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Did you know that there are basic psychology-based tips that can help you persuade your sales prospects to buy? Closing the deal can be quicker, simpler, and more direct when you employ these simple tactics to help you learn the psychology of selling and foster a true connection with your prospects.

Here are seven powerful lessons we’ve learned about the psychology of selling that you can use to grow your business.

1. The Number One Way to Close a Sale

Our first tip is so simple, and yet so effective, you’re hardly going to believe it. The number one way to help you close a sale is by displaying enthusiasm for your product or service. That’s it!

Enthusiasm is so powerful because it generates an unprompted, but real, emotional reaction in your prospective buyer. Learning how to 1) show that you are excited and 2) how to share your excitement about your product or service will earn you many more sales.

2. The Power of a Smile

Another simple, low-cost strategy to help you persuade others? Smile. This tip goes hand-in-hand with showing enthusiasm. If you smile at your sales prospect, they will automatically consider you more helpful and engaged than another salesperson who’s not smiling. Laughter has a similar effect on others, so sharing a laugh can generate a sale.

Other people can even tell if you’re smiling even if they can’t see you. That means that when you are speaking to a sales prospect over the phone, smiling while doing so will make the tone of your voice uplifting, which can be contagious. The next time you’re trying to make the sale, smile broadly and show enthusiasm—and you’ll be far more likely to close the deal.

3. Tell Sales Prospects Why You Need Them to Act

Whether it’s listening to your sales pitch or buying the product, giving people a reason why they should make it more likely they’ll do what you ask. Tell them why they should listen to you. Tell them why they should buy the product. Research shows it doesn’t matter how silly or unrelated that “why” is. Any reason given to a prospective client can help make the sale.

4. Nod Along with Your Sales Prospects

Perhaps you’ve heard of priming? Priming your sales prospect means that they are more likely to go along with your suggestions.

Humans are visual creatures and we respond to each other’s facial and bodily clues. The simple act of nodding your head can help prime your prospects to agree with you later when you ask them to buy your product or service. Try nodding in agreement with your sales prospect when they speak; it can help close the deal.

5. Practice the Power of Eye Contact (Even Over Email)

According to studies at Cornell University, eye contact fosters a sense of connection with the other person. While it’s easy to remember to do that in person, it’s a good idea to take the tip online, if your business has an e-commerce component.

Include a headshot with your email signature so you can “make eye contact” with your sales prospect. Including a headshot in your email signature is an easy way to make that human connection over a digital medium and increase your chances of getting an online sale.

6. Create a Sense of Urgency

One tried and true psychological tactic to help make the sale is to convince your prospect that there’s a real sense of urgency. The less time they have before the special promotion is over, the better. Likewise, sharing that there are only “a few” items left will create a sense of scarcity that can help close the deal. No one likes to miss out on a great deal!

7. Use the Right Words

Words evoke emotions in all of us. Some words generate positive emotions, others negative ones. Almost every word can evoke an emotional response, so it’s important to choose words carefully when pitching sales prospects. Your role as a salesperson is to choose language that evokes a positive response in your prospects.

Which words have the most impact for salespeople? Check out this resource for 14 words and phrases which will generate a positive response in your prospects.

It’s All in Your Head

The power of persuasion is crucial to successful sales. A couple of basic tips can help you get in your customers’ heads and make that sale.

As a small business owner, you probably already know that marketing to promote your products and services is important. But just throwing dollars towards advertising won’t get you the results you’re looking for. You have to make sure you’re getting your message to the right people!

Why Do Small Businesses Need to Define Their Target Market?

Why is defining your small business’s target market or client demographic so critical? Because those target customers are where your marketing dollars will go farthest. Those are the people that really fit your product or service; they’re the ones whose attention you want to get.

Conversely, you can waste marketing dollars if your ads are being seen by the wrong demographics. If you’re selling iPhone cases with popular internet memes on them, you don’t need to spend marketing dollars on the over-70 set. And if you’re selling a hair dye specifically for covering up grays, you don’t need to spend marketing dollars on the under-30 set.

