High-Pressure Profits
Is the hard-sell approach right for your store?
Seven ideas to help you decide.
By Anke Corbin

First things first: the hard sell is a controversial technique that might not be right for your store. However, it's been proven to be an effective strategy in certain sales situations. Most marketing books assert that higher-pressure selling can significantly increase sales while decreasing the time needed to sell lower-ticket goods such as rentals and accessories. Because accessories and rentals add up to 80 to 90 percent of some business revenues, hard-sell tactics may be an option to the traditional soft-sell models used by most retailers. Which technique is right for you? Consider the following tips for the hard-sell approach and decide for yourself.

1) Push the right buttons.

Learning to analyze the types of customers visiting your store will allow you to quickly size up each customer and understand what motivates them to buy. Some people want to buy a product for its image - they're ego-driven. Some people want to be liked, and are motivated by the desire to please. Others are logical, needing technical detail. These logic-driven individuals want you to prove to them that a particular product is superior to another. There are many more personality types, each requiring a different sales approach. By quickly figuring out what motivates your customer, you'll be able to tailor your sales pitch to maximize service and sales. Remember, the best salespeople are great listeners.

2) Sell to everyone ... everywhere.

The more people you approach, both in the business and out, the more you'll sell. Make sure you approach and sell either product or ideas to everyone who comes into your establishment. Don't stop selling when you leave your job. Talk to people on the lift, while you're riding, and to friends and relatives. Ask happy customers to give you recommendations - you know, the MCI Friends and Family thing. Invite potential customers to a special event such as an open house or sale.

3) Get past "No."

When trying to handle negative customer responses, realize that most objections are a need for more information and additional options. Somehow, you haven't met your customer's needs yet. Most salespeople stop trying after the first attempt. Don't give up! Turn a "not sure" into a definite "yes" by retracing your steps, and starting over until you find the products that meet your customer's needs.

4) Broaden you closing options.

For small-ticket items, being able to use a variety of closes has been proven to increase the number of sales, and reduce the time required to make a sale. There are many different types of closes. Here are a few examples:

Assumed close: Assume the sale has already been made before the customer has agreed to purchase the product. Say: "Do you need pants to go with your jacket?"

Alternative closes: Give the customer a couple of choices, such as: "Do you want to pick your board up this afternoon or tomorrow?" or "Will you be using cash or credit?"

Last-chance closes: "The sale is over tomorrow, so unless you buy now ... " or "I do have a couple of other people interested ..."

5) Increase confidence

Teach your sales staff to be challenged by rejection. If you want to play hardball by pushing the sale and having a more aggressive sales team, successfully dealing with some rejection is essential for a healthy attitude. Also, hiring confident individuals whose sales skills need a little polishing is a lot easier than teaching someone to have the courage to approach strangers and sell well.

6) Increase motivation.

Motivation can be increased by making your sales staff responsible for their own income by setting up a significant commission structure. Confident salespeople prefer having control over their income. The more they sell, the more money they'll make.

7) Sell the add-on.

Don't let customers out of the shop without having sold them the matching accessories to their outfit, or a service contract to go with their new board. Make sure everyone realizes the importance of add-on sales increasing the bottom line.

Again, when using high-pressure sales tactics, keep in mind that the lower the price and psychological investment, the easier it is to push the customer. For high-involvement, high-risk, and high-ticket sales, take more time to develop the sale, and to build the relationship. Often, purchasing a higher-priced item such as a snowboard means that your customers are buying more than just the board. They're also buying a relationship with the shop for service and warranty. Research has shown that being more aggressive while selling a high-ticket item usually decreases the chance of making the sale.

Suggested Reading:

Getting Past No by William Ury.

Guerrilla Selling by Galagher, Wilson, and Levinson.

Spin Selling by Neil Rackham.

How to Sell Anything to Anybody by Girard and Brown.