How to start a conversation with a buyer. Babushka, or How to start communicating with a buyer on the sales floor


03.12.2015

So, buyers, to a very first approximation, are divided into men and women. It has long been known, and not without reason, that lovely ladies love with their ears. In our case, this rule could not be more true. It is very important to find the right approach to the buyer of the fair sex. I recommend that my employees start the conversation with a neutral compliment or an abstract topic. For example, you can clarify where she managed to find such a beautiful handbag, but the main thing here is “not to go too far.” The compliment should sound sincere; if you have nothing to “catch on to”, it is better to start with a stock phrase. Girls love to talk. By asking a series of the right questions, you can easily discover her needs. It is appropriate to use the active listening technique here. And then, try to tell a “tasty” story about your product, focusing on the buyer’s needs, don’t skimp on poetic comparisons and inspiring epithets, remember, girls love to listen. A woman can come for a raincoat and leave with a skirt, blouse and a new belt. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

With men, on the contrary, there are fewer words, more action. Try to ask clear, meaningful questions. As a rule, a man goes to the store when he needs something specific. This is good for you. Find out through open and alternative questions about its purpose and go ahead! Appeal with numbers, provide a comparison of two similar products. Your presentation should be structured and logical. A man will trust you and, as a result, may agree to an additional product if he sees you as an expert in the product you are offering.

It is worth special mentioning the work with children. Based on my experience, children over 4-5 years old are already ready to communicate directly. Ask about their expectations; you can ask them about the parents’ opinion in the third person. This is perhaps the only case when it is worth addressing the buyer on a first name basis? Do not try to offer your child an overly expensive product, as this may cause negativity among parents. The most optimal would be parallel communication with both the parent and the child. If you sell toys, just give your child the opportunity to try the product in action; believe me, if they like it, it’s rare that a parent will resist the child’s request. Within reason, of course. Attracting customers through children is the calling card of Mc'Donalds. Remember how much children love these restaurants. Precisely because toys await him here in sets with food, as well as free “enticements” in the form of coloring books or bright erasers. Spend the weekend in your store, for example, giving away free balloons and children will be happy to drag their parents to you.

If we consider buyers as a whole, then it is worth considering that not everyone is ready and open to communication. Our market is still in the development stage in the service sector. But can we give the seller instructions to choose on their own: who should be approached, and who would certainly be better off looking at everything for themselves? Believe me, in this case, the employees will stop approaching customers altogether. Therefore, we should set a standard by which we greet each customer and approach each one. It is important to follow several rules here. Firstly, in order to greet every customer, it is better to organize “duty” during entrance area store. After the buyer has been greeted, give him the opportunity to look around the sales area. Train employees to recognize the signs that indicate a buyer is ready to make contact. He can stop and look at a certain group of products or take some product from the shelf. The buyer can look around and look for staff or even make a gesture. If this does not happen, take a break of 2-3 minutes and begin establishing contact. There are 5 main ways to establish contact:

1). The seller can greet the buyer and introduce himself, informing of his intention to be at the buyer's service.

2). Start a conversation with information about the product that the buyer picked up, for example, talk about its characteristics. It is possible to inform the buyer about promotions taking place in the store or about an updated assortment.

3). Offer the buyer to get a hard-to-reach product located on the top shelf or in a closed display case. Offer to pick up required size and so on.

4). Start a conversation about the weather or the trends of the current season (remember how we started the conversation with the girl). The only caveat is that this method is “for advanced users.”

5). Ask the buyer a question.

I will dwell in a little more detail on the last method of establishing contact. Try to make it taboo for your salespeople to ask two taboo questions: “Can I help you with anything?” and “can I tell you something?” In our country, these questions can only cause negativity. This is due to our careless colleagues who, due to their addiction to an aggressive sales method, destroyed the very opportunity to ask these questions. I think remembering your experience as a buyer will help you answer the question of which stores helped kill these phrases.

Questions to the buyer can be divided into three types: closed, open or alternative. Each of them can work great.

Closed (on this question You can answer “Yes” or “No”):

Is this your first time in our store?

Are you looking for something specific?

Open (the answer will be other than “Yes” or “No”):

Which brand do you prefer?

Which glasses model are you interested in?

Alternative question:

Are you choosing for yourself or as a gift?

Are you interested in decorative or selective cosmetics?

Give the sellers the opportunity to come up with questions, create a “brainstorm” on this topic. Let each of them choose the question that he will like and will not cause a feeling of intrusiveness.

Customers may feel uncomfortable if employees gather in groups and actively discuss what is currently playing in cinemas, for example. If employees allow themselves appraising, scanning glances. If the seller answers the buyer’s question “with a favor.” Believe me, now buyers have the opportunity to choose where to spend their time. A high level of service is perhaps one of the key competitive advantages.

You should also not use a lot of specific definitions during the presentation of the product; do not put the buyer in an uncomfortable position due to his ignorance. There is no need to immediately offer an expensive product; start with an option at an average price. The price is usually the most common reason doubts or objections of the buyer in completing the transaction. But not all buyers are ready to admit that it is expensive for them. If a buyer asks to see something else, most often it means that he is confused by the price. Offer something similar, but at a lower cost. Find out if he likes this model? What confuses him? Determine the reason for the doubt; perhaps it simply needs a different set of functions. You should not ask the buyer directly how much he is willing to spend. The only exception is if he picks up a gift.

But now the buyer is already moving to the checkout. It would seem that the seller has done his job and then there is a line behind the cashier. Not so. Train your salespeople in post-sales work. I don't even mean calling the buyer a couple of weeks later to ask how they like the new item. I mean a basic compliment when the deal is completed. It is at this point that the buyer can eliminate possible bias and the goal of selling in any case. Compliment his choice, his taste, but not the product. The buyer needs confirmation of the correctness of his choice. Give him this opportunity.

The stages of working with the buyer are perhaps the most basic and most responsible task of the seller. Remember that this process, the process of training employees, must be constant, in this case it will bring the expected results. Don’t forget to go over service situations with the guys every day at the morning meeting.

I am sure that you will succeed!