Your target market and customer demographic will be based on what products you sell, what services your business provides, and what your customers value.

Demographics provide key insights into what type of people would benefit from your business. This crucial information can help you target your advertising and social media platforms to reach those people, thus building a stronger brand, as well as a correctly-targeted audience.

This sounds like a lot to sift through, but it’s a lot simpler than you might think.

Defining Your Small Businesses’ Target Market Demographics

The first step to defining your social media audience is nailing down your customers’ or clients’ demographics. This is the easiest place to start since as a small business owner, you’re likely already very familiar with your clients or customers.

Simply make a list of the overt, obvious characteristics of your clients or customers. For example, if you run an e-commerce infant or toddler’s clothing shop, your customers would be “parents of young children who shop online.” If you own a pool cleaning business, your customers would be “people or businesses that have pools on their property.”

See if you can slot your target customers into categories like:

• Age Range
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Education Level
• Occupation
• Income Level
• Marital/Family Status

By answering these key questions, you’ll be able to put together a demographic profile of who your current customers are.

Define Your Business’ Target Market Psychographics

Once you’ve been able to put together a clear mental picture of your customers’ or clients’ demographic profile, it’s time to expand that profile to include your potential customers’ psychographics.

What are psychographics? According to Small Business Forum, psychographics are “understand[ing] where do [customers or clients] hang out, what do they read, what do they listen to, what do they search online, what makes them tick, what triggers them to go looking for a solution.”

By defining your potential audiences’ psychographic profile, you’ll be able to create targeted advertising to boost your marketing. When considering your customers’ psychographic profile, you want to consider their hobbies and interests, their lifestyles and personalities.

One way to gain valuable insight into your customers’ or clients’ psychographics is by considering questions like:

• What do your customers or clients like?
• What do your customers or clients dislike?
• What values do your customers or clients share?
• Where do they get their news?
• Where do they get their entertainment?
• What do they read or listen to?
• How can your products or services better their lives?
• What are their pain points?

Answering these key questions will help you define your customers’ or clients’ psychographics, you’ll get a sense of what kinds of marketing they’ll respond to and what elements of your product or service you need to highlight to get their attention.

Conclusion

Defining your target market is a smart step in any small business owners’ marketing plan. By conducting background research, articulating your demographics, and exploring how to reach those demographics can help boost your sales.

Learn More

When it comes to your finances, you want clear guidance and easy to implement tools based on your unique needs. Visit Learn with AOF to get started strengthening your financial management and meeting your goals.

Experience a different kind of financial education. Learn with AOF has flexible, on-demand courses developed by small business owners, for small business owners. Learn on your schedule, with no time commitment or limit. Save your progress any time to fit courses into your busy schedule.

E-commerce is the lucrative future of shopping. According to Shopify, “e-commerce is expected to reach a staggering five trillion dollars USD in sales in 2021.” Optimizing your e-commerce website to make more sales can result in huge profits for your online business and just a few tweaks to your current e-commerce site can really boost your sales.

1. Mobile Responsive Web Design

Experts say that the most impactful action you can take to improve your e-commerce website sales numbers is to upgrade to a mobile responsive web design. Outerbox reports that 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using a mobile device in the past six months. Moreover, the same sources predict that within a few years, up to 70% of e-commerce will originate from mobile devices. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: your site has to be great on cell phones.

So, what is a mobile responsive design? It’s a webpage that works as well on a cell or tablet as it does on a desktop. The mobile version of your site is generally going to look and work more like an app than a traditional website, which makes it easier to use on your phone or tablet’s smaller screen.

If your mobile site works well, your customers can and will use it from anywhere. That means you have even more opportunities to get the conversion.

2. A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Clicks

One of the great challenges of e-commerce is displaying and sharing your products with customers. An advantage of a “real storefront” shopping experience is that your customers can touch, sample, and try on the products. How do you create that same experience for e-commerce sites?

