Sales Programs

There are many different sales programs, techniques and approaches currently in use in many different industries. Virtually every industry must sell something in order to achieve profitable status. Here is a brief overview of some of the most common and successful sales programs.

Consultative selling

This is also known as needs-based sales. With this technique, you interview the client or customer to determine which needs are most easily met with which products or services you offer. This is highly successful, because the customer is able to understand the value of the product or service that he or she is interested in purchasing.

The hard close

This method of sales is often attributed to the proverbial used car salesman. In this situation, your customer obviously has a need. Instead of interviewing to the need, it is common to "upsell" to a customer, in order to convince them to purchase something of a higher value, even though the customer does not necessarily need it.

"No, no, yes" selling

This is a combination of the previous two methods. It is based on a customer's inability to make a firm decision the first time a product or service is offered. "No, no, yes" refers to the phenomenon that occurs when a customer initially refuses what is sold, but on further contemplation decides that he or she does, in fact, want to purchase what you are selling.

Using one of these sales programs, it is possible to increase your commissions. Paying attention to your customer's needs while remembering that you are, after all, attempting to sell something and make a living is a delicate balance most easily maintained with a commitment to ethics and integrity.