This is commonly referred to as “needs based selling."
The most effective way to find out about your customers needs, is to ask probing, open-ended questions.
An open-ended question does not allow your customer to give you a “yes" or “no" answer, it makes them explain to you what their needs are, and why they would need a particular product.
Here is an example, if you were a sales associate at a furniture store, and a customer walked in looking for a dining room set, an open-ended question you might ask would be:
“Tell me about the particular type of pattern you are looking for," or simply put, “tell me more about what you are looking for"
This puts your customer in a situation where they cannot say “yes" or “no," they must go into detail.
On a personal note . . .
Not to long ago, my wife and I were in a department store looking for a coat for me.
I spotted one that I like hanging on a discount rack. It was brown, with a removable liner, and a zipper that ran the length of the collar, to protect your neck.
I liked it so much, I took it from the rack and tried it on.
As I stood admiring myself in the mirror, a sales associate came over and complimented me on my appearance in this jacket.
I smiled politely and thanked her. She than proceeded to tell me that the best part about the jacket was that it smelled like real leather.
Taking her word for it, I put my nose to the sleeve, took a whiff, and sure enough, it smelled like real leather.
The only problem was . . .
I don’t like the smell of leather.
Needless to say, I put the coat back on the rack, and the friendly sales person lost the sale and the commission.
The mistake the sales person made was assuming that I liked the smell of leather. It was a safe assumption on the part of the sales person, because most people like the smell of leather. This doesn’t mean it should be taken for granted.
The point I am trying to make, is that it is essential that you ask probing and open-ended questions, find out as much as you possibly can about your customer before you present them with a product. You’ll end up with a lot more sales. Believe me!
Frequent trading is likely to produce trading skills. There really isn't any other way to get good at trading stock picks besides, well, trading. As they say, you have to get into the saddle in order to learn how to ride the horse.
One way you can get practice is using a "play" account. See if your brokerage can provide you with a virtual account so you can get some practice trading without actually losing real dollars and cents. Jumping straight in and trading on a real account is not the most advisable action. That's what virtual accounts are for!
It is strongly suggested that you get some practice time in before actually trading real money. If you don't learn the skills needed to become a talented investor you may lose all your money (which is the same as your inventory) before you've really gotten a chance to become a skilled trader.
Each trader is different and people learn at different speeds. However, since learning from your mistakes is often the best way to educate yourself, trading on a virtual account can be a much less expensive way to learn this valuable lesson.
Some people need to engage in hundreds and hundreds of trades before they become decent at gauging the profitability of future trades. Trading is a skill and skill knowledge is something you can't learn from books; it's a matter of knowing how to trade.
Don't get discouraged as you enter the learning process. After all, there is great potential for a profitable future in trading as long as you have the patience to realize that the learning curve is not steep and takes time.
How do people learn how to trade? Often a trader will make an educated guess at the profitability of a particular trade. Of course, a trader can't predict the future and thus will not know whether the trade will end up being successful.
Traders must learn how to interpret statistical data and read from it whether certain trades will be profitable. An experienced trader will be better able to hone skills that will make this process easier and more accurate.
By using a virtual account and being patient you will increase your chances of a successful business in trading. You, too, can create new horizons in the world of trading stock picks!
Both Jay Conners & Stapin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jay Conners has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales and Negotiation, Marketing and Mortgage. Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of a mortgage resource site. You can also. Jay Conners's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.