The reality is that e-commerce can never mimic the real-world experience of touching or sampling your products. So, you need to make up for it with the sense that you can use: sight. Use high-resolution, sharp photos and videos to demonstrate quality to your customers. And show lots of aspects of your product. Don’t just put up a photo of a t-shirt – show a video clip of someone actually wearing the shirt. Use your photos and videos to make potential customers see themselves using your product.

3. Keep It Fresh

Websites aren’t a one-off event – you have to keep updating them to keep them relevant. And those updates can make a big difference in your sales. It’s not just about keeping your products, pricing, and business info current. It’s also about really highlighting your new products, company news, and promotions.

In general, especially for a small business, that just means updating your home page. Make sure your web design allows for you to put big news or big deals front and center so they’re the first thing visitors see. By opening their experience with a promotion, you’re priming visitors to believe that they’re getting a good deal. That makes them more likely to buy, even if they end up buying something outside the promotion. It also makes your e-commerce website seem more professional since you’re clearly paying attention to it and updating it regularly.

4. Make It Easy

It’s tempting to get caught up in designing your website – cool pictures, a great design, mobile responsiveness, and all the bells and whistles. But at the end of the day, this is a store. You’re trying to sell a product or service. And you don’t want to lose sight of that as you work on the design.

The bottom line, you have to make it easy for customers to make a purchase. That means:

• Your site needs clear menus and icons so it’s easy to navigate
• Keep the structure simple so it only takes a couple of clicks to get to the product
• Make sure your site is searchable so that customers can look at just red shoes or just vanilla cupcakes – give them exactly what they want! You’ll need to talk to your web developer about making your site searchable.
• Make sure it’s easy to add and remove items from the shopping cart

Most of all, make sure it’s easy to check out.

First, think about your payment methods. Do you accept all major credit cards? What about PayPal or Google Wallet? You don’t necessarily have to take every payment method on the planet, but think about what your customers will want to use.

In addition, set up your site so that people can create accounts using their email addresses. This is great for a number of reasons. First, it means you can save their payment information so they can buy with one click – that’s as easy as it can possibly get to make a purchase. It also means you can send them email reminders if they leave items in their cart, making them more likely to go ahead and complete the sale.

Click “Buy”

Treat your e-commerce store like you would a physical storefront. Keep it tidy, up-to-date, and looking sharp. And remember that no one would make a purchase in a physical store if they had to do an obstacle course to get to the register – the same goes for your website. Make it easy, and they’ll be happy to click “Buy.”

Improving your E-Commerce Website

E-commerce sales are the future of online business. In your mind, you should think of your e-commerce website as your virtual storefront. By making simple tweaks to improve your site, you can elevate your customers’ sales experience so that they have a positive shopping outcome each time.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, America is almost evenly split between small businesses that accept credit and debit cards for purchases and those that don’t. And yet, the Federal Reserve Board says debit, credit, or gift cards make up two-thirds of all payments not made by cash. What this means: If you’re not taking cards, you’re probably not selling as much as you could be. So how does credit card processing work?

Accepting credit cards doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated-these days it can be as easy as plugging a small card reader into your smartphone-but you need to hook up with a company that’ll do the actual payment processing for you. Read on for what you need to know and how to get started.

How Does Taking Credit Cards Work?

There are several steps and multiple vendors involved in making a card transaction happen.

Step 1: Choose a Payment Processor

You will need to choose a service to process credit card transactions for you. This is called a payment processor. A payment processor provides the credit card machines you use to accept credit card payments. There are many choices of processors today. Some banks offer payment processing, there are dedicated payment processing companies, and certain point-of-sale systems also process credit card transactions.

Step 2: Open a Merchant Account

You will also need a merchant account to accept credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and other types of electronic payment. The payment processor will transfer the money from the sale into your merchant account, where it will be held up to a week until it gets deposited into your regular business bank account.

You can open a merchant account through your bank or you can ask the company you choose to handle payment processing for you. Some payment processors offer their own merchant accounts. As with all other types of accounts, fees will vary, so shop around.

