I am often amazed at how many salespeople will learn a selling system inside and out, practice dozens of closes, and consistently work on their product knowledge… without ever spending much time thinking about the men and women who buy from them.

I’m not talking about qualifying potential buyers, as important as that is, or asking the right needs and wants questions. What I mean is understanding the motivations behind the motivations – figuring out who your buyers are, why they’ll do business with you, and where their hot buttons are.

Knowing the basic personality styles you’re going to encounter day and day out during your sales career isn’t an academic exercise. Because most of us work most effectively with other people who share our traits, you are most likely selling to the men and women who reflect your own ways of thinking and acting. That’s great, until you realize that it means you’re probably also missing out on about three quarters of the sales you could be getting – and maybe even more.

By learning a bit about the way buyers think and act, you dramatically increase your odds of completing a successful sale. That’s because you aren’t just learning how to speak to potential buyers in their own terms, but also how to avoid the words and actions that drive them away.

Personality styles are such a big topic that I make them a major part of my books and seminars. To get you started, though, here are a few things you absolutely have to know about your buyers:

They probably fall into one of four groups.

While I like to think of personality styles as colored “dots” to make them more memorable for myself and my students, it’s enough to say that most of your potential clients are going to be dominant personalities, outgoing personalities, careful personalities, or steady personalities.

The first step is learning to spot the major personality types in action; the second is altering your language and presentation depending on which traits your prospect is exhibiting. What is comfortable for a dominant personality, for example, feels entirely too rushed for someone who is careful and analytical. In the same way, steady people like to take their time making decisions, while outgoing types care more about you than your products.

Until you can grasp these ideas, and learn to use them effectively, there’s a good chance you’re going to miss out on the majority of your potential sales, simply because you don’t know how to present effectively to all types – you are only comfortable with your own.

Very few people have one style.

It’s not as simple as figuring out the style and leaving it at that, however. Most people are a mixture of a couple of different styles, meaning that the better you get at reading personality types, the more you can refine your approach and the higher your closing percentage will be.

Most sales actually get quicker at the top.

Because key decision-makers tend to be dominant personalities, most large sales end up with the faster presentation than you would give at a lower level – to a middle manager who might be in analyzer or steady personality, for example.

This matters because it means you should have several versions of your presentation ready at any time: one that focuses on the facts and details, one that emphasizes the low risk, one that sheds some personal insight into you as a salesperson, and one that just has the highlights. As you move through different parts of the buying process, and especially different contacts along the way, you’ll want to be able to use any of these effectively. Most sales actually end up being quicker and simpler at the top, since that’s where the most impulsive personalities are, but you’ll have to get through other contacts along the way.

Understanding buyers’ personality types is a good first step toward unlocking your sales potential. Try to figure out how people make decisions, and then learn to quickly spot the differences in everyday selling situations. It’s not easy at first, but once you are “speaking your prospect’s language,” everything else becomes a whole lot easier.

Carl Henry is a management consultant. He specializes in helping companies in the selection of top sales and customer service talent. Carl is also a Certified Speaking Professional and the author of several books and articles related to sales, sales management, and customer service. He conducts seminar and webinar for clients worldwide.

Get your mini e-Book (free download) 18 pages. “Are You Recovery Ready” at http://www.carlhenryblog.com

You can contact Carl at 704-847-7390
chenry@carlhenry.com
http://www.carlhenry.com

You must have come across the videos that has been posted on your Facebook home page. Since they were posted by your friends, your tendency is to watch the video for yourself as well. You were so amused that you decided to share it in your other social networks. Without even knowing it, you have become a contributor to the viral marketing scheme of some company online.

Viral marketing make use of social media to generate hits to their websites. This recent method of online marketing employs media materials that usually offer compulsion to recipients that encourages them to disperse the material to their social networks. One of the many favorite are funny or interesting videos that has become popularly known viral videos commonly hosted in YouTube or similar video hosting sites. At first glance they do not seem a marketing campaign at all because the videos are usually not related to the market product or services. If you can notice the the description or the URL posted with video, website links, or a footer with marketing message, you can find out the company being marketed.

It is tempting to flood your media with your viral material with the fast and high response you can get with viral marketing. But restrain yourself from engaging too much into this method because people might regard you as an over opportunist and earn you less credibility. Always remember that viral marketing still has to have some good content and for your online presence to remain veritable. Other opinions would say that a unique and fresh angle can also help in this type of web marketing as it would always draw out the interested among the population that can further an initial buzz.

The good thing about viral marketing is that most social networking sites have added features for their members in sharing social media easier and absolutely for free. The abundance of endless applications, add-ons, widgets, and other social media means have been increasing in social networks and reach a very large number of audience. It seems that the sharing of innocent social media files among networks have been harnessed properly by brilliant minds to work for their marketing campaign.

Millions of users logged in to most social sites with the intention of keeping up with their social circles, promote their own business, or just stay in touch with people they know. Getting delighted by shared media has also become one of the apparent reasons why people are signing up in social sites. Facebook allows instant posting in their shout-out boxes from test, images, links, and even videos. What you probably tagged and liked in this social site will be viewed by your friends and they will be able to view what had made you laugh or convinced about an issue or a clip.

