Powerful selling principals that will help you be more influential and help you understand your customers needs to help bring in more sales.

It's the holiday season and we are about to enter into a sellers market. How can you take advantage of this time and optimize your selling power to rake in sales? It's all about influence and developing long-term relationships with your customers.

How do you influence someone to want to buy your product without being a pushy, obnoxious salesperson? By making it about the consumer and not about you. You may have heard that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. While that may be true in some cases, the squeaky wheel is also damaging their future relationship with that customer.

Consumers don't like to be bullied. If you want to influence them, you must capture them with emotion. Here is an example (The following book and title are fictional. I made them up for this article. Any resemblance to another book or title is strictly coincidence.):
On The Edge is a great mystery novel filled with horror, who done it and suspense. This book is a great gift and stocking stuffer for those in your family who enjoy a good intrigue. Don't miss the holiday sale special. Buy today and receive…

Here is the same type of ad, but personalized.

Do you or someone you know love suspense and intrigue? Do you miss reading the old time mystery thrillers? On The Edge will bring you back to the time when you couldn't put a book down and would read it under the covers with a flashlight.

Do you see the difference? One ad, while perfectly acceptable, is just an ad that talks about the book. The next ad makes the book about the consumer and draws them into a more emotional state, which can have a powerful effect on their purchase.

It's been proven that people buy more with emotion than logic. If you help your customer feel your product or service will benefit them and with it they will experience pleasure and success, you've hit a home run. The only way to do that is to make it about them and help them feel how it will benefit them.

Once you have done that, you must have a product or service that really delivers or you will lose the customer loyalty that will bring them back again as well as getting referrals.

Do you have a favorite store, brand, or restaurant? Think about why it is your favorite and what brings you back to it repeatedly even if you see a similar product, brand or restaurant that may cost less money. Once you have truly thought about what compels you to go back, use the same words and thoughts that come to your mind to help sell your product.

Another way to help influence a buyer is to have recommendations and endorsements for your product. People love to read how your product helped someone. This is called a social endorsement. How do you get a social endorsement?

Anytime someone shares a story about what you or your product has done for him or her, ask if you can use his or her information as a quote. Let them know you will put their website or company information up as a cross promotion.

The last two powerful ways to influence people and draw them to your product or service are to share your personal story and to ask questions. Sharing your story will explain on a realistic and emotional level why you are qualified to help them and what makes you an expert in your field.

Asking questions about your customer will show them you are interested in them, and it will help them see that you understand their needs. These two strategies will attract people to you and help promote customer loyalty.

The most important thing to remember is understanding your target customer and their needs. Offer them a service that says you understand where they are at and that you are there to help them.

Jaci Rae’s grit and determination brought her from a poor childhood to a successful singer and author who tours around the world. She is the recipient of the "Female Vocalist of the Year" award at the Golden Music Awards in Nashville, TN as well as a #1 Best selling author.

Jaci is on the dating team of Savvymiss.com, the relationship expert for lovingyou.com and is a relationship advisor for loveisgreat.com and singlescafe.net. She is the author of The Indie Guide to Music, Marketing and Money, as well as Winning Points With The Woman In Your Life One Touchdown At A Time (Simon and Schuster), Shop for a Day with Jaci Rae and Collista's Search for the True Meaning of Christmas. Jaci spends her spare time working on her music, writing and hanging out with family and friends. For more information, go to www.christmaswithlove.com www.shopforaday.com www.winningromance.com or www.jacirae.com

About.com Dating Guide lists Jaci's book, Winning Points With The Woman In Your Life One Touchdown At A Time in the top six of all time dating / relationship books.
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