Try these tools for more effective selling

The greatest inventions in the world would have never been known if it weren't for effective selling. Products and services that are used by people must be sold to people.

Selling is not excluded to just products and services either. Think about it. Parents sell their children on the importance of a clean room, and children sell their parents on letting a best friend camp over for the night. A boss sells the importance of working overtime, and an employee sells the idea of improving a company policy.

Effective selling contributes to personal fulfillment and professional productivity. Here are a handful of tools, tips and habits to increase your sales:

Know what you are talking about. This is also known as product knowledge. You are in big trouble if you are unsure about what your product or service offering is. Know everything there is to know about your product, service or idea. Always be on the look out for ways to improve your knowledge about your offering.

Establish the right prospect targets. Trying to sell meat to a vegan is unlikely. There is a reason cereal commercials are most often aired on programs with a kid audience. Find out who your best prospects are for your product and service. Create lists of the organizations and the companies and the people that fit your target. Make the best use of your time and energy by focusing on your primary targets.

Set your goals. Earl Nightingale said, "To achieve happiness, we should make certain that we are never without an important goal." Written goals help to focus the mind and provide personal motivation. You might have a goal to make three sales calls to new prospects per day. You might have a goal to close one sale per week or to close 75 in a year. Your goal might be to earn $100,000. Set your goals, review them often and evaluate your progress.

Be organized. If you are showing up to a sales appointment late and unprepared you can almost guarantee to waste your time and the time of your prospect. Being unorganized communicates incompetence and withers credibility. Preparedness increases sales. Don't, however, wait to be perfectly prepared because that rarely happens.

Understand pain and pleasure. The two most powerful motivators are pain and pleasure. People go to great lengths to avoid pain and to experience pleasure. How does your product or service solve a problem? What is the pain people experience by not using your product? How does your offering improve their life? We tend to buy products and services that we believe will lead to less suffering and more happiness. Albert Einstein was correct when he said, "We all try to escape pain and death, while we seek what is pleasant."

Initiate contact. Now it is time to make the phone calls, go to the networking functions, join the non-profit boards, be a vendor at the conferences, attend the community functions, etc., that best fit your target. Your prospect might never know who you are unless you make contact.

Sell an appointment. Carve out a time to meet. Avoid selling at your initial contact unless it is to sell an appointment. Grab your calendar and ask for the appointment whether it be conducted in person or on the phone. Send an email or leave a voicemail asking for an appointment. Let the prospect know how much time the appointment will take. It is a good idea to set an appointment for 10 minutes or less. If the prospect wants more information they will grant you more time.

Articulate your offering in 30 seconds. OK, you only get so much time to communicate your value. What can you share about your product or service in less than a minute? This message should take into account your expert product knowledge and an awareness of the pain and pleasure motivators.

Close the sale. Successful selling involves asking for the business and maintaining a relationship. You must ask for the sale in the form of a close. If your prospecting and qualifying is effective, the prospect will probably close for you. You might have to close more than once to make the sale.

Be pleasant to work with. Yes, that's right, no one likes to partner with someone exhibiting negative energy. Be an attraction, not a repellent. People like to be affiliated with optimism and pleasantry. You can have the best product in the world, but if your prospect does not like you success is unlikely.

Identify objections. What roadblocks stand in the way of a prospect making a purchase? Is it time, price, quality, or something else? If you can anticipate objections you won't be caught off guard when a prospect brings it up. Uncover your top five objections and craft your rebuttal dialogue.

Go for the referral. Business that is referred by current clients is what you are aiming for. Keep referrals in mind when you begin the selling process. The best way to get a referral is to do an outstanding job. If people think your product or service stinks, you can expect no referrals. Touch base with your customer after the sale to congratulate their decision and to make sure they are happy. Ask for the referral.

Practice and refine your presentation. What are the features and benefits of your product or service? What problems does it solve? What do current customers say about your product? What is your warrantee or guarantee? Get and deliver an organized presentation. Evolve it and make it better.

Let integrity be your guide. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "It is easier to cope with a bad conscience than with a bad reputation." Your success will be fleeting if you make a sale by lying, cheating and deceiving. The best kind of business is repeat business. Be honest and forthright if you want people to return.

Put some of these tools, tips and habits to use to increase your sales. Best of success to you!

Jeffrey Benjamin is the co-author of Real Life Habits for Success‚ and the founder of Breakthrough Training. Contact him through www.breakthroughtraining.com.