How many people many times try to sell something before we have expressed interest,have expressed a desire, or are in the market for what you have? It seems the norm for many salespeople to try to sell to everyone regardless of the interest level.
When someone force to sell something to us before we have expressed of interest, our initial thought may be: “Why should I buy from you? You have not earned the right to sell to me !”
The fact is that the selling both online and offline, is about are there any need before attempt to match a buyer with a product or equivalent service. It is about providing enough information for the buyer to make a best decision according to their needs. And it is about gaining trust. The most successful professional in sales are those who are the resources before they become a vendor.
Having been in both brick and mortar and online sales and marketing for many years, it never ceases to amaze me the number of persons who sell without the determining the customer’s needs. They seem not to be realize that the better the match, the more likelihood for return business. If you depend on repeat business or referrals, trust is absolutely a factor in your customer’s decision to come back to you when they need your product or service.
Anyone who in the business for a long period (or pretend to be) would be difficult to believe otherwise. Whatever you are selling, the buyer’s experience from the initial visit and/or purchase will likely determine whether or not they will ever purchase from you again.
When a customer has a great experience from the beginning the chances of them turning into a loyal buyer is more likely. It is a fact: it is more cost effective to have repeat buyers, than it is to constantly looking for new customers. This does not mean you should not add new customers into your business model. Building trust with existing customers will add to your conversion rates more consistently.
What is often missed in the equation for sales and marketing is the lifetime value of a customer. Once the initial sale is made they are forgotten. With proper care, a one-time or occasional buyers can turn into a loyal buyer. And loyalty is more often than not based on trust.
We live in an “try before you buy” society. For this reason, many buyers use what is referred to as the buying ladder. The buying ladder is applicable to brick-and-mortar sales as well as internet sales.
Before buy a high ticket item, buyers will “test the water”. “This can be done in a number of ways: by test driving a car, taking a tour of a home, ask friends and colleagues for a recommendation. If purchasing on the internet it can be download a free information item or buy an expensive product from a Website to test the level of service, product quality, delivery, quality of information (in the case of an information product), and reaction time. You can even give the buyer the “feel”. What are your shopping habits? What process do you go before deciding to purchase?
When you gain trust people want to do business with you. And they want to tell others about the experience. Have you ever heard the expression that if someone has a bad experience they will tell more people about that experience than they do a good one? I can’t say that I necessarily agree with this statement. There are occasions when I have heard people rave about a great experience over and over again.
Buying decisions are made for a number of reasons, but they ultimately depend upon whether or not the buyer trusts the process. And if they trust you. It is through the process of building trust that we have earned the right to sell.