Don't be afraid to sell direct

There is an old adage in sales that nothing is bought without it being sold.

Effective sales techniques are fundamental to the well being of any business, yet so many franchises are held back because the franchisees are unable to conquer their fear of selling.

In my 40-year career in sales, I have seen countless examples of people whose businesses struggled because they could not face the prospect of pitching their products direct to a potential customer. Instead, they took the soft option - running advertising in newspapers and magazines or embarking on mass leafleting. Unfortunately, both techniques can be extremely expensive and are among the least effective ways of gaining sales. Often, franchisees would blitz thousands of homes and businesses with leaflets with all but a tiny amount destined for the bin.

There is, of course, a place for advertising and direct mail in an integrated marketing mix but if these campaigns are to be successful, a strategic approach is required. For example, if a franchisee must send out leaflets, they need to make sure they have a strong and easy-to-absorb message; have them professionally designed and printed; only send out small quantities and follow them up within days with a telephone call; and, particularly for consumer drops, send each target three leaflets over a three-week period. Better still, they should knock on the door and hand over the leaflet themselves.

If a franchisee wants to save money and have a genuinely effective sales drive, they need to confront their fear of selling and talk to prospects face to face. They should not think of this process as trying to make people buy something they do not want. A franchisee should always approach sales - particularly business-to-business sales - as providing a solution to a problem. They should acknowledge that they are actually doing their customer a favour because they have a great product or service which is going to help them to be more successful.

A good franchisee researches his or her prospects, finds out about their business - websites often contain masses of information - makes sure they contact the most relevant person within a company for the product and then phones them and asks for 10 minutes of their time to explain how they can help them. 

Before the franchisee goes into the meeting, they should set themselves an objective from the meeting. They may find it helps to write down the pitch and rehearse it. Role-playing can help, especially if the franchisee can identify areas where there may be objections from the prospect and have information ready to counter this.

Quite often, objections come from misinformation of misconceptions. A franchisee needs to be clear in the way the product and service is described and make sure the benefits and advantages of the product are tailored to best meet the needs of the customer. They should not be afraid to ask questions - they will be surprised just how much information comes back and that enables them to spot opportunities for their products.

If a prospect is too busy to meet, a good franchisee gets an email address and sends across information. They make sure the email message is to the point and relevant to their business needs, always trying to be constructive rather than aggressive.

The franchisee also must bear in mind that the best customer can be their existing customer. They should get to know the client's business in order to see if there are further opportunities for new sales.

A good franchisee provides great service, thereby ensuring that their customers recommend them to their associates. A good trick is to leave a small supply of business cards with each customer and ask them to pass them on.

Franchisees also should join networking groups - this often involves giving a short presentation about their business and products. It can be daunting for many at first, but I guarantee it gets easier with time. Not only will one's self-confidence grow, but the franchisee will stand an excellent chance of picking up new business.

The worst thing anyone can do is hide away. Good franchisees are pro-active. If business is slow, they get on the phone and call people, and if they keep getting rejections, they don't give up. They have confidence in themselves and belief in their product and services.

Franchisees need to remember that each prospect that says "no" is taking them closer to the one who will say "yes". And although it may be scary at first, the more successful a franchisee becomes, the easier it gets.