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From this article you will learn:

  • What you need to know about proper communication with a client
  • How to turn communication with a client into your company's golden fund
  • What are the best communication techniques to use with clients?
  • What not to do when communicating with a client

Today, business relationships between people around the world are based mainly on trade. This can be not only the sale of goods, but also services, copyrights, etc. Thus, our society is divided into buyers and sellers who are in constant interaction with each other. And the success of all trade transactions depends on how high-quality this cooperation will be, how competent the communication with clients will be. Of course, this is not the only criterion for success. trading business, first of all, the quality of the product or service itself is important. But many shortcomings can be compensated with the help correct communication. A buyer who is satisfied with the service will definitely come back to you again rather than go to competitors. And, conversely, if your staff is not attentive enough to visitors or is rude, the buyer will not cross the threshold of your store again, no matter how high the quality of the product. This article will touch on all the nuances of interaction with consumers, provide examples of correct communication, consider phrases that should not be used, and will also examine various techniques that are successful from a psychological point of view. The article will help you build a competent sequence when communicating with a client and attract new customers.

How to establish proper communication with clients

Regardless of how communication with the client is structured - via telephone or personal contact - it is the first impression that plays a fundamental role and ultimately influences the outcome of the conversation. Here it is important to follow a number of rules, as well as adhere to the sequence of stages when interacting with the consumer. The most important rule– directing the conversation in the direction you want and guiding the interlocutor. You need to not only be able to tell him about the advantages of your product and service and the benefits of cooperation with you, but also ask the right questions in a timely manner in order to identify the client’s needs and preferences.

Communication should be open and friendly: you should not raise your voice, argue, put pressure on the buyer, impose your product on him, or be overly annoying. But it is important to be the leader of the conversation and be able to keep everything under control. It is important to conduct a dialogue, involving the interlocutor in communication, and not just speak a memorized boring speech. You need to interest him in your product or service, as well as gain confidence and persuade him to interact with you.

How to properly clarify customer objections? Find out in the training program

How to behave during a conversation

The correct behavior of staff plays a big role. The likelihood of a purchase will increase significantly if the manager’s cooperation with the client is successful. It is important to show proper and at the same time unobtrusive attention to the buyer, showing him that you are interested in him being satisfied. To do this, you need to be able to win over your interlocutor using a smile and a friendly tone. Emotionality in communication is also very important: the buyer will not show interest in either you or the product if you speak in a monotone. If you use the right emotions during a conversation, this will help interest your interlocutor and make the dialogue more lively and relaxed.

Every salesperson needs to have good diction. It is important not only to know what exactly needs to be said to the buyer, but also to be able to do it clearly and correctly. The manager must not have a speech impediment. The buyer should see in front of him a real professional who knows how to talk about the product, answer all his questions, and with whom it is pleasant to have a conversation. No one is interested in an insecure employee who cannot put two words together. When communicating with a client, it is also important to get to know him and in the future address him by name. Such psychological technique helps to place the interlocutor at ease, making communication more personal. It is very important to listen to the buyer and in no case interrupt him, but at the same time direct the conversation in the right direction if he begins to move away from the main topic.

How to properly talk about a product or service

Difficulties often arise when communicating with a sales client at the very first stage of the conversation - he is initially not interested in hearing about the product. How to advantageously present your product or service to the buyer? The main task is to interest him in the product and draw attention to your company. People love promotions and special offers, and you can’t help but take advantage of this to attract new customers, as well as retain existing ones. When communicating with the consumer, tell them about ongoing promotions, explain all the benefits of purchasing this particular product, and interest them in a new product that has recently entered the market. Find out the needs and interests of the client in order to offer a product that is suitable for him, meeting all his wishes and requirements.

Having decided on the buyer’s requirements, focus his attention exclusively on those details that interest him. There is no need to overload your interlocutor with an excessive amount of information in which he will only get confused. During communication, it will be sufficient to correctly place emphasis and describe the product precisely according to those parameters that are interesting to the client. The final stage is to work through all the potential buyer’s objections, thereby dispelling his doubts and encouraging him to make a purchase. Even if the consumer, after communicating with you, refuses to purchase a product or pay for a service, you need to remain friendly and polite towards him. Then there is a very high probability that the visitor will come to you in the future, remembering your professionalism and desire to help with the choice. Thus, following the correct sequence of stages when communicating with a client is very important if you want to grow your business.

Simple rules for communicating with clients

There are many examples of successful sales when a person simply went into a store out of curiosity, and after talking with an employee of the sales floor, he came out with a purchase. This speaks of professionalism and high level seller training. Many consumers need to be nudged into making a purchase. For this purpose, specialists in the field of trade and psychology have developed a number of rules. If sales managers follow them, the company's turnover will definitely increase.

  1. Customer focus. The most important thing when communicating with a client is to convince him that you are pursuing his interests, not your own, and really want to help him. This will build trust in the buyer and help win him over. Openness and goodwill are some of the main keys to success. You need to be especially careful in those moments when the visitor asks you questions. Answers should be as informative and detailed as possible. You need to show that the buyer is important to you, and you are ready to answer all his questions. Indifferent, dry remarks will leave a bad impression of the quality of service.

There are several ways to show your interest:

  • When talking with a buyer, your attention should be focused only on him. You cannot be distracted by extraneous matters;
  • communication should be emotionally charged. It is important that the interlocutor sees a living person in front of him, and not a robot;
  • when communicating, you need to look your interlocutor in the eyes;
  • it is important to conduct a dialogue, encouraging the client not only to listen, but also to speak;
  • It is necessary to provide as much information about the product as valuable to the buyer as possible, but at the same time be careful not to overload with unnecessary information.

When communicating with the buyer, try to speak in a language that is as understandable to him as possible. There is no need to delve into professional terminology that a person does not understand. If we are talking, for example, about a blender, it is not necessary to say that its power is 1500 watts. This information may be completely useless to the client. It will be much better if you list the main products that can be crushed with it. So you'll talk about technical specifications goods, but they will be clear not only to you, but also to the buyer.

  1. Don't stoop to the client's level. At first glance, this is quite strange advice, because the first rule says that you need to speak to the buyer in his language. This is undeniable. This rule was created only to warn you against the possibility of a conflict brewing when communicating with a client. The contingent of buyers is completely different, and not all of them know how to communicate adequately, allowing themselves to use profanity and manifestation of rudeness. It is in these cases that one should not be like ill-mannered people and respond with aggression. It is important to be able to remain calm and find the strength to always be polite and friendly. The reputation of the company you work for depends on it.
  2. The customer is always right. This is a long-worn rule that all sales managers have learned by heart. But it is not entirely correct. Every seller understands that in fact, the client is right in very rare cases. Most potential buyers don't know what they really want and understand your store's products much less well than you. You are the owner of the store, not the client, and it is you who are in charge here, because everything that happens to him depends on you: whether he can find the product he needs, whether he leaves with the purchase. But the buyer should under no circumstances know this. He must believe that only he is truly right.
  3. Don't insist. When offering your product or service, do not go too far and do not be too intrusive. There is no need to put pressure on the buyer, forcing him to make a choice and make a purchase right now, if it is noticeable that he is not ready to do this. A person should not have the impression that you imposed a product that he did not need at all.
  4. Don't get lost. If we are not talking about a one-time sale, but long-term cooperation (regular deliveries of goods, construction, large projects, etc.), a very important rule for communicating with the company’s clients is to always be in touch. Firstly, the customer may want to know how the work is progressing and at what stage of the process, whether everything is going according to plan and whether he should worry. Secondly, the client may want to make some amendments to the original project plan. Keeping in touch is in your best interest. If the customer remains dissatisfied with the result of the work on which you spent more than one day, it will be much more difficult to correct everything than if checks and adjustments were made in intermediate stages.

These five rules of communication will help you not only find the right approach and win over any buyer, but also bring him to the conclusion of the transaction.

Basic generally accepted standards of communication with clients

Every self-respecting organization must develop internal regulations and standards for communication with the company’s clients. They are aimed at properly establishing a dialogue with the buyer and building a competent sequence of stages of communication with him. This article will describe the basic standards on the basis of which you can develop your own regulations.

1. Emotional attitude and openness to the client. The employees of the sales floor or sales office should look so that the visitor wants to contact them. Here we are not talking about the external characteristics of the staff, which, by the way, is also important, but specifically about the image of a friendly manager, ready to advise and help. Sellers, of course, are people too and have the right to be in a bad mood, but this should not in any way affect communication with clients. Bad mood should be left at home or on the street, and at the workplace the employee should be with a friendly smile, and not scare away visitors with a sour expression on his face.

2. The client should not wait. There is hardly a person who dreams of sitting in line for an hour or two. Waiting is painful for anyone. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your customer service is structured in such a way that there are as few waiting visitors as possible. If there are such people, you need to show maximum care for those who are waiting in line. First, you need to apologize to the person and clarify how long it will take to serve him. Often this is important, since perhaps at this time he will be able to resolve some of his other matters. It is also necessary to keep the guest occupied with something if he is waiting for his turn in the hall: this could be magazines, catalogues, tea, coffee. The most important thing is that a situation does not arise: a visitor came in, but you did not pay attention to him because you were busy. It is important to meet the client and let him know that he will definitely be served.

3. Be able to conduct a dialogue. To win over your interlocutor and impress him, you need not only to be tactful with him, but also in relation to your competitors. You should not compare your product with someone else’s, pointing out the disadvantages of others and your advantages. You are unlikely to build trust if you discuss your competitors. There is also no need to engage in excessive self-promotion: this will look like boasting and exaggeration of existing advantages.

It is better to avoid large monologues, lengthy descriptions and explanations. It is worth remembering the main characteristics and advantages of a particular product and conveying the essence to the buyer without overloading him with unnecessary information. If you talk too much and for a long time, then, firstly, you can easily get confused yourself, and secondly, you can quickly tire the client. So that the visitor does not get tired of listening to you, you need to communicate with him in the form of dialogue, ask questions, and involve him in the conversation.

4. Be able to hear and listen. These similar concepts are somewhat different, because listening and hearing are different things, and real professional in trading and in communicating with clients must know these differences. Listening is the ability to demonstrate to your interlocutor that you are listening. There is a special technique of active listening that anyone can master: you need to look into the eyes, nod, and do not interrupt.

The ability to hear is the ability not only to listen to a person, but also to understand everything that he wanted to convey to you. Understanding the buyer during communication with him is often very difficult. Many factors play a role here: people see the same things differently, a person does not always have sufficient knowledge to correctly express his thoughts and wishes. In such cases, you need to be able to unobtrusively get to the bottom of the truth, ask leading questions, and find out as many details and details as possible. Sometimes it’s enough just to put yourself in the shoes of your interlocutor and look at the question through his eyes. When you master the ability to listen to people, you will not only be able to quickly help the buyer solve his problem, but you will also be able to easily manipulate him, which is useful for the seller.

5. Address the client by name. How can you win over your interlocutor with just one word? Say his name. A banal truth that has great success in communicating with the client. When you address a person by name, it creates a more comfortable, inviting and trusting atmosphere for him, and also emphasizes the importance of this particular buyer to you.

6. Don't lie. Your reputation will be completely damaged if you are caught in a lie. Never exaggerate the merits of a product or say something that is not actually true. Even a small lie can cause irreparable harm and lead to loss of trust on the part of the client.

7. Always do a little more than required. A very simple, but at the same time effective technique. Exceeding consumer expectations is quite easy. You need to pay him a little more attention, provide an additional, even the most insignificant, service, pleasantly surprise him, and he will become your regular customer. The more you do for the buyer in the form of some kind of additional bonus, the more you will receive in return. He will be more willing and with great interest to talk to you about further cooperation if you charm him with your special attitude.

Consecutive stages of communication with the client

Stage 1. “Making contact” or “Establishing contact”

Any sale or transaction is impossible without this stage.

Goal: to attract the attention of a potential buyer to yourself and encourage further communication.

