The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

Here’s a newsflash – most people HATE being sold to.  So, there has to be a structure and awareness of ‘how’ we are approaching this vitally important area.

Not all sales will go smoothly especially face to face, but we can increase our success rate by understanding a few significant principles.

Many sales professionals today are still ‘or can be’ fairly aggressive in order to make the sale – so, they ONLY think of ‘getting instead of giving’.   Some guys in particular may aim for being macho, tough and ego driven swaggering types, and feel powerful about making sales – but I certainly am not.   In fact I despise that kind of image, and many do, so I knew that in order to be able to sell well and enjoy it what I did I had to explore and master certain things in this art.

Because it is an art form, and I am keen to get away from the persona that sales seems to be surrounded with.   It can be fun, very profitable but also it can serve a hungry community who LOVE what you have, so everyone wins and there is no horrible pushy pressure.

Have you ever experienced it where some jumped up Salesy guy is not really listening to you?

You know that they are not really caring about you don’t you!

We ALL DO!

They are talking over you quickly and in a dominant fashion in order to try to control you and the sale.

Don’t you just hate that?  I do.

So, I had to explore ways in which I enjoyed the process and of course, ensure that the person on the end of the phone is enjoying the process also.    Yes it is true that both parties can win as I said, and both can gain from it in truly transformational ways.  Delivering enough value and receiving a reward for our efforts can be truly epic when applied in the right way.

So, how does that works?

Well, first off there are many ways to sell, and so many forms of selling.  A great of it doesn’t even require person to person processes; such as buying through payment buttons, buying in grocery stores, or buying on a subscription.  So, sales vary of course, but – if you are a Coach like me then you need to be able to talk and listen to potential clients and to establish various specific connections through certain processes and principles.

So, when we can learn to understand a customers needs, desires and so on, we will then see that they are in a position where they wish to feel an experience – a good one.   Our job is to identify their pains and to offer a solution ‘should’ that solution be right for them. 

So, that’s why we we need to attract the right types who are more likely to become paying clients.

Attraction marketing, lead experts and client academy’s job’s are in delivering to you these types of people and your job is to either sell to them yourself or to hire a sales professional.  I have used both myself and hired.  I wanted to test what worked best for me and sometimes we have to test in order to grow.

Only when a person believes they can feel good about the two way transaction will they want to pay another in person.  It is personal, it is emotional and it is potentially very exciting.  

Have you ever bought a Car and felt amazing afterwards?  You loved the experience right?

Now I don’t know how that Car turned out mind you, but I am talking about the sale here.

So, we can use various skills and techniques to sell, and when selling we can build rapport which I am always using in life and business, but we can also touch on pain points at times in order to connect with a person and help them to see why they need to get the result they desire.

With Coaching it is a soft skill so there are those who struggle to see the value in it. therefore it can be especially important to get across the results they can expect from working with us.

A friend of mine is a Fat loss Coach, and so he will create a picture of what they desire once they have worked with him.  He will talk to them about ‘how they will feel’ on the Beach in a Bikini in 3 months, and once they can become attached to the vision or outcome they can get excited about paying to see this.

We may apply this to anything.

In my Small Business Coaching I ask clients what they will feel when they work in their passions every day and how they may feel on a Monday morning when going to work on something they are excited about.  I will also touch on the idea that they will be able to sell their own products or services and design a life and business around them rather than work for someone they hate all their lives.   I paint a picture of what they can expect.  And that’s what start to build a desire to pay for a result.

So, there are really the basic transaction and consultative selling.

Basic just means that a person buys something simple or natural to them or after their own searching and looking at reviews and so on, so they don’t need a salesperson to convince them of anything.

But consultative selling requires a person or system which can create a relationship over an amount of time in order to create a sale – helping the client or customer get what they want whilst the seller get’s what/she wants.  So it is meant to be a win win situation.  Both parties feel they have gained from it and not lost.

However, when a sales person is ‘kind of desperate’ it gives off a vibe of pushiness which only repels a person.  But if a sales professional can become relaxed and not even seem that bothered by a sale it feels more of a chat and it can feel more like a person just sharing a potential solution to another’s problem.

I will go more into this later on, but I just wanted to address the overall scenario which we all have been in at one point or another.

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

How did I master selling from my little desk?

Having been coached myself by 3 separate coaches on different occasions I was of course originally sold to by them, and each person had a different approach, which I found interesting, but i liked them in different ways.  My own sales training has come from a variety of training but also from observation of others, so, it’s not just from my experiences, but from an education in studying past and present sales professionals, books, video studies of Human behavior and with working with sales trainers.

