How to Sell Almost Anything

Hey, I'm Anupama. I'm an MBA student and a reader.

As an MBA student, I knew I need to learn HOW TO SELL. To be honest, MBA has nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to learn HOW TO SELL.

So being a reader, I decided to pick a book that can help me learn HOW TO SELL, and while I was googling such books, one book caught my attention as it was everywhere. Of course, an international bestseller. It was published in 1984 and since then, been relaunched with the latest editions again and again.

With all these fascinating stats, I started reading this book, and now let's dive into what I learned about SELLING......

Selling

Here is the easiest way to make lakhs.

Sell 1000 rupee product to 1000 people or sell 100 rupee product to 10,000 people.

The keyword is SELLING.

If you know how to sell, making lakhs of rupees is just a matter of time.

What makes Apple such a great company is that they can sell a 120 dollar product for a thousand dollars and people are more than happy to do that.

That's why selling is the most important skill you will ever learn.

And it's not just about a product. When we are in a job interview, for example, we have to sell ourselves. The better we sell ourselves and our skills, there more likely we will be hired. In fact, the better we sell ourselves, the higher the salary we are going to get.

Fortunately, there is a science behind selling.

People don't randomly buy from one person and ignore the other.

There is science why people chose to drop thousands of rupees on Nike shoes and would hesitate to buy sneakers from another store for a fraction of that price.

And here, we are going to explore that science.

I am going to share with you five "scientifically" proven methods to sell anything to anyone.

All you have to do is to pick up a product and use these methods to make lakhs of rupees.

1. The rule of authority

We are more likely to follow a request if it's coming from an expert.

Since we are too lazy to think about everything every time, our brains have come up with shortcuts such as, if it's coming from an expert, then it must be reliable regardless of how ridiculous it might sound.

That's why you find some great salespeople sticking their certificates on the wall of their offices where they meet their clients.

Because It sends a message to the client that the guy you are dealing with knows exactly what he is doing.

So when you are selling something, Let the other person know what makes you a credible person to sell this particular product or service.

You can present that in many different ways.

If you are selling a medical product, for example, don't forget to mention that you are a doctor with 15 years of experience in this field.

Indirect signals can also have a pretty big impact, like the title before your name or the outfit that you are wearing.

I did the exact same thing at the starting of this article when I told you that I am going to share with you "scientifically" proven ways.

It probably grabbed your attention because most people believe in whatever science says.

In fact, science says that people will more likely believe in what you say simply by stating, "science says."

So if you are not a credible person yourself, talk a least about the credibility of the product itself.

2. People are more likely to buy from you if they like you

I am sure you have come across someone who tried to sell you something in the streets, and you probably rejected him without a second thought.

Now imagine if that person was your friend or relative, it gets harder to reject him, right?

We might even feel guilty for not buying from him.

So why not use this trick with every person you are trying to sell something to.

Before jumping into business and talking about the benefits of that product, why not make the other person likes you.

Why not build an emotional connection with that person before you start selling.

But, the question is, What are the factors that cause one person to like another?

Well, they are many factors, but let's talk about the main ones.

We like people who are similar to us, people who have similar interests and mindset, people who pay us compliments.

In fact, we befriend people who share similar hobbies, interests, and ideas.

Instead of starting talking about all the great benefits of your product or service, get to know the person and find some similarities between you first.

Maybe both of you watch cricket, perhaps both of you support the same team. Maybe both of you are fans of Amitabh Bachchan.

The more reasons you will give him to like you, the higher are the chances that you will make the sale.

3. You have to Give to take

We feel obliged to give if we have been given something.

You are probably familiar with this rule and have experienced it multiple times. You know, when it's your birthday, you always invite the people who have invited you to their birthdays before. You feel guilty if you do not invite someone who has invited you to their birthday.

You always help the people who have helped you before because you feel obligated to return the favor.

It happens to us all the time.

And that's one of the reasons why salespeople usually give you a free sample to try, in order to give you this feeling of obligation to buy the rest of the package.

Of course, they are trying to expose you to their products, but at the same time, they understand the psychological effect it has on you.

So, this is one of the most effective ways that you can use to drag someone to buy your product or service.

It should not necessarily be something physical.

Sometimes a certain kind of behavior can trigger the emotions of obligation.

But what's more important here is that when you are giving something make it seem natural as if you are giving it out of love or friendship.

Don't forget that sometimes we buy something simply because the seller was super kind to us.

4. The principle of social proof

If others are doing it, then we are more likely to do it ourselves.

We look at the people around us to determine our actions. So if everyone is getting a new iPhone, we are more likely to do that as well.

That's why advertisers love to inform us that their product is the fastest-growing or the largest-selling. They don't have to convince us directly that the product is good, they only need to let us know that everyone around is using it, so it must be good.

We have this mindset that if everyone is doing it, then it must be right.

"It's not possible that everyone is wrong, come on, they are buying it for a reason" - that's how most people think.

Yes, of course, not everyone is like that, but the overwhelming majority, lookup to others to determine their actions.

Because we don't like to be different, we want to be like everyone else.

So when it comes to sales, you can talk about all the great benefits of your product. But it's going to be much more effective if you talk about how everyone else is using it.

Tell your client that you have sold 10 of these products just today and hundreds over the last week. That will have a much bigger impact on your client.

5. Scarcity creates demand

People want to have more of what's less available.

The only reason that diamonds are more expensive than gold is not that they are in someway better but simply because they are scarce.

We feel a sense of loss if we don't get what's less available.

The idea of potential loss plays a large role in human decision-making.

In fact, people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.

You are probably familiar with the Limited number tactic when the customer is informed that a certain product is in short supply, that if you don't get it now, you will have to wait another six months for the next stock to arrive.

Or the deadline tactic where the products are only sold during a particular period of time.

The point is, making your customer feel that he will lose something if he doesn't acquire your product or service "now" can significantly push him to make the purchase.

Just to sum-up

These principles and strategies are actually taken from the book Influence by Robert Cialdini.

Each of these principles is backed by well-done research and experiment. So don't mind me saying "scientifically". You can read about them in the book.

You don't have to use all of these principles simultaneously with every customer, but rather you have to pick a suitable principle for each situation.