A day of sales on the streets of Manchester

Last week I spent a day of sales on the streets of Manchester going back to the basics of sales, that’s knocking on doors, pressing flesh and exchanging business cards with the owners of shops, offices and surgeries with the prospect of generating some sales leads for my client.

It always amazes me that the old basics of sales still work in the current electronic age of blogs, social media, email marketing, text marketing and proximity marketing too name just a few.When I started my career in sales in 1988 I was given a geographical area to work in and told to get out there and make some money. A small marketing pack was provided including :

Business Cards

Flyers

Product Brochures

Application forms

A small database of existing clients

However, I discovered that all I needed was a warm smile, a bit of cheek and a business card. Even in today’s economically tough environment a face to face sale generates not only a more effective sale, but the potential for a lifelong relationship.with the individual client, in fact I can count my top 25 clients as my friends and as such the old fashioned hard sales approach is now dead that said you still need to make the first approach by knocking on a strangers door.

However, that first visit is now longer product led but customer focused based on a needs / wants analysis and a solutions presentation on a second visit.Remember we have moved on from let buyer beware, too longer term relationships.

One day of sales on the streets of Greater Manchester netted my client, three proposals, totaling an expected income of just short of £4,000. Now I’m not saying it works that easily everyday you go door knocking. But it just goes to show that a nice smile and a little friendly chat can still go a long way.

If you are interested in starting a proactive sales approach for your business but would like a little help give Carl a call on 0161 751 0233 for some pointers.

Previous Relevant Blog Posts about Sales

Sales Strategy for New Start Business
Are you just following the crowd?
Time for a change in sales methods

Author: Carl Bradshaw FInstSMM. Follow on Twitter @CarlBradshaw, Google+, or public updates on Facebook catch up with what I’m reading on Pinterest.
By Carl Bradshaw, MentorNW

Formulate a sales strategy

You have a great product or service, but how do you deliver it to your chosen market?

Firstly, your own excitement and commitment to what you are selling is always invaluable when bringing products and services to the market place. It follows with wanting to develop a sales strategy, this should cover what, how and who you intend to deliver or sell to.

Essentially the more work that you put into planning the easier it will be to close your sale, develop a solid customer base and track your progress from start to finish.

Identify your product’s unique features and benefits (Unique Selling Point USP)

What about you, your company or your products & services is unique, what makes the difference between using you or your competitors, think about this from your consumers perspective.

Competitor analysis

What are your competitors in your chosen market doing to win consumers? Look at and study your competitors, strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, threats (SWOT analysis).

Who are you looking to sell to?

Are your products or services aimed at the domestic, or commercial markets? What sort of customer profile would your typical client fit? Remember to think about this from your consumers perspective.

Sales method

Now you have decided on your target market and written down your USP, the next stage is to plan what method you want to use in selling your products or services. These may include one or all of the following:

• Personal contact (direct selling, retail)
• Telesales
• Direct mail (special offers, catalogues)
• Internet

Depending on what you are selling and the geography of your potential client bank will point you naturally towards the best sales method, for example, if you are selling perishable items locally, you may want to look at personal contact, retail and maybe localised direct mail.

However, selling goods or services via the internet or direct mail can be a scatter gun approach and much more initial market research should be done to decide your target market and how best to approach them before embarking with these sales methods.

Six P’s (Proper Preparation Prevents P*** Poor Performance)

Part of your strategy could include making sales presentations to groups or seminars, in this scenario the six P’s really apply. If you don’t prepare to win business you will not succeed.

As an example, will you want to create a presentation? What should it include? Key data on your business, your USP, and contact details.

Taking proper care and attention to detail will help you develop a strong, professional and consistent image throughout your presentations, knowing that you have put the six P’s into practice will also give you the confidence to deliver your message.

Negotiating

Be prepared to negotiate, but know your bottom line and hold strong – do not go below your bottom line as there is little point selling something if you lose money, even if you think it’s worth it in the short term to snare a customer for the long term.

Closing the deal

Now you have taken your customer down your sales path to the end, you have persuaded your customer that they need or want what you have to offer. Now is the time you have to get a firm commitment to purchase your goods or services.

Remember, keep focused on your customer and the personal rapport developed during the sales process and negotiations.

If by now you are not confident in asking for the order, I would recommend that you contact your local chamber of commerce and enquire about sales training to develop your confidence.

Asking for the order for me is the most rewarding stage, it is also sometimes the most difficult, as it is often where the most difficult objections are raised by the customer, but objection handling is subject all on its own.

Follow up or after sales service

The most important part of any sales process, now we have to deliver what we have promised and more !