Advice on selling things

[PrinceAli]

Hey guys, I just started this new job at a sporting goods store as a cashier (not exactly what I wanted but hey its a job right?) I've only worked two days so far but I made a good impression and showed that I'm a good worker and my boss seems to like me a lot. I know this because one of the other managers (a girl I know) told me that he thinks very highly of me and is even thinking about possibly promoting me if I keep up the good work.

Well they are starting this new program and they want to promote their store credit cards. For the next few weeks they are going to have a table set up at the front of the store and they picked me as one of the employees to sit up front and try to get customers to sign up for a credit card. So basicially if I can get a lot of people to sign up for credit cards then that will look very good to management and if I don't sell very many, then well... not so good.

Only thing is I don't have any experience doing anything like this so I was wondering if any of you guys could help me out. Esp. if any of you are into sales or are a good salesman. Like what kinds of things can you say to people and stuff like that. I also realized that it relates to DJ-ing (like having an opener, generating interest, closing etc.) so getting better at this could help me out in other areas as well

 

[Skel]

Its better to ask the customers once you have made a sale IMO. I have done this sort of work. I use to sell warranties on things such as electronics. After you ring it up, I would be like, "did you want the 2 coverage"? Usually the answer is no, or whats that? This is a really good technique because you arent forcing the customers to hear your speach on the warranty if they dont want it. If they do, they ask, whats that?

One time my boss said if I sold more warranties than him in a single day I could have the holidays off. I sold 13 that day which pretty much destroyed him. It becomes real easy with practice. You can feel out whos going to buy it and who doesent want to hear it.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

The One Minute Sales Person

An excellent book which can be read in a couple of hours.

 

[Bible_Belt]

First, and most importantly, sell yourself on the idea that it is a wise choice for them; emotion is contagious. Then think of every benefit to signing up for the card; your job as a salesperson is to point out benefits. Over time, you will hear the same objections repeatedly. There tends to be a best answer to each objection, which you will remember with experience. Acknowledge the objection, and then overcome it. 'Feel, felt, found' is one way, and easy to remember. It goes "many of our customers feel that way, but once they've felt (the benefits and associated emotions) they found that going with our store card was the way to go." Sell the sizzle, not the steak. People make their decisions with emotion, not logic. Talk about how it feels to save money and make a wise financial choice.

If you want to read more about sales techniques, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, and Tom Hopkins are all very accomplished sales trainers; I learned a lot from their books. Also, the old Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" is a timeless classic.