Attitude Is Everything... you've heard this before, but what does that mean? And is it really all that important?
Yes! Because the attitude of you and every member of your sales team will mean the difference between huge successes and even bigger failures if you allow a negative attitude to creep in and infect your entire team.
Enthusiasm is contagious and can help you sell just about anything.
Here are a couple of scenarios:
Have you ever gone into a store and been greeted enthusiastically by a happy, smiling sales clerk who was so excited to help you and show you everything she had that would suit your needs? How did this make you feel?
Alternatively...
Have you ever gone into a store and been greeted by a straight-faced sales clerk who appeared to not care about anything and the only words they spoke were whiny and complaining? How did that make you feel?
Which sales clerk were you more likely to buy from?
EXACTLY!
People want to buy from people they like and can connect with. That means if you have a team member with a negative attitude, you are surely losing sales. Because if people aren't treated right, they will go somewhere else where they can deal with someone who cares.
Unfortunately, that's not where it ends. When people receive a negative customer service experience, they will tell everyone they know through word of mouth, social media, and every review site they can find. The next thing you know your business has a tarnished brand reputation that will be very hard, if not impossible, to turn around.
Displaying a positive attitude is the number one best way to boost your sales and it all begins with a few simple techniques that are easy to teach.
A genuine smile will make you appear warm and approachable and is one of the most important things you can do to convey a positive attitude. If you don't have a natural smile, this might take some practice.
That doesn't mean approaching a customer and asking them if you can help them! You have to smile, extend your hand and immediately welcome them for coming by because, as you know, they could have gone elsewhere instead. Then invite them in and show them that you have a genuine interest in their needs and what they have to say. The key is you really do have to care because most people will be able to tell if you don't.
If you have confidence in yourself and your product, then others will have confidence in you too. This will help your sales because people will feel they are putting themselves in good hands—yours.
Your confidence will show if you perform with a self-belief that you are great at what you do and you show that you are informed and have the optimism, determination, and a can-do attitude that gets people excited and motivates them to buy from YOU!
You must display enthusiastic pride in your company and its products and/or services, as well as pride in yourself. If you don't have pride in your product and yourself, why should anyone trust you enough to buy from you?
A large part of displaying a positive attitude is showing your customers you truly care. Showing them that you have a sincere desire to help them find the perfect solution to their need. If you do this one thing, no other sales techniques really matter because people appreciate and will buy from someone who cares and genuinely shows they have a sincere desire to help.
Learning your trade inside and out is the best way to develop confidence and to show your customers you are the person they can trust to help you. But there's another step you need to take if you want perfection and increased sales. You have to practice and visualize the process from start to finish and then ultimately finalizing the deal.
This is important not only for your confidence levels, but also because you may be displaying a mannerism, facial expression, or some other type of body language that could be keeping you from making sales. However, if you visualize your success, then practice in front of a mirror you will be able to see exactly what you look and sound like to your customers and this will allow you to correct those little things you might not realize you were doing otherwise.
It's not good to just immediately jump into your canned sales pitch as soon as your customer walks through the door. Take a few minutes to engage them in conversation. Find out their likes, dislikes, any purchases they've made in the past and what they liked and disliked about those. This will give you some insight into their personality, buying trends and habits, and other helpful information that will enable you to connect with them and to find the best possible solution to their particular needs.
If you can learn to think outside of the box, you will become the best possible salesperson you can be. The next time you encounter an issue or have a hard time overcoming an objection, stop and think outside the box. Try to find a unique solution that would resolve the issue and/or overcome the objection. That might mean doing something different than you've done before.
Perhaps take a look at how things are done in another industry. Doing so might give you some fresh ideas and tactics to use that will be memorable, secure that person as a lifelong customer, and provide you with more word-of-mouth referrals. All because you took the time to become a problem-solver and someone who went out of their way to help.
If you treat people like a millionaire, they will act like one. You should do this regardless of how your customer acts and regardless of what they say. They might tell you flat-out they are not going to buy your product. But remember, an objection is often a buying signal and their statement just means they don't have enough information to make a decision yet.
That means if you stop trying based on an objection, then you will have a zero chance of making the sale. But if you keep a positive attitude and show your customer that you are there to help them no matter what, you will greatly improve your chances of making that sale. In addition, you might be the only salesperson that customer talked to that didn't give up. All because of your attitude and that's why...
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!