Sales techniques: 8 strategies to sell more online courses
You can be a great instructor and have developed the best online course, but when it comes to sell it the area of expertise is different and knowing some sales techniques can be quite useful.
8 Sales Techniques To Boost Your Business
Developing a strong sales program is crucial aspect for any business.
Without effective sales techniques, companies can not compete in the market and ensure their growth.
Nowadays, with an increasing number of professionals starting their own business, it is common that the task of selling your product / service is the responsibility of the entrepreneur himself, who most often does not have sales training.
This is the case with online course instructors, for example, who create a course in their field of knowledge and then find themselves struggling to sell it.
For this reason, we have prepared a guide with 8 sales techniques that apply to any business, to assist in the process of capturing leads, relationship, persuasion and customer conversion.
1. Set attractive goals and an actionable plan
Successful people know where they want to go and develop a plan of action to help them get there.
Especially when you are struggling to grow your business, setting goals and designing a plan that identifies how you are going to meet them is essential to making your path solid.
According to a study by Inc. Magazine, sales teams that set goals achieve a 28% increase in sales.
So before you think about sales techniques, sit down and focus on what you intend to achieve and what is the best way to achieve that.
– 5 steps to meet your goal and create online courses
Tip: be realistic. Maybe at first you have to lower your revenue dreams, but over time, after making the first few sales, you will gain more experience and be able to devise even more effective strategies.
2. Find the right prospect
A difficult lesson for many professionals is to learn that not every person who appears is necessarily a potential customer.
According to a report from Gleanster Research, only 25% of all leads are legitimate and are ready to complete a transaction.
You should categorize your leads and create campaigns to interact with each type. For example, for leads that have just made the first contact with your site, you should have a marketing strategy different from that used with those who have already filled out a form or contacted you for more information.
In order to find and attract these potential customers, you need to create a strategic plan and for this, technology is your great ally.
– Know what your buyer persona is looking for and attract leads
You can, for example, join Facebook or LinkedIn groups related to the area you work and interact by offering content of group interest.
Creating a blog is also always a great way to attract qualified audiences, at the same time that you prove your authority and increase your mailing.
– How to Create a Blog to Promote Your Online Business
Remember that before applying sales techniques to try to persuade the user to buy something, it is ideal to make sure that he is looking for the solution you have to offer. Otherwise, you will probably waste your time and efforts.
3. Offer the solution to a problem
Successful businesses thrive in competitive industries because they provide solutions to meet the needs of their customers.
You need to consider that up to 70% of your leads (potential customers) are trying to solve some sort of problem.
The main mission of every sales professional is to find the problem spots of a customer and use them to their benefit. According to Ron Shapiro, “To get what you want, help them get what they want”.
You can begin to identify painful points by asking questions that only require a “yes” or a “no” as answer.
When the client begins to feel comfortable, you can ask more specific questions that induce people to reveal additional information.
Once vital information is discovered, vendors can use it to help their customers act by showing they have the perfect solution to solve the problem in the best way possible.
4. Show that your solution works
Among all sales techniques, social proof is certainly one of the most effective.
Just think of examples that never get old, like commercials of weight loss products, that always focus on showing the “before and after” of who supposedly used the product.
Whether they are outsourced or not, these sales professionals understand that new customers are motivated by social proof, that is, by the experience and opinion of others.
When customers are able to view the evidence, they will be more likely to invest in your product or service.
For this reason, sellers are usually armed with all sorts of facts, data and stories.
Learning to tell stories is one of the most important sales techniques. While studies suggest that only 5% of people remember statistics after a presentation, 63% often remember stories.
Therefore, professionals who want to persuade the customer to buy something need to arm themselves with stories about relevant experiences from people who have received favorable results after using their products and services.
5. Maintain a relationship with your prospect
According to recent surveys, 80% of sales transactions require 5 interactions after the first contact with a customer.
It’s common beginner sellers focus only on immediate sales. If the deal is not closed on the first meeting, they simply give up and leave in search of the next customer.
However, experienced professionals understand that they must cultivate viable leads until an action is taken.
They continue the relationship started by periodically sending emails with content, offers, news and even contacting by phone, WhatsApp or chat.
– How to Create a Successful Email Marketing Campaign
If you do not keep up with your already-conquered customers, you end up entering the vicious and tiresome cycle of trying to find and drive new business all the time.
However, your past and current customers can be an excellent source of recurring income and opportunities for new transactions in the future.
When your initial transaction is completed, you should not end the relationship at this point.
Find creative ways to stay in touch with your customers even after closing the deal.
By doing this, your customers will think of you when it’s time to make their next purchases.
6. Listen to your customers and be pleasant
Nowadays, it is common for the user to access your site and inform themselves about the service you offer before contacting you directly.
Therefore, in many cases, they are well informed and only intend to remedy any specific doubts.
A common mistake of an inexperienced seller is to constantly talk to show that he is qualified.
It is important to remember that you should never enter into a knowledge dispute with customers. Sales professionals should always listen more than they speak.
Also, this is a great opportunity to find out what the doubts and problems of your leads are.
As we mentioned earlier, identifying a pain point and offering a solution is one of the most effective sales techniques to close deals.
Take the time to ask questions that investigate the thoughts of your customers and carefully consider the answers. The goal is to make them feel heard and respected throughout the sales process.
7. Provide guarantees
If your customers are willing to invest money in your business, your company should at least be willing to offer a guarantee on the product or service.
The warranty may be a refund or replacement. And if you fear losses when determining a money-back guarantee policy, know that less than 10% of customers return items each year.
A warranty on the product or service provides reassurance to the consumer, letting them know that they are protected in case anything go wrong.
Of course you can and should be careful, establishing conditions for applying the guarantee, such as minimum time of use, product in perfect condition, explanation as to the reason for dissatisfaction, etc.
8. Ask for references
Everyone knows that referrals are the “sacred chalice” of marketing.
In fact, the vast majority of buyers usually offer a spontaneous reference to a seller or product that they like.
In contrast, you might not believe it, but only 11% of sales professionals ask for referrals to customers, which is the same as leaving money on the table.
Even though many people share with pleasure comments about the good care they have received, as well as the positive results they have obtained, you must ask.
If you expect your customers to volunteer to give referrals, this may never happen.
However, before you reach this stage, you should focus on providing them with quality service.
Once you have determined that they are satisfied, then yes, is the ideal time to get good ratings for your business.
– Tips for getting more reviews for your course
Sales Techniques for Selling Online Courses
The beginning is not easy for anyone, but you should make every effort to stay positive in good and difficult times, while solidifying your sales techniques and improving the sales process.
The above list is not just a collection of interesting tips, but strategies that have already been tested and proven to work.
These sales tactics apply to any industry, even for fully digital businesses, such as creating and selling online courses.
Complete eLearning platform, Coursify.me is the ideal solution for anyone who wants to create, sell and promote courses on the internet without having to invest to start their own business.
Serving businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, the platform is a dynamic and customizable Learning Management System.
– Whats is a Learning Management System
That means you do not even need to invest in building your own website. The Coursify.me is ready for you to enter your course and create a completely customized sales page for your business.
We have three choices of plans for you to decide which best suits your needs, and the good news is that the Beginner Plan is free!
Visit our website, test the platform and start selling online courses right now.
