No Hype Selling

Often in selling we focus on what we want to accomplish, and not on the customer and their needs – both business and personal.  Taking time to prepare for a call with these three steps will help you bond with your customers, without relying on hype.

  • Make a personal connection. Leverage the information that’s available through online and industry association resources. Many c-store industry associations maintain bio information on their members. Knowing that a prospect serves on the board of NACS or SIGMA can be a great conversation starter.
  • Tell a story. Don’t make a pitch, but rather use the problem, solution and results format.  We all want to be able to relate to a proposal. Using examples of how a convenience store owner similar to a current prospect made an investment in new gas pumps and grew their sales or site traffic helps paint a different picture than saying you need new pumps.
  • How are you different – and how is your solution better for the customer?  Many presentations focus on the features of a product, not the benefits. One of the most used examples of this is how to sell a drill bit. The reason a person buys a drill and drill bit isn’t to make a hole, nor is it to hang a picture. They buy the product to improve their living space or to make their partner happy.  Sure, it’s drilling a hole, but the end result is a lot different.  Are you selling holes, pictures or happiness?

To learn more, this story from Impact Branding  provides some more selling tips.

3565 Piedmont Road, NE Building 1 Suite 430 Atlanta, GA 30305 877-527-0383