3. Selling
I. Always sell at the highest price possible.
When selling anything, our mean goals must first be upon customer satisfaction, and secondly; making an adequate but favorable profit on the item sold. To do otherwise simply is a waste of time, effort and money.
In business, the only strategy is to make more money, and this is easily done by the margin of profit added on goods or service sold. By adding a percentage increase to the total cost of merchandise in our inventory will assure ourselves of a good return on our investment capital; enabling us to a financial reward for our venture risk, time and efforts.
II. Timing is everything in business.
Knowing what to sell is as important as knowing when to sell. Some particular merchandise call for knowing the right season in order to maximize our margin of profit, in summer; sell goods and services that complement long hot sunny weather, and in winter; sell goods and services that are in keeping with the cooler weather such as items that will keep us warm.
Let us not forget that some goods can only be produced seasonally, but if we warehouse these items for future sales (as they will be in short supply and in high demand) we can corner the market and make a fortune.
III. Know your product and who your customers are.
Good product knowledge can go a long way in helping us to make consistent sales; especially at times when we know what customers are willing to buy; even at times when customers themselves don’t know or are uncertain of what they want to purchase. Wide knowledge of all our products, goods and services can help us to successfully close many difficult sales, especially when customers’ become indecisive and need that extra push in the right direction.
Knowing our customer can help us to stock supplies that are sure to be bought. Customer knowledge eliminates guess-buying merchandise that waste precious resource, gathers dust and take up valuable shelf space. The better we know our customers; the better we become able to effectively anticipate and efficiently supply their particular needs. The better we know our products and services; the better we become at buying quality merchandise and giving quality service at the best price possible.
This principle of product and customer knowledge is the heart of growing a healthy and profitable business.
IV. Never appear desperate to sell anything.
When anyone believes or knows that we are in a desperate to sell anything, they automatically start to think suspiciously about us and our merchandise:
A. Does it work?
B. Was it stolen?
C. Is it safe?
In any one of the above case, we can be assured that almost everyone will be looking for a bargain at our expense. Therefore, even if we are in a situation like the above mentioned, it is advisable for us to play it cool, business as usual, and not allow our true motives to be visible to anyone.
Be very attentive to customers that are instead looking for a quick deal and eventually we will find an ideal buyer for our merchandise. Remember, whenever we find ourselves falling short of our projected sales quota; there is a sucker born every day, but make sure that sucker is not you.
V. Business is about demand and supply; whatever is in demand, supply it.
We enter business to make money for whatever reason that we may have, and in business; we will only make money when others what to buy the products and services that we are selling. To ensure that our inventory is sold for top dollar, we must stock our shelves with merchandise that are in high demand at any particular season.
Whenever we are selling any products or services that are in high demand, we are sure to make a good living. Furthermore, if that product or service is in high demand, and in short supply; we can make ourselves, partners and/or shareholders extremely wealthy.
VI. When demand is in short supply; sell high.
This principle applies to merchandise that are either rare, difficult to produce, or where demand is very high but the supply of this particular item is lacking in the market. When we have a situation similar to the above mentioned, we can easily increase our profits by simply increasing the percentage margin of the original sales price. This strategy is frequently employed to cover any reasonable short falls we may have had or forecast having.
Whenever the world markets run low on any commodity, we can be sure the value of that commodity will dramatically increase. Likewise, whenever we have a product or a service that only a few (or we alone) can supply; we, in accordance with our competitors, are strongly advised to increase the sales price to meet the demands of the present market.
Ideally, whenever there are no competitions for our products or services, we then have the power to operate in the market as a monopoly.
VII. When merchandise won't go; sell low.
This can be easily done by slightly discounting products that have short shelf life, and merchandise that are not moving as quickly as was expect. Items that are damaged and merchandise that are simply not selling can be discounted, if only to recover needed shelf space for merchandises that are selling quickly, or new inventory. The rule of thumb when discounting (if at all possible); never fall below the original cost of your overall purchase price.
We must understand; whenever we apply any percentage of discounts to our product or service, we are cutting profits and defeating the purpose of business. Therefore, it is strongly advised to carefully consider what we are going to do before we decide to discount any item.
If merchandises are not damage, or outdated, and it's selling; there is no need to consider discounting.
VIII. Everyone with money is a potential customer.
A lot of sales professionals are sold to the idea of establishing long lasting relationship with the customer, when in fact the simple truth is it's really the customer’s money that has more meaning to a sale than the actual person.
Let us not fool ourselves; the fact is and always will remain that a person with money is a better customer than a person without money. The more money a customer has; the bigger the sale that customer could and will make. Why is this fact? It's obvious; people with money or access to money are in a greater position to buy our products and services 100% more times than people without money or access to money.
Remember; if we're going to play the odds on picking potential customers, we stand a better chance of betting on people with money and easy access thereto; our bottom line depends upon it.
IX. Enthusiasm sells merchandise.
If we are not very excited about the products and services we sell, how can we expect our customers to be excited about buying anything from us?
In today's market, virtually everyone in business is selling the same merchandise or offering the exact services to the same few customers that are able to buy. We then need to convince customers that buying our products and service has far greater value for them (the customer), and buying from the competitions is simply wasting their money.
Our level of confidence and excitement for the products and services we offer will pass over onto the customers; making their buying experience exciting for them; and excited customers, on average, spends more money than customers that are bored, disinterested and dissatisfied.
Excitement can be very addictive and contagious; therefore, it stands to reason that customers receiving pitches from excited sales staffs (on any product or service they are selling) eventually themselves become excited about buying whatever product or service being promoted.
Remember, along with good product and customer knowledge; looking and feeling excited will help us to greatly increase our sales and profit margin...every time!!!
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