Most importantly has been my own sales calls as I have learned a great deal from past failures.

Couple that with pinpointing where the call went wrong and I started to refine my process.

There is certainly a science and an art to selling and I believe that anyone can become a great sales person if they practice enough like most things.

When I say great, I mean a person with integrity, care and amazing listening skills to bring value to another’s life.  A sales expert to me is a leader who believes in what they do and what they offer, but who also knows that the product or service will in some way enrich the others life.

It might be a solution for relief, for joy, for passion or to help dissolve a fear which the buyer may have.

So my journey – just like with every other part of life and business never ends.

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

I Would Like To Share Something With You Rather Than Sell It – that’s what I love to do! 

And isn’t it less intense? 

Can you see that the intensity is taken away from the sale by listening and offering a solution when ready?

The pressure is gone and there is a natural flow and when this happens then there can be greater alignment with the customer and through honesty and integrity sales may be created.

Once a person trusts you they may also buy again, so you have a repeat buyer and you may even receive referrals from your satisfied clients.  Therefore – you create more than one sale if you are that good.

But this also means that you must be able to deliver.

Whilst a client has to be committed, accountable and responsible for their own actions, you are the one they have chosen to help them.

In today’s world we also have to realise that customers are more sophisticated in their preferences.  There is so much choice now that a person can literally go from one company to the next with the click of a finger.

They don’t have to be loyal at all.  So, you and I have to help them to become loyal through asking better questions.  We can find out what it is they are looking for way before the call by using surveys, questionnaires and polls, and we can adjust are offers even to work for a particular audience.

The point is -  
if we really care 
then we will have conducted
sufficient research and 
determined the quality of 
our offer which should be high.

We should aim to deliver high standards and back that up with clear and simple guarantees which include customer service tools and transparent leadership where possible.

Always think of the buyer and their experience – and then you will see what they want.  After all – you and I are customers, clients and buyers to others, so we already know what we like and don’t like.

So, what do we want and desire from the process?

As a seller like myself I desire ease and love.  I want to show the love, and for both parties to feel happy and thus – I have spent a great deal of time getting to know the type of person I’m am talking with.

Now, if I have conducted the right kinds of research and targeted certain types of people (as mentioned)  then I may have an idea of the type I am talking with  and so, this enables me to serve at my greatest level.

I genuinely believe that a person who doesn’t work with me is losing out.   That’s the position I love to be in, as I am passionate about delivering.

So, I KNOW who I want to speak in forms of niche specifics, but, I still don’t know the actual TYPE of person I am speaking with until I get on the call.

So what do I mean by types?

I am not talking here about merely the basics, such as Male or Female, Rich or poor, 25-50 or any other demographic which is the beginning of research.  No I am talking about discovering what type of person they once I get on the call with them.

Allow me to present types so that first of all you can try to establish YOU.  What type of person are you? Because if you don’t know that then YOU then it may be tough to know another.

Let’s have some fun, have a look at this for a while and try to identify yourself, ready?:

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

How did you find it?

I wonder if you get an idea more about who you are and also – you may discover the types you may be wishing to deal with in your business. 

And by the way – you won’t be dealing with buyers always face to face or on video, but you need to know these customers and who they are the ones ‘who opt in’ to your blog, list and offers.

Did you find this fun?

What were your findings from this?

This is just one version of discovering types, and there are various, so you can decide upon which tools you feel best suit your research and development of identifying your core customer or client.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE A QUICK TEST TO HELP YOU – IF YOU FEEL IT WOULD HELP 

How did you get on?

Did you find it interesting?

So let's go into types a bit more now:

Selling types

I am sure you know the difference between a dominant or almost aggressive seller versus a more compassionate seller?  Certainly I don’t enjoy being sold to much – so I do like a person who actually cares and listens.

I wonder if you have experienced the difference between pushy sellers and those who are heart centered?

One way is more greed based and the other is more giving.

But we can also delve much deeper into types in ways which help us to sell by understanding a few simple formulas.

Have you seen this before?:

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

I find this very useful when trying to figure out the type of person I am speaking with on Sales calls.

So, which type are you predominantly?

Some say we are a blend of all stones and others say that we are a blend of two.

However, we are probably more dominantly one type than any other; so – do you now know who you are?

Try it first with yourself and then with your loved ones and friends as it can be quite a fun game learning more about ‘who’ we know and love.

