Soft sell: what does it mean? | Clear Business
You can be just a participant in the project, just an investor or just a partner, but the goal of the project is just as important to you as it is to the project managers and leaders. You are interested in boosting sales efficiency! Even if you haven't thought about it. Selling investment packages is the main thing that brings the project closer to its implementation.
Whatever your role in the project, you are involved in selling an environmental idea and an environmentally relevant product. This kind of selling requires a soft approach.
At this point, you're already thinking: what's all this mumbo jumbo about? Is it something complicated? Let's look at a simple definition then.
Soft sell is the opposite of hard sell (when business needs are prioritised over customer needs). Thus, soft selling is a customer-centered business approach, in which customer needs are valued as much as business needs, and sales help the customer to achieve their goals.
You need the soft sell approach when:
• the seller (partner) has a plan and motivation, but the performance is not always delivered;
• a company has scripts (you have them in "Partner Work Methodology"), but the result is still not satisfying;
• the competitors are about the same level as you.
See any similarities? Then soft selling is your strategy.
The main difference between soft sell and hard sell approaches is the focus on secondary sales. Your goal is make sure that the customer comes back and purchases again (upsizes the package purchased, pays off the installment plan early, purchases a second investment package, etc.), not to sell at any price now.
Soft sales require green communication. And what is that? Green communication is a resource-efficient business approach. It reflects the general natural tendency across the planet - to use resources sparingly.
"I'm eco-friendly enough," you might think. Check it.
• When talking about the project, do you act naturally (green communication) or do you play a role (hard sell)?
• When posting news about the project, do you primarily address men or do you take a gender-neutral approach (soft sell)?
• When communicating with a potential investor or partner, do you help them assess their need to buy/participate in the project and identify their needs (soft sell)?
• Do you respect the choice your customer makes (realise that you might not sell anything at first communication - soft sell) or do you start to pressure them (hard sell)?
On average, the use of green communication in sales increases efficiency by 28%. It's not just a fancy term, this approach works for the brand, including the personal brand of the partner (seller).
When dealing with technologically complex products and also investment products, a gender-neutral approach is often a problem. There is a big risk of slipping into the following stereotype: it is harder to explain technology-related aspects to women. However, the world of money and the world of technology are becoming increasingly democratized, and the myths about them have been debunked. And the secret is that the technological aspects and investment opportunities are equally difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't done it before, regardless of their gender. That is, women and men should be explained in the same way, focusing only on their individual experience in a particular field.
Then how do you distinguish between green (gender-neutral) sales communication and non-green communication? It's very simple.
For women. When communicating with a customer/other investors or partners in a chat, is it easy for you to articulate what you're unhappy with? Can you say you don't understand something without any fears?
For men. When you are chatting with a customer/other investors or partners - can your mum/sister/wife/daughter/girlfriend be present? Would you talk in their presence in exactly the same way?
Answer these questions and you will understand exactly what you need to change in your communication with people or what to offer to change in communication with you.
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