Before moving on to identifying the client’s needs, it is recommended to resort to communicating with him on abstract topics. There are a number of techniques for establishing contact with a visitor. You can offer tea, coffee, make a couple of compliments, etc.

It is very easy to understand whether you managed to establish contact with the buyer by his actions. If he actively enters into communication, reacts positively to the words and actions of the seller, behaves at ease and relaxed, we can conclude that a connection has been established. If the client is tense, tense, avoids communication, answers questions dryly and briefly, and looks away, this indicates that it was not possible to establish contact. In this case, the stage of making contact needs to be given more attention, using various techniques.

Stage 2. Identifying needs

Goal: to identify the client’s preferences and wishes.

The more accurately the manager is able to identify the buyer’s preferences, the more favorable he will be able to present the product, which will ultimately lead to a purchase.

To find out the client’s needs, the manager must use the correct sequence when communicating with him, be able to ask the right questions, listen and understand the interlocutor.

Stage 3. Presentation

Goal: to offer exactly what the buyer needs, based on his needs identified at the second stage of communication.

When presenting a product or service, the main thing is to convey to the client the benefits of purchasing the product. It is important here not to confuse the concepts of “benefit” and “advantage”.

Advantage– this is the benefit of this particular product in comparison with analogues. Anyone who purchases this product will receive this benefit.

Benefit- this is a feature or characteristic of a product that can satisfy the specific need of this particular buyer.

Thus, knowing all the needs identified during communication with the visitor, all that remains is to correctly present the product, which in its characteristics corresponds to the client’s wishes. It turns out that any product parameters can be beneficial for a certain client.

Stage 4. Dealing with objections

Purpose: to dispel the buyer’s doubts about the quality of the product or its compliance with the requirements, as well as the need for the purchase.

The better the previous stages of interaction with the client are worked out, the fewer objections will follow. Perhaps the manager will conduct all communication so correctly that he will not encounter any objections at all.

Often objections are related to the fact that:

  • not all buyer needs were identified;
  • Initially, poor contact was established and insufficient time was spent communicating with the client;
  • the presentation was uninformative and could not give full description goods, and thereby answer all the buyer’s questions.

Every manager who wants to achieve success in sales should try to minimize the number of objections, because their excess is a signal of a poorly done job of interacting with the client.

It will not always be possible to completely avoid objections, so you need to learn to respond to them correctly and take appropriate measures.

Strictly adhere to the scheme for handling objections:

  • listen to the buyer's objection;
  • smooth out his emotions by using phrases of understanding (“I understand your indignation”, “Yes, I agree that it’s unpleasant...”, “I understand what it’s like...”, “I understand you”);
  • obtain the necessary clarification through leading questions;
  • offer an alternative solution to the problem.

Stage 5. Completion of the transaction

Goal: to bring the buyer to make a purchase and confirm the correctness of his decision.

At the transaction completion stage, you need to make sure that the client is ready to make a purchase. The manager can judge this by his behavior:

  • the client has already formed a positive opinion about the product;
  • he agrees with the manager's words;
  • directly says that he is ready to purchase goods or enter into an agreement for the provision of services;
  • interested in clarifying details.

Transaction completion methods:

  • compliment method (“You did right choice»);
  • a method that sets a certain time frame (“If you make a purchase within three days, you will be given a 20% discount”);
  • a win-win alternative (“Send measurers to you tomorrow or Friday?”).

The company's turnover directly depends on the professionalism of the customer service manager. The more skills and techniques he has, the more sales he will ultimately be able to make. Therefore, it is important to constantly train your staff and improve the skills of employees, send them to training sessions and lectures, develop and motivate them.

Psychology of communication with clients: effective techniques for working with difficult consumers

It is thanks to difficult clients that you can quickly identify and eliminate the shortcomings of your company, because such visitors will rush to point them out to you. The principle of working with such clients is to neutralize the pressure they exert, rather than ignore it, and at the same time be able to transform them into the status of loyal customers.

  • Rudeness and aggressiveness of the client.

When communicating with a client, you should never become like him if he behaves unworthily. In response to rudeness, abuse, disrespectful statements and gestures, he should see only your friendliness and calmness. You cannot allow your interlocutor to make you angry.

Rudeness is used in cases where there are no other ways to prove one’s innocence or defend one’s interests. When a person has tried all other methods, used all the arguments and lost patience, he begins to be rude. Therefore, such harshness does not express the strength of the interlocutor, but only indicates his helplessness.

When dealing with such customers, it is important to give them the opportunity to blow off steam and show them that you are ready to solve the problem. You need to listen to the client without interrupting him. The right thing to do is to put aside all emotions and, without paying attention to the presentation of information, get to the core of the issue. To do this, you need to show your interlocutor that you are ready to listen to him calmly, no matter how much he swears, that you do not intend to argue, but want to help in solving the problem.

In the event that a scandal occurs in front of other visitors, try to take the client away as quickly as possible in order to continue communication in private or as far as possible from strangers.

  • Softness, shyness.

There are types of people who will not make contact themselves because they are shy, do not want to distract, or are very shy by nature. When a manager communicates with such clients, he needs to show as much gentleness as possible: no pressure, more smiles, encouraging remarks, pushing him to make a decision. Such a buyer needs to be led and guided, helped to make a choice and at the same time be very tactful and unobtrusive.

  • Client's indecisiveness.

Do not confuse indecisive people with soft ones. Indecisive customers are mainly those who are afraid of making a mistake, and therefore cannot make a choice or decide whether they need a purchase in principle. Such buyers will constantly question their decision, clarify details, seek advice again and again. It is difficult for them to choose just one thing. They will rush between different models of the same product and will not be able to select the one that suits them, because they will doubt that it is the best. When communicating with such clients, you need to intentionally narrow your choice. You shouldn’t offer them six options at once; it’s enough to focus their attention on two, and only if they refuse these options, offer the other two. This way you will help customers make the right choice, and the purchase will not drag on for several days.

Such clients should also not be put under pressure or rushed. In no case show that you are tired of their indecisiveness, but on the contrary, try to encourage and support their desire to make the right choice. When communicating with a buyer, you need to instill confidence in him, dispelling his every doubt.

