If You're Using Outdated Sales Strategies, You're Selling Yourself Short

If you’re using outdated strategies based on what barely worked in the 80s–much less today. There's a belief that sales are all about going harder, making more calls, and being more dominant. The trouble is, it doesn’t actually work and it’s simply the wrong way to treat another human being. In fact, top salespeople are often self-deprecating and low-key. They don’t make things hard for themselves or their prospects. Instead, they use tried-and-true methods like active listening and empathy to connect with others. They know how to solve problems without overselling solutions. And when they do talk numbers, they frame everything in terms of value: What does your business need? How can I help? ?

We Need Better Marketing

Marketing is a term that has come to be associated with tricks and gimmicks. It would be hard to find anyone today who doesn’t think marketers are just trying to get attention any way they can. Luckily, there is another way. The best marketing comes from people who have an honest interest in helping others. The best marketing comes from people who care about making things better for their customers, clients, and even strangers on social media. The best marketing comes from people who are willing to put themselves out there and take risks in order to make a difference in other people’s lives. If you want to do good work, start by caring about what you do. If you want to be good at what you do, start by doing good work. It all starts with caring about your craft and sharing your expertise with others.

What Salespeople Really Want

Most salespeople want to know what’s in it for them before they can ever seriously consider your offer. Therefore, you need to focus on telling them how your company can benefit them (just as much as how they will benefit you) first and foremost. What is your USP? How are you different from your competitors? If you fail to answer these questions first, it’s unlikely they’ll ever buy from you, no matter how many cold calls you make or ads you run. It all starts with showing people that your company offers a solution to their problems, not just an interruption to their day.

How Marketers Can Win at Lead Generation

If salespeople lead with their product and try to sell by pushing features or benefits on prospects, they’re going to fail. But if marketers can coach their teams to focus more on helping prospects solve their problems and determine value—rather than just selling—everyone will win at lead generation. After all, it doesn’t matter what you’re selling if people aren’t willing to buy it. So how do we get there? By following these four steps?

1) Find out why your customers buy;?

2) Figure out where your leads are coming from;?

3) Identify where in your funnel leads are dropping off;?

4) Start asking for feedback and testimonials?

Sounds simple enough, right? The hard part is actually doing it.

Stop Focusing on Clients Who Aren't Ready Yet

It’s tempting to try and drag prospects along with you through your sales process. The trouble is that most customers aren’t ready to buy from you yet. By focusing your efforts on people who are ready to make a purchase, you stand a much better chance of closing sales. If you’re prospecting cold leads, focus on finding leads who have already expressed interest in what you do. If you’re selling to existing clients, be sure to address their current pain points before introducing new services or products into your offering. Either way, you’ll increase your chances of making a sale by helping prospects get over any final objections they might have.

Great Copywriters Are Important

Great copywriters are valuable in a number of areas. If you're running a SaaS business, they'll help you tell your story to new customers. For many entrepreneurs, though, the sale is an area they avoid when possible. That's too bad since great copywriters can help your team sell more by creating sales and marketing materials that convert prospects into customers at a much higher rate than what's possible without it. What's more important than writing? Communication. And great copywriters will help you communicate better with your target audience which will lead to more conversions and ultimately growth for your company. When was the last time you made sure your copywriter was up-to-date on modern selling techniques? If it's been a while, now might be a good time to check them out again. How do you find great copywriters? Well, there are plenty of freelance marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr where freelancers bid on projects. Or if there's someone on staff who loves words and storytelling (and has some experience writing content), consider giving them a shot!

Strive for Insights (Instead of Just Data)

If people tell you they have a problem, they are giving you permission to sell to them. Make sure they feel at ease telling you about it. It is not what you are selling--it is what you are learning. After that, you will have something that nobody else can replicate. An example is that rather than asking a customer if they are happy with your product or service (which may result in a biased response), ask them why they purchased it in the first place. Why did they come to you? What were some of their expectations? Did it fulfil those expectations? Here's what would be even better: You could be trusted advisors to your clients. but how do you win new business every day?

SEO Still Matters

Still, wondering if it’s important to incorporate SEO into your marketing strategy? Some marketers have gone so far as to say search engine optimization is dead. The reality is that for every 10 customers you get from a paid campaign, about one will come from organic traffic. And organic traffic converts at a much higher rate than any other channel. In fact, SEO can help improve your conversion rates by up to 40%. Consider investing in SEO as part of your long-term growth strategy. It may not be dead after all.?

That said, there are certain tactics you need to follow when trying to optimize your website with SEO. Poorly written meta descriptions, thin or nonexistent content and duplicate content are among some of the most common mistakes new digital marketers make and hurt search rankings instead of helping them.

Pricing Is About Value – Not Features

Stop selling your product with features and benefits. If you’re not putting yourself in your customer’s shoes and asking why would I buy from you? then you’re still lost in 80s sales land. Today’s customers want to feel like they get a good deal. They want to know that their dollars are stretched as far as possible. They want to trust that their vendor will be around for at least a couple of years because that means more savings! What do all these things have in common? Value. And if you can show them how much value they’ll receive by choosing your product or service over another one, you can win them over every time.

Your Content Must Be Valuable to Others

First, ask yourself if your content will truly add value to your target market. If you can’t convincingly answer yes to that question, stop right there and think about what you could be doing instead. Second, determine whether or not what you’re creating is original. This doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel, but it does mean that you should avoid regurgitating information found elsewhere on a different website. Remember: Google is smart enough to know when two pieces of content are essentially saying the same thing. So, make sure yours has an angle (and some personality) all its own! Finally, remember that people are more likely to share content they find valuable – so don’t skimp on quality just because you want more shares in less time.

Re-Engage With Current Clients

If your current clients aren’t purchasing as much as they did in previous months, they may need a little push. The key to winning over a customer is to show them how their lives will be made easier by your product or service—and they can achieve it with your help. Re-engage with potential clients by offering them a free consultation or trial period to help them realize how easy it is to make their lives better with you. This simple gesture can remind your customers why they love doing business with you and convince them that buying from you is an essential part of making their lives run smoothly.

You can offer an online evaluation (the most common way) or offline evaluation for people who don't use computers (which are usually senior citizens). This could also include senior citizens who prefer paper material to computer material.

Conclusions

Treat Others Like People. Nothing about your presentation should be robotic or sales-y. Whether it’s a website, a voice mail message, or an email correspondence – you should sound like a real person and someone who is interested in talking to others and helping them solve their problems. The best companies are run by their people. Your customers don’t want to talk to an algorithm – they want to talk to another human being with whom they can share ideas and get advice from. This doesn’t mean that you need to be nice all of the time, but it does mean that you need to treat people with respect and care. If you do that, then things will go much better for both parties involved.