Inside this blog post, I'm sharing with you 5 sales techniques that will help you land the sale more often. Consider it your secret sauce to booking MORE of those dreamy, lovable clients.

You're wearing many hats in your business right now, and there is one that you might not be aware of. You put this hat on every day, too.

Including being in charge of everything from your website to payroll, you're also the lead salesperson for your business.

The role of sales might be the most crucial role of all…

First, let's get something out of the way: you need a sales strategy. If you don't have one, let's get you one. This article will help you to take charge and craft a sales strategy that will work.

Did you know that people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them? You can apply this principle to all strategies for your business: sales strategies, marketing strategies, and growth strategies. 

When you develop these areas on paper, you're much more likely to see them through to success. You want to define and refine your sales strategy throughout the year, perhaps most notably during engagement season.

Your Customers Don't Always Care About Price.

You might think your customers care most about your price, but that's not the case.

Consider this quote from Seth Godin:

“The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is that you haven't given them anything else to care about.”

To land the sale, you have to take some time to understand what your customers care about– and then create customized services that match their needs. 

Not their needs on price, but what they care about.

What questions can you start asking leads to understand what it is they really care about?

Automate Your Process

When you can automate your business areas, you make those areas work better for you rather than you having to work for them.

There are steps in our sales process that are automated with tech. Honeybook has automated systems that take care of us, like questionnaires, contracts, and payments. 

The benefits of automation aren't just saving time. When you automate your sales process, it allows ANYONE in your company to sell just like you. 

What areas of your sales process can you automate? Start by creating a google doc where you outline your current sales process. Then ask yourself the question: how can we automate specific tasks or touchpoints?

Accelerate the Know/Like/Trust Factor

Just like respect, you earn trust. How do you gain the confidence of a potential lead?

Trust is something that you want to establish early on in a relationship. 

To develop trust, you have to do a few things.

First, you need to listen to what your potential lead is telling you. Being a good listener is a muscle you have to exercise. Ask your potential clients questions in a questionnaire before you pitch, which will help you get to know them better. Listen to their answers.

Remember, you need to know what they care about.

Next, deliver a value proposition that considers all their concerns, requirements and illustrates how they'll feel when working for you. 

Yes, illustrate how your services or product will make them feel. As humans, we purchase on our feelings. When we're confused, we seek out remedies that educate. If we're scared, we buy items that will take away fear. When we're overwhelmed, we enlist help.

Selling feelings is a viable sales strategy. It's what guides most people's purchasing decisions. Just make sure you can deliver on the emotions that you sell.

Personalizing Your Pitch

Every person who inquires about your goods or services is unique. Are you personalizing your sales pitch to each? I'm going to show you an easy way to do that: define your client avatars.

What's a client avatar? It's simply a client profile. You can have more than one, and your client avatar can be B to C (business to client) OR a B to B (business to business). Consider this: who are your ideal clients? What do they value, what motivates them, and what problems do they face?

We're all unique people. We have unique personalities, wants, and needs. For instance, I'm an enneagram type 3– which means I'm always striving for achievement. I like people to quickly get to the point, and I'm willing to move on an idea before I've thoroughly thought it through. If you knew that about me, how would you personalize your sales pitch?

Authenticity Is Key

Authenticity is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, and that's because millennials are all about it. To me, authenticity means being honest, up-front, and always keeping my customers' best interests in mind. Do you do that during the sales process?

Being authentic is another way to gain the trust of your potential sales. Do you educate your potential customers when they connect with you? Maybe their budget is out of whack (it happens, people!). Or perhaps their expectations are unrealistic. Be a source of knowledge for them– be honest and straight up.

Let authenticity guide you in the sales process so much so that your ideal customers see it at work. They'll know you're honest with them, even when you're telling them something they don't want to hear. They'll trust you because of it.

Being authentic also means you never stray from your business core values, mission, or vision.

These sales techniques are just a few high-level ideas you need to be aware of. I've got more sales advice in my arsenal that I'll share with you soon!

If you're looking to book high-end wedding clients (and call in magazine worthy weddings), I want to invite you to check out my Client Cocktail. It's a client attraction formula for wedding planners, photographers, and industry creatives who are ready to upgrade their clients (and stop serving the wrong people).

Explore More Wedding Industry Resources

• How Soulful Sales & Magnetic Marketing Will Help You Consistently Convert Your Ideal Clients with Naomi Powell
• Book More Clients This Engagement Season with This Sales Process
• 5 Tips On Crafting a Business Plan To Book Out Your Biz With Your Ideal Clients And Get Paid
• Is Honeybook Right For Your Business? 5 Things You Need to Know Before You Make the Switch