To encourage an indecisive person to make a purchase, it is often not enough just to present the product correctly. Additional tools must be used. In this case, you need to point out the limited quantity of this product, the upcoming price increase, or something else that will make the buyer understand that they should not delay the purchase, but should hurry up and make a decision.

More intermediate fixations mean more chances to reach an agreement as a whole. To prevent the client from changing his mind in the future, say that work on the agreed upon issues is already underway. Sometimes this is done on purpose so that the buyer does not return to this again. It’s better for him to be scared and refuse altogether than to endlessly deal with his doubts, wasting time and not being sure that the deal will go through.

  • Familiarity.

There is a category of visitors who themselves have an excellent command of techniques for communicating with people and methods of manipulating them. They will behave overly friendly, trying to arouse your sympathy and thereby achieve a special favor towards themselves, in the hope of receiving some personal bonuses. The manager’s task during communication with such clients is to show that he is also friendly and ready to cooperate, but adhere to business style communication, demonstrating professionalism and seriousness.

  • Talkativeness.

As in life, at work you can often encounter a chatty client. It is quite difficult to conduct a dialogue with such a person. Nevertheless, you need to try to focus his attention on your proposal and control the communication process. Here you need to have time to competently insert your lines into long monologues during pauses, without interrupting your interlocutor.

Ask leading questions that bring the buyer back to the topic of conversation, focus his attention on the product. Do not try to say more than the interlocutor, strive to say the most important thing. Your task is not to talk the client down, but to convey the essence to him.

  • Client's silence.

A chatterbox can be contrasted with a silent visitor. The difficulty in communicating with such clients is that sometimes it is not easy to understand the person’s reaction to your words. Here it is important not to go into a long monologue, but to involve your interlocutor in dialogue, asking his opinion and encouraging him to communicate. It is best to provide information in portions, constantly monitoring the buyer’s reaction.

You need to ask as many questions as possible that identify the person’s needs, and in those rare moments when he speaks, listen carefully to him. The Echo method will work great here. The essence of it is repetition. last words interlocutor.

  • Demonstration of competence.

This buyer is well versed in your product and is familiar with its properties and characteristics. He will rush to demonstrate his knowledge during communication, considering this to be dignity and superiority. You need to be tactful and not try to compete with him, proving that you are more knowledgeable. Give him the opportunity to show off his knowledge. Try to have a casual conversation, ask questions and be an attentive listener.

If the buyer expresses his personal opinion about a specific product, clarify what exactly it is based on. To do this, use the following questions: “Why did you decide this?”, “What is the reason for this?” Try to translate the buyer’s personal attitude towards the product into a set of specific arguments. It will be much easier to respond to them than to try to convince your interlocutor.

If during communication with a client you notice that he is mistaken, you do not need to directly point out the mistake and try to correct him immediately, as this may cause a dispute. Remember that your task is to sell a product, not to impose your opinion.

What rules dictate the ethics of communication with clients?

Professional ethics of communication with clients includes the following rules:

  • always be able to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and under no circumstances allow him to be treated in a way that you would not like to receive;
  • if an ethical violation occurs, correct it immediately as soon as it is identified;
  • maintaining tolerance of company employees to the moral principles, customs and traditions of other organizations and the surrounding world as a whole;
  • have your own opinion, but understand that it is not the only one that has the right to exist;
  • freedom that does not limit the freedom of others;
  • ethical professional behavior of the employee, which leads to the development of the organization from a moral point of view;
  • When communicating with a client, it is not allowed to put pressure on him or display his superiority in the behavior of the manager;
  • everyone possible ways find a compromise and avoid conflict;
  • the employee must not only behave correctly from an ethical point of view, but also encourage the client to do so;
  • Avoid criticism of your interlocutor.

When communicating with clients you cannot:

  • throw mud at competitors. You shouldn’t discuss your competitors or talk badly about them, even if it’s true. If the client himself asks your opinion about a particular company, your review of it should be as neutral as possible, and it would be most correct to refer to your ignorance of how things are going with competitors. The client's opinion about third parties should be formed without your participation;
  • use slang. Often employees communicate with each other and understand each other perfectly, but from the outside it seems as if they speak foreign language. It will be difficult for the visitor to understand you and correctly navigate your terms. Therefore, communication with clients must be conducted in a language they understand. Sometimes it’s even better to show clearly what you are trying to convey to your interlocutor;
  • let your emotions control you. No matter how difficult the interlocutor may be, no matter how much he tries to piss you off, your main rule is to remain calm. We are all, of course, living people and have the right to emotions, but not the client manager. In response to any of his actions, the consumer should see only your goodwill and no irritability or aggression.

How should you communicate with a client over the phone?

When communicating with a client on the phone, the most main role intonation plays. The impression of a conversation is formed in the first 20 seconds of communication. During this same time, the person decides whether he wants to continue the dialogue with you. Therefore, you need to pay attention to how you present information: your voice must be confident and your speech clear.

The structure of a telephone conversation is something like this:

Preparing for the conversation:

The telephone conversation itself:

There are many techniques for communicating with clients over the phone. One of them is based on identifying the interlocutor’s main sense organ for perceiving information. The fact is that to understand the world around us, we all use hearing, vision, touch, kinesthetics, and smell. But every person has a leading way of perceiving the world, by identifying which you can easily interest the client. You can determine the leading modality based on a conversation with him.

Examples of client statements indicating the predominance of one or another way of perceiving the world:

  • visual: “It looks attractive”, “This description seems vague to me”, “I see it this way...”, “Let's try to shed some light on this problem”;
  • auditory:“I heard you”, “Everything is happening out of sync”, “It sounds like a good idea”, “I just can’t tune in to what you’re saying”;
  • kinesthetic (motor, motor):“Try to weigh everything carefully”, “I feel that I can do this”, “He gives off warmth”, “This is a very slippery situation”;
  • olfactory:“It would be great to give this a good try,” “I just smelled a solution.”

