Upholstery Journal recently published a helpful article on how to follow through on a sales pitch. While the tips provided aren’t specific to auto upholstery, it’s easy to see how they can help improve the process through which most shops give estimates and close deals.
Upholstery Journal writes:
Sales strategies might serve different objectives and involve different tactics, but for the most part they are universal to businesses of any size, follow the same trends, and transcend industries. Building solid relationships with customers is the underlying goal in successful selling, and that involves the art of communication, ability to listen, and willingness to provide insights into customer needs. This is especially true when you’re selling a premium product as opposed to a commodity. […]
[T]here are four basic pillars that must be established, in order, with your customer before they will buy from you:
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- The customer must like and trust you.
- The customer must believe in your company.
- The customer must value your solution.
- The customer must agree with the price.
“When you have those strategies in that order as your foundation, then price is not as much of a concern because you’ve centered your relationship on those top three,” Baumgartner [sales professional] says. “How do you do that? You ask a lot of questions about them. It’s your job to draw out of the customers what matters to them. You do it because you want to help them reach their goals.”
To read the full article, including advice on how to close sales pitches with difficult or skeptical customers, see “Selling Through to the End”. Also, check out our article “5 Tips for Turning Callers into Customers“.
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