Today we have a good friend coming to stay on her way to one of the biggest antique markets in the UK and that got me thinking…
You see, we’ve often helped my friend with her market stall, especially after she lost her husband to cancer. We’ve stalled out (technical term!), dealt with customers and even minded stalls for other stallholders when they needed a quick break.
All of that has been, for me, a priceless education not only in the art of selling but in dealing with customers face to face. I think markets correlate closely to the online world – you pick the right products, lay them out attractively for your customers and are then available to answer their questions etc
Stallholders like my friend never push for the sale. They are far too professional for that. Go to any reasonably upscale market (she sells vintage and new jewellery as well as handcrafted textiles) and you’ll see the stallholders sitting back, allowing the customers to approach them. No shouting or hustling. They know they have a good product.
With all that in mind, this week I’d like to share with you some selling tips and tools. These apply whether you sell services, products, are an affiliate or are yet to test the waters…
First up, I recommended a PayPal course yesterday because I know how crucial it is to remain in good standing with them. Unfair, I know, but they are such a trusted brand – at least for the consumer – that it can literally cripple your business if things go wrong.
That said, there are alternatives. I already shared this list yesterday with one gentleman among you and I thought it might help if I l shared it with our wider community:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/top-12-alternatives-paypal/
Branding your communications effectively can really help not only to give you that professional edge but also to create trust with your prospects, leads and customers…so you sell more. I found a great free tool this week that you can use to snazz up your signature and even add a pic or logo to it:
Another great tool to make your signature work harder for you is TimeTrade. With this, your prospects can just put themselves on your calendar so your appointment is all set up. The free version allows for 5 appointments a month – try it out and you can always upgrade later if you like it:
Dave Navarro’s a guy who really knows how to sell online and in this article he tells you how identifying your three core customers will help you sell a lot more:
http://www.thelaunchcoach.com/sell-products-online/sell-product-core-customer
While you’re there, check out his other articles – full of good, solid information.
Your Kindle freebie this week is an excellent read on how to boost sales of Kindle books by applying the 70:30 content marketing rule – this is only free 24-26 May so grab it now!
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-70-30-Book-Content-Marketing-ebook/dp/B00JYIQZSU/
This week’s TED talk is a wonderfully witty take by Nigel Marsh on how to create a work-life balance that suits you…so you actually produce more:
