Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I heard a great line today, one that`s been around for decades. But I`d never heard it before:


So I got to thinking about that. If a customer already is ready to buy, or wants to buy, then are you selling them something? Or are you just explaining answers to whatever few questions they may still have?

What`s the difference between explaining something to someone, versus selling them something?

It comes down to persuasion. If someone says no to buying something, do you just let them walk away? Or do you begin a process of persuading them not to walk away, and to actually buy?

Obviously, selling something is a skill. It`s not at all the same as just answering some questions and explaining how something will work AFTER the person`s bought the item or service.

And yet so many Web sites only explain things. They never really sell anything. They aren`t persuasive. They don`t care (apparently) if a viewer says, "No!"

What`s different about persuading someone versus selling someone? We hear all the time about people "buying into" an idea, or "being sold" on an idea. Is selling exactly the same thing as persuasion?

The sale begins before the customer says anything.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

Very interesting perspective Craig. Its making me wonder if my own website needs to be more persuasive.

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The world is your home!
http://www.pulaskitravel.com/rgeorge

Let`s face it, not every Website is about selling.  And not all selling is a skill.  Selling techniques do, however, separate the pros from the wanna bees.

You must realize there are differences between ---

Selling, or offering something for sale.
Salesmanship, the art of persuasion,
Handling of objections - which is "why not" (or a form of) as the response to a "no".  --  {Danger Will Robinson, answer that and you just  may fall into the hands of a hard closer!}
and Closing...which is getting the deal.

The "sale" does not start with a "no" but  "salesmanship" does.  No is only an objection a pro must handle, tie neatly with a bow, file and move to the next objection and finally the close. 

A pro recognizes a "No" at times is merely a buying signal that says...I need more information to make a decision.  It may turn out to be the final answer, but merely accepting it initially is the difference between the pros and w.b.`s.

One problem, among many, with selling on the Web is -
visitors can be snoopers, spies, competitors, etc.  (we all do it!)...
there is no direct interface with visitors, contacts maybe...
visitors are a numbers game, generate more honest traffic, you should get more sales...
without statistics (i.e. bounce) rates we cannot tell anything...

Are your sales suffering in this economy?  Mine are not!



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DIY SEO Coach and Mentor
WordPress Tutor

AsEZ...you`re making some really good points. There`s more to selling than just being persuasive, particularly the "closer."

What interests me about these reduced nuggets....platitudes, if you will, is that they so often try to replace actual thought. People speak a single line of guru-information, and pretend they`ve actually covered an entire subject.

I think there aren`t many field where slogans, platitudes, and catch phrases are more evident than in sales. So when I ran into this one, it got my attention.

It`s also true that all kinds of people move in and out of a Web site. But the "art" of salesmanship ought to factor more importantly into keeping more of those visitors for a bit longer than only 4 seconds.

One of the biggest things sale people forget to do is ask for the sale. That one thing can make a huge difference along with having good answers for the most common objections.

That`s because most people are afraid of rejection.


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DIY SEO Coach and Mentor
WordPress Tutor

Y`know, I wonder if it`s that people are afraid of rejection? Or is it that people believe the customer is "in control" of the transaction? Is that true?

Who actually "controls" the selling process---the salesperson or the buyer?

This is a very interesting discussion CraigL. I heard a statistic the other day that really blew my mind. About 80% of all sales are made after the SIXTH contact. Sixth! That`s amazing and crazy, that gives me hope.

So I guess its the business owner who makes the sale, putting in the effort to arrange the meetings generally.

Having only worked retail in the past, other than my own businesses, I wouldn`t have thought about 6 encounters. I could see maybe two, or possibly three, but usually the sale was all in the first meeting.

That being said, and assuming someone bookmarks an ecommerce site, then we could easily have people returning to "look again" at the site, many times. What do we do about that?

Customer service and "contact us" is the best solution.

Studying interrogation techniques, the immediate goal is for the questioner to begin ANY kind of dialog. To get the person talking. About anything, even simple things.

Consider that we can draw parallels between a reluctant customer and someone brought in for questioning regarding a possible crime. I know....weird analogy, but stay with me.

The detainee has it in their self-interest to say nothing, do nothing, confess to nothing, offer nothing, and remain utterly passive. The questioner wants to extract information and get a "yes" in the form of answers or a confession.

So too, a customer is suspicious, anxious, would rather not part with their money, but also wants "the thing" being offered. So the seller has to overcome the negative mind-set similarly to the questioner in the interrogation room.

How does your Web site establish a 2-way conversation?