Want to Sell Your Product or Service More Effectively? Stop Being So Optimistic. New York Times bestselling author Oren Klaff offers five ways to improve your sales.
By Melissa Houston •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
One of the most prominent struggles entrepreneurs face, especially when starting a new business, is bringing in sales. Sales are not only essential to keep your business in business, but they fuel the cash flow. Great pitches can help you book clients and make money in your business. Mastering your pitch, avoiding the proposal time waste and chasing the customer will help you keep the pitch process in your control and help the client feel that you are the best person to solve their problem.
Oren Klaff is a New York Times bestselling author and writer of Flip The Script, where he teaches people how to sell. Klaff sat down with me recently to discuss his views on what it takes to sell more effectively in 2022. Klaff argues that the sales landscape has changed over the decades, and people are tired of being marketed and sold. He feels the best way to get people to sign with you is by making them believe that signing with you is their idea.
Related: Shortcut to the Perfect Sales Call
Nobody likes to feel pressured into buying, and people will walk away from those sales tactics. Klaff says that it's time to flip the sales script and get the buyer to discover your product independently.
Klaff is a master at pitches, has a no-nonsense approach and feels it's time to stop trying to persuade people to buy what you sell and plant your idea in their minds instead.
Top tips to sell more effectively
- Challenge the dominance hierarchy. Dominance hierarchy is a rigid power framework where those at the top get the best of everything. Status in this hierarchy is predominant. Your ranking on the social scale is challenging to change, but you can do it. You can match status and power with anyone when you do it effectively.
- Establish your credibility as an expert. Your buyer needs to understand that you are the expert who can solve their problem, and it is your responsibility to show them how to do that. Expert status is achieved through education, experience, and track record. You need to prove you are the only one who understands their problem and can solve it for them.
- Embrace the power of plain vanilla. Most people tread cautiously when pursuing a substantial financial reward. The idea is that when presenting an idea, it is best to give the proposition with little risk, as this will help the buyer feel safer with less risk, and it won't feel like a deal they will lose on.
- Use the buyer's natural pessimism. Everyone loves optimism, and a positive outlook can motivate people. It is on the salesperson to see the optimism in the situation. However, Klaff argues that it doesn't work as well as you think. Pessimism provides an alternative point of view that sticks and avoids buyer's remorse. Guide them through the process of pessimism, leaving buyers reassured in investing with your offer.
- Be compelling. Personal magnetism can help sales. You create an irresistible brand when you use compelling stories that make people want to be just like you. People will buy your story and how it makes them feel.
Related: The Lucky 7 Steps to Channel Sales Success
The bottom line is that cash flow is your business's lifeline, and generating sales is an essential part of generating cash flow. These tips can help you cut down the length of the sales process and get buyers to say yes to your offer quickly.
