How to attract and keep customers.

Entrepreneurs survive by being enthusiastic about their ventures and by being committed to unceasing promotion of their their concepts. It seems unnatural for such people to equate "being silent" with actively promoting their venture. Yet, they’re not selling when they’re talking; rather, they’re selling when their targeted prospect is talking. Provide interesting information to your prospects and then listen to what they say. Let them "teach" you exactly what the hot-buttons are that can lead you to sales success. No one understands the targeted customer’s needs as intimately as the prospective customer does. If you listen closely enough, your customers will explain your business to you.

Selling is helping people make business decisions that are good for them. It’s finding a need and filling it. Learn how to offer solutions beyond price - because you know your customer’s business as well or better than they do. List the features of your product or service but sell the benefits.

Once you get a customer, keep selling to them. Customers are so difficult and so expensive to get, you don’t ever want to lose them. Sell them upgrades, maintenance, new products, new services. Aim to create a recurring revenue model. Continually refresh your memory of the reasons the customer did business with you in the first place.

The four main reasons why people buy are - Pride, Pleasure, Profit and Protection. What matters in sales is Continuity, Commitment and Content, and the last is the least important. All things being equal, the person with the best sales presence will get the order. To quote Aristotle, “People are convinced more by the depth of your conviction than by all the facts at your disposal.”

When you're selling, the ten most important "power words" that get the customer’s attention are:
- money
- save
- you
- new
- free
- proven
- guaranteed
- results
- health
- love

These words were identified by researchers in the Psychology Department at Yale University as having extraordinary persuasive power and are listed here in order of importance. Use these words early in your sales presentation and I guarantee that you'll get your client's attention.