|| For Freelancers & Entrepreneurs |
Closing your first sale, whether as a sales professional or for a particular firm or product, is always a momentous event. Aside from the biggest sale closed, the fist sale--regardless of its scale--is almost always a memorable milestone for all people engaged in the art of selling.
There are widely recommended steps that everyone--including sales greenhorns and veterans--should follow to make your first sale go smoothly, allowing you to move forward with more confidence and efficiency. Here are some stuff that you need to consider when embarking on a sales meeting for the first time in your career or for a particular company.
1. Know every relevant thing about the organization you represent. This will do wonders for you as well as your customers. On one hand, it affirms your affinity with the organization. On the other, it will make customers perceive you as a true professional who strongly believes in the products and services he or she is selling.
2. Prepare well. Nothing impresses favorably on customers more than smooth transitions from pleasant conversation to presentation and feedback. Know the product well and be an expert in all its features. Anticipate questions and be ready to address unexpected queries.
3. Be presentable. Make your organization proud of having you represent them to their clientele. Make your clients develop a healthy respect for professionalism.
4. Empathize with and listen to what your customers have to say. Consider their feedback and criticisms as opportunities to really showcasing the unique value your product or service has to offer.
5. Close cordially and cheerfully by opening all channels of communication, regardless of whether the customer is buying the product, indicated interest about it, is unsure at the moment, or has indicated dissatisfaction.
