Sales Strategy
Fishing For Sales: Using The Right “Bait” | January 08, 2015 (0 comments)
Tallahassee, FL—In this final article of our series about fishing for sales, we examine the final key to finding success in fishing, and how it relates to the world of retail sales. To review earlier installments of the series, we discussed finding the “hot spots” and using the right equipment (selling skills and knowledge). Now we will address the right bait.
A few years back, we had a family camping weekend at a beautiful state park, where my son Austen and I had planned to do a lot of fishing. Based on the history of this spot it appeared that we were in for an amazing fishing experience. But this fishing trip quickly proved to be a challenge. Near the end of the first day we were very disappointed because the fish were simply not biting, and we could not figure out why. I bought live night crawler worms to entice the fish; supposedly they were best for fishing in fresh water. But something was clearly wrong.
Later that day, in a twist of fate, we picked up the diary in our cabin and began to read the stories of campers before us. We came across a story of how one family caught many huge catfish by using pieces of hot dog. A few stories later another family shared how they followed the previous story’s advice and also found great success. Reading this reignited our passion to go fishing again with this new bait, and see if what they told us was true.
Within the first five minutes of using the new bait, my son began to hoot and holler as he hooked a really big catfish. Over the next hour we caught many more fish and were able to turn a story of failure into a story of family legacy. The thrill and excitement of reeling in such a catch had made a lasting memory that still brings a smile to our faces when we relive the story. All of this success came about because we had discovered that we were using the wrong bait. With the old bait we only caught one little brim over five or six hours, but the new bait produced three big catches within an hour.
When it comes to sales in the retail world, the bait is equivalent to your selling style. Over the years many of us have been taught the basic selling style of greeting, asking open-ended questions, overcoming objections, and closing the sale. It is the night crawlers of selling styles that in its time was very successful. Many use this selling style to this day simply because we were told this is what you must do. It’s not bad, and has been proven to be successful.
But what if I told you that there was new bait that your customers would not be able to resist? Don’t you think you might want to give it a try? Welcome to Modern Day Selling!
The Modern Day Customer (fish) has been turned on to a new type of bait and once they have experienced it they no longer desire the bait of old. What is this new bait or selling style you may be asking? It is getting away from using sales tactics and turning your attention back to giving the customer an amazing experience filled with passion and energy. It is impacting your customers’ lives in a meaningful way that leaves a good taste and keeps them coming back for more.
When I am assisting my customers I am more focused on serving while selling, creating a show-time experience, and impacting their lives in a meaningful way. My customers leave feeling good about themselves, their purchase and their experience. Over time it has created a very large and loyal customer base that makes selling almost effortless. There are no tricks or gimmicks needed to close a sale. My customers know that I am looking out for them and that I have their best interest in mind.
In closing I encourage you to look within the message of Modern Day Selling and see what is setting the new standard for greatness in sales training. Times have changed and with it so have your customers. Now is the time for sales associates and customers to re-connect and re-establish the bond of trust and communication that has been missing for far too long.