Easy Ways to Increase Sales

If you want to increase your sales quickly and simply, good customer service is your biggest asset. It will increase customer good will, willingness to buy and return visits. We talk a lot about sales skills, but if customer service is not the major part of sales, the sales skills are not going to help much.

I have been into many businesses where salespeople try to push me, bully me, and sometimes even shame me into buying. I don’t buy. If you provide me with good customer service, show you are interested in me, and engage me, I will willingly and happily buy from you and come back to buy more.

Customer service is a compilation of different skills that help you, the salesperson, focus on the customer, find out what s/he wants and meet their expectations with, not only your service but your products.

1. Introductions: Welcome your customers to your business and immediately introduce yourself. Usually if you introduce yourself the customer will introduces him/herself. If you don’t have a good memory, silently repeat the customers’ names three times and say to them:  John, Julie it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
2. Ask A Question: Any number of questions can be asked:
   • Are you enjoying the lovely weather?
   • Is this your first visit?
   • Did you have anything special in mind today?
   • Are you visiting the area (if you are in a tourist area).
   • You look familiar (if you think they may have been in before).
3. Listen to the Answers: It may be information you can refer back to that will help close a sale. People respond to people who pay attention, it makes them feel important. Don’t present a new query until your customers have finished answering the one before.
4. Be Patient: We all work at different speeds. Allow the customer the time to formulate an answer to your question or to make a decision. Count slowly and silently to five. Use the same 5-second rule when you ask customers if they have any questions. A lot goes through people’s heads before they ask a question. They may have trouble formulating the question or don’t want to ask a silly question or appear ignorant in front of others.
5. Relax when you are around customers. You know that you have fifty things you need to get done by the end of the day, but your customers don’t. It’s not appropriate to make customers uncomfortable because they are taking up your time.
6. Don’t Assume

You don’t know whether a stranger who walks into your business is going to buy or not. You might think you do, but truly you don’t. It is very human to judge people, we do it all the time. So if you find that you are judging, tell yourself that you may not be right. Then go about helping them to the buying decision.

Look for more customer service ideas next week

A tip of the glass from me to you