For many people, the priority way of receiving information is visual, and this is easy to understand by the use of verbs that define visualization: “see”, “imagine”, “seems”, “observe”, “appears”, “decorate”, “looks”, etc. d. Such people perceive better what they see than what they hear. They prefer to watch rather than listen to descriptions, even the most detailed ones. During communication, clients will record important points: they love it very much illustrative examples, draw up an action plan, take notes.

Auditory orientation is characteristic of a much smaller number of people. When communicating with such consumers, you will hear verbs related to hearing: “heard”, “sounds”, “pronounced”, “crackles”, “creaks”, etc. These interlocutors have a good auditory memory and are able to remember most conversation without any notes or notes on paper. Such people love to communicate, but are also easily distracted by extraneous sounds.

A very small group of people are oriented towards a kinesthetic style of communication. When speaking, they often use verbs: “building”, “creating”, “using”, etc. Such people need to be constantly on the move; it is difficult for them to sit in one place. They show expression in communication, actively using facial expressions and gestures.

How to establish online communication with clients

It is necessary to join the circle of your target audience and establish contact with them. To do this, they use various thematic blogs, pages that a person must subscribe to, all kinds of mailings and subscriptions. Create a team of like-minded people and actively communicate with their leaders.

Use your data, prepare for meetings with your team:

  • select a few of the most important ones this moment questions (three to five);
  • check out the profiles of your interlocutor on social networks;
  • make up psychological picture person, indicate on paper your assumptions about him;
  • decide what exactly is important for you to get from a person and how to build communication with the client.

Communication via e-mail:

  • Seamless pick-up. If there is a need to replace a manager leading a specific client (vacation, sick leave, load distribution), this replacement should occur unnoticed by the consumer. To do this, the new manager must become familiar with all the nuances of conducting a transaction. The previous employee, who is aware of all matters, must help him with this. He must transfer all related materials regarding this buyer and tell as much as possible about the details of the work carried out and upcoming work with him.
  • You cannot change the subject of the email. During correspondence, the subject line of the letter should remain as it was originally. Then the client and you will have the opportunity to filter this particular correspondence from other letters. If you change the subject even a little, the letter will not get into the filter and will be lost. If some correspondence has come to a logical conclusion, and there is a need to continue communication with the consumer on other issues, a new topic is assigned to the conversation.
  • Talking topic. The topic should be structured in such a way as to convey the essence of the entire conversation.
  • Reply All. In the case when several interlocutors are involved in the correspondence, it is necessary to use the “Reply all” function when replying to letters so that all participants in the conversation are involved in it and are aware of what is happening.
  • SummaryAndcall to action. At the end of each letter, summarize and remind what result you want to achieve. This is how you program the client’s actions to achieve your goals.
  • Resume after communication on Skype. After finishing communicating with a client on Skype, the correct thing to do is to send him a letter describing the essence of the conversation and summing up the results. This way, you will be sure that no one will forget what you said.
  • The last word. Always try to ensure that the communication is completed by you. To do this, at the end of the conversation, it is enough to use the phrases: “Thank you for your cooperation!”, “Thank you for your time!”, “Have a good day!”

Classic phrases for communicating with clients for all occasions

1. Incoming call (external/internal).

  • Greeting (external):“Good afternoon/morning/evening, company (name), position, department, name, I’m listening to you.”
  • Greeting (internal):“Good afternoon/morning/evening, position, department, name, I’m listening to you.”
  • Phrases excluded:“How can I help”, “I’m listening”, “You’ve got it”, “(company name) is listening”, “Hello”, “At the machine”.

2. Outgoing call to a new client.

  • “Good afternoon/morning/evening, my name is (name), I am (position/department) company (name).”
  • “Please tell me who I can talk to about organizing staff training?”
  • “Please tell me who in your company is in charge of purchasing?”

3. Outgoing call to the current client.

  • Phrases excluded:“Do you recognize me?”, “Can I disturb you?”, “He’s calling you,” “Sorry for disturbing you.”

4. Outgoing call to an old client who needs to be returned.

  • “Good afternoon/morning/evening, my name is (name), I am (position/department) company (name), can I talk to (full name)?” If necessary, you can clarify what issue you are talking about.
  • “Good afternoon/morning/evening, my name is (name), I am (position/department) company (name). Is it convenient for you to talk now?”
  • If the answer is yes:"Thank you! We have already collaborated with you (what kind of cooperation exactly), we would like to continue cooperation. Tell me, please, are you interested in (clarification)?”
  • Phrases excluded: “Calling you,” “Worriing you.”
  • If the answer is negative:“When can I call you back, so that it is convenient for you (to clarify the time and date)?”

5. The client came to the office.

  • Unfamiliar client, greeting:“Good afternoon/morning/evening, (come in/take a seat)”, “I’m listening to you.”
  • Phrases excluded:“Who are you seeing?”, “Man!”, “Woman!”, “Who are you looking for?”; Phrases not recommended:“Can I help you with something?”, “Are you looking for something/someone?”
  • Familiar:“Good afternoon/morning/evening, (come in/have a seat)”, “Nice to see you.”

6. Meeting at the client's office.

  • Unfamiliar client:“Good afternoon/morning/evening, my name is (name), I am (position/department) company (name), can I meet with (full name)?” If necessary, clarify on what issue.
  • Familiar client: " Good afternoon/morning/evening, First name/last name/patronymic of the client, glad to see you” (you can give a compliment).

7. Ending the conversation.

  • By phone or in person:“It was a pleasure to talk to you! All the best, have a good day/week/weekend!” etc.
Stages of successful sales - how to start a conversation with a buyer

Greetings, Friends!

Let's continue our consideration. Today I propose to talk about the topic - How to start a conversation with a buyer.

So, a potential buyer comes into the store, how best to approach him, where to start the conversation, so that the buyer is more likely to make a purchase. Let's look at a few examples of how you can start a conversation with the buyer.

An important point at the beginning of a conversation with a buyer is to arouse his desire to continue communication. Most main mistake The seller may ask a question that forces the buyer to answer “no.” For example, a seller comes up and asks the buyer: “Would you like me to help you choose a product?” Of course, it is more likely that the potential buyer will answer no or I don’t want to.

