INFOEYE

Introduction of daily columns by our advisor, Teruo Ichiki

As long as you are in the business of selling products, no matter how good your product is, if it does not sell, people will not even know if it is a good product or not.
Even a valuable product is worthless if it is not bought.
It is important to think thoroughly about why a product does not sell.

During my sales period, I have experienced many failures due to lack of preparation, misunderstanding, or oversimplification.
The previous year, faux-leather jackets sold well, and as a result of rooting around with our clients, we prepared to double the production this year, and as a result, we failed to sell them in stores, even though we got a contract. The same failure occurred the following year when chemical jeans sold explosively. This was a failure to propose what would sell next because we were blinded by what was currently selling and misreading its longevity. However, it is important to always think about what products will sell next and to read the lifespan of current products.

You cannot prepare with a high degree of accuracy unless you constantly survey the storefront on a daily basis and develop an eye for what is selling now and what is likely to sell next. If you are not constantly studying, you will not notice and miss opportunities that are right in front of you. I believe that the best buyers at our clients are interested to see if our suppliers’ salespeople have such sensitivity and are studying.

It is the planning proposal that determines whether a business meeting will start or not, and it is the careful preparation that makes the proposal persuasive. When I was in sales, I once asked a client about our No. 1 sales person, “Why do you buy from that sales person?” Why do you buy from him? The answer was: “Because he is the best.

He reads what I want, what I feel inconvenienced by, and what I want from him. Above all, his preparation for the meeting is excellent.”

The product is good and ready, but it does not sell.
Sometimes a product does not sell because the final product is not well prepared.
This is called a closing failure.

According to Hiromi Wada’s book, “The Secret of 98% closing rate,” closing is
Do you want to buy? Do you want to buy? and “Please decide now” by giving the customer a choice. This book is written as a sales technique for cosmetics, insurance, and real estate.

Unsuccessful salespeople are stuffy.
I believe that unsuccessful salespeople are often too short on time. When the sales meeting reaches its climax and the customer is trying to make a decision, they cannot stand the silence and start talking about something unrelated, such as how great Ukraine is or how great Otani is. The customer becomes unable to think straight and says, “Let’s move on. If we decide now, we can meet the delivery date, but if it is tomorrow, the delivery date will be delayed one week. If the delivery date you want is absolutely certain, could you make a decision today? It is not possible to close the deal in a timely manner.

Not afraid of rejection
When a salesperson says, “I can’t sell even though I am a good and earnest person,” or “I am trying my best but my performance is not improving,” the situation is almost always that the salesperson is not making the closing call. Why can’t they close the sale? He says it is because they are afraid of rejection. All they have to do is ask questions that encourage them to make a decision with confidence, but those who can’t, can’t.
Cut unnecessary information for customers.
Some people are “good talkers, but for some reason they don’t sell.” Such people probably talk too much. Talking while intoxicated does not benefit the customer.
You are well aware that talking is not always a good thing, but it is better to minimize information that is unnecessary for the customer.

be a good listener
I had a top salesperson at Company T, even though he was a quiet type. He was a good listener. He looked the other person in the eye and used his whole body in conversation, listening to the customer with his whole heart and soul, so the customer would be in a good mood.
Then, the taciturn person says one word that the customer likes, and the customer becomes a fan at once.

Liked by customers
Carnegie’s book, “Motivating People,” introduces principles for getting people to like you. The first principle of being well-liked is “sincere interest. The taciturn sales person may not be a prolific speaker, but he or she has all of these principles in place to be well liked.
It is natural that being well-liked by the customer makes closing easier.
I believe there are certain prerequisites that make closing easier, and one of them is to be liked by the customer.

fall in love with the product
I would like to consider other sales techniques that make it easier to close the sale. One of them is to become infatuated with the product you are recommending.
It is important to do your research, read the customer’s needs, and as a result, become infatuated with the product you are proposing.

Have product knowledge about the products you sell
Of course, it is necessary to prepare as much product knowledge as possible. The reason why customers are unsure of their decision is that they are not sure if this product will sell or if they can believe what the salesperson says. It is important to confidently tell the customer what the market price of the product is, that the price you are offering is not too high, and that you have done your research and can sell the product on your sales floor for this reason. If you and the customer are wondering whether the product will sell or not, you will not be able to make a decision.
No pressure.
While it is important to make a recommendation with confidence, do not force it. If the product that the sales person forced you to buy does not sell, your trust in the sales person will be damaged, and this will certainly affect your next business meeting. When people make a decision, they are not sure what to do. They leave the option of “not buying” until the last minute. If a customer is uncertain, listen to all of their concerns without forcing them into a decision. It is important to make them feel that they have made their own choice after much deliberation.

Follow-up is important.
When products are delivered, they may or may not sell, but we should also be interested in the digestion rate on the sales floor, and products that we had so much confidence in did not sell. I think you should verify with the customer what the problem was. And then use that experience in the next business meeting and in product planning. Such a sincere attitude will be well received by customers.

I don’t lie.
No matter how much you want to sell, there is one thing you should never do. That is lying. Refusing to do what you cannot do in terms of delivery date, quality, etc., will lead to trust. Even if you think you have successfully negotiated with your counterparty by changing to a cheaper and inferior material in response to their severe price negotiations, or by sending the product to a subcontractor’s factory you have never used before in order to meet a tight delivery schedule, the result will always be a delay in delivery or poor quality, which will cause trouble for the customer, and you will lose their trust.

I have written a lot, but to summarize,
We will detect what is inconvenient and what they want from us, and we will persuade them with confidence and sincerity.”Will this be the case?