Most internet marketers have been taught that aggressive methodology produces the greatest opportunities. While this may be true, there is also the risk of being too aggressive and annoying your customers. Sometimes you have to allow them to say no and simply let the sale go.
How you can tell if you are being overly aggressive? Review these tips for walking that fine line between clinching the sale and losing a potential customer forever with guerilla tactics.
It Is Not All About You
The best way to prevent being overly aggressive is to keep the client’s best interests in mind through each step of the sales process. It is nearly impossible to anger or annoy someone if you truly care about their needs, wants, desires, and fears. An attitude of helpful service is almost always well received.
Desperation
Are you looking at the number of prospects in your sales funnel, or lack thereof, and stressing over the sales numbers? This can certainly make a salesperson desperate for a sale, and desperation = aggression. In this case, aggression is a very negative trait clearly apparent to the poor prospect on the receiving end of this last-ditch attempt to make a sale.
Stop And Listen
Do you actually take the time to encourage a conversation between you and a prospective customer? Or do you do all the talking, never pausing to take a breath? There is no way to determine if your sales pitch is striking a chord unless you stop talking and start listening. The prospect might already be sold on your value proposition but you will never know unless you take the time to recognise it.
A great way to delve deeper into the customer’s needs is by asking open-ended questions. And do stop to listen, and assimilate, the information you receive in response. Identify what’s important to the prospect and make your sales pitch relevant.
Ask Permission
Don’t become known as that pesky salesperson who is constantly calling, sending email messages, or mailing unwanted materials. Instead of launching a full-scale aggressive campaign to win the prospect over, ask for permission to contact him or her in the future. This not only allows you to tentatively gauge the level of interest, it is like a virtual foot in the door. You are not perceived as aggressive if you are following up only in response to the prospect’s acquiescence.
Define The Line (Don’t be an Ambulance Chaser…)
If you don’t where the line is drawn, how can you possible tell if you’ve crossed it? Take cues from both your own sense of morals and ethics as well as the response you are getting from the prospective client. Would you interrupt someone’s hospital visit with a dying relative just to try and clinch the sale? That is far too aggressive. Yet, taking advantage of a presented opportunity is part of successful selling. Define the line, then refuse to cross it.
Aggressiveness when it comes to career success is an admirable attribute, aggressiveness when dealing with customers to the point that they are annoyed is not. Learn how to tone down your aggression and act in the best interests of the customer.
See you at the top of Google!
Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
AussieSEO.com © 2007 - 2010
Nice post Sean and nice blog too. You give some clear and easy to follow guidelines which are useful for all. However I don’t know whether all those high pressure sales employers would agree with you. Having the fortunate situation of working for myself I am able to implement all the above suggestions and will remind myself of them when getting desperate.
.-= ewan´s last blog ..What’s the difference between paid for links and a paid for link building service? =-.
Glad you enjoyed the article Ewan. I think you are probably right about the high pressure sales employers, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks
Hello Sean,
I like the non aggressive sales pitch. When I do come across a internet marketer that is chasing me for a sale (they soon become obvious for what they are after) it soon turns me away. I like to connect with other internet marketers that are on line for a purpose. A purpose of helping others, without crossing the line, is the best sales tactics to have.
Great information
Lisa
.-= Lisa Wood´s last blog ..The Forgotten Generation =-.
This reminds me of my (short) time as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. The sales techniques were very aggressive and they played on people’s fears of things like asthma and hygiene in order to clinch a sale. I soon realised that the honest, less aggressive approach worked more effectively. I aim to take this approach in my Internet Marketing endeavours.
.-= Colin´s last blog ..Wealth and Success =-.
I can see why you only spent a short time there Colin, sounds like you learned a good lesson on what not to do.
Hi Sean,
I’ve found that people resort to high pressure tactics when they are trying to close a sale quickly. The salesperson hasn’t tried to nurture rapport or attempt to solve a genuine need (i.e they are not listening), they are instead allocating a short time to convert a sale. Once this time has elapsed, or the customer reacts negatively the process ends permanently. Whereas a softer approach can continue again and again even after rejection.
.-= David Moloney´s last blog ..Argh! 15 Mistakes That Damage Your Small Business =-.
Sounds very true David, trying to ram a product down someone’s throat in order to gain a quick sale may work in the minority of cases, but more often than not I suspect the door would be slammed in your face
And it can continue after the first sales with a follow up product.
If you force your customer into the sales with aggressive techniques there is no long term business relationship. And it is always more expensive to find a new customer compared to selling something else to an already happy customer.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen – Australian Internet Marketer =-.
Hi Sean,
I see internet marketing as a much more relaxed approach to making sales. I think it’s totally up to the customer if they want to click on our ads or our links. We can passively influence them through the keywords we choose or the images and colours in our ads.
But, I think that email marketing is one of the few places that we can be too aggressive with our customers. We just have to make sure that we’re not contacting them too often and swamping them with too many sales offers.
I think we just have to be respectful of our customers.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
Hi Jazz,
even online there are more and less annoying or aggressive ways of getting customers. The big advantage of online for the customer is that he or she can just “close” the conversation at any time by closing the browser.
As I want to be successful longterm I will adopt your way – be respectful to the customer and offer them real content, information and a good product.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen – Australian Internet Marketer =-.
There certainly is a fine art to selling. I was an office equipment salesperson way back (before kids) and found if I was just myself and not this sales monster I would make more sales. Potential customers like to be treated with respect and being too annoying to your customers with your marketing campaign will definately get you nowhere.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Anxiety Separation in Children =-.
I haven’t worked in direct selling for many years as I come from a background working in the fields of peychology, teaching and training.
The customer is number one to me so I would treat them like gold…without them and their service I would not have a business.
Being annoying to your customer is a sure way to loose the sale in my opinion. I have had lots of encounters with sales people that would do good to read your tips about how to be less of that.
Sometimes I wonder if that used to be common sense to listen to what your customer wants and needs and we lost it down the track …
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen – Australian Internet Marketer =-.