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How can you ask the question differently?

For example: “Good afternoon! If you suddenly need my help or have any questions, I will be there, but in the meantime you can take a look, maybe something will interest you.” More likely, the potential buyer will answer “ok” and will look at the product, choose a purchase, with the feeling that he will always be able to ask the seller a question.

By by and large The essence of the first question is not particularly important. It is important to create a trusting atmosphere with the buyer, so that nothing bothers him in choosing a product, and he knows that there is a person who will support him if he has a question. Establishing contact, starting a conversation, is important only in order to start a dialogue with a potential buyer, so to speak, to create the basis for further continuation of the conversation.

Examples of questions that will help win over a potential buyer. “Do you like this...?”, “Do you prefer... or...?”, “Are you looking at this... for yourself or as a gift?”

It is also successfully used when starting a conversation with a buyer, the “question-starter” technique. A question that implies an answer. For example: “Do you agree that this phone is original?”, “Is it true that this tie will suit your suit better?” Opening questions often used by sellers: “Isn’t that true?”, “Do you agree?” or “Do you agree?”, “Isn’t that right?” These ties can be inserted both at the beginning of a sentence and in the middle or end of a sentence or phrase.

In the next article we will begin to identify the needs of a potential buyer.

Instructions

When meeting a salesperson, the first thing you should do is say hello. Moreover, it is highly desirable that the greeting be light and uncomplicated, and also be accompanied by a sweet, pleasant greeting. After all, as you know, it is the greeting that is the seller’s business card and one of the tools to win over the buyer.

After establishing initial contact with the buyer, the seller must immediately ask the visitor point of sale question: “What are you interested in?” (or “How can I help you?”). If the buyer himself approaches the seller, the words following the greeting should be “I’m listening to you.”

If a potential buyer asks the seller for help while he is serving another client, he should apologize and ask the person asking the question to wait or contact another specialist (if possible). But in this situation, under no circumstances should the seller say: “Can’t you see that I’m busy,” much less accuse, raise his voice or shout at an interested store visitor. By doing so, you will not only violate the norms of professional ethics, but also put yourself in an awkward and disadvantageous position.

As soon as you are free, immediately approach the person waiting for you to the buyer, apologize again and say that you are ready to give detailed answers to all his questions.

When dealing with a buyer, the seller must be as sincere and truthful as possible. You should not mislead the client and lie to him, for example, by embellishing this or that product, because any lie will sooner or later be revealed. As a rule, the seller is given away by his own manners, behavior and intonation of communication. In addition, the seller should also under no circumstances hide his lack of interest and ignore his obligations to the potential buyer. In this case, we are talking about sellers who make all sorts of concessions in order to quickly sell the product and not spend a lot of time on one client. Such an attitude will not only disrupt contact with visitors to the retail outlet, but will also change the trusting attitude towards you, both from the buyer and from the management.

The successful sale of goods depends on how skillfully the seller convinces buyer that this particular product will satisfy his needs. Working with clients requires mental flexibility, communication skills, and intelligence. If you know how to find an approach, choose a model of behavior and the right words, then your personal selling increase. There are professional secrets you should know good seller.

You will need

  • Working in personal sales
  • Buyers

Instructions

Gain confidence
The seller and the client engage in verbal communication during the sales process. To make a person willing to communicate, put him at ease: greet him politely, the buyer should feel welcome; listen to him, try to understand his requests. To reduce the time spent on purchasing, you must have a good knowledge of the assortment and be able to communicate the functions and advantages of the products. Get used to several customers at the same time. No one should feel left out. Be creative so that the buyer purchases the product from you, look for options that will suit him.
Your attitude is important. Give yourself a mindset: solve the problem buyer. After all, the buyer does not buy a thing for its own sake, but a solution to his problem! Consider the client’s state at the time of his request for the product, this will help you develop a model of behavior. Plus, priorities matter. buyer: By ignoring them, you risk offending him. So, if he asks about the price, then answer this question.

Convey your confidence
The voice and character of speech are important when communicating with a client. No need to mumble and interrupt. Speak confidently, in a calm tone, building your speech competently. Intercept the style of your interlocutor, adapt to his rate of speech. Don't be prim, smile sometimes. You must inspire optimism and convey to the buyer your confidence in the quality of the product. Ask questions that highlight a broad range of proposals, then narrow the questions to clearly define the client's interests and what information is required from you.
Naturally, the client will have doubts when purchasing, because he must spend his own money on it. Be grateful when the client hesitates, objects, or asks questions. This gives you a reason to discuss the pros and cons with him and convince him to make a purchase. It’s worse when the buyer is silent and doesn’t give you a reason to do so.

Collection of information
If you sell a product not in, but visit buyer home or, you have the opportunity to collect information about both it and your competitors. Each buyer is individual. It is more difficult to work with women than with men, since they spend more time analyzing, comparing, and making choices. K needs a different approach than housewives. Study the interests, standards, and norms of behavior of the group to which the buyer belongs.
During communication, the buyer may mention your competitors; ask him questions: there may not be another chance to get this information. Find out what the client didn’t like there, so as not to repeat the mistakes of others; Perhaps, on the contrary, your company has weaknesses. Remember this, or better yet, write it down.
While at home or at work buyer, try to see him simply as a person: what is valuable to him, what objects or photos are on his desk, what he wears, what he reads, what he is interested in. Think about it, you also like it when people pay attention to you.

The end is the crown of the matter
If at the end of the conversation you still feel the client’s uncertainty, do not leave an open ending: “Think about it some more,” “I’ll leave you a catalog,” “I’ll call you back later”... You are giving chances to your competitors. Close the blind spots: return to the unclear ones, ask additional questions, once again focus the client’s attention on the merits of your offer. And never give up! Even if this time it didn’t work out, after a while, make an offer again: circumstances change, and your buyer may find himself in a different mood, his wishes and financial situation will change - and everything will work out.

Video on the topic

Sources:

  • the art of trading in 2019

When working with a buyer, you should never forget that in front of you is a living person. People are all different, everyone deserves individual treatment and approach. Considering that there cannot be two identical sales, it is necessary to be able to understand people, the motives of their behavior and master the psychology of communication.

