Sales techniques are used both in face-to-face conversations with customers and in e-commerce. The main purpose of their use is to encourage the recipient to purchase a particular good or service. Which techniques are effective and what exactly is their impact on the sales process?
Sales techniques - how to increase sales effectiveness?
Sales is an indispensable part of achieving a company's financial objectives. For this reason, the role of the salesperson responsible for the correct execution of the sales process is invaluable. What are sales techniques and how do they affect sales effectiveness? Sales techniques are the various methods a salesman or salesperson uses to persuade a customer to take up an offer or purchase a particular service or product.
There is now a move away from pushy sales techniques, which were often based on unethical methods and the use of manipulation. Instead, the various ways of selling services and products are more natural and therefore less pushy. The attempt to sell a particular product should be supported by rational arguments that are based on the real needs of the customer. The attractiveness of an offer in itself without presenting its advantages as real benefits and a way of solving the recipient's problems are basically meaningless to the recipient.
What are good sales techniques?
Over the years, a myriad of techniques and methods for selling products have taken shape, some of which have been known for many decades. One example is the 'foot in the door' technique, one of the classic methods that is now easily recognised by informed customers. It involves preceding a large request with a smaller one, in view of which the caller will be more inclined to agree to a later, more demanding option. The prerequisite is a small interval between one request and the other.
Another classic sales technique is the 'door-to-door' method, which involves the opposite of the one mentioned earlier. This means that the salesperson starts the negotiation with a demanding, even impossible request, and then turns to something smaller. Compared to the first option, the second request appears trivial to the recipient, who is therefore more likely to agree to it. They may even see it as a favour offered by the seller.
In contrast, a technique known as 'low ball' involves presenting the customer with a very attractive offer that does not actually exist and then cancelling it (motivated, for example, by a calculation error or a lack of the product in question). The customer, who has taken the time of the salesperson and managed to engage in negotiations, is then more likely to accept another, less attractive offer. It must be remembered that in this case we are talking about lying to the customer and manipulation. Therefore, using this type of action is not the right way to sell effectively. On the contrary, when the matter comes to light, it can significantly damage the company's image and have many other negative consequences.
So what should good, modern sales techniques look like? Of course, it all depends on its form. Whatever the case, however, it is essential to have a good knowledge of the product or service being offered and the package of benefits it can provide to the potential customer. It is also important to know the target group, i.e. the customer himself, along with his problems, needs, expectations and requirements with regard to the offer. The sales person should also be prepared for possible objections and criticism concerning the offer being presented. This means that he or she must always have counter-arguments or additional advantages and benefits in store to effectively obscure the objections of the potential recipient of the product/service. 
Sales techniques - how to use them properly?
Effective sales techniques are those that are adapted to the customer, the situation and the product. For example, an offer worth hundreds of thousands or millions of zlotys is sold differently from a product worth several dozen or several hundred zlotys. Moreover, a good salesman will talk differently to a sanguine and a melancholic. This is why it is so important to know your target group in this profession.
A good salesperson should therefore be flexible and therefore able to adapt the sales and negotiation techniques used to the circumstances. Naturalness and fluency are also extremely important. For this reason, it is worthwhile not only to familiarise oneself with the principles of a particular technique, but also to develop questions that may actually be asked during a conversation with a customer and to practice weaving them into the conversation.
It is important to remember that the basis of all professional sales techniques is the communication process, in which not only the sender and receiver but also the context are of great importance. In addition, a skilled salesperson is able to tailor all his or her statements to the customer so that he or she is aware that his or her needs, requirements and interests matter throughout the sales process.
Sales techniques - why is asking questions so important?
During a salesman's conversation with a potential customer, the questions the salesman asks are of great importance. It is through these that he or she is able to find out the customer's real problems, needs and goals. These questions should be prepared in advance, well thought-out and aimed at obtaining specific answers. These, in turn, should be used so that they result in increased sales effectiveness.
One way of asking questions that is often used as a B2B sales technique is the SPIN model. It was developed by a group of experts headed by entrepreneur, academic and consultant, Neil Rackham. SPIN (from Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-Payoff) is based on asking questions from four domains.
Situational questions are the basis for obtaining information about the client's current business situation, while problem questions enable the identification and, at the same time, awareness of the problems faced by the client. Implicit questions, on the other hand, are designed to make the customer aware of the consequences of previously identified problems.
The last group are guiding questions that direct the recipient towards possible solutions. If the recipient is aware of the implications of the problems in question, they are more likely to be willing to implement the solutions offered to them.
It is advisable to think carefully about your questions and frame them in such a way that you do not in any way offend the customer or suggest solutions that the product/service you are offering cannot provide. Remember to focus all your attention on the interviewee and listen carefully to what they are saying. 
The AIDA funnel and sales techniques
The AIDA model is a sales funnel that illustrates the process of customer acquisition - from gaining the attention of the recipient to them making a purchase. Different sales funnels are used as part of a strategy to increase sales effectiveness. It is important that they are tailored directly to the type of business. Many companies use the AIDA model as a basis for creating their own individualised funnel.
It consists of four stages: attracting the prospect's attention (attention), getting the prospect interested in the product or service (interest), arousing the prospect's desire for the product or service (desire) and prompting the prospect to take a specific action to complete the sales process (action). Over time, the model has been expanded to include the aspect of customer satisfaction, i.e. satisfaction with the product purchased and the desire to use the company's offer again.
