The key to selling more 99% of the time

WHAT is the most overlooked secret of selling?
To answer this question, you’ve got to understand first that selling or closing the sale is an outcome. It is something that happens only after several other things must have happened. Meaning, sales is not made in an instant. Several factors must be well aligned long before the decision to buy is made.
So here’s the most overlooked secret of selling; eliminate every barrier to sale! That’s as simple as it sounds. To sell more 99% of the time, get rid of every hindrances to making the sale. In other words, to make the sale, shorten the buyers’ decision process.

How To Sell More
To sell more, you need to understand how people buy. People make buying decisions daily. Meaning that people naturally love to buy stuff; there’s an intention to buy. They just need help going through the buying decision process. So what does this suggest to you as an entrepreneur? The problem with selling is not from the target buyers per se, but from you the seller. To the buyer, buying is a decision. To the seller, buying is sales. To sell 99% of the time, as the seller, you need to see from the buyer’s perspective. To them, what you call sales is a decision they make after considering several things. So, customers will buy if the seller can make the decision to buy easy for them.

Customer Buying Decision Process
Buyers go through 5 critical stages that influence the sales. Understanding them is how you unlock the secret to selling more 99% of the time.
Need Recognition – The buying process begins with need recognition. This is when a buyer identifies a problem that requires solution or a need that must be met. There are two sources from which the buying process is initiated;
• Internal Stimuli
• External Stimuli

The buying process triggered by internal stimuli is when the buyer’s recognition of a problem is inspired by the desire to satisfy basic human needs such as; food, shelter, security, etc. But the buying process triggered by external stimuli is when the buyer’s recognition of a problem is inspired by the desire to satisfy other higher human wants that are shaped by the environment such as cars, vacation, and luxury goods etc. To sell more 99% of the time, as an entrepreneur, you must understand the source from which your target customers’ buying process is initiated. In other words, you must know why your target customers are in need of what you sell.

Information Search – The second step of the buying process is information search. This describes the period of identifying various providers [sellers] of the solution to the problem or need identified above. In other words, where do potential buyers go to look for potential sellers?

Personal Sources: this refers to information about sellers gathered from family, friends, neighbours, acquaintances etc. in other words, information about sellers obtained from referrals through word-of-mouth [free marketing].
Commercial Sources: this refers to information about sellers gathered from advertising, salespeople, websites, dealers/agents, packaging, displays, etc. In other words, information about sellers obtained from paid marketing.

Public Sources: this refers to information about sellers gathered from internet searches, mass media, news, consumer rating organizations. In other words, information about sellers obtained from respected third party sources.

Experiential Sources: this refers to information about sellers gathered from using the product, handling the product and examining the product. In other words, information about sellers obtained from personal experience. To sell more 99% of the time, you’ve got to make your brand, product, service or company visible to your target customers through the above sources. Different target customers use different information search sources. So the more relevant the information search source you use, the more sales you stand to make.

Tito Philips Jnr. is an unusual Nigerian that is MAD – Making A Difference
To Be Continued Next Week