Small Business Strategies: Customize The Sales Process

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Photography Business Institute
Photography Business Institute

Erin and I are at WPPI in Las Vegas for the next few days motivating, inspiring and teaching small business owners to succeed in business. My platform today is from 8-10 am and I am teaching how to increase your sales so you can do what you love. Research has shown that businesses that succeed have higher sales and those that fail, often it is due to low sales. If you can’t make it, here is a bit from my program.

To succeed in any small business, you must have the ability to find out what people want and then create products to thrill and delight them. I am always curious what my clients do for a living because it gives me insight into their personality and buying style. This helps me not only create products they love but treat them the way they want to be treated. In turn, I have satisfied clients and am able to meet my sales goals too. I want to share with you three buyer styles and challenge you to think of how to sell you can start selling to them each differently.

1. The analytical client. Many times, this person works with numbers (i.e. accountant). They spend their days analyzing data and they make better decisions by having more data. When selling to this type of person, be sure to answer questions with details. For example, when he ask a how large a 30 inch wall portrait will be when framed, give him the exact sizes, don’t just point to a portrait on the wall.

2. The relationship client. This type of person values time and relationships and often works with people in a caring field such as social work, teaching, etc. To sell to her, plan to invest time chatting and building a relationship. If you rush this type of client, they will probably be afraid to make a decision. The more time you can invest prior to the actual sale will pay off when it comes time to make a decision.

3. The task-oriented client. This type of person is focused on productivity in their work (entrepreneurs, sales people, etc.) so when they come in, they don’t want to chitchat. They also don’t care about every little detail like the more analytical buyer. To sell to this type of client, make sure you are prepared and respectful of their time. For example, if she is coming in to select frames, this buyer will appreciate that you selected and pre-priced a few favorites. The easier you make this process for the task-oriented person, the happier they will be.

Now think about some of the clients you have sold to lately. Which type of buyer were they? Was there something you could have done to sell to them better now that you have identified their buying style?

For those of you who give your time and attention to read our blog and you aren’t able to be in our live program in Las Vegas at WPPI today, we are extending a special to help you become confident in the selling process and create your own system to help you make it as a photographer! Check out this new product “Triple Your Sales” Planning Kit and succeed in your business!

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