Regarding growing our business, we mostly focus on ads, social media posts, website content, SEO, and other marketing strategies.
Regarding growing our business, we mostly focus on ads, social media posts, website content, SEO, and other marketing strategies.
But we always forget the major one.
That is good salesmanship.
No matter how many customers you get with your marketing campaigns, if visitors do not like how you behave in a direct interaction, they may leave your business.
The worst part is that you not only lose a client but also send someone with a negative thought about your business to the world where public opinion matters.
We believe a person with negative thoughts is more dangerous than a missed rental.
Because disappointed customers can leave bad reviews, or tell everyone in a community nasty things about your business.
Yes, that is scary because bad news spreads much faster than good news.
What can we do to fix that?
Good question.
One of the famous self-development authors, Brain Tracy, has an answer:
"Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her to solve a problem, or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service"
Here at Reservety, we stick to that exact mindset.
We offer rental software to help rental business owners solve their challenges, remove bottlenecks, and make bookings convenient for their customers.
When we help businesses succeed, we contribute to our growth because a thriving rental business is thriving Reservety.
Enough with self-promotion. Let's talk about how to increase your selling skills.
A bad salesperson is someone who does not understand the products that he or she sells.
It is the same for rentals.
If a person does not know which rental product will suit the customers' needs, the customer will leave the place unsatisfied as they won't find answers to their questions.
We recommend reading the product manuals and encourage your team to do the same.
Personal confidence is brilliant but you should also be confident about your products and services.
When you reflect your confidence through your behavior, customers may feel safer renting your products.
Kindness is a sign of power, empathy, and self-control, not of weakness, especially in the business world.
Being kind to customers is a promotion in itself because it improves retention rate, increases positive reviews, and helps build long-term relationships with customers.
Want to learn more about the potential impact of kindness on your rental business? You may read this article on Forbes.
Pleasant conversation and overall the best customer support starts with good listening.
Listen to what customers need and why they need them so you can guide them to the right products.
Getting probably upsell other products that are relevant to their project.
Customers like it when a business listens to their concerns and tailor solution for their specific needs. So, be that business.
Do you know why customers do not like bots?
Because they do not have emotions.
People want to do business with people who can understand their concerns and feelings in an emotional sense.
If you can't show empathy, you are not better than bots.
Here are some tips:
Showing empathy is not limited to our list, there are countless ways to be empathetic.
Salesmanship is not only limited to dealing with customers but also dealing with yourself.
Are you horrible at time management? Then, you may waste your time on things that do not bring value to your business.
You should write down daily tasks and organize them by priority.
For example, make time to engage with social media users, follow up with people who showed interest in your items in the past, reply to emails, or be reachable for business calls.
Knowledge acquired through reading books sticks to your mind like a magnet. And it guides your actions even when you are not consciously aware of it.
Here are cool books to improve your sales skills:
1. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.
2. Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
3. Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone
4. The Science of Selling by David Hoffeld
5. To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink
You probably heard the saying: "Actions speak louder than words".
Customers will look at your body language more than your words, and if there are discrepancies between what you say and how you act, they will look at you suspiciously.
Also, make eye contact and do not fidget to show you are genuinely confident about your business.
Do not wait for the customers, reach out to them anywhere possible.
For example,
I have a friend who is a car salesman. He sells cars everywhere. Once I witnessed that he sold a car to one of our common friends at one of the social gatherings.
What he did is word-of-mouth advertising, which is the most effective form of marketing.
Nielsen's report found that 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over other forms of advertising.
That means you need to let your friends and acquaintances know about your rental products and services, so they will pass on that info to their friends and family.
Go to YouTube and search for specific products there. You will find not only generic info about the product but also info on how to use them. That is a popular marketing approach nowadays.
Marketers teach viewers how to do certain things with their products, and then engage in selling strategy.
You probably heard about the sales funnels. It represents the stages of the customer journey.
First, you raise awareness about a certain product (Top-of-the-funnel)
Secondly, outline a list of its benefits to make customers consider that specific product (Middle-of-the-funnel)
Third, you use a call to action to make them book your items (bottom-of-the-funnel).
Who wants to stay around negative people?
They are toxic, and ruin moods. Do not be one of them.
Show your customers that you are happy to help them so they will feel valued.
Irresponsible and apathetic behavior is a no-go zone if you are truly intending to get people to rent your items.
Do not know how to show enthusiasm?
Start with a good handshake and smile.
If you are interacting with online or over-the-phone customers, use voice inflection, talk in a pleasant tone, do not rush them, listen to them thoroughly, and provide genuinely appealing answers.
We are not behavioral scientists, but we hope, at least, we helped you to understand the true potential of maintaining enthusiasm.
Some people are good at talking with customers but can't finalize the sale.
Tips:
Treating customers as someone who will rent once and disappear later is not a healthy mindset for a business.
Instead, treat everyone as someone who will keep coming to your business. That thought will lead you to a warm relationship with customers.
We know it is hard, but it is a must as long as they are not out of control.
We have written an article titled "How to Be Nice in the Rude World of Rentals".
The article will help you handle rude customers nicely so that tense situations will not have a negative impact on your business.
People fall in love through eyesight.
Thus, we recommend having galleries on your website or keeping the images on your phone to send or show your customers.
Let's say you have an event rental business, and a customer is interested in your tents, decors, tables, and chairs.
How can you describe them to your customers without images? The idea is simple: Do not just tell, show your items to motivate your customers as a skillful salesperson.
Please note: You can create cool photo and video galleries, and send images to site visitors through a live chat with Reservety.
Reservety handles your website, bookings, inventory, and payments — so you can focus on growing your business.