sales tips

Entrepreneurs venture into new or existing markets for a sole reason- to provide something new. Even if the product one is offering is old, one can always revamp it and add value to it. Entrepreneurs in their whole process forget a fundamental aspect- they exist for the customers and not the other way round.

“Why”: an elaborated version

If an entrepreneur is venturing into the cosmetics market and coming out with a range of lip balms, s/he needs to identify the core features in their product which will set them apart from all the other lip balms in the market. If one is offering the same thing as other, customers will not be inclined to buy the product.

Customers are focused on how they can reduce their expenses and still derive maximum benefits out of a product. That doesn’t mean that one can afford to play around with the quality aspect while reducing the costs.

There is a sole reason as to why a person decides to make and sell something and that is the product’s USP. You need to be aware about WHY the product needs to be in the market and convince your target audience accordingly.

For instance, the concept of the Tata Nano was received well because it offered a cheap and small car which fulfilled all the needs. But the USP of the car was its price which helped it gain an edge over all competitors.

Research the “why”

Just an idea isn’t enough to sustain in the market if people aren’t ready to buy it. Customers won’t buy an idea if you aren’t solving any problem or aren’t of any use to them. for instance, Dell laptops are successful in the market because they are trendy and reliable and come in reasonable prices as compared to a Mac.

Similarly, if the why aspect of your product isn’t very strong, you are likely to fail at your venture. Research and try to build a strong case for your why to shine through. Kellogs came out with the tagline “Breakfast like a king” to promote cereals. This instilled awareness amongst the public that breakfast was an important meal and should be nutritious and Kellogs is a good and healthy way to start your day. Also, the cereals need to be put in milk which isn’t time-consuming as compared to cooking a whole breakfast. Thus, the company was successful only because they managed to gain popularity through an awareness they managed to create through their ads.

Also, the positioning of the company should be surrounding the problem so that the customers believe your product to be the solution and purchase it over other products in the market.

“Why” for the win

At the end of the day, an entrepreneur needs to sell more than just the product to the customers. They need a reason to purchase the product which the entrepreneur must be able to identify without which the whole idea of selling a product seems to be pretty redundant.

Along with the product, if one can sell a story or emotions, it is a great and easy way to capture the target audience and have them coming back for repeat purchases.

For instance, every Raksha Bandhan Cadbury comes up creative ads displaying the love between a brother and sister duo blossom further due to Cadbury products. This helps the sellers connect with the audience and gives them a “why” to buy the product.

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With everything necessary in place, sales need to boom for a business to become more successful. All startups, companies, brands and services hope to increase sales for higher profits. For higher sales, people invest relentlessly in marketing and social media which are undoubtedly important, but, tend to miss out on more important qualities. However, there are certain qualities which are very important if one wants to increase sales:

1. Flexibility

A startup needs to display an easy-to-work-with nature which is very necessary for the company to grow. If people find your product or service to be flexible, they’re more likely to buy from you. A customer can make out through the services offered if his money and time is worth the investment by the sales pitch that is made to them.

For instance, Ola offers night-time services during peak hours with a nominal added charge which displays their flexibility in timing while offering you varied services.

2. Integrity and good-natured people often take the cake

Customers will prefer a good-natured startup over one which refuses to interact at all. They find it easier to adapt to a brand which is friendly and jolly. Also, integrity is very important to the customer. In case, a sales person is unable to address a query, the customer is not very willing to buy a brand the employees are unsure of. Customers also believe committed people are more likely to provide better after-sales and customer services.

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3. Patience

If you’ve set up a startup today, you can’t expect it to bear you fruits the next day. You need to be patient and willing to wait for customers to pour in and word of mouth to build slowly. In that time, you should apply a pull strategy to try and pull your target group towards your offering. Also, an entrepreneur should make sure to know how to deal with a detour or a roadblock and get back on track in no time.

Example: Sale of Maggi was banned; as soon as it was re-launched, Nestle’s PR team did a brilliant job to push sales and the results were evident.

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Tag: sales tips

Focus on the “why” while selling your product