Step 3: Ensure Connectivity

Don’t forget, you’ll need an internet or cellphone connection to transmit payment information when conducting a sale.

How Do You Choose a Payment Processor?

The big differences between processors will be how much they charge you for each transaction, how quickly you get the money after the sale, and their general terms of service. Here are the factors you should consider when choosing a payment processor.

Transaction fees – A payment processing company takes a percentage from each credit card sale. Some processors will also charge a flat fee for each transaction in addition to the percentage. Expect transactions fees to eat up 2 – 3% from each sale.

There are usually two different rates a payment processor may apply to your credit card sales: one if a card is swiped through an electronic card reader, and a slightly higher rate if the number is keyed in manually. This is because swiped transactions are generally a little less risky since they’re done in person.

Monthly and other fees – Expect to also pay a monthly fee that will cover the service and support you get from the company. You may also be charged a separate “gateway fee” for providing a secure connection to protect you from credit card fraud and help protect your customers’ information.

Be aware that some processors will hit you with a minimum charge if they don’t make a certain amount from you through transaction fees for the month. And some will charge a separate fee for complying with the security standards established by the Payment Card Industry. This is called a PCI fee.

Other considerations – You have to apply, but most businesses are approved. Most processors can get you set up very quickly, usually within a day or so, and you likely won’t have to sign a contract, although you may have to cancel in writing with 30 to 60 days notice.

You’ll want to find out how long it takes for the money to clear your account once a transaction goes through. This generally ranges from one to three days.

If you want the ability to accept alternative payments like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, you’ll need a processor with NFC (Near Field Communication) capability.

As credit card companies start switching over to more secure cards with chips instead of magnetic strips, you’ll want to confirm the processor’s capability for those as well.

Probably the most important question is: what kind of customer service is available to you? Ideally, you want 24/7/365 phone support, especially if you do business outside the 9-5 “traditional” business hours.

How Do You Find a Payment Processor?

For comparison purposes, start with your bank. Not all banks provide credit card payment processing services, but many work directly with Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. You might decide your bank is the best fit, especially because you already have a working relationship.

As for processor options other than your bank, it’s like any other business service: get recommendations from friends, industry associations, read reviews online, and do your homework. Independent processors must be sponsored by a bank and registered with Visa and MasterCard. Check to make sure this is the case. If you want to accept American Express, you’ll have to get a separate merchant number directly from them.

Alternatives to a Standard Merchant Services Account

As previously stated, today there are more options than ever, and that includes companies that will handle credit card transactions for you without the use of your own merchant account.

Probably the best-known of these is Square. Square allows you to accept credit and debit cards with only a smartphone or tablet. You can enter the details manually, or use one of their free credit card readers that plug into the audio jack of your device.

Square charges a fee of 2.75% on every credit card transaction for swiped cards, and 3.5% plus 15 cents when the info is entered manually. That’s more than you would pay through a conventional credit card processor, but there are no other monthly fees or setup costs apart from any hardware you might want, such as an iPad stand or receipt printer. There are no monthly contracts or termination fees.

Though, Square isn’t perfect. Negative reviews focus on a lack of customer service. Also, Square uses its own algorithm to decide on a payer’s credit risk, and puts automatic holds on some transactions. This can result in a long delay in being paid.

There are several alternatives to Square that are worth checking out. They include GoPayment from Intuit, PayPal’s PayPal Here, and Flint.

How Do You Take Credit Cards Online?

If you sell online, swiping card information obviously doesn’t work. Many of the same payment processors who handle retail transactions also have online capability, so it’s possible to find one that covers both.

If you’re ONLY doing e-commerce, you have some additional options available to you. The one thing you must have is a payment gateway to authorize the transactions. Some gateways require you to have a separate merchant account, while with others it’s all included. Of course, you’ll also need to configure your website to connect to the gateway so payments can be processed. Most website hosting companies have shopping cart components that will do this.

