7 sales principles that also work online

Selling online is still selling

Internet has changed doing business. But well-known sales principles still apply. These 6 sales principles also work online.

1. Know your market

The basis of sales and marketing is that you know and understand the needs of the market. If you understand the motivation and needs, then they are also easier to approach with a possible solution. A sales story without those insights does not land at all. Without a genuine interest in a customer, he quickly quits.

What do you want customer? That question is more important than what you want as a company. You already know what you want as a company, but you have to take the time to find out what the customers want. A good product does not say everything. For example, Betamax was the better video system, but VSH won because they looked better at customer needs. Market research costs time and often money, but it also delivers a company a lot.

Everyone wants to be heard.

2. Selling is listening

A good seller mainly listens. What is the client's need? What does he really say? Which language does the customer use? Only after the seller knows exactly what the need is can he propose a possible solution. That translates back online into keywords, "customers who viewed this product also bought", linking a customer profile to content on the site and in a newsletter.

3. Build a tire

What do you have in common with your client? Popular conversation topics with representatives are family, football, the weather, the market. Subjects to avoid are faith and politics. You get a band through resonance. Recognition. Online means that the keywords on which the customer googles come back in the title, description and link of your page. And when the customer clicks on a Google ads ad, the underlying page also matches.

4. Know what the customer really wants

Behind a small question in the store, "Do you also have these in red?", There may be a big need: "I'm getting married next year". Someone looking for "hotel Antwerp" can also be looking for a train ticket, for which a combination offer is interesting. A website visitor looking for a technical logo for his nephew may be looking for "responsible toys", and will therefore also be interested in a textbook. Only when you really know what the customer wants can you connect to this on an emotional level.

5. Say yes, ask yes

As a seller, never say NO, but YES. That means that you should always look for possibilities. "I'm just going to see what I can do for you." Always give options. Like Google does when you type in: "Maybe you mean ..."

Yes is done with the YES series: asking a number of short, closed questions that the customer can quickly agree to, leading to the sale. These are often verification questions that help the customer with his question. Example:

• Do you also think the environment is important?
• Everyone must do their bit, right?
• Wouldn't it be nice if this could be done easily without you noticing it in your wallet?

Online this often takes the form of small steps that lead to a big step: the purchase. "YES, there is ADSL available in your region", "YES this sweater is in your size", "YES this washing machine has the A +++ label".

6. Anticipate the objections

Too expensive. To difficult. I don't have time for that. Takes too long. A good seller knows the most common objections and anticipates this in advance:

• Free!
• Booked within 2 minutes.
• Try it for 30 days without a sales obligation.

Messages that work just as well online as during a sales meeting.

7. Shall we do this?

Close the purchase. It sounds obvious, but it still happens surprisingly often that it is unclear what a customer 'needs to do' on a site. The call to action is then not communicated or is unclear. Offers a clear and complete opportunity to buy:

• Work in recognizable steps:
• Use an action color;
• If the call to action is the most important step, then make it the greatest;

Ask for the purchase and make it easy to make it.

Which well-known sales principles do you know how to apply to online?

Source image Listen:  Ky_Olsen