Sales Is Illogical

Here’s something that salesmen understand, even if the rest of the world doesn’t like to: people make decisions based on emotion, not logic. They may purchase that insurance policy under the pretense of practicality, but there’s a layer of anxiety underneath that is driving them to sign that dotted line. This means that while people asking for “one good reason” to buy anything are just

The Point-Counterpoint Dance

One of the most delicate parts of sales is the whole point-counterpoint back and forth that exists between a salesman and a resisting customer. On one hand, the salesman wants to sell the product and is supposed to a number of possible solutions to break through the wall of objections that blocks that purpose. On the other hand, salesmen still need to be friendly and avoid hard selling, even for products as innocuo

Cold Calling Killers

Whether people like them or not, cold calling is one of those things sales departments do that really annoy people. Being called by a motorcycle attorney out of the blue is generally a nuisance and a disturbance of one’s own personal time, but for that rare person, it is a good opportunity to learn more about a product or service. Aside from the annoyance factor, though, there are other reasons for this strat

When Function Beats Form

Many retailers believe in the saying “form over function”. This means that marketers and sellers are more emphasizing the packaging and retailing of the product, rather than the product itself. Today, let’s take a look at that axiom from the consumer’s point of view. After all, even salesmen are themselves customers in the marketplace. I just received the HLLY USB Soundcard I bought from an

Selling Someone on an Upgrade

One of the goals of software is to make people comfortable in using them. Adobe Photoshop, for example, is a stable and multi-faceted photo editing suite that is WYSIWG – “what you see is what you get.” Microsoft Office is much the same, even if the ribbon interface used in newer versions can sometimes throw people in for a loop when looking for their favorite obscure functions. In many ways, the more

Location, Location, Location Applies to Online Sales Too

The customer is everything when it comes to sales. That’s the reason why companies pay the big bucks for those advertising campaigns, marketing strategies, and customer awareness surveys. Before the customer is inclined to make a purchase, he or she has to know about the product, need or want what’s on offer, and trust the brand. There are a number of things that are important to any establishment that