Know your customer to improve suggestive selling

If you’re currently engaged in suggestive selling in your current role, you know that it’s a type of “add on selling” or “up-selling,” in which you suggest a product or service based on the customer’s needs.

If it’s useful to the customer, he or she will pay for it, resulting in a larger sale. And even if the customer does not purchase it, he or she often appreciates the personal attention and may be more inclined to use your company in the future.

Those who do engage in this type of selling on a consistent basis know it can be somewhat of an art form. There are certain ways to go about doing it that result in more sales and happier customers. A few tips include:

Don’t interrupt the customer. Because the customer is often talking about something they definitely want initially, it’s important to let them finish before suggestive selling. Interrupting the customer can create doubt in his or her mind, and send the wrong signal that you do not care about his or her needs.

Don’t be afraid to suggest things. It sounds like a no-brainer when we’re talking about suggestive selling, but sometimes employees can be afraid to do so, thinking they’re “bothering” or “overwhelming” the customer. On the contrary, customers often appreciate the extra, personal attention.

Understand the customer’s needs. This is a key component in suggestive selling. Does he or she need a greater quantity of what they’re ordering? Would another one of your products better fit his or her needs? Anticipating the customer’s needs and tailoring your pitch accordingly will result in more successes and happier customers.

Do you have any suggestive selling tips? Feel free to leave your comments here.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @CarnegieJersey.

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Tags: add on selling, dale carnegie training of central & southern new jersey, suggestive selling, understanding the customer's needs, up-selling

This entry was posted on August 30, 2010 at 11:21 am and is filed under Customer Service, Sales Effectiveness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.