To apply the sales techniques that are really useful to us, we must first know what a sales process is like and, specifically, what the sales process used by our company is like.

Sales teams use sales techniques with the objective of increasing profits. Knowing which of them is the right one to apply in your company will be based on experience. But here we can give you some tips.

All sales processes have the same three elements without which the process would not exist: customer, sales assistant and product.

In some processes there are some additional elements (intermediaries, competitors, channel, …) that will affect the process. And, in addition, we must take into account what the sales process of our company is like and what stages it is made up of.

The selling process starts with a customer’s intention to buy. It is necessary to take in mind, before initiating the process a key factor: you must know your product or service perfectly. It will be much easier to follow the process and apply sales techniques if we are experts in our product.

To sell it will be necessary to follow logical steps that, in an orderly manner, are included in the sales process. Otherwise it will be useless to apply any sales technique.

The sales process stages are:

• Establish first contact.
• Identify customer needs.
• Present your product, solve doubts, offer your product knowledge to the customer.
• Seal the deal.
• Do the follow-up.

Each stage of the process affects the customer’s perception of our company and/or product. The more knowledge you have of the product, the customer and the competitor, the more persuasive you will become.

It will depends on the type of selling that our company is doing. We will not be able to apply the same techniques in a door-to-door sale, a shop sale, an itinerant sale, or in a call center or in a on line sale.

Salespersons must know how to deal with different situations that can happen in a sale through the use of the following techniques.

There are “psychological” techniques that work thanks to the manipulation of the client’s mind (yes technique, name technique, usage of scents).

But in this article we are going to concentrate on the techniques that are applied to improve or focus sales according to the needs of the company.

This method classifies the questions we can ask a client into 4 types:

• Situation Check if your offer can meet customers’ needs.
• Problem: Identify what the customer needs to resolve.
• Implication: Repercusiones del problema.
• Needs (or benefits): Show the added value of the product.

Asking these questions helps you to discover the best way to help the customer obtain what they need. It is very similar and reminds a lot of the Advisory Selling. This model is based on placing the sales assistant in a Consultant or Advisor role.

It is perfect when we have a choice of possibilities to offer the customer and we can help you to decide which one is right for him.

This methodology defines a sequence of stages that we must bring to the customer to get to close a sale, build customer loyalty by turning him into a promoter of our products or services.

• Necessity: Identify a customer shortfall as an opportunity to sell.
• Attention Attract the client’s senses to awake their curiosity.
• Interest: Once the attention has been attracted, we must generate customer interest by showing that our product meets their needs.
• Confidence: Generate security and tranquility in the customer will make you move forward in your desire to purchase. Generating trust is essential.
• Desire: To arouse in the customer the need to possess the product. It can provoke even the feeling of fear to lose the product if it is not bought at that moment.
• Action Buying the product or service offered.
• Satisfaction: The process is not finished with the purchase, because the purpose of the purchase is to satisfy a need. In this stage it is verified that the product acquisition fulfills the expectations and requirements of the client.
• Evaluation: This stage is exclusive to the client (although we can have an influence). If it is a positive evaluation about product and us, it will predispose the customer to future purchases and to recommend us in their environment.

This method is a variable of the AIDA methodology. Which is a faster method for often consumed products. And, it also concentrates on faster sales closings without taking so much account of customer loyalty.

On the other hand, the one I have defined is based on establishing a stable and lasting relationship with the client.

Therefore, generating customer trust is the most important way to make sales techniques work and help us generate customers and loyalty.

What tricks can help us build Trust? Write these four key points down:

• Image (of the sales person and the company):The personal image of the employee is also a reflection of the image that the company projects. Therefore giving a professional look can improve customer perception. Tools for professionally displaying a catalogue, such as our app for commercials can help strengthen our image and improve brand image.
• Empathize with the client to detect his need (even when he has not detected it 100%).
• Get to know our product for the use a customer can make of it. This will help us to solving needs and requirements and orient the process towards your total satisfaction.
• We must be ethical because each of our actions has consequences and can negatively affect our customer.

Sales techniques are a set of methods that will differ on how and which one to apply. And tools like urCollection can help us apply them more easily.

Above all they will result in support that will generate confidence in the customer about our product and improve our personal image and brand.