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Posted by Sarah Brown on 28 Aug '20
How to reflect your values in how you sell
Whether you sell online or face to face your pricing and sales strategy is the most visible representation of your values. Get it right and you will sell more.
You've gone to all the trouble of getting someone to your website or venue potentially to buy something, so you need to make sure that you make the experience profitable and worthwhile for both of you. That means thinking about how your pricing and sales packages reflect what you feel is important, your values. If you are not sure what your values are then this FREE TOOL can help you, and also help you rank them. Want more help with your values? Find out more here.
Be helpful, show your expertise and sell more
I have recently got more into art and started buying art supplies for trying new techniques like watercolour pencils and pastels. I'm not an expert, so it is useful if the websites that I visit show their expertise by explaining what else you might need. Is there a special pencil sharpener or eraser for watercolour pencils, for example, I don't know. Which paper suits the pastels I am buying? Who knew there were so many types of paper from velvety to rough like sandpaper? Not only will this be useful for me, but I am likely to buy more and buy stuff that works. If one of the company's values is helping people be creative, then making sure people buy items that work together so they can be creative is essential.
Just because you are an expert, don't assume everyone is, or that they have the other items that they need to support their purchases from you, show the related products and explain to them if necessary how they would use them. Even if you have a Q&A section or help bits, not everyone is a researcher or knows what they don't know so make it easy to see and clear what they need.
You can even go further by creating starter packs or bundles of related products, preferably with a discount for buying the whole lot.
Linking items is just as relevant for services. We have a digital tool for ranking values, and we link it to supporting people to translate these values into behaviours. If your values aren't reflected in your culture, they are worthless, so we must help people to make them real, it's a critical upsell and reflects our top value of changing lives for the better.
Help people save money
Reward people for buying more either by giving volume discounts or offering free shipping above a specific amount.
If you are offering a service, like training, a volume discount is just as relevant, or you might give a reward of something free like a manual, book or access to online training for spending above a certain amount. We offer a discount for charities as this reflects our values.
Encourage people to return
Not everyone can afford to buy a lot at one time, or they might not want to. But if you have a reward scheme, like Costa or Tesco where people can collect points whatever they spend you can encourage them to come back.
Just because it is online, it doesn't mean you can't build a relationship with customers where they feel valued and understood.
Online, off-line, both apply
All the tactics above apply however you sell. If you don't have an online shop, you can still suggest to customers useful additional items that will enhance what they are buying. You can still give volume discounts and build a longterm relationship by showing you care.
How you communicate and price when you sell says a lot about your values and your business. It can radically impact your success, so it's essential to review your strategy regularly.
Using emotion to increase your sales