Imagine that you are to buy the thing you need, but cannot see it and only rely on the person near you to give it a proper description. Now, swap the roles with the other person and try to make him/her buy the product they don’t ask for, or even don’t suspect of its existence. Don’t forget that your interlocutor is blindfolded and the only way they can learn about the thing is from your words.
Sounds next to impossible? In fact, this is what thousands of people do every day on a constant basis - selling on the phone. If you are one of them and would like to drastically increase the number of successfully closed deals, you’re in the right spot. Read on for a detailed guidance on product presentation over the phone.
Common product presentation issues and their solutions
Presentation is actually the only stage of the sales process when it is the seller who speaks. However, the key point here is not simply to deliver the monologue about the numerous advantages of your product (that you’ve almost learnt by heart and keep repeating to each new client). As a sales agent, your task is to build a dialogue with your client and discover the needs that your product can help fulfill or issues it can solve prior to presenting it. Only then do you have to start talking about the advantages of the object you’re selling, but only those which directly respond to the client’s needs.
Professional presentation in sales is an art that has to be mastered through learning and training. Besides, there are a number of common mistakes hindering progress, which are listed below. Knowing your enemy is half the battle, so if you find out you’re making some of them, it’ll be much easier to avoid them further on.
Inconsistent knowledge of your product
This is easily detected by your potential client since the seller’s monologue gets too “watery” and lacks specific details. It also sounds lame and unconvincing, and definitely won’t evince any positive response.
How to solve: never cease to study the product. Repeat what you already know and do your best to discover its new features and benefits. Try the following exercise: ask the person who is an expert in the sphere to ask you as many questions about your product as possible. Note down each question you couldn’t answer or weren’t sure how to answer. Then, find out the answers to each of them. It will do you good to do it from time to time with different experts to always keep in a good shape.
Seller’s shyness
Do you frequently feel intimidated when talking to strangers? Do you find it hard to build a dialogue with your clients because you lack confidence? Well, no matter how well you know the theory, your hesitations in speech and diffidence in your voice are the enemies killing your clients’ interest.
How to solve: listen to your dialogues and to those of leading sales agents. Compare them and note down what is lacking from your speech. Then, ask a colleague to remind you about behaving and sounding more confident. Gradually, you will need fewer and fewer reminders, and then it’ll be a great motivation to again record your dialogues and compare them to the previous ones.
Lack of faith in the product
No doubt, every sales agent’s been there: selling something he/she doesn’t believe in. No matter what is the reason - the competitor’s product that is much better, seeing no practical use to it or anything else. The problem is, if you cannot see why anyone would want to buy it, it’s only natural you keep failing to persuade your clients.
How to solve: make up a list of your product advantages and issues that it helps to solve, plus track as much positive feedback about it as possible. If you think that the competitor’s offer is better, make sure you study it well and note down all its disadvantages along with negative feedback. This will help you see the object you’re selling in a different light and change your attitude towards it.
Irrelevant advantages
If you truly believe in the universal formulas to persuade anyone, like, ‘You’ll save…’ or ‘Our price is lower than the competitors’’, welcome to the club of sales agents who might use some training.
How to solve: Talk only about the features/benefits that will be relevant to your client. This is why you talked to him/her before presenting your product - to discover the needs and then use the info in your presentation. In case you haven’t succeeded - you’d better delve deeper than simply enumerate the general features.
Darting from stage to stage
There’s a sure way to lose a deal - it is going back and forth between the stages of the sale, like starting the presentation, then working on discovering the needs, then continuing the presentation, and so on. Even if your client isn’t aware of the techniques you’re using, the unprofessional approach can still be felt, and you won’t earn trust. The same happens when you give false promises during the presentation or make up new advantages of the product to impress the potential buyer.
How to solve: This one’s easy: stop. Take a deep breath. Go over the conversation, point out what was wrong or sounded lame, and never repeat it again. Find a partner and work out all stages of the sale again till you feel confident and sound professional.
Silent pause at the end of a presentation
Making a pause when you’re done with the product presentation can bring your efforts to nothing because it lets the client ask you questions for which you are unprepared. Plus, it gives him/her time to think over your offer and find reasons to decline it.
How to solve: Be the first to ask a question after the presentation. It not only helps avoid questions but also keeps you in control of the situation. Mind that the question should be open, for instance, “What do you say”, “What do you think about it” and the like.
Well, hopefully, the recommendations above will help you hack the success strategy in telephone sales and become a guru. Meanwhile, we are interested in hearing about your tactics and thoughts on the matter, so you’re welcome to join the discussion!
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