Business English Club: How to sell

You may not like the profession of a shop assistant but can you imagine our life without these people? We'd have to go to various factories, stand in long queues to get food, clothes, books ... The point is, these people save us much time! A good seller helps, a bad seller pushes goods!

Listen to essential vocabulary

1	after-sales service	service that continues after a product has been sold [eg: repairs etc]
2	brand	a trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer
3	brand equity	is related to a marketing power of a brand. If a brand is well-received and popular, its power to generate sales and income is increased
4	brand loyalty	consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service
5	brand stretching	a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category
6	close	to finalise a deal or sale; to make a sale
7	cold call	to telephone a prospect without previous contact
8	customer	a person who buys goods or services from a shop or business
9	deal	a business transaction
10	discount	a reduction in the price
11	follow up	to continue to follow persistently; to maintain contact [eg: after a lead]
12	guarantee	a promise that a product will be repaired or replaced etc if faulty - also v.
13	in bulk	in large quantity, usually at a lower price
14	lead	useful indication of a possible customer to be followed up
15	market segment	a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs
16	niche market	a small area of trade within the economy, often involving specialized (= unusual and made for a few people) products
17	objection	a reason given by a prospect for not buying
18	overcome	to overcome an objection to show an objection is invalid
19	positioning	the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization
20	product	something made and usually for sale
21	prospect	a possible or probable customer; prospective customer
22	representative	sales representative person who represents & sells for a firm; salesperson
23	retail	to sell in small quantities (as in a shop to the public)
24	service	work done usually in return for payment
25	wholesale	to sell in bulk (as to a shop for resale to the public)

Recommended sources

1. Carmine Gallo How to sell more than a product - an interesting article of a communication skills coach for the world's most admired brand. Here is an abstract from the article:

What Does Your Brand Stand For?

Ask yourself, what does my brand stand for? Try to answer it in one sentence without using the name of the product your company sells. Legendary entrepreneur Richard Branson was once asked, "What does Virgin stand for?" He could have answered "a great music store" or "a great airline," but instead he answered with one word—"fun." By focusing on fun from his earliest days as an entrepreneur, Branson's vision allowed him the flexibility to move beyond a single product. Today the Virgin empire spans some 360 companies. Branson instinctively knew how to differentiate his brand. Branson was able to adapt, change, and take advantage of new opportunities because he sold an experience.

2. Tadao Yamaguchi "The way of trade"
This is rather strange book. Its advantage for the reader will be defined in many respects by reader s attitude to it. Book of Tadao Yamaguchi The Way of Trade is the small collection of very short stories about the Teacher who trains ways of trade. Stories reminds Zen texts, and way of trade as it becomes obvious after reading of several stories, is one of ways of achievement of perfection according to the author's plan. It is just as in yoga where affirms, that profound development of any skill or a trade is the way to perfection. The book is written in peculiar east practice that mythologizes the instructor. And if you are protected by healthy skepticism from author s transparent attempts to transfer the reader reverential trembling before this person, the reflection over these stories may be rather useful to those who improve their skills in art of sales. Good luck to those who are going the way of trade! --Vladimir Dovgan
Однажды ученик, владевший большим заводом, пришел к Учителю:
— УЧИТЕЛЬ, СКАЖИ, КАК ЗАСТАВИТЬ ПОКУПАТЕЛЯ ПЛАТИТЬ МНЕ БОЛЬШЕ ЗА МОЙ ТОВАР?
— За что он платит? — спросил Учитель, и ученик стал рассказывать о товаре, который производил на своем заводе.
Учитель выслушал его и снова спросил: "ЗА ЧТО ОН ПЛАТИТ? — Ученик задумался, поблагодарил Учителя и ушел.
Через три месяца этот ученик снова пришел к Учителю и сказал ему:— Спасибо тебе, Учитель! После твоих слов я стал разговаривать с покупателями и выяснил, что многие качества моего товара, которые я считал очень важными, их вовсе неинтересуют. Тогда я изменил товар, оставив в нем лишьто, что нужно покупателям, и даже улучшив это. Товар стал обходиться мне гораздо дешевле, а продаю я его теперьпочти вдвое дороже, чем раньше. Спасибо тебе, Учитель!
Это Путь Торговли, — сказал Учитель. — Благодари ПУТЬ.
Изучая Путь с помощью этой истории, можно приблизиться к постижению Пути Торговли. Многие ученики впоследствии включали эту историю в свои рассказы о Пути как одну из фундаментальных. Однако, когда Первый Ученик прямо спросил Учителя о том, насколько важна эта история для постижения Пути, Учитель ответил ему: «Не важнее прочих».

Деловые притчи от Тадао Ямагучи

3. Brian Tracy The psychology of selling: the art of closing sales

4. Seth Godin an entrepreneur, author and public speaker, he calls a remarkable product a purple cow.
"Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable" Read a bonus chapter