How to Know Your Employees? – Tips for Managers to Know their Team Members
Managers need to know their employees for them to feel valued and indispensable for the organization. Even the best of salaries and facilities would not help you retain your employees, if you do not appreciate and acknowledge their hard work. You need to know your employees’ well – their capabilities, skill sets, expertise and also […]
Some Perspectives on Differing Reward Systems for Entrepreneurs/Owners and Employees
Differing Reward Systems and their Consequences The debate over whether entrepreneurs/owners should be rewarded at multiples that exceed those for the rank and file employees has been raging for some time now. What has added fuel to the fire in recent years has been the issue of executive compensation and shareholder rewards when compared to […]
The Normal Distribution Creates an Abnormal Work Culture
Forced bell curve systems are a statistician’s way of looking at the organization. Much like everything else that statisticians do, the forced bell curve is also a mere hypothesis. However, this hypothesis has been largely romanticized and adopted by many companies. In fact about a decade ago, forced bell curve was the norm and companies […]
Why Performance Appraisals Have to be Data Driven Instead of Being Subjective
Employees Leave Managers Instead of Organizations due to Perceptions of Discrimination It is often the case that performance appraisals become the bone of contention between the managers and their subordinates due to differences over ratings and the resultant pay hikes and the quantum of bonuses. Indeed, it is quite common for employees to allege discrimination […]
Prerequisites for a Performance Management System
Performance management can be regarded as a continuous process managing the performances of people for getting desired results. Performance management is beneficial to all the major stakeholders of an organization by clearly describing what is supposed to be done for attaining certain desired goals. Performance management is the heart of any HR processes in an […]
Persuasion skills are extremely important for sales and marketing professionals as they are paid not only to interact with potential customers but also motivate them to invest in organization’s products and services. Overall performance of marketing and sales professionals is measured by the number of clients they could tap for their company. Marketing is the most envied position because of the huge incentives they earn once the deals are closed but do we ever realize how much efforts actually go in convincing people and also influencing their behaviour and thought process?
Convincing clients is no cake-walk as it seems and one needs to be really good at it. Remember, marketing is just not forcing and creating unnecessary pressure but changing the beliefs and mindsets of people. If your best friend has a phone of Brand - A, you automatically would tend to have an inclination towards the same brand without even realizing that there are other brands available in the market which has better features. Now if you come across an individual with such a perception, how would you sell your Brand which is different from the brand, his friend is using? Being too pushy would not help. In such a scenario, it is your ability to persuade others which would not only earn you a new client but also appreciation from your superiors and co-workers.
Persuasion skills help a marketing and sales professional to actually win over the hearts of clients who not only become their loyal customers but also bring in more clients along with them. In the above example, simply highlight what all benefits and extra features your brand is offering and let the customer decide himself/herself. Give ample time to the customer for his research and homework. Let him verify and also take the opinion of others. He /she certainly is going to do that, after all it is the question of one’s hard earned money. Do not claim anything which you would not be able to justify later on. If you are genuine and honest, your client will definitely come back to you. Persuasion skills are extremely important as it helps marketing professionals to change preconceived notions of their potential clients and make them believe in them.
The first and foremost tip to convince a potential client is to look confident and also have adequate information of the product. Never badmouth your competitors. Such tactics no longer work in today’s scenario. Things are much easier when competition is healthy than stooping too low for numbers. Dress in a way which impresses others instantly. Wear something in which you feel comfortable rather than blindly copying others. You would never be able to persuade a client if you are not presentable and appealing. Remember, something which looks good on others may not look good on you.
Another effective way of persuading clients is to understand their needs and expectations from a particular product and also address their queries. For example, you need to understand as to why your customer needs a certain product? In case of laptops, is it just to check his emails or to download softwares and applications? If his requirement is just to keep in touch with his friends through emails, why would he invest in a high end model? No amount of persuasion would help in such a case. Never try to fool customers.
Do not sell products which you yourself are not convinced of. Many a times, marketing professionals do not realize the importance of practicing what they preach. Why would a client believe you if you try to sell him a Parker pen while you yourself are using a Sheaffer pen?
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