Selling is not about theory; it’s about practicality. Someone can tell you to “do this, do that” for hours, but sorry to say, if you don’t walk the talk, you’re just a “snake oil salesman.”
That said, I’ve searched the web (well, YouTube, to be exact) for some of the best sales tips, and found these five practical tips that I want to share with you straight from ‘the horse’s mouth.’
Tip #1 from Alex Ikonn: Focus on user onboarding
Focus on user onboarding. You don’t want to sell to people your feature; you want to sell to people what they will become/achieve/get when they use your product. So, here’s what you should do: Show people the end result (proof) and help users understand how your product can help them achieve the same result, as shown – namely, the user onboarding process.
Alex Ikonn is a UK-based entrepreneur. Together with his spouse, Mimi Ikonn, they run multi-million dollar businesses, namely Luxy Hair, The Five Minute Journal, and Productivity Planner.
Tip #2 from Grant Cardone: Ask – repeatedly
He tells us that selling products or services is all about closing. No closing, no deal. So, one of the best tips for increasing your closing rate is by repeating. Ask your prospects over and over and over again.
You shouldn’t ask the same thing, though – be creative, and be emphatic. You should ask things matter to your prospects, and engage them genuinely and see how you can help them so that you can reduce the uncertainty in your customers’ mind – and make your closing message gets to your customers easily.
Grant Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author, inspiring International speaker and prolific sales trainer.
Tip #3 from Amy Schmittauer: Build an email list, offer value, and sell to your list
Amy says that if you use websites to sell your product, you should focus on these two things: Work on getting more subscribers, and always connect them with value. When the time is right, you can sell to your subscribers via numerous venues – merchandising is one of those. Chances are, as your subscribers feel that they are a part of your community, they will trust your product recommendations. This works, every time.
Amy Schmittauer is a YouTuber who’s well-versed in content and social media marketing. She is the Founder & Face of Savvy Sexy Social, an online show that teach brands and individuals to use social media for achieving their goals. She is also a coach and public speaker.
Tip #4 from Gary Vaynerchuk: Simple – find bargains, sell them at higher prices
Selling stuff since he was nine years old, he knows more than anybody else that selling doesn’t have to be complicated; it’s all about practicality. Selling is easy: Find things that people would want to buy; buy those low and sell those high on any platforms you want, i.e. eBay, or your brick-and-mortar shop.
Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, investor and social media expert known for his work ethic. Gary, who ‘happens’ to run a 60-million-dollar wine business and a 100-million-dollar marketing agency, can show you how to make thousands of dollar, doing basic sales tactic that even kids can do it.
Need some real life action on how Gary sells his stuff? Here’s an example.
Tip #5 from Marie Forleo: Know what your market wants and reach out to them
If you want to sell your products (online), you should understand what your market really wants. Not only that, but you should also understand how to reach out to your target market.
You know your products and services are useful and add value to people’s life. But how to make sure that your potential customers know that, too? Marie advises you to focus on what your target market really wants; understand what they’re looking for, and be there – with your products/services – when they want “answers” to their “problems.” This approach works every time, whether yours is an online or offline business.
Marie Forleo is an author, web show host, life coach and motivational speaker. Named by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation, she helps business people solves their problems through her business ventures, Marie Forleo International, B-School and MarieTV.
Takeaway
So, there you go – 5 practical sales tips from the experts who have the know-how. To conclude, all five experts seem to unanimously agree that if you want to sell anything, you need to understand your target market: The psychology, behavior, and needs & wants. You should also understand what makes them tick; what triggers them to take action (and buy your products, subscribe to your services or hire you.)
Your (and my) logical next step for closing more sales and growing our business is by learning as much as we can about our market and then devise a plan and execute against it.
How about you? What’s your takeaway?