One of the best-known gateways is Authorize.net. Getting set up with them will allow you to accept credit cards and electronic checks through your website or an internet auction site (like eBay). There are various pricing options, and you will need an internet merchant account, which you can open through them, or on your own.

PayPal offers a processing service that’s easy to integrate into your website and will allow you to accept all major credit cards in exchange for a percentage for each transaction. You don’t need a separate merchant account but if you already have one, they offer just a gateway service at a lower cost.

Another option is to set up your online store on a platform like Shopify or Etsy that includes a payment gateway.

While it’s a little bit more expensive to accept credit card payments than cash, the benefits outweigh that small price tag. When people are able to pay for your services in ways other than just cash, you make it easier for them to spend more per purchase, which can translate to the growth of your business.

Learn More

When it comes to your finances, you want clear guidance and easy-to-implement tools based on your unique needs. Visit Learn with AOF to get started strengthening your financial management and meeting your goals.

Experience a different kind of financial education. Learn with AOF has flexible, on-demand courses developed by small business owners, for small business owners. Learn on your schedule, with no time commitment or limit. Save your progress any time to fit courses into your busy schedule.

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, and it’s something you’ll have to think about in order to grow your business. CRM software allows you to save and manage information about your current and prospective customers so you can keep in touch and follow up with them.

CRM helps you service your existing customers with the goal of keeping and getting more business from them. CRM can also help you turn leads and prospects into new clients. Think of CRMs in terms of a combination rolodex, calendar, lead tracker, task manager, and sales analysis tool all rolled into one.

 

What Does CRM Software Do?

At its core, CRM is a database that helps you manage your contacts and communication. You (and/or your salespeople) enter information about your customers and prospects, and your CRM software will help you keep track of the details.

CRM software is available at different price points with different features, and many have modules you can add on as you need more functionality. We’ll explore some of those below.

Depending on your goals, you can use CRM to manage the sales pipeline, organize your marketing efforts, figure out how long it takes to close deals, automate your customer service, keep track of your customers’ interactions with your business, learn which products sell best and when, which marketing and promotional offers are most successful, and manage inventory based on historical sales data.

 

6 Reasons to Consider Using CRM Software

1. CRM software will help you get organized.

Once you set it up, all your information will live in one place. Gone are the little slips of paper and sticky notes to remind you to call so-and-so on such-and-such date. Having to check back on your calendar for the last day you spoke with someone is a thing of the past. If you’ve ever had to search through emails to find details of a proposal you made or deal you struck, CRM would save you that frustration.

2. CRM software keeps your client communication up-to-date. It can tell you at a glance which clients are ready for a callback, or who needs more information. It gives you instant access to an account’s status so you know what your next action should be. It updates whenever you send an email or make an appointment. When you input the results of each contact, you’ll never have to wonder how you left off.

3. CRM software integrates with your calendar. CRM software will inform and remind you of every task you need to do to follow up with a customer or lead. For individuals, this is a helpful tool to make sure things don’t slip through the cracks. For sales managers, it’s an important way to monitor what your team needs to be doing at any particular time.

4. You can access your CRM database from anywhere. Today, most CRM software is cloud-based, so you have access wherever you are, whether you’re on a desktop, laptop, or mobile phone. Storing information in the cloud also means it can’t get lost. Notepads and appointment books can go missing. Laptops with information stored locally can be stolen. Not so with your CRM data.

5. CRM software can help you make financial forecasts. When your customers’ information is entered, you’ll have the whole picture about their ordering habits and can plan accordingly, whether that means stocking up on inventory or beefing up your staff. There are no guarantees the pattern will continue, of course, but a good CRM can give you a pretty good idea of what to expect based on past performance.

6. Many CRM programs give a variety of useful reports. Sales projections are just one type of report available from most CRM programs. You can also find out how many leads you closed and which method of trying to reach people is most effective. Find out who your most (and least) profitable customers are, what the most common issues and objections clients and prospects have with your company, and products that have the most loyalty. Many CRM programs will also let you create custom reports specific to the needs of your business.

