If you want to boost sales then you have to increase trust and affinity for both your product, company, and your sales process or salesperson.
Here are a number of ways you can boost sales by improving trust and affinity.
1. Ask thoughtful questions. The key to building trust is to understand your customer’s needs. This is best done through honest conversion and asking lots of good questions. Your questions shouldn’t come across as an interrogation but should be worked into the conversation. The more pertinent your questions are the more trust you will establish.
2. Use a professional photo. Sales these days often start online through social media or email. If you want to increase trust and boost your sales then it is worthwhile investing in professional headshot photography. A great photo can help you look confident, approachable and establish trust. Using a photo in your email footer is also an excellent way to make yourself known and make you more real in the minds of your prospects when they have not yet met you in person.
3. Be consistent. It is hard to trust someone who flip-flops around and changes their story or price or brand. You need to know the product or service you are selling and make sure you present it in a consistent manner. You need to be consistent with your communication and the information you give your prospects.
4. Be persistent. Most sales are made after many contacts. If you are only willing to communicate once or twice then you are missing out on most of your sales. If you want to boost sales be sure to follow up and communicate regularly. When you do this it helps build trust as your prospect can see that you are not going away and this creates a view of longevity. No one wants to buy from a provider that is here today gone tomorrow. Regular communication also helps to establish greater affinity over time and a well-liked salesperson is going to be more successful than one who is not so well-liked.
5. Respond to communications from your customers. There is nothing worse than failing to reply to your customer’s queries. I recently placed an order with a company for some apparel for my kids, at first the communication was really fast and I was impressed but then it just ceased. For several weeks my emails to this company went unanswered and my trust in them just tanked until a canceled my order. So be sure to reply to your customer’s queries. If you can’t do so right away at least make sure you do so within 24 hours.
6. Deliver what you promise. One of the best ways to boost your sales, especially from existing customers, is to deliver what you promise. If you do this you will increase both trust and affinity and it will make repeat sales and referral sales that much easier.
7. Be honest. This is really a no-brainer, if you are always honest and upfront you will be trusted and this will boost your sales in the long term. Don’t sell something to a customer just to make the sale if you know it is not the right solution for them or if they don’t really need or want to product. Rather advise them on something that is more suitable. Maybe you won’t make that sale but you may make many more thereafter as they will appreciate your honesty.
If you can apply the above regularly then you will soon be on your way to building a great reputation that will help you boost your sales and win customer loyalty.
Want to boost your eCommerce sales? Read ‘Visual Trick to Boost eCommerce Sales’.