These are very powerful skills for mastering sales calls, and now that you have figured this all out, what do your customers want anyway?  Have you already conducted deep and narrow research and drilled down into identifying your core customer?  This is why it is so important to businesses to first know who we are aiming for, so this goes back to using various research tools to find out who these people are.

Never think that creating an awesome product or service is actually worth anything without first knowing what your audience wants.   You may know types, and you may know how to create great promotion and marketing strategies, but we cannot simply guess what our audience wants.

PEOPLE OFTEN KNOW WHAT THEY WANT!

THIS CAN MEAN THAT ON SALES CALLS WE DON’T NEED TO REALLY SELL TO ANYONE.

If they know what they are looking for, all we have to do is be the choice.

So, we simply have to listen to what they are trying to say to us and looking for, and we need to identify how we may be ‘or’ provide the ultimate solution, WITHOUT SELLING!

Of course, selling online can be achieved in various ways and without any interaction from a Human being, so this means that the likes of ‘YOU and I’ can also use payment buttons, offers, op tins, call to actions, banners, affiliate links and so on, in order to sell – once the trust is established.  And trust is the operative word; without it we rarely make sales, so those who think they can simply try and sell anything to anyone usually get a shock when people are turning them down.

This is the same principle across the board.  Thinking of money alone ‘without’ considering what we are actually offering is a pretty lame attitude to selling and it simply won’t last long.

The greedy seller today often gets to the point where they realize that this just doesn’t work.

1. ESTABLISH TRUST  2. SELL QUALITY PRODUCTS

If we look at Amazon we know that many people know, like and trust the brand and the reviews at these sites thus they are happy to buy there and can be the same with eBay, Facebook, Instagram and Freelance sites amongst others.  So, when a customer is looking at reviews, testimonials and recommendations they feel a sense of trust and are more likely to consider a purchase.

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

So, we can build trust and a strong brand identity in order to grow sales in various ways.

But, I am not here to talk today about your brand strategy, or what you have done about it, this is another post, I am merely here to talk about SALES!

So, if you need help with your brand strategy and each element of the process then I suggest you focus on that first of all and get help with first understanding your own message with hiring an expert to help you.

This has to be worked through before you start considering anything else. 

Selling before launches

We can sell a product or service before we have created products and services and so we can launch a ‘P or S’ way after the initial sales have been made – in fact it’s quite common place especially online, however, what I am suggesting is that you are putting the pieces together with the right team as you move forward, because, missing a part of the overall process of your plan will just result in a disaster happening.

For example- if you cannot deliver what you have already sold then you are done for.

Kinda obvious though no?

In simple terms – you will never sell anything unless it is appealing in the first place; so if you misbrand,  mismarket or miss anything out of your strategy then all the promotion in the world won’t fix your ultimate failure even if you get a few initial sales.     So, never forget your positioning in the market place and who your competition are, so you can offer something unique from your competitors.

With me here?

I am sharing sales processes and the ways in which I sell ‘high end coaching’, but also how I position my products and services online, and so I had to first spend some serious time on planning my strategy right.

Are you going to be selling online or offline or both?

Now we know that there are face to face and video sales of course alongside online selling.

Face to face is the ultimate way to create trust, even though there are many shammers and scammers offline as much as online, so, we need to be very careful when buying from those who may have a dubious reputation.

For me as a Coach I tend to sell online and offline. I meet clients around my City of Bristol and sometimes surrounding Cities, and I also speak on Zoom, Skype, Whats-app.

I have certain ways I have learned to sell, but I am not some kind of pushy person who only thinks of the sale.  What I do is dig deep with my client or potential client, and find out what their pain points are, and this is after I build rapport.

I actually care about people and always have done, so building rapport is very easy to me and I love it, but I never think of the sale as it were, I think of the fact that I can either help them or not.

If they are not the right fit for me or me for them then I won’t waste my time or theirs.

NOTE: I have an obligation and duty as a professional to ‘only’ work with those whom I feel I can sincerely help, and those who do the work with me are committed, accountable and responsible passionate types who are prepared to invest in themselves.  And when you think about it – those who invest in themselves understand that they will get desired results if they put in the work.

As I said – I have worked with 3 coaches myself and I have happily invested in myself in order to grow.

Do I want to sell?

Well, I used to associate it ‘or the act’ with sleazy, pushy types, so NO I didn’t enjoy it, until I realised and learned that I could make a difference, and those who didn’t work with me were not going to get the benefit of all my years of experience and expertise.  I say this humbly as I believe we all have gifts and values we should share and without sharing and expressing these we are not being our true authentic selves living in our purpose driven passionate roles.