Among the entertained audience might be a potential buyer of your product or business. The right way to use social media as a tool is to find an angle of the media material that can generate amusement to the viewers that they can pass it on to their friends right away. In this way, your social media material can reach thousands of browsers in just a few clicks on the mouse.

Alfred D. Dowell is a writer for Pop And Exhibits which offers Trade Show Pop Up and Portable Pop Up Display as well as a wide variety of other items.

Asking for testimonials is a task most people prefer to avoid – yet it’s testimonials that lend credibility to our promises and show potential clients that we’re good at what we do.

So, you need to gather up your courage and ask. The best time is when you’ve completed a successful transaction and your clients are thanking you. Instead of just blushing and saying “thanks,” tell them how much you appreciate their comments and ask if you can use what they said on your website or in other marketing materials. Most people will say yes.

When that happens, write down what they said as accurately as you can. Then send it to them for approval and/or changes.

Another way to ask is to send a questionnaire asking for feedback – good or bad. Devise a short list of questions about your service, then ask if they have additional comments. You can also ask if there’s something they particularly liked or didn’t like about your service.

People may be at a loss for what to say if you simply ask them to “write something,” but when you ask specific questions, they find responses.

Depending upon the kind of business you operate, you can ask about speed of service, the level of courtesy, if they were satisfied with your communications, if they felt you represented them well, or if they are satisfied with the outcome of the transaction.

Another way to get those testimonials is to hire someone to call your clients or past clients for an interview. When a third party asks questions about your service, it’s possible for them to draw people out and get them talking about you. People like to tell stories, so that’s when the unusual and interesting tidbits are apt to come out.

This method is especially effective for a business such as real estate sales, where much of the success hinges on the agent’s expertise, commitment, and persistence. The agent and the clients have spent a great deal of time together, so those clients could have a lot to say.

Editing your testimonials…

Most testimonials, whether sent to you voluntarily or requested, will be too long. Thus it becomes your job to cut out sentences or phrases to scatter around your website, brochures, letters, etc.

Be careful when editing those! The temptation is always there to “smooth out” the sentences or correct the grammar. But if you do, you’ll lose the flavor and the words will sound like they’re coming from you instead of your clients. If you do make any changes, be sure to send the finished product to the clients for approval before posting it above their names.

If using words from a personal letter or email the client has sent, you also need to get their permission first. Some people just don’t want to see their names in print or on a website, and you need to respect that.

And remember, their names are important. Testimonials without a name and city are viewed with suspicion.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in making people feel good about buying your products or services.

She has extensive experience in writing search engine optimized web copy, e-mail campaigns, direct sales letters, postcards, newsletters, press releases, and more. She is also available for marketing plan creation and editing services.

You can visit her at http://www.marte-cliff.com. While you’re there, sign up for one of her marketing ezines. She promises to gently nag you about ways to make your own marketing efforts more productive – whether you’re selling a product or providing a service.

Some advertisers make promises so huge that you shake your head and click away or turn the page. Sometimes our kids do that too! (I promise I’ll take care of this puppy, Mom!) Luckily for our kids we give them the benefit of good intentions and usually go along with the plan.

But we don’t give the advertisers that benefit of the doubt. When the promise is ridiculous, most of us will ignore it.

While over done promises send you running the other way, there has to be some kind of promise, either stated or implied, or you still aren’t going to buy.

Promises are important. Without them, no one is interested. You don’t buy something or support a cause or a candidate just because they’re there. You have to have a reason, and the big promise conveys the reason.

If you promise me great taste, and something specific that will benefit the kids, I’ll buy your Girl Scout Cookies.

If you promise I’ll have fun, or get to meet a celebrity, or learn something I really want to know – I’ll come to your event.

If you promise to change the world in ways that I think it should be changed, I’ll vote for your candidate.

If you promise to solve a social ill – one that matters to ME – I’ll donate to your cause.

If you promise to make my life happier or easier in some way, I’ll use the service you offer.

Do you see how that works? None of us are just going to say “Yes” to something without a great promise first. We all need reasons.

We all need the answer to that age-old question “What’s in it for me?” before we’ll consider buying your product, using your service, or donating to your cause. Your promise has to offer the answer to that question.

You can use promises in your personal life, too. For instance, if you’re selling a couch and you promise to deliver it, that’s a great selling point. If the kids want to go to the mall, but promise to mow the lawn if you’ll take them, you might say yes.

Whatever you’re selling, decide on the biggest (true) promise you can make. Then put it in the headline or the first sentence of your ad.

And in your daily life… when you want something from someone else, first decide what you can give in return and promise it.

I promise you’ll get better results than you would by merely asking.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in making people feel good about buying your products or services.

She has extensive experience in writing search engine optimized web copy, e-mail campaigns, direct sales letters, postcards, newsletters, press releases, and more. She is also available for marketing plan creation and editing services.

You can visit her at http://www.marte-cliff.com. While you’re there, sign up for one of her marketing ezines. She promises to gently nag you about ways to make your own marketing efforts more productive – whether you’re selling a product or providing a service.