5 Sales Tips you don't want to miss!

FIVE TIPS FOR AMAZING SALES!   Sitting in a meeting with some of the best photographers in the country, one of the speakers reminded me of the sales principles that we live and breathe in our studio, so I thought I would share FIVE SALES TIPS we live by.   1. Friendship selling When clients=friends, sales become much easier, more comfortable and highly successful. As Tim often teaches, we think of our clients as cousins. They are family, but NOT intimate family. Yes, we're involved in their lives, sending notes and texts and keeping in touch...but, we're careful to avoid becoming too intimate.   2. Listen People don’t like to be sold — but they love to buy. You MUST find common ground and the best way is to chit chat a few minutes before taking the client into the sales room and starting the sale.    Find out what makes them tick (most of the time, it's their kids) and listen at least twice as much as you talk. It's often called "active listening" and is one of the most important skills you can cultivate.    Most think the the smooth talker is the key to higher sales. NO. It is the one who listens best that wins!   3. Tell stories. There is no better way to communicate with your client than to tell stories. For thousands of years, human beings have shared knowledge and ideas from generation to generation by using storytelling. We’re naturally wired to receive and give information to others by telling stories. Tell stories to find common ground with your client. Stories build trust and create a sense of connection.    4. The Presentation. Using ProSelect to show portraits of our clients in their homes and on their walls has been revolutionary for us and greatly increased our numbers.    We set aside plenty of time...no rushing allowed. To prepare, we pre-select our favorite images (prepped, retouched, in frames and hanging on their walls) and the ones we show are the ones purchased nearly 100% of the time.    5. The Close. The point I want to make here is to listen for the client's language to change. We call it taking ownership and it is where the client themselves start talking about the portraits hanging in their home, agreeing with what we have presented.    At this point, stop talking and take the order. You are done!