That’s my opinion, so if it helps you in some way then remember that ‘YOU’ are bringing more value to others lives.

They need YOU.  And YOU need them.

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

Honest transactions are deeper experiences than just day to day transactions they are often investments.   

So a person may pay you for life.  But there are a few things to get right.

I Have Gotta Say This:

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

STOP BEING SO DESPERATE!

STOP BUGGING OTHERS WITH YOUR BUSINESS IN OBVIOUS WAYS

STOP TELLING PEOPLE THAT IT’S THE NEXT BEST THING

STOP BEING AN AMATEUR AND PITCHING!

STOP BEING A SHINY OBJECT CHASER

Quit already with the desperation as it stinks.  People are not stupid!  Well, maybe some are, but you get the meaning here; we all know when someone is just promoting something which has nothing to do with them as a person.  I am sure you have had the emails, facebook or Linked in messages right?

‘hey, XYZ, great to meet you. I am excited to learn more about you. Oh by the way I am just building my ‘Herb, coffee, Vegan, Travel, Bitcoin, Forex business and it’s going very well’.

I don’t know about you – but I am done at that point!

It’s so lame and un-natural isnt it?

Do me a favour and build your own products and services and stand behind them with pride as you believe in them, love them, and know that you care about them helping others.   

Sure, if you want to sell other businesses and make others wealthy then go for it, but be very careful that all your hard work doesn’t fall flat.  Back in the 1990’s I was involved with various network marketing companies and whilst some had great training, great ethics and even great products, they wanted ME to represent them even though I had very little passion for them.  I was looking for an income and an education.   Well I got the education alright.

All experiences can be good if we let them be i believe, but I am merely saying that before you invest your blood, sweat and tears into someone else’s business be sure that it is for you.  And by the way some companies are here and gone tomorrow, so please be careful when choosing to put your life savings into anything.

So, let’s say that you are running your own Coaching business like me, then here are a few starting pointers:

START TO LISTEN MORE ACTIVELY TO OTHERS ON CALLS AND IN PERSON

STAR TO FEEL AND UNDERSTAND AND IDENTIFY THEIR CORE DESIRES

START TO SEE IF THERE IS A MATCH BETWEEN YOU AND THEM

START TO DISCOVER THEIR ACTUAL PAINS AND OFFER A REMEDY WHEN READY

There, that’s better!  I had to say it because it is still relatively misunderstood.

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

So, we can start to think more about ‘HOW’ we and our Brand message can be the answer.  Think outside the box and be a genuine giving person, and lead with value and a Solution.  It really is that simple!

Its a crazy world today isn’t it?

We are living in a world where we are constantly being sold to and bombarded with all kinds of things that are supposed to make our lives better in some way.  Advertising companies love making us feel like we NEED SOMETHING to IMPROVE our lives. WE REALLY DON’T THOUGH!  When we have a mind of our own we can make decisions based on what we love to buy.  GONE ARE THE DAYS OF HARD SELLING.

Yet many companies are still doing it. And adverts appear everywhere, as they know that when we see something several times we may buy it.  But it’s kinda lame i think.

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

Everywhere we look and listen we are being told we should buy this or that! 

Ever noticed?

It was different back in the old days when traders would present their goods or stock and they were all genuinely trying to get by and to passionately demonstrate how good their product was.  It was even kind of endearing back then.   But there were still peddlers.

Now, today it is not emotional or personal but often pushy and clinical and cold I think!

But It gets better!

When some people are selling online as experts and they keep trying to get us to buy into the lure of the sale in an instant it is tedious isn’t it.  They are the ‘GO-TO’ GURU, master, and no-one is quite as good as them.

Seen them?

I myself have fallen for this back in the old days of my newbie experiences, but many of are more sophisticated now I think.  We have seen so much B.S out there that trust is slipping away from consumers daily online and therefore they are in fear of what reality is today.

So, IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO ACTUALLY start Selling Online?

YES OF COURSE! Here’s How:

> BE Yourself and Be A Genuine Expert First
> Give some value in order to capture a name and e-mail
> Build trust between both of you
> Lead with value and ensure that you only promote quality stuff
> Ensure that you are not desperate as people know
> Simply provide solutions to their problems
> Only sell what YOU HAVE USED and are passionate about

Is It Really That Hard?

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

The barrage of BULL has become an overloaded place these days.

