Buying Signs!
The primary goal of salespeople, obviously, is to get their customers to make the decision to buy. We have all kinds of different techniques and skills that we use from the beginning of a sale to the end of one. Sometimes, however, we get so caught up in the process that it can be easy to forget to listen to the customer. They might be giving you buying signs at one point or another but are you recognizing them? Let's take a few minutes and remind ourselves what buying signs are and how to spot them.
The first thing to remember is that buying signs can be very obvious or extremely subtle. A customer may just say, "I'll take it." Those are words we all love to hear, and is the best buying sign of all. However not all signs are that transparent, and can be as subtle as "Will you take a check?" The truth is most buying signs fall somewhere in the middle. My broad definition of a buying sign is any question that is asked, or statement that is made about the purchase after both trust and value have been established in the prospect's mind.
There are far too many buying signs to cover here, below are a few examples:
"My wife would love that necklace"
"Can we get this delivered?"
"Do you have in-store financing?"
"This is exactly what we are looking for."
As stated earlier, a buying sign could come at anytime. It is possible that it could come in your initial conversation. For example, a customer may walk in and say, "I bought my wife's engagement and wedding rings from here many years ago and she loved them both." Even before the customer says another word, you all ready have two things established: trust and value. You can use the "ask-for-it" close by saying to the customer, "What can we get for you today that your wife will love just as much?" Once they tell you what they are looking for, then simply proceed to the selling steps that you know.
In reality buying signs are often very simple to recognize. But as with many things, sometimes we all over think the process. We have techniques in place for salespeople from the initial contact to the close, but we don't always need them. If the customer is ready to buy, then sell!
Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training and author of I'm a Salesman, Not a Ph.D.! and Munchies for Salespeople
Copyright 2011 Author retains ownership. All Rights Reserved.