Building a well-thought-out sales funnel, e.g. on the basis of the AIDA model, just as much as the various effective sales techniques allows for successful customer acquisition. It is important to remember that in both cases, the focus should not be on the dry facts and features of the product, but on the benefits of the customer's purchase. It is worth invoking the emotional aspects for this purpose.
The most common sales techniques
What are the sales techniques? Today's salespeople use many different online and traditional sales techniques. Some are electronic in nature and used exclusively for e-commerce, while others work well for direct contact between the merchant and the customer.
Types of sales techniques - storytelling
One of these is storytelling, a method based on skilful storytelling. The technique has been very successful for years, primarily because it evokes specific emotions in the audience and helps to build a lasting bond between the brand and the customer.
Customers are more likely to remember a message that makes them happy or emotional than empty slogans about the benefits of a service or product. In addition, storytelling is a gentle, non-intrusive method in the eyes of the audience and is not associated with typical advertisements and intrusive, stereotypical salespeople.
Expert position in the sector
A technique often used by entrepreneurs is also to establish themselves as experts in their field. In this case, it is crucial that the company shares its broad knowledge of a particular field with potential customers. This results in gaining their trust and, in turn, increases the likelihood that they will decide to purchase the product offered by the company in question. A very useful tool in this process is, among other things, the guidance articles that a company can publish on its blog.
Rule of unavailability
Some companies also use what is known as the unavailability rule. This is a proven method that is used both in e-commerce and in face-to-face conversations with potential customers. It involves offering products with limited availability. The offer may be limited in time or quantity, among other things. Such a solution makes the potential customer more appreciative of benefits that may not be available to them soon. This results in a greater willingness to make a purchase quickly.
Cross-selling in Up-selling
Popular techniques include cross-selling and up-selling. In a nutshell, these methods involve persuading the customer to buy additional products and work well in both stationary shops and e-commerce.
Add-on selling is offering the customer a different, more expensive product than the one he or she intended to purchase. They may be persuaded to do so by, for example, additional features or better performance. In the case of online shops, a new, more expensive 'premium' product may appear as a related item. Complementary selling, on the other hand, involves offering the customer additional, related products (complementary goods), e.g. a mouse for a new laptop.
Benefit-price technique
The 'benefit-price-benefit' technique is also frequently used. As the name suggests, it involves preceding messages that are less attractive from the customer's perspective with benefits. Then, after communicating a potentially problematic message, such as the relatively high price of the product, the customer is informed of another benefit. This causes the less attractive issues for the recipient to be overshadowed by the positive aspects. One bad message surrounded by benefits then somehow loses its importance.
Social proof
Social proof in sales is one of the psychological techniques that exploits the tendency of customers to follow the opinions and decisions of the majority. In this case, the recipient assumes that since a particular solution has worked for a large group of people, it will also have a positive effect for them.
Building social proof in commerce can happen in a number of ways. One is to publish positive customer reviews, which can prompt a potential buyer to make a purchase decision. Another effective method can also be to publish a case study with a recommendation from a client for whom the company has completed a project. 
What is key in sales?
Every product should be aimed at the right target group. A key aspect of the sales process is therefore to know the customer. Knowing the customer's problems, which the purchase of a specific good is intended to solve, is of no small importance.
The use of well-considered, relevant arguments is also of great importance when using direct selling techniques. It is also important that the messages addressed to the recipient are consistent, which contributes to building a relationship between the salesperson and the customer.
In addition, an excellent knowledge of the proposed offer is crucial. Moreover, it is important that the sales person is familiar with the industry in which the customer operates. This gives the customer the feeling that he is talking to a professional who is aware of the problems affecting his segment. As a result, their confidence in the salesperson grows.
In commerce, efficient communication with potential customers is also very important. Companies should therefore ensure that the response time to a customer's question, e.g. in a form on a website, is as short as possible. The longer a customer waits to be contacted by a sales person, the less inclined he or she will be to talk to him or her and thus to purchase the product in question.
What to bear in mind when using sales techniques
It is important to remember that the sales technique should be adapted to the industry and the customer. Moreover, when using a particular method in a face-to-face conversation, it should be done in a natural way. Artificially saying memorised formulas will certainly not result in a successful transaction and will effectively discourage the potential customer.
The learning of theory on organisation and sales techniques should therefore be combined with practical exercises. It is also worth remembering that individual sales techniques can be combined and modified. In this way, it is possible to adapt them to the situation and the customer on whom the salesperson's full attention should be focused.
It should be emphasised that even the best sales technique will not work if the salesman does not have the right knowledge. He or she should know the industry in question very well and, above all, have the necessary knowledge of his or her customer, his or her needs and expectations.
Furthermore, it is good to bear in mind that the completion of the sales process does not necessarily mean the complete absence of contact with the customer. After all, an extremely important aspect is after-sales service, i.e. an effective tool in building a permanent customer base, their trust and loyalty to the company in question. This service can be based, among other things, on discussions with the customer to obtain his or her opinion, efficient handling of possible complaints or communication via a newsletter. All these activities increase the likelihood of repeat purchases
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