Smoke and Mirrors, hocus pocus and crummy amateurs claiming to be professionals are the latest types to spread themselves all over the internet.

Often featuring the latest and greatest opportunities that are around today and gone tomorrow.

The desperate sounding pushy sales guy who will keep spouting the same thing to you as though you are 5 years old.

Do you need to be sold to like this in life?  REALLY?  I do not!

I know what I want, and I if I need help then I will ask for it.  OK sometimes I need guidance and I ask for it.

But I bet you have bought into these types once or twice – I KNOW I HAVE! 

We can even feel ourselves getting uptight, and cringy with the seller and sometimes they know it also.

Both parties feel awkward as we both know what’s coming.

Lame sales scripts and robotic conversations make for uncomfortable gaps and silences which no-one enjoys, so. do yourself a favor;  Please become a sale Professional for the sake of goodness as the world needs it.

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

Become a modern leader – the kind of person that the World needs

Study what ‘you’ like to hear when being sold to – get familiar with the process and become better

Study ‘how’ you like to FEEL when being sold to – think of how you feel and what you want to feel

Write a great script based on what I share here and edit it to refine it to suit you and what you do

Have role plays with family members and ask them how they feel through the process

Get onto calls and practice in real time where you can and you will start improving

So, others may still be crappy sellers when selling to you and that’s OK, as you can see what you dislike about the call – so take notes and learn, but also pick out what you like from the call and if this is just another potentially scammy hypey crummy crappy opportunity or product that you just do not need or not.

This way you can just take the learning from it if you can bare to stay the distance on the call.

I must say I am beginning to hate the word opportunity as it builds up hopes and smashes hopes from under your feet rendering you helpless once again!  Don’t you?

Question: How many times are you going to fall for these HOPES? Also what are you going to be selling Online that is not another opportunity?

I have a suggestion! DON’T FALL FOR THE CRAP EVER AGAIN OK and don’t create it!

Why? Because all it ever is, is a hope.

When you are Selling Online to someone else you give them HOPE.  So when you don’t even believe in the product/system it is not right.  Give them a REASON to believe YOU!

So, isn’t it time that you asked yourself WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN and WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT?

The Selling Online bit is kinda EASY when you love what you do as it is then SHARING YOUR LOVE.

There are ways where you can find and USE your passion to create a way of monetizing it!

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide – Grab yourself a Cuppa. Sit down and get comfortable as there is a lot to learn.

Things That Just Don’t Work Though!

> Overnight Riches
> Ponzi Schemes
> Claims Of Guaranteed Incomes
> New Launches Based On No Experience, Research or any PREVIOUS RESULTS
> Claims that FAILURE IS OVER.

 

Selling Online: FORGET THAT STUFF – IT STINKS.

YOU NEED TO ONLY SHARE WHAT YOU CAN STAND BEHIND WITH UTTER CONFIDENCE.

Couple that with a an integrity based system/products and you are ROCKING!  So, ensure that what you promote and share is worthy of you.  And of value to them.

Never forget that you are lowering your own value when you promote anything; don’t do that. 

NOTE: It’s like being a generalist in the world, people just don’t really know what we stand for, and People are very wise now – so they can see where we are coming from, therefore enable them to see a specific message!

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide:  I bet you know when you really want something don’t you? 

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

You Know What The Solution Is Now!

May sound weird but – try to think about your clients like you do your loved ones.

I see them as my family I really do.  This way I really care and want them to succeed and get results.

And they do as I stay with them until they do.

Think about this;  You help NOT BY SELLING but by listening and sharing!  NO DESPERATION, NO FIX! If you really believe in what you are doing it will sell itself.

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

Selling Online: Just a reminder again

Do you really need someone to go to the Supermarket with you to help buy your Groceries?  Or to Decorate your Home?

Probably not hey!

 

Here’s A Tip When Trying To Start Selling Online!

You already have skills in an area of some sort to create a product in that area and to offer great value.  Then bring the value, be personal and ASK lots of questions about what they want and be the ultimate solution.  Find out as much as you can so you can position your offer better than others.

TIP: Look around you at other sellers in your potential niche.  What are they doing? What impresses you? How can you be better? Why will your message be unique?  Study your craft and master it.

Now, to help you with mastering sales I am now going to share the types of selling so you can dominate and really hone your skills. 

The Art of Selling Online: A Complete Guide

READY FOR SOME VARIOUS TYPES OF SELLING?

So, Personal selling consists of Retail selling and Field Selling generally speaking. Retail selling is when potential customers come to the business establishment were the sale takes place.

