Thursday, October 2, 2014

Sales Promotion Techniques

Sales promotion techniques can be specialized to certain industries, but most techniques can be intuitive or learned by trial and error as you are in the process of selling. Simple advice for successful promotions like pre-qualifying leads, respecting the client, building a relationship and setting realistic goals are often not implemented in pitches, emails, phone conversations and marketing materials. TV commercials bombard people with information. If you are face-to-face or have a personal contact with your client, your techniques must be different.


Continuous Improvement and Tracking


Consider what you can accomplish daily, weekly, monthly or annually. Expectations that are too high will result in failure and stress, which will affect you mentally, physically and emotionally. Examine what sales promotion techniques you are using, if there was something you could have done better, what techniques your competition is using, and how you can implement them. Write what you can accomplish in terms of sales, calls or profit. Keep in mind that sales promotion techniques must be constantly improved.


Targeting


Many sales promotions try to attack too large an audience. Consider who you would want to talk to. If you are calling, you would not purchase a list of a million phone numbers from around the world. If your goal is to get people to come to your store, you would want to call only people who live within a certain radius of your store. If your product deals with homes, you would want your sales promotion to focus on private homeowners.


Questioning


Once you have a person in the store or on the phone, your goal is to determine if she has a need (or if you can create a need). If you are talking to a tourist, he will not be interested in coming to your car dealership, no matter what payment options you are promoting. Ask questions. Determine if this is someone who may be interested in your product, then begin your sales promotion.


Stories Sell


Anyone can make general statements that their product is the best and saves money. A sales promotion for a certain product must answer the question of what makes this product unique. Use numbers, percents and concrete experiences to show the client why they should buy your product and not the thousands of others on the market. Stories of success paint a picture for the client to get excited about the product and think, "If he can do it, so can I." A good sales promotion uses names and describes how the product affected a certain person.


Respect Sells


Respect the client, his needs and restrictions. A good sales promotion technique solves the client's' problem for him. If he can't pay the full amount, acknowledge his budget constraints and offer payments. If he is concerned with a certain aspect of the product, acknowledge the fear and explain how it can be resolved.

Tags: sales promotion, promotion techniques, would want, your product, good sales, good sales promotion, sales promotion techniques