Believing in your product makes it easier to sell
Belief is a powerful thing. People have used that power over the years to accomplish many things from climbing the highest mountains to winning championships. But, did you know that believing in your product makes it easier to sell? As a top web development company we are often asked to not only design and develop a website, but also offer our insights learned over the years about how to make your business more effective online.
Today we want to explore the idea of belief and how having it can make it much easier to sell.
The Power of Belief
“If you believe your product or service can fulfill a true need, it’s your moral obligation to sell it.” ~ Zig Ziglar.
For those who are not aware, Zig Ziglar is considered by many to be the best motivational speaker on the topic of sales of all time. An excellent salesman in his own right, Ziglar started speaking in the 1970’s and was the author of over a dozen books.
He felt that having a true belief in the value behind your product or service is essential in your ability to sell it. Why is that?
- Ethics – If you don’t believe in what you sell then each time you approach a sale you face an ethical dilemma about whether you are manipulating customers to make a purchase they might regret.
- Confidence – If you do believe in what you sell then you exhibit greater confidence during the sale and after.
- SocialProof – Your belief and confidence in a product or service then becomes a type of social proof to your customers. Because you belief that lends credence that there is something worthwhile in your value proposition. While many people will point out, “Well of course they say they like their product; they have to,” that is not always true. It can be fairly obvious to most people when a sales person is truly invested and believes in what they are offering compared to those who don’t.
The Problem with Deception
Unfortunately there are instances in the field of sales where deception comes into play. This isn’t always a case of direct deception but instead of self-deception by the sales person. In some cases sales people might trick themselves into believing a negative is not a negative, or have been repeatedly told by other that what they are doing is acceptable.
Door to door sales of Kirby vacuum cleaners is a good example. People used to sell these vacuums door to door, primarily because they sold better with a demonstration due to the price tag being so high. People would be hired with zero sales experience and would go through training, which basically was a sales pitch on how great the vacuum actually is.
After getting these front line people trained, and in some cases honestly believing in the value of the product, sales managers would send them out to try and earn leads from door knocking. When a solid prospect was found the manager would be called and he would swoop in and close the sale.
The problem is that while many of these front line people were taught to believe in the product, they were actually dealing with self-deception. Most households being targeted do not need or cannot afford a $1200 vacuum.
“The most important persuasion tool in your entire arsenal is integrity.” ~ Zig Ziglar.
Using Belief to Sell
How can you use belief to sell products and services? It is a two-part process.
- Belief in Self – Before you can truly become a good sales person you have to believe in yourself. There needs to be inner confidence that you can get the job done and do it well. This often comes from having confidence in your own abilities but can easily be augmented with training.
- Belief in what you are Selling – Almost every product and service provides some value. The key to having belief is to understand exactly what those values might are. Often it takes time to learn not only about the product or service being provided, but also the general marketplace and how your product or service compares to whatever else it out there.
From there is it simply a matter of putting it all together to help customers make an informed buying decision.
A great example of how believing in your product can make it easier to sell is Steve Jobs. Before he passed away, when Apple was in pure domination mode, one of the driving factors of that success was his unfaltering belief in his products.
He knew what Apple was offering was innovative and unique. He believed strongly in the merits of his products. He was confident in himself and his knowledge. When he would speak to people that passion and confidence came out which made it much easier to sell products.
Did it hurt that he was providing a good product? Of course not, however many businesses provide a good product or service; but not all of them have that same level of belief.
The bottom line is that believing in your product makes it easier to sell. Whether you are presenting products online or in person, you should feel confident in what you are offering. A website can reflect this belief by showcasing product reviews, testimonials, product comparisons and customer success stories. At the end of the day, if you don’t have confidence that your product or service is the best choice for your customers you will continually be in danger of losing sales.
Be sure to check back every week for great new Lounge Lizard blog articles.
