INCREASING YOUR SALES IS A PHONE CALL AWAY! by Kamau Austin
I have noticed that many E business people lack the sales skills
of traditional business people. Perhaps this is because, the
Internet has made it easier for all people to make attempts at
business on-line. A digital business is nevertheless a business,
and you will need traditional sales skills to be successful
in running an on-line business. In this column, I will cover
basic sales skills, to inform you on more effective sales
techniques that will generate more sales revenue for your
business. Lets start by examining the sales process because, it
is the life blood of any viable business.
"The Sales and Marketing Marriage...for Better or Worst"
Due to the pressure of the 24/7 barrage of telemarketers and
sales persons always pushing their goods at us, what may come
to mind, when we think of the sales process and profession, is:
the high pressure art of persuasion. However, sales when
informed by its marriage partner marketing, is simply-- helping
people to buy! Sales and marketing are in a marriage because,
these two are in a "for better or for worst" inseparable
relationship. For instance, if you have done your marketing
planning and research effectively (i.e. you know you have a
substantial market for your products or services) your sales
will be for the better. The opposite will be true, if your
marketing is shaky, and of course your sales will be for the
worst.
Hot Tip---------------------------------------------------------
If you haven't developed, or need help with, your Internet
marketing plan, Planning Your Internet Marketing Strategy, by
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson AKA Dr. E Biz, is the best book on the
subject. You can read my review of the book by clicking here:
http://www.einfonews.com/ereviews/planningim.htm
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We will assume that you have done some marketing research and
therefore, you need a sales strategy. Usually the more
expensive, difficult, and sophisticated your products and
services are, the more you will be need to use - in person
sales. For example, if you need to sell high priced items like
jet planes, display advertising, real estate, and automobiles
you will need an in person sales strategy. These sales people
will need to be highly trained specialist or executive sales
people. Moreover, Selling $2000.00 vacuum cleaners door-to-door,
also a difficult sales job (although not executive sales), you
will also need in person sales people.
To change gears, if you are selling lower cost high volume
ticket items like classified advertising, long distance phone
service, or broadband service it isn't feasible to hire in
person sales persons because a telesales person will be more
efficient. On the other side of the spectrum, if you are selling
lower cost e books, web applications/ASPs, or shareware:
selling on a web site will be more than adequate and effective.
"You will need the telephone to seal the deal"
Now that we have those preliminary things out of the way, it is
important to note that the telephone will become a pivotal tool
in the sales of most businesses. This is because, although the
Internet is the medium of e business, communicating with the
human voice is still our more natural way to communicate.
Therefore, many times interest may be created on-line but, you
will need the telephone to seal the deal. Even executive sales
people have to use the phone initially to book their initial
appointment, to later discuss their business proposals or make
presentations in person.
Hot Tip---------------------------------------------------------
Keep the development of phone sales skills in mind especially,
given the new trend of tele-courses and seminars, where you sell
back-end products on teleconference calls.
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In light of these factors, in many cases you will have to master
phone sales for high priced and medium priced ticket items. The
initial sales pitch over the phone, will in most cases, make or
break your sales presentation. In our next issue of Keep It
Real... Profitable!, we will discuss the structure of an initial
sales pitch over the phone. We will examine what are the
ingredients to a great sales pitch, that will get your foot in
the door.
Kamau Austin, helps small and minority business make more money,
by creating, search friendly web sites. He is the owner of
http://www.Ebizbydesign.com , http://www.Einfonews.com , and the
creator of the Free Search Engine Promotion Tele-course
at: http://www.SearchEngineplan.com . He can be reached called
free at 866-324-9669.
More articles on MARKETING-STRATEGIES
Increasing Your Sales Is A Phone Call Away!
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