Selling Tips
I cant sell, I hear you say. Rubbish, everybody can sell. If you ever got hired, sold your car or sold yourself to another person (ie. got married or formed a relationship), you have proven your ability to sell. We sell ideas to others all the time, we just dont see it as selling.
The role of a sales person is to find out what the customer wants rather than whether the customer wants something at all. Once this is done, a sales person should then help the customer satisfy that need to the customers satisfaction. The principle skills a winning salesperson needs are:
* Putting your customers in a acceptance state of mind, making them feel at ease and unpressured.
* Showing interest in their questions or issues.
* Using opinions as selling points (both yours and theirs).
* Supplying facts and helpful information.
* Meeting objections in a positive way and never becoming defensive or aggressive.
* Seeing things from the customers point of view.
* Suggesting additional merchandise or services.(Value adding)
* Building repeat business.
Its important that you learn to apply these techniques, although if you use tact, friendliness, honesty and you know what youre talking about, youre 90% there. Not difficult when you think about it.
I know of quite a few owners of small businesses who would never consider themselves sales people but have remarkable success at selling their wares by just being themselves. Is this being a good sales person? Probably.
An old friend of mine, Peter owns a applicance shop in one of Perths trendier suburbs. He spent many years of his life working for Australia Post. It never ceases to amaze me, and his business partner, how this untrained person can sell products by just being himself. He is a natural salesman.
On the days he looks after the shop instead of his partner, the sales are always up compared to when hes not there. If you were to ask him if he thought he was a good salesman he would probably say no, but the sales figures speak for themselves.
He does it by being a friendly, likeable person that loves a joke and a chat with his customers. Most of his clients would never go elsewhere because they like him. Im sure even if he put his prices up, he would still attract the same clients because they have a rapport with him. They feel good about shopping at his store; he makes sure they do. Everybody can sell, simply use your own personality and be friendly and courteous. Treat customers the way you would like to be treated.
Top sales people make a point of remembering regular customers names, ensuring each time they come to the store they receive a small discount or offering other little extras like helping them to the car with their parcels. As I mentioned before with my friend, he fosters friendships with his regular customers. This fosters loyalty to the business by the customer, quite often regardless of price, because they get preferential treatment. Youve probably had the feeling yourself when you constantly use a particular business and each time you walk in the people dont just ask for the order.
Generally, sales people feel awkward about asking the customer for the order. These sales people will never be really successful in sales. A lot of sales are lost simply because the sales person doesnt put the onus back on the customer to make a decision, they simply leave the whole matter up in the air which allows the potential customer to quietly move out the door without having to commit themselves to a buying decision. How many times do you do this? I do it all the time and think to myself, Im glad nobody put me under pressure, I probably would have spent money.
This article supplied by forex trading, sales training and web design brisbane.
Gold, Oil, and Forex
Oil, Gold and the foreign exchange are three different markets that are intertwined. If you are into Forex trading, knowing what one does may give you an insight where the other markets may be going. It would be useful to become familiar with those different markets as a trader and have some Forex education.
Lets have a look at those intertwined markets and how they are all connected.
GOLD
There is an inverse correlation for markets such as gold or oil that are priced in U.S. dollars in the finance world. When the U.S. dollar drops, not only do foreign currencies increase in value, but gold prices also increase. Studies have shown a negative correlation between gold and the dollar that is, they almost never move in in-step, but almost always move in opposite directions.
The value of EUR/USD versus gold prices, on the other hand, shows a very high positive correlation, this means that the value of the euro and gold prices often go hand-in-hand, suggesting these markets are both beneficiaries when funds are flowing away from the U.S. dollar.
Gold prices may be considered as an important component in the analysis of the forex market. A trend change in gold price may give a good indication to where the USD may be heading in the foreign exchange market.
OIL
A rise in oil prices directly relates to a weakness in the American. Foreign oil producers view the increase in oil prices as a way to maintain their buying power in U.S. dollar terms. Forex brokers will tell you to counter the impact of higher oil prices a weaker dollar could ultimately give rise to inflation.
Oil is a key commodity driving global economic growth, and oil prices and the foreign exchange have a key relationship in the global market.
Now lets have a look at the impact an increase in the oil price may have on the different major trading currencies around the world.
Japan: Economy suffers as it relies on imports for most of its energy needs, therefore the Yen weakens.
UK: Benefit the economy as UK produces oil. British pound strengthens.
Oil in world business has a heavy impact on the Forex market. Thus any disturbance in supply is likely to affect the foreign exchange market.
Some of these factors may be terrorist attacks, natural disasters and political instability. In such times a shift from the dollar to the euro as the designated currency in crude oil could occur thus causing an immediate drop in the value of the U.S. dollar.
Gold and oil are not the only commodities affected by changes in forex rates. Exports of agricultural produce account for a large share of U.S. domestic income.
When the value of the dollar rises, it tends to limit buying interest from an importing nation as the commodity becomes too expensive in terms of that nations domestic currency.
When the value of the dollar declines, it reduces the price to an importing nation in terms of its currency and encourages it to buy more U.S. agricultural products. The influence that one market has on another market naturally shifts over time so these relationships are not static but should be the subject of ongoing study.
You as a Forex trader should be aware of the influence that those different markets have on the Forex. Though the changes may not be instantaneous, it may however tip you off on any possible trend changes in the near future. Happy trading. BSFT220409