Pay Attention To Your Customers!

A lot has been written about what makes a good salesperson.
Education, experience, training, and even a certain inborn
"killer instinct" have all been mentioned as necessary qualities
to be good at sales. From my experience, however, the best
salespeople are the ones who are the best "people watchers."

In other words, to be able to sell to your customers, you have to
be able to know who they are, what they want, and what they are
feeling. All of these can be determined with good research,
strong observation skills, and an attentive nature.

Knowing your customers is not just a one-time act -- you want to
pay attention to your customers before, during, and after the
sale:

BEFORE THE SALE:

You should have a feel for your "ideal" customer before you
launch any advertising or marketing campaign. What newspapers,
magazines, and e-zines do they read? What topics interest them
most? What groups or associations do they belong to?

You can devise a questionnaire to send to your best customers and
prospects. Entice them with a free offer or a big discount.

Many actors start developing their character by writing down a
long list of words that describe the character. This helps the
actor think deeply about the part they are going to play.

This strategy works well to help you figure out what kind of
people buy often. You likely know far more about your prospects
and customers than you realize. This method helps you get a
clearer understanding of what you probably already know.

DURING THE SALE:

You can save yourself time and energy by paying close attention
to your customers during the sales process. One thing you should
definitely do is watch for signs that the customer is ready to
buy.

The more expensive your product or service, the more time it
takes to sell it. Customers want to know all about how it works
and what it can do to make their life or business better. Help
them work through this process and you will make more sales.

Here are a few signs customers give you when they are ready to
buy.

The customer suddenly speeds up the pace. She has decided she
wants to buy and is moving with more purpose toward the sale.

Some people are just the opposite. They slow down the pace when
they get serious about buying. Rush them and you will lose the
sale.

Your customer starts asking a lot of questions. Remember that
customers only ask about things that really matter to them. Take
this as a good sign you've got a serious prospect.

Others will ask all about terms of payment, delivery, and
guarantees even before they tell you which item they want. They
feel more comfortable doing this because they can show serious
interest in buying without letting you know exactly what they
want to buy.

AFTER THE SALE:

This could be the most important time to pay attention to
customers, especially if you want to make repeat sales or get
referral business.

Contact your customers to see if they are satisfied with their
product or service. If the customers have questions or
complaints, do your best to answer the situation quickly.
Remember that you can sometimes head off future problems by
paying attention to customer concerns.

If you find that your customers are completely satisfied, ask if
you can get a testimonial. Nothing helps you make a sale like
strong testimonials from satisfied customers. Prospects are
impressed when they hear positive things from those who have
already bought your product or service. "This gadget doubled my
gas mileage and saves me $200 a month! Buy it!"

Some types of customer recommendations work better than others.
"This is great stuff" is a good testimonial but "This stuff cut
my costs by 20%" is even better. Try to get customer
recommendations that tell what kind of results the user got.

When customers say something good about your business or
products, ask them if you can use their comment in your
marketing. Almost everyone will be delighted and flattered that
you want to use their words. Write them down and file them away
for later use.

Even though the Internet is probably the most technological thing
in our lives, we need to remember that Internet BUSINESS still
revolves around PEOPLE. We should always make sure that we pay
attention to the people we do business with -- there really NO
better way of doing market research.

About the Author

Looking for ways to market your product, service, or idea? Ask
Kevin! He'll give you fresh promotion ideas free--no obligation.
Reach Kevin Nunley and his staff of marketing experts at
kevin@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006. See the promotion packages
that are working best for his customers at http://DrNunley.com