How to Boost Your Sales Conversions

Are you achieving all the sales you could ever hope for? If not, don’t worry – I might be able to help. As sales professionals, we are performers, and performers need to perform. No matter how many sales we achieve, we always aim for more. More sales mean improving more lives, including our own.

But where should you look if your sales results are falling short? The answer lies in focusing on behaviors. A sale is the end product of proper behaviors. To increase your sales numbers, you need to look at the behaviors that drive those sales.

Understanding Buyer Behavior

To boost your conversions, you need to understand how buyers make decisions. Whether they’re purchasing a home, a car, or a pair of shoes, all buyers make a series of smaller decisions that lead up to the larger decision.

Imagine you’re buying a new television. You’ll ask yourself a series of questions:

• How do I feel about the television I own now?
• How much do I know about the available options?
• How much research do I still need to do?
• Whose opinion do I trust when shopping for televisions?
• Should I go to a specialty store or buy it at a big-box retailer?
• What size should the TV be to fit in my space?
• What features am I looking for in a new TV?
• How can I ensure the TV isn’t outdated shortly after purchase?
• What is the right price for a television?

These questions, and many more, often roll around in our subconscious as we shop. They are rarely written down but significantly influence our decision-making process.

The Role of the Sales Professional

This is where you, as a sales professional, can shine. Your job is to help customers bring these subconscious decisions to the surface. The key is to ask the right questions that will help clarify what they’re looking for and why.

When you show customers a room, feature, or detail, your questions should help them see the perceived value. It’s crucial that they agree with the value they see in what you’re showing.

Moving from Closing to Agreement

In sales, we often talk about “closing” the deal. However, I prefer the term “agreement.” Closing implies something you do to a customer, while agreement is something you do with a customer. The goal is not to get them to agree with you but to get them to agree with themselves.

Small agreement questions throughout the process force customers to consciously consider how they feel about what you’re presenting. These questions make them ask themselves:

• How do I feel about this?
• What do I think about that?
• Does this provide the value I’m looking for?

The Power of Simple Questions

Your questions don’t need to be sophisticated. In fact, a simple question like “Neat, huh?” can be very effective. Any question that gets the customer to nod their head in agreement – not with you, but with themselves – brings you closer to the final decision.

By making subconscious agreements conscious, you provide the greatest value to your customer.

Practical Application: Small Agreement Questions

This week, focus on practicing small agreement questions. Instead of asking, “Would you like to buy this home?” back up and ask things like:

• “What do you think?”
• “Do you like that?”
• “How’s this fitting for you?”

These small agreements will significantly enhance your ability to convert more sales and boost your results.

Final Thoughts

Remember, the key to boosting your sales conversions lies in the small questions that help your customers make subconscious decisions conscious. This method provides value and builds a stronger connection with your clients.

Before you go, many of the principles from today’s lesson are inspired by my book, Closing 2.0, featured this month in the Shore Store. If you want to learn more about closing more sales faster by putting your customer first, head over to shop.jeffshore.com today to check it out.