Once the customer is in the right location the salesperson tries to match the customer needs with the retailer’s offering.

Field selling is when the salesperson is locating the prospect and tries to convert them into customers.

Personal selling is:

• A direct communication connection or process between the prospective buyer and the seller.
• Customer relationships development, discovering and communicating customer needs, matching the appropriate products or services to these needs and communicating the benefits, in order to inform or perhaps even persuade.
• A way of keeping the existing customers provided with information about the company’s products and services and to potentially persuasively convey a sales message to prospective customers.
• An important tool as a direct communication link between the organization and the target group or audience

A person selling is the “personal” communication of information to persuade the prospective customer to buy a product- a good or service.  Now persuasion isn’t necessarily a bad word either; IF you believe in what you do then it is perfectly fine. It is not like MANIPULATION.

In contrast to most of the other promotional tools, personal selling has the advantage of being flexible in it’s operation and this also depends upon the nature of the sale.

So, the salesperson is capable of tailoring the information to fit the needs and behavior of the individual customer.  This will depend upon the ability of the organisation to adapt and change its approach should trends change.   Change is constant in the world and it means trends can change quickly also.

Although the costs of selling can be relatively high, the impact of personal selling will eventually pay off should the approach be right and the marketing and sales team be accurate in their prior research and development throughout the process.

Experienced salespeople build and maintain relationships that stimulate economic activity and produce revenue for the company and keep the economy running which means – repeat customer, recommendations, retention and even referrals.   In order to create loyalty one must exercise effective CRM engagement. And use whichever tools and resources are necessary in order invest into the relationship and evolve it.

Small businesses are dealing with a high level of competition most of the time.

To increase the sales, small businesses have to stand out in their product or service to gain competitive advantage. They have to have an effective UVP.  

An important advantage is to be able to personalize the selling in order to meet the customers needs.

Depending on the size of small business, it will not be beneficial to employ a salesperson unless there is sufficient revenue or cash reserves in order spend on this expense.  Of course, should he sales person be effective in their role, then of course the expense is valid and can create consistent revenue within the organisation.

. Since sales is a marketing tool, sales in small businesses is mostly handled by the marketing manager or by a consultant. A consultant can temporarily be hired and provide opinions and judgments on how to arrange the sales. Considering the costs this is a good alternative. Most of the costs are consist of wages for salespersons, for personal selling is very time intensive.

In order to distinguish your small business from its competition and to increase the revenue it is important to approach customers personally.

A personal approach allows the seller to anticipate customer needs. Since small businesses often do not have a professional sales person, the strategies recommended by the consultant or the marketing manager have to be implemented by the complete staff.

And staff need to be trained to master selling.  This involves Mindset training and understanding how each and every element in the sales process requires training such as with vocal levels, mirroring others, identifying pain points, smiling on the call, and standing or sitting in certain ways in order to enhance the process.

So, NEVER NEGATE MINDSET MASTERY.  I work on myself every day.

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

Selling is everybody’s concern in an organisation, especially in forms of retail selling.

In small businesses the staff or team consists of a relatively small amount of employees which can vary between 1 to 100 people.  This can of course effect the effectiveness of output because, one cannot control the overall productivity of the whole.

So the team environment can vary significantly fro  business to business.

Simply put – each and every Small Business will vary greatly in size of team and thus every consideration towards hiring effective and appropriate team members into relevant roles based on skill, talent, experience, education and other areas is vitally important to the output of the whole.

In other words sales and growth and highly dependent upon each individuals input.

In contrast to selling, marketing is a long run planning process, with the emphasis on the customer wants, passions or fears.  Significant research has shown that buyer behavior is based upon specific factors which can be of course measured and monitored throughout the entire selling process.  

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

The approach of selling 
is meant to create long-term, 
mutually beneficial 
relationships.

Consultative selling is a problem solving technique through which the salesperson helps the customer to identify their ultimate result.

Also it may be set up to improve the profit by selling the right products and services on order to create substantial growth to another organisation.

In the mean time the salesperson gains profit from selling its products and creates an advantage over competitors, by using this approach. This method requires long-term planning instead of quick sale, but creates a good customer relationship.

Lets now look at the Application of Consultative Selling:

The process of consultative selling is concerned with solving customer’s problems. In order to do so four steps have to be followed:

• Identifying the customers problem in financial terms- What the problem is costing the customer, or what could have been earned without the problem?
• Quantifying a profit improvement solution, without mentioning your product yet. In this stage the process is still strictly focused on benefiting the customer.
• Fitting the products or services in the customer’s needs in order to contribute to the customer’s profit.
• Proposing a long-term relationship in order to continue to benefit both parties.

