Top-Notch Sales Techniques How to make the sale by seeing things from your customers' point of view

(YoungBiz.com) - Think back to the last time youconsidered a purchase, then walked out of a store without buyinganything. What was the deciding factor? Perhaps no one offered tohelp you. Or the salesperson didn't know the product. Or theprice was too high.

This kind of information is vital to your own business. Byseeing things from your customers' point of view, you'llgain a better understanding of what makes--or breaks--a sale.

Get It inWriting
One of the biggest challenges you'll face as a 'trep isletting potential customers know you're out there. It'sessential to have something in writing that you can post onbulletin boards or give out in the neighborhood. These days, youcan design almost any advertising product you need --from businesscards to fliers to banners--if you have access to a home computerand an inkjet printer.

That's what Melissa Gollick, 18, owner of MelMaps, acomputer graphics firm in Denver, did. And her business card hasturned out to be her most important sales tool. Gollick and herfamily hand it out everywhere they go. It's simple buteffective--the card shows a sample graphic and describes MelMaps asa computer graphics firm that produces location, vicinity, site andfloor maps.

Add a WebSite
Of course, there's a whole world out there, full of people whoneed things. Sure, you'll be able to reach a host of them byhanding out your business cards. But what about those potentialsales that are out of arm's reach?

You've got an advantage that businesses of generations pastdidn't--the Internet, of course. Many 'treps have foundthat selling in cyberspace is not only an important part of theirbusiness; it's critical.

Seventeen-year-old Chris Petree, who operates a bee-keepingbusiness in Yadkinville, North Carolina, says his Web site,www.ingenbees.com, keeps his business buzzing. "It's amedia I can use to reach the masses," he says. "A greatWeb site is worth the money." Even more so, he adds, if youcan build your own site: "The cost isn't too bad if youdesign your own."

While Petree also sells his honey and bee-related wares tooffline customers around his hometown, Jared MacDonald in Calgary,Alberta, says he couldn't exist without the Internet.That's because MacDonald, 20, sells snowboarding gearexclusively through his site, www.shredonline.com.

Solicit GoodReferrals
Taneka, Tianda, Tajuana, and Takeshia Reed, owners of T-Bags inCharlotte, North Carolina, started out by selling custom tote bags,and soon requests for other products like T-shirts, lunch bags andmugs came pouring in. They have learned the secret to boomingsales: happy customers telling other customers about yourbusiness.

T-Bags has no paid advertising. But the sisters maximize thebest selling strategy of all: word-of-mouth. "When people seesomeone wearing our products, they ask about them," Tanekasays.

"We get advertising from some of our special orders bypeople seeing our products and liking them," she explains.

As the Reed sisters have learned, even in this high-tech world,some of the best sales techniques are the tried and true. Know yourcompany, your product, your customer and your sales material.It's OK if you don't know the answer to a customer'squestion--just let him or her know that you will find out. Anddon't be afraid to give your customer an opportunity to buy.Lots of sales have been lost simply because a salespersondoesn't ask that all-important question: "Would you likeme to ring that up for you?"