All entrepreneurs agree that getting customers into your store is not easy. For most start-ups, getting the word through advertisements and other marketing blitzes is difficult enough. But that is actually the easy part. Making the sale happen is even trickier. Ultimately, the goal of your business is not just to make people like your stuff, but to like them enough to actually buy them. Nothing is more heartbreaking for a business owner than a customer who walks out of his store empty-handed.

For all businesses, most particularly start-up companies, every sale counts. Most businesses are not flooded with customers or packed with people clamoring for your product. You have to maximize the people who walk into your store, by converting these window shoppers into buyers every time.

Selling techniques you must know

Your marketing tactics and promotional gimmicks, no matter how great, can only get people through the door. Once they are inside, it is up to you to make it happen. It took quite a lot of effort to generate the buzz and get the customers to your store. Now here comes the more important part: Don’t let them get away, and translate their curiosity into a sale. Good salespeople know that most of the time, the perfect sales pitch is the clinching point that closes the transaction. For most start-up businesses, the right selling techniques are very important. Here are some do and don’ts of the trade:

• Do exude confidence. Confidence comes from the belief in the product or service that you are selling. Get to know your product. What do you have that the competition does not? Do you like the product yourself? What will make other people like it too?
• Don’t say ‘Can I help you?’ Of course, there’s a 99% chance that you will hear “No thanks, I’m just looking.’ And with that, the client walks away and out your door. Instead, revive your sales pitch. Try, ‘Let me show you a couple of items that just got in’ or ‘Let me show you around.’ Always remember to send a positive message as starting a sales pitch on a negative note is a definite turn-off.
• Do show a professional appearance. You and your sales team should be well-groomed, pleasing and confident. People will listen to you if you look and talk the part.
• Don’t give up. The sales industry doubtlessly faces the highest rejection rate than any other. And salespeople meet and deal with rejection on a daily basis. In fact, the difficulty in handling rejection is the most-cited reason why people leave the sales industry. Do not let this dishearten you. Keep an open mind and above all, an optimistic attitude. After all, a sale is ultimately a game of the mind.

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