Small businesses are less likely to standardize or conform their products or services, because they do not produce on large scales necessarily.

This involves selling in a very creative manner.

Creativity is essentially a process and behavior that can produce new and useful ideas but is not always the case.

The purpose of this method is to impress the prospects and make them remember the sales message by using an original approach of presenting the product or service.

For small businesses it is sometimes easier to adjust the product or service to the benefit of the prospect and it is recommended that significant research is undertaken in order to fully grasp the ultimate clients wants in order to save revenue in the long term from understanding customers behaviors.

NOTE: Costs can spiral out of control if we are not getting the primary buyers behaviors.

We know that their passions or fears are the major drivers in their buying decisions and this needs to be evaluated and defined as sufficient evidence shows that we are driven by these things. 

Non Manipulative Selling

Different sources of literature may call this method collaborative or guilt-free selling, but these methods have one collective objective:

Removing Pressure and Still Getting the Sale!
In contrast to the traditional salesperson, the non manipulative salesperson takes time up front to build a sincere, committed relationship and to learn in depth about the customer’s needs. This approach demonstrates how to eliminate pressure and tension from the sale process and select the solutions that reward both the salesperson and the customer. In the long run this approach works more effectively than the high-pressured traditional selling. When a longer lasting sincere relationship is created a higher customer satisfaction can be generated, which will eventually result in an increase of revenues.

1. Define the needs/problems: Establishing the trust bond. Identifying the current situation, client goals, objectives, needs and problems.
2. Find solution: Determine discussion making criteria, solicit and suggest potential solutions and finally agree upon the best solution. A possible solution might be to match customers needs to products.
3. Implement the solution: Outline the tasks and responsibilities and work out an implementation schedule. A schedule gives answers to questions like; How to meet the customers needs? How to adjust the product or service to the customer needs?
4. Track the results: Identify the criteria for successful results and monitor them.

According to this information we can begin to form and create a product or service will be created.

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

This method of selling is going by the statement, “Selling is the art of communication for persuasion”.

Compelling selling is salesperson oriented and is focused on ‘persuading’ the customer to buy.

Clearly this relationship with the customer is neither based on trust nor focused on customer satisfaction and contains a high level of pressure.

Selling is a tool in the marketing process. Since the product is already determined, the salesperson is shaping the demand to fit the company’s supply, and this is by the use of numerous selling methods.

Several possible selling methods can and usually will be discussed in order to determine effectiveness.

Just don’t be like this guy OK!

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

As I said there – I am assuming that you have crated a product or service already and that this has been created with the help of the right types, roles and team members.  Without the right product or market fit, no amount of selling will help long term.

QUALITY researched and developed products and services + SOLID promotion = CONSISTENT sales. 

Without this simple process nothing will last.

NOTE: Some may start selling without a product or service ready and this is fine if we can back up what we are prepared to sell.  So, it might be that you sell your offers and you deliver modules as a drip feed or gradual process or set up.  This is particularly useful online, as you can make sales and build as you move.

This is what I did with my $10k per month Passion To Profit Self Study Course HERE.  I sold it and built it as I moved forward.  This course – which retails at just £29.70 enabled me to deliver content little by little. Its now finished although I am always adding and tweaking it to improve it.

So, let’s now look at a final area of selling.

Cross selling requires cooperation for everybody in order to enhance customers retention. The company’s database can indicate which customers are the best cross selling candidates. Salespersons are expected to recognize cross selling opportunities when interacting with customers.

Understanding the various ways we can sell gives us a greater advantage overall against all other competitors as we may test, tweak and define our most effective processes.  This makes it easier to train everybody in the company or team and to emphasize the importance of numbers and sales growth.

 

I Am Sure You Know That People Buy From People Whom They Know, Like And Trust!

So, no matter how sophisticated your sales process is, it has to be engaging, personal, understanding, value driven, and relevant.  Technology is a tool or vehicle through which your message is delivered, but it won’t make any difference to you if you don’t care about your customers.

If you cannot get in front of a person in reality to sell, and you primarily use the online world (which I often do) then you need to be able to build that trust through using various those tools.   Video is a great way to build that trust as is using Zoom, Skype and Facebook lives, so find out what platform/s will be the most powerful to you in getting your message out.

