Mastering 3 different sales styles

I like to think of my sales efforts as being a combination of three different approaches. Soft sales, Hard Sales and Automated Sales. Any selling that you do to your customers will likely include elements of all three of these approaches, so it’s important to improve your skills in each one. Many businesses are deficient in one or more of these three areas. After this video, you may realize what areas you are missing out on with your sales efforts. Being a good sales person, is all about communicating effectively and it’s something you should examine and work on as a business owner or freelancer. Warren Buffett was being interviewed by a young entrepreneur who asked him for one piece of advice for 21-22 year- olds who just graduated. Buffett said this: “Invest in yourself. One easy way to become worth 50 percent more than you are now at least is to hone your communication skills. If you can’t communicate, it’s like winking at a girl in the dark: Nothing Happens. You can have all the brainpower in the world, but you/ve got to be able to transmit it” He is right. Successful people are often the best communicators, or in other words, the best sales people. So, let’s get into each of these sales approaches:

Number 1 – Soft Sales

- A soft sales approach is one that is low on pressure, high on trust in the relationship. Soft sales typically happen as a result of long term relationship with someone. As a business broker, I engage in soft sales all the time. I represent sellers as clients and have customers who are buyers looking at the inventory of businesses I have to sell. I’m going to have a hard time encouraging someone to buy a business with anything but a soft sales approach. Buying a business is a big decision and it isn’t made lightly. Also, it takes time to investigate a business, go through due diligence and get through the process. I deal with many people that continually check back on new businesses that we have listed. They are looking for the perfect opportunity for them. If they tell me a business they are looking at isn’t going to work for them, I will try to resolve any concerns they have but I’m not going to put a lot of effort into trying to talk them into it because I’m not really in the business of forcing people to get into a business opportunity that they aren’t excited about. It has to be a good fit for them. I try to navigate doing a good job of communicating positive things about the business while respecting the buyer’s time and needs. It is sort of a low pressure kind of sale.

- In my entertainment business, I also engage in soft sales. I work with event planners all over the world who hire us regularly to provide entertainment for corporate events and weddings. They know that if they ask me for options for a particular event, I’m not going to kick and scream if their client decides it’s not the right fit for the event. In these kinds of sales, I often need to approach these relationships with caution. If I feel the entertainment that I’ve suggested is perfect for the event, I may push a little bit and try to communicate why what I’m offering will be great for their event but I don’t want these regular clients to feel uncomfortable or like they are working with the stereotypical “used car salesmen” (no offense to car salemen). In this business I use a combination of all the sales techniques we are talking about today.

- The most important element of mastering the soft sale is building a relationship of trust with your client and the best way to do that is to really try to find a product for them that they will be happy with. Consistently suggesting and delivering exactly what is needed for them will build you lifelong clients. Sales approach

number 2 – Hard Sales

- So, a hard sales approach is the opposite of everything we have just discussed. A hard sales approach expresses a sense of urgency. It is a higher pressure sales approach. It’s all about getting your client to make a decision now and convincing them that the product you have is just what they need. Sometimes a hard sales approach has a negative connotation to it. Sometimes that is justified. We all have experienced sales people that were disrespectful or dishonest and were too pushy, but you don’t have to have those qualities to master the skills of the hard sale. You can be genuinely concerned about the needs of your client while applying a little pressure. Let me give you an example:

- With my entertainment business, I often have a client that has expressed an interest in a band or act that I’ve pitched for them. Sometimes they say something like “well let me talk with my people this next week and I’ll get back to you on what we are thinking”. In these situations, I have every desire to respect my client’s need to think about things but sometimes we are dealing with a situation where their event is on a busy date, or the act that they are considering is very popular. In these situations, I often make sure to “express urgency”. We work on a first come first serve basis. The first client that gets us our signed contract and retainer gets that date. By applying a little pressure but still respecting my client’s needs, I can let them realize that they don’t always have all the time in the world.

- Other examples where it is important to be good at hard sales are when you are selling a product and there is a high chance of your customer not really ever talking to you again unless they buy right now. In these situations, it’s usually appropriate to get them to make a decision. Vehicle salesmen, door to door sales, telemarketing, and many direct to consumer sales businesses know what I’m talking about. To be good at hard sales, it’s important to have answers quickly, especially to common concerns. It’s often helpful to have pre-written scripts made that assist you in your efforts to be efficient since in these situations, time and brevity is your ally.

Number 3 – Automated sales

- The best kinds of sales are when your promotional materials and product do all the selling for you. I call this automated sales and I’m a big, big fan of it. With all my businesses, I have lots of promotional videos and pictures and websites and social media and places that our customers can go and get all their questions answered. By the time our clients talk with someone about a product that they may be interested in, I already want them to be as sold as possible. If you can let your product do the selling for your, not only will it make your job easier, but you will be able to control the messaging and branding better. This is especially true if you have a sales team working for you. Everyone is using the same promotional materials. I put a lot of effort into this. The best part is, once you create it, it doesn’t take up any more of your time. It’s there, working for you.

- Another example of automated sales is processes that you can put in place for people to book or purchase your product or service without talking to any sales person. This can be done on your website or on an app or through forms, etc. This may not be the best fit for every kind of business but the point is, you should be looking at the most effective way to use automation and pre- produced sales materials as possible So there you have it. The three kinds of sales that you will likely be involved in with your business. Get good at all three and you will have a very strong and effective sales force working for you. Each industry is different but in most cases, you will be using all three. Take some time to examine where your sales strategy is weak. You may have a really strong sales team but weak promotional materials. I see this all the time. I sometimes see a very professional looking website and everything looks super legit and professional but nobody will answer the phone. Sometimes people are too pushy, when they should be taking more of a soft sales approach. Sometimes people don’t express enough urgency. Examining where your business is in all of this is a valuable exercise in maximizing what you are able to do with your product.

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