Here is a post by a guest blogger, my friend, Deb Bixler . Enjoy!
Define Sales Marketing
Sales is the art, science, and skill of creating more and more desire in the market place for your opportunity, product or services. Sales comes from a Scandinavian word that means to serve. Sales is a service business. When you serve your customers well you will make more sales. Businesses that operate with a sales or service focus are said to provide good customer service. When a business has good customer service, there will be more desire for their product, opportunity or services, and that in turn will result in sales.
Marketing Your Direct Sales Business
Let’s look at all the different parts of the direct sales marketing concept separately.
Art is closely tied to emotions. People connect on an emotional level. Using the art of connecting to people individually by focusing on their needs is truly the art of sales. When you do not include a focus on others in your sales pitch, then the sales are all about you or your products. Asking open-ended questions that give you more information about your customer, whether or not those questions actually relate to the sale, is a terrific way to learn more about your customers’ needs and how you may be able to serve them.
Science on the other hand is systematic. All successful companies are based on systems. If you are not getting the results that you want in your business, then take a look at your systems. Systems may be incorporated into your operation on many levels, including a system for presenting your product or opportunity, a system for closing the deal, a system for processing orders, etc. Systems make your business simpler and gives you a sales advantage. With good systems in place, you are freed up to focus on the emotional aspect of selling, which is essential.
Skills on the other hand, are based on practice. Practicing the art and science of selling gives you better skills. Practice brings sales and the more you practice, the better your skills, which in turn continues to generate more sales.
Good salespeople have the ability to generate desire in the market place for their product or service. Desire is when the customer wants what you have. When they want what you have, it is easy to sell or to serve their needs. How do you get them to want what you have? By sharing what is in it for them on an emotional level and understanding that everyone on earth is not going to have desire for what you are offering. It is important to realize that it is OK, because the person standing in front of you will not make or break your business. Sharing your wares on an emotional level takes practice. For example: A stainless steel whisk won’t sell well. A dishwasher-safe whisk may sell better. A whisk that will clean up in a snap and whisk you out of the kitchen to spend more time with your family will probably sell best.
Where is the marketplace? For a direct sales professional the marketplace is everywhere you go. That doesn’t mean you are talking business everywhere you go or every minute of every day. It means that you are connecting with people emotionally and sharing benefits of your company’s products, opportunity or services when appropriate, and using systems to fine-tune your skills at providing awesome customer service even when no sale is involved.
When you put art, science and skills to work in your business, sales will skyrocket. Learn more about Direct Sales Marketing at Create a Cash Flow Show.com