So selling online can be fun, exciting, automated, varied, and provide you with a great income ‘if’ you get it right and understand that there are rules in buying just as there are in every other way then you will do OK.   

The key is in understanding that people want EASE.  They don’t want to be searching for where to buy, they want to be able to click and buy.  So, make it easy for your potential customer – and make your offers compelling and unique so that they stand out.

Be sure to test and measure your numbers and scale what is working whilst you let go of what isn’t working.

Become the best in your niche/market and aim high.

If you make that decision and stick to it, whilst you keep your standards high then you can dominate.

Here are some ways you can start selling online right away:

START AN ONLINE STORE AT SHOPIFY

START AN EBAY BUSINESS

START A FIVERR FREELANCE BUSINESS

START A COACHING OR CONSULTING BUSINESS

START AN AFFILIATE MARKETING BUSINESS

START AN AUTHORITY BLOG

START A REVIEW WEBSITE

START A CONTENT OR COPY WRITING BUSINESS

START SELLING YOUR CRAFT, ART OR MUSIC

START A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING BUSINESS

START A SALES TRAINER BUSINESS

START AN ONLINE FITNESS OR HEALTH TRAINING

START AN ONLINE COURSE

START A DROP SHIPPING OR AMAZON BUSINESS

START AN EBOOK BUSINESS

START A VIDEO CREATION AND PRODUCTION BUSINESS

START A SALES FUNNEL OR WEBINAR AND OR TECH TOOLS BUSINESS

START AN APP BUSINESS

These are ways to sell online and within each area we can create various sales processes. 

The beauty with online selling is that we may automate our processes; we may offer subscription membership training’s, so we can offer and deliver content each week to a target audience whereby they pay us monthly.  This also enables us to create various price points and to monitor sales and losses through a platform. This way we can identify what is working and what isn’t.

So in studying price points for other memberships we can gauge what kind of product/s or services we can offer and what we can charge.

Also, starting an online store via sites such as Shopify or WordPress allows us to create sales carts where shoppers can buy safely and securely.   We may also create sales buttons on our sites, courses, sales webinars, front end opt in free giveaways which lead to sales throughout a relationship built sales funnel.

My online tools include thinkific for my $10k per month self study course here, and also affiliate products, the act of sharing other people’sand businesses products,  I also use Paypal to create payment buttons where I need them throughout my sites.  But of course as a Coach I can take payments over the phone globally.  I can choose to use any payment processor depending on what suits me and the client and depending on the fees which these companies charge.

Today we have various options such as Sage pay, Stripe, Go Cardless, Paypal and other payment processors we can choose from.  Again – they vary in fees but also in features and benefits, so it comes down to personal preference when deciding upon a tool/s to use.

If you do require any help with setting up your selling process then contact me anytime @ www.GregDeTisi.com and I will be happy to have a chat when you fill in the form there, so I know more about you and what you need.

I am sure that you can see there are many ways to sell both online and offline; It’s just very important to know ‘HOW TO’ sell in the right ways depending on your business model and structure.  Finally you will need to be measuring the whole process.  But you knew this right?

Without measuring ‘what you are doing’ you will be moving blindly forward, so ensure you have created spreadsheets or a software tool to ensure you can monitor your every action.  Whilst business is all about behavior as we have talked about it is also about numbers of course.

If you are not tech savvy I suggest you hire a professional who can take care of your financial matters and you will also need sales professionals and marketing professionals to make up your team of elite members, each having a their specific role in your organisation.   With a solid plan, vision, message and with high quality products and services to match your ethics you will become a dominant force in sales.

If you are like me you can outsource teams, so I will make the sales calls but others will gather my data for me and the reason why I like to make the calls is because it is natural and real.  I believe in being personal.

As always I wish you the very best

Greg

Book Your 1ON1 Small Business Growth Coaching FREE Session HERE

You Can Buy my $10k Per Month Passion To Profits Self Study System for just £29.70 HERE

You Can Buy my Mindset and Business books HERE

HELPFUL SELLING PROCESSES AT STUDY.COM

HUBSPOTS ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE SALES PROCESS

7 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING

The Art of Selling Online: A Beginners Guide

GregDeTisi

Author and Small Business Blogger at Greg De Tisi Writing and Small Business Blogging

Author, course creator and business blogger - Greg has been supporting Small Business clients from all backgrounds all over the globe for over 15 years in developing ideas and passions into sustainable Small Business Models. Greg now has more of a focus on supporting his local business community in Bristol UK.