Selling Without “Selling”
You have to sell. Those revenues from product represent a big part of your practice’s profit picture and are a big part of the reason consumers come to you.
The key, however, is to do so without appearing to be selling. That is, in fact, a top way to convert new consumers into customers and to retain previous patients as well. As Warren Buffet says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Tip: The brain reacts to the descriptive power of stories in deeply affecting ways.
To help you do just that, here we share several savvy strategies for increasing consumer trust and completing a transaction without seeming to sell.
1.Tell a story. “The brain reacts to the descriptive power of stories in deeply affecting ways that influence both the sensory and motor cortex,” explains bestselling author Neil Patel.
2. Bring the brand to life. “Brand stories are not marketing materials,” reports Forbes magazine. “They are not ads, and they are not sales pitches. Brand stories should be told with the brand persona at center stage.”
3. Be an active listener. Ask open-ended questions. Jeremy Miner of 7th Level Communications, says, “Encourage dialogue in which the prospect does 80 to 90 percent of the talking so that they can persuade themselves through talking through their problems and potential solutions out loud.” Put another way, never suggest a solution until the client has disclosed and detailed a problem.
4. Use displays and signage to let your brands tell a story. Like being an active listener, that lets your brand tell a story, and that can help you be authentic and gain the trust of your client.
5. Send the right messages to the right people on social media. “Moms have the most spending power out of every vertical of consumers,” explain the experts at Convince and Convert. “Therefore, brands of every genre are teaming up with mom bloggers and reporting awesome brand lift and campaign results.” You can do it too by teaming with a local mom blogger group.
6. Be local/support local/sell local. Tap local influencers. Every community has them. Invite them to model your eyewear, offer a makeover, give them a discount, or support their favorite charity. And pick a local charity of your own that will be supported by your store and staff.
Be sure to feature made-in-America eyewear and give it a place of prominence. And, finally, create a buy-local section where you sell fashionable accessories or art made by local artists and artisans.
7. Stress sustainability in both product and practice. Tell a story in your displays about products and companies that value sustainability, how their eyewear is made differently, and how they invest in the environment. Fully two-thirds of Americans do, in fact, like to support environmentally conscious companies and products.
What strategies do you use to sell product without seeming too “sales-y”? Tell us about it and share in the conversation on Facebook here.
Erinn Morgan
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