SELL BOOKS
LIKE A CAR SALESMAN
G'day folks,
Welcome to a guest post by one of the best bloggers in the business - Brian Feinblum.
"I
recently had the displeasure of buying a car, having to go through the process
of shopping at car dealerships. Next to the banks, casinos, and realtors,
there’s no one as untrustworthy as auto dealers. They never prove that
assertion wrong. But my most recent buying experience leads me to this blog
post topic: What really influences a sale to take place?
They tend
to get done with the consumer acts under a mindset of fear and insecurity, with
a heaping of ignorance.
Perhaps you
expected me to say sales take place based on price, quality of product, filling
a certain need, fulfilling a desire, buying on a recommendation, etc. Maybe you
thought I’d say sex sells anything or that things get bought because people see
a way to turn around and resell them at a profit.
Certainly
there are many factors at play, but if I learned any strategies from car
dealers about how to sells something, even a book, here they are:
1.
Draw them in with a misleading or an incomplete offer.
2.
Make someone feel they deserve to buy your book, that they should treat
themselves.
3.
If price is an issue, just highlight the perceived benefits of the book or
product and then eventually get to the price. Make the consumer feel they have
to have your book -- and then they’ll pay anything.
4.
Whatever price you charge, add on fees. Throw in an extra service or something
that sounds mandatory or standard, just like when you buy a concert ticket and
pay the ticket price, tax, handling, shipping, processing, arena fee, and other
BS that adds 20% to your ticket price.
5.
Use neutral chit-chat to disarm the buyer and make him or her feel like you’re
a friend.
6.
Be ready to substitute one book or product for another, in case you see the
consumer is undecided on exactly what he wants.
7.
Plant seeds of fear in the head of the consumer. Tell them what they’ll lose if
they don’t buy from you.
8.
Pressure them with made-up deadlines and deals that are only good for a short
time.
9.
Always smile, be courteous and pleasant. It never hurts to laugh and seem like
you’re at ease. Calm begets calm.
10.
Sound knowledgeable. Just keep citing facts and throwing in some convincing
stats to sound like the experts declare your book or product as peerless.
The truth
is, many sales occur because the buyer didn’t do a real price comparison and
shop around extensively. Too often buyers want to trust others and buy on
instinct and short-term thinking. They transfer their abilities, skills and
desires onto the sales person and desperately want to make a connection and act
on the assumption that the salesperson is really trying to help.
But most
transactions, especially bigger ones, occur out of blind faith and a level of
ignorance. The buyer may not be IQ stupid but he or she is not really fully
informed of what to ask or look for. They make assumptions and don’t make the
salesperson prove much of anything. A good salesperson sells you back your own
words, hopes and concerns. He becomes your therapist.
As a
consumer, I try to reverse the process and look at it that I’m the salesperson
and I’m selling them a buyer. I think about their ignorance, fears, concerns,
needs and challenges in the marketplace and ask questions that plant doubts in
their heads. It works most times, but I'd pay a price of burning time, energy
and mindshare in order to discipline myself to engage in this process.
When
buying a car I usually take 20% off the MSRP or sticker price. Anything less than
that means the negotiation wasn’t tough enough. They will tell you about their
invoice and how they are losing money selling you a car baloney. They have all
kinds of incentives from the government, the parent company, etc. that we don’t
know of. They have all kinds of costs and competitive needs that influence
their moves. Even if they take a loss on a car, they do so to move a car out
and get a better one in. Or they make it up when they give you a loan. You get
the picture. Once you see things through the eyes of a salesperson and a
business, you can more effectively be a consumer and salesperson.
Good luck
in selling your books or marketing your services. Remember, your consumer may
not be fully informed and under some type of mental strain. Seize their
weakness as a selling opportunity Everyone else does it."
Clancy's comment: Thanks, Brian. I guess the simple rule is to do your homework.
SHORT STORY CONTEST
You may recall that I was a judge in a short story contest last year. Well, the same contest is happening this year. What's it about? The theme is the same as last year: stories about people making
connections while travelling. The length is still 4,000 to 6,000 words,
and the reading fee is still $10. So, grab one of those amazing short stories you have and polish it. Entries open May 1st. Click on the link below to find out more details.
"We'll accept submissions from May 1, 2014 to July 31, 2014. We at Malinki Press will choose our favorite 12 submissions and send those to our independent panel of judges.
The judges will choose first-, second-, and third-prize winners. We'll
announce the winners in September and award them prizes of $200, $100,
and $50, respectively, paid that month."
I'm ...
Think about this!
No comments:
Post a Comment