Sales Canvassing Tips
Sales canvassing entails calling on customers by phone or in person to make sales. All types of businesses canvass, including yellow pages publishers, advertising companies, consulting firms and companies that sell computer software or business equipment. Learning how to sell takes time and effort. However, most successful salespeople use certain proven techniques when they are canvassing for sales.
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Appointment Setting
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Whenever possible, outside sales canvassers should try to set appointments with current and prospective customers before visiting them in person. Appointment setting can save time and prevent the salesperson from making a sales call when the customer is unavailable.
Preparation
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One of the best things a sales canvasser can do is to carefully prepare in advance for each sales call. Know all aspects about your product and how it can potentially benefit your customer, suggests the article "Cold Calling Techniques," published on the Business Balls website. Study customers' websites and learn what they do and to whom they sell most of their wares or services. Always think of ways you can benefit your customers before even meeting them; and take any visual aids, testimonials, market data or marketing research findings that can help support using your products over the competitors' products.
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Qualifying Leads and Overcoming Objections
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Always qualify your customers. Ask customers and potential customers where most of their customers purchase their products or services. Find out if your potential customer is satisfied with his current supplier, if he is a distributor. If he is dissatisfied, ask him why. Also, ask if he would consider switching brands or suppliers. If he has any reservations, continue to probe and find out what his primary objectives are in doing business with you. Listen carefully to what your prospect is telling you.
Act Like A Consultant
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The last thing you want to do is use quick-sale tactics to get someone to buy your products. These techniques may work for one-time deals, but most businesses thrive on repeat business. Approach the potential customer as a problem-solver. Use phrases like "here is how I can help you." If you are a supplier, allow the customer to purchase your products on consignment. That is, they only pay for what they sell. The more you can do to build credibility with a potential buyer, the greater your chances of obtaining him as a regular customer.
Follow-Up
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Sometimes, your sales canvassing will become a multiple-step process with certain customers. You may not make the sale the first time you call on them. Try to schedule an additional appointment as soon as possible. The longer you put off a second meeting, the more time a customer has to conjure up additional objectives of why she should not by from you.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit sales person making an appointment image by Peter Baxter from Fotolia.com