Instructions

Introduce yourself when selling. Be interesting to your interlocutor. The client should not get tired of you; this will definitely affect his perception.

Expand your horizons, but at the same time eliminate arrogance and know-it-all behavior. The buyer will feel this attitude and simply stop trusting you. Show him respect, then he will feel the same towards you. Try to cultivate empathy and show personal interest when communicating.

Improve your interview technique. When asking questions, adequately perceive the answers given. Constantly check whether you have understood the client correctly. In addition to traditional questions, ask clarifying questions. Don't forget that questions must be relevant. A successful salesperson spends only 20% of the time talking to the buyer and spending 80% of the time absorbing the answers. The ability to listen is one of the most important for a representative of this profession.

Position your offer as unique and unique, not as one of many. Your task is to present it this way product, so that buyers don’t have the question: “So what?” They sometimes ask it, in your opinion, at the most inopportune moment, breaking all your convincing arguments and masterly speeches.

Sell ​​not so much the product itself, but the result of its presence in the client’s life. Find out related problems and complex tasks facing the buyer. Draw a figurative picture where these problems are absent. To help you feel confident, thoroughly examine the property offered for sale. product and the effect it produces.

Don't rely on acceptance logical solutions your client. Here logic is given only 16%. The remaining 84% are motives of a purely emotional nature. Among them are the ordinary thirst for possession, prestige, status, greed, and sometimes even the fear of loss that can be experienced if you do not acquire what you offer. Identify the prevailing emotional motive for early stage your communication and use this strong leverage.

Don't lower your prices. Using this method when persuading buyer, you are more likely to retreat rather than conduct competent business relationships. Adequately value your time and the level of products or services. Set reasonable, appropriate prices. You can sell anything cheap. If competition were based only on price determination, there would be no need for a seller at all.

Pay special attention to your personal presentations product A. Carrying out such events increases sales by about 10 times when compared with sending offers by any other means. In addition, this is a unique opportunity to produce the maximum effect on a person and sell not only yourself product, but also to convince buyer in their competence, attitude towards business and people. The best compliment from a customer is recognition of your professionalism, which can be seen in all your actions, words, and also in the way you present yourself.

Be interested in and participate in the life and development of your target market and your customers' market. Discuss pressing issues on thematic sites and in in social networks, publish articles and newsletters to target audiences. Organize your own blog. The result of such actions will be your fame and authority among colleagues and clients, which the best way describes your activities.

Phrases for sellers

Using the right phrases for salespeople can make all the difference, especially at the beginning of a conversation. You will never have another chance to form the right impression. Either you will successfully start communication, and your phrase will help you make contact, or communication will not take place, and your commission will go away along with the buyer. The seller’s phrases to the buyer should evoke a desire to continue the conversation, and not look for a reason to refuse it.

Below we provide a list of sales consultant phrases that are undesirable for use, because they have long acquired the form of a “tired cliché”, are perceived negatively by customers, and can often cause irritation. In some cases, these phrases will work if a person urgently needs something or if he came to buy in a good mood. But more often than not, using these phrases will incur anger, boredom, or create a negative image in the buyer's mind.

List of unwanted seller phrases:

How can I help you?

Should I give you some advice?

If you have any questions, please contact me (phrase to turn off the buyer)

Are you interested in something? (“No, I just stand there for half an hour and look at the shop window!” Think again about what is better to ask in such a situation)

Good afternoon My name is Max. I . How can I... (the buyer did not listen to the end and had already fallen asleep)

Hello, my name is Maxim, I will be your seller! (a phrase that is too presumptuous; besides, this is how waiters most often establish contact)

I can advise you... (ready to advise, then be ready to answer for the advice!)

What amount are you expecting?

But how then to start a conversation? Are there any correct sales phrases and examples of working expressions that help establish rapport? Yes, there are such phrases! And they work best when they are tailored to your store, assortment and the characteristics of each specific sales consultant.

A big role in the use of words at the beginning of a conversation with a buyer is played by mentality, culture, and habitual forms of communication, which may differ from each other even in neighboring cities, not to mention different countries. We invite you to get acquainted with the list of phrases that sellers use in different countries of the world. Your task is to think about which phrases are suitable for your store’s customers and which are definitely not!

Phrases from a sales consultant for all occasions:

  • Good afternoon It's great that you came to us!
  • Welcome to the most hospitable store!
  • Could you help us? We want to put it here new carpet. Which of these designs do you like best?
  • (Walk by holding several small boxes in your hands.) Could you do me a favor? Please fix the top box. You know, if one falls, then all of them will fall.
  • I noticed that your daughter has pierced ears. I also have a girl about her age. She dreamed about it so much
  • I I see you wearing a jacket with the name of a rock band. Would you have been to their concert yesterday?
  • May I ask you? Do you think women prefer to receive candy or flowers on Valentine's Day?
  • I noticed you left the hairdresser. Which barber do you get your haircut from?
  • It's very hot outside today, isn't it?



  • Twins! Twice the hassle, twice the joy! How old are they?
  • How did you celebrate yesterday's holiday?
  • What a gorgeous dress! How long do you think it took to sew on all those sequins?
  • You have a wonderful French braid. How long did it take?
  • Someone was in today McDonald's ! Your children also constantly ask for McDonald's? Mine are asking.
  • It is impossible to believe that it has not rained for so long. Have you already started storing water for future use?
  • I see you are wearing a Zenit T-shirt" Do you think they will win the decider?
  • I spent the whole day in this store. What do you hear about the launch of the shuttle?
  • Three days off are coming. How's the traffic on the street?
  • Great tan! Is this your skin color or have you just returned from vacation?


  • Did you watch the Oscars broadcast last night?
  • Oh, these are new model skis! Where will you try them?
  • You bought so many books in the bookstore. What books did you buy?
  • May I ask your opinion? The buyer has just ordered this model. Do you think we should order it too?
  • Oh my God, plaster! What happened to your hand?
  • We had a little argument here. When do you think is the best time for us to put up holiday decorations in the store?
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