 

CRM Best Practices

As with most tools, CRM is only valuable if you use it. Here are some tips and suggestions:

1. Make Customer Relationship Management a habit. Start each day by checking in with your CRM system to see who needs to be contacted that day and what tasks and projects need to get done. This will help you keep hot leads hot and not have anyone wait too long for service, a quote, or anything else you promised to deliver.

2. Keep your CRM information up to date. The best way to use CRM is in real time as contacts are taking place. That means emailing through the software, logging phone calls and meetings immediately after they’ve taken place, and noting follow-up actions needed and taken.

3. Hire or appoint a CRM administrator. This might be you, a sales manager, or another employee who will get to know the ins and outs of the software, keep everything up to date, and hold everyone accountable. Some firms hire outside companies that specialize in CRM administration, in the same way they’d hire an outside bookkeeper or IT support. Listen to the feedback you get from the employees who are using it, and adjust accordingly to make it easier to use.

4. Customize your CRM for your business and industry. For the info you gather to be useful, it has to be meaningful to your specific situation. Modify the software so it contains data relevant to your company. Add or delete as many fields as necessary to generate the information most helpful to you. If you require your salespeople to enter a boatload of information, compliance is going to be low. Make it quick and easy to input data about a client, lead, or prospect.

5. Create standards for entering CRM data. CRM is most useful when everyone using it is providing the same type of information in the same format. This will make your reports easier to run and more meaningful. Hold a training session or two to make sure everyone is on the same page.

6. Make CRM fun to use. Salespeople are competitive, so offer rewards and recognition. Post a leaderboard or status updates to encourage CRM use. The more active and engaged everyone is, the more the system will be used, and the more valuable the information your CRM reports will provide.

 

6 Ways to Choose the Right CRM for Your Business

Here are tips to help you choose the best CRM solution:

1. Choose the CRM software that offers the right features for your business. Think about the kind of information that would be helpful to you, and make sure the product provides it. For example, some CRM systems are geared for business-to-business clients, and others, to business-to-consumer operations.

Think about how much you need the CRM to do now, how you might grow with it along the way, and how scalable it is through modules you can add. Find the balance between a system that does what you want it to but isn’t overkill and too difficult to use or master.

2. Make sure the CRM program can be customized for your business. Investigate how you make changes and adjustments along the way. What kind of help and support is available?

3. Ensure that the CRM system is cloud-based and mobile friendly. As we said above, CRM needs to be used to be effective. You and your staff will want to be able to use it on the fly, which these days, will likely mean on a phone or at least on a wifi-enabled laptop.

4. If it’s important to your business, make sure the CRM choice integrates with the other systems and software you already have in place. Most small businesses use CRM primarily as a contact manager and benefit from tying it into email. Integrating your accounting software can give you even more information and richer reports. Be sure the CRM you are considering works with the way you already work.

5. Match the CRM’s cost to your business’ financial needs. Make sure the CRM fits your budget as well as your needs. Generally speaking, the more features a system has, the more it will cost. Some applications are free, but they are usually stripped-down versions limited to a couple of users per company.

For a CRM program with more functionality, expect payments to begin from about $20 per user per month and go up from there. Insightly, for example, charges $29 monthly for basic features such as contacts, tasks, organization and opportunities.

At the high end, you could pay hundreds of dollars per month for advanced features from a fully loaded version of Salesforce with a custom dashboard, social media integration, automatic lead generation, and other advanced features. Salesforce also offers more basic capabilities for far more modest prices.

6. Take your CRM product for a test drive before purchase. Demo the product before you buy it. Understand how it works and what it can do for you. Be certain the software is something you and your staff will be comfortable with and actually use. A CRM system is only as useful as the information it’s given to work with.

 

If you want to learn more, check out Business News Daily for an overview of nine popular CRM products geared to small businesses. If you’d like still more info, Capterra and PC Mag also feature reviews and rankings.