short timeframe, little things you’ve done to disappoint customers
can build up. So it’s important for your business to approach selling with a
positive, service-minded attitude. One great habit to develop is taking the
time to ask about your customer’s needs, desires and expectations.

Keeping the attention on them, rather than you, will also help you tune in to why
they buy, or why they don’t. Plus, if you take time to listen and ask questions,
customers will start to think of you and your business as a valued resource,
rather than just a selling machine. You can easily show that you are willing to
help the customer by anticipating what they need and having answers to
potential objections.

Train yourself and your employees to smile. It’s easy to get grumpy or cynical
if sales go south. But that’s when a good attitude becomes most important.
Don’t be afraid to take a risk or try out a new approach from time to time. It
could be a new marketing pitch or advertising channel. When operating a
business in today’s competitive world, the greater risk is in thinking that the
status quo will suffice.

Try to foster an atmosphere within your business that embraces the can-do
word “yes.” Sales efforts suffer when people start making excuses, whining
about failure and believing that “no” is the natural state of affairs. Encourage
belief that appointments will come, sales will follow and success will be yours.

To learn more about sales and marketing issues facing your small business,
contact SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business." SCORE is a
nonprofit organization of more than 10,500 volunteer business counselors who
provide free, confidential business counseling and training workshops to small
business owners. Go to www.scoredm.org on the web or call (515) 284-4760
between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.