Do you often wonder about how to sell things? If you are a small business owner or freelancer and you are the only one generating sales for your business then you are going to have to get over that!
But that might be easier said than done.
This week Yuki Solle who is the owner of Cultivate Sales and also Cultivate the Life gave a really great talk on the Self Employed Club Facebook group.
It was called How to Sell Without Being Salesey
If you'd like to watch the talk you can do so here
I am going to give a talk summary within the rest of this blog.
Five Sales Tips From Yuki
1. First of all are you dedicating time to making sales?
You need to put time in regularly to work on this area in the same way as anything else in your business.
Find a regular time that works for you and put it into your calendar.
2. Have you done your research?
We have all received cold calls and cold connection requests, and guess what? They leave you cold! To overcome this, you need to get to know your leads as people.
Approach them with as much understanding of their actual situation as you can. This will be much more successful for you and them.
3. Use your voice
People often say ' I like the sound of them' this is a turn of phrase, but it can also be the truth. Humans have evolved to love listening and speaking.
This is why voice marketing is so successful.
If you speak to a person it is much more effective than emailing them.
We are all busy but you could leave a voice note for someone or invite them for a short call or Zoom chat if they want to.
4. Have a CRM system in place
A CRM (customer relationship management) tool can save you time, and make you money. It is often noted that people are not always in buying mode.
When a person you ask about a sale says not now, but check back in a month. Often we don't.
This might be because we felt embarrassed about bothering them and getting a no. Or it could be because we forgot.
A CRM could be a diary where you write down when to follow up, it could be an excel spreadsheet or if you have the budget it could be a piece of software that does everything for you. Like Salesforce.
5. Show your expertise
It is always better to show people that you know your stuff rather than just telling them.
Be confident, and showcase the knowledge you have.
Whether that is in delivering a short talk to a customer, that you could video as a webinar, or writing them a great sales email, it is all based around the same thing.
Being an expert on a topic. Don't hide your light, they want to work with someone who really knows their stuff.
Don't miss this final bonus tip!
Yuki gave the following tip which she says is tried and tested.
Go through all the customers who have ever bought from you.
For every £ you have in your hand at some point someone was pleased with you.
Pick three contacts that you have on your books and reach out to them. It doesn't have to be in a sales driven way, it is simply enough to show them you are thinking of them.
This will often lead to repeat business from people who had been likely to contact you again at some point anyway.
Give it a try today! Let Yuki know how it went.
Contact Yuki
You can connect with her at any of the following places:
Thanks for reading
Shona
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Would you like more help with your marketing? My new book is out now
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I wrote this book to be easy to read cover to cover or to be kept as a reference to dip in and out of!
About Me
Shona Chambers Marketing is a Marketing Agency based in SE London.
Specialising in helping Small Business Owners and Freelancers with their Marketing.