When I was a teenager, I used to work in a music store. We sold mostly entry level musical instruments, music books and more. I was young, but knew a thing or two about the products I was selling and I was eager to show off my knowledge to anyone who would listen.

I didn’t have sales training, and didn’t work on commission, yet I was highly successful at closing sales. I quickly became the best sales person in the store, and even received an award for my sales at the end of my second year there.

So, how did I outsell sales people who had been there for years before I was? The funny thing is that I didn’t even feel like I was trying to outsell anyone. I couldn’t explain it then, but I think I have an idea about why I was so successful in this position.

I was helpful.

I was helpful yes, but I was more than just helpful. I was genuine. I was truly concerned with whether or not my customer got the right guitar or keyboard as their child birthday gift. And it was important to me that they continued to enjoy their instrument after they took it home.

My sales process was to listen to the customer, find a product that fit their needs then teach them something about the product. Simple process, but it triggered a number of emotions in the customers mind.

Trust

First off, being genuinely helpful is the quickest path to gaining the trust of any person you speak with. You may not think of it this way, but no matter the size or popularity of your business, new prospects do not inherently trust you or your advice. They are strangers to you and you to them, and if you can’t get over that barrier quickly, continuing the sales process is difficult at best.

Confidence

By choosing the right product for the customer AND helping them to understand why I made that choice they become confident that I have the knowledge to help them make the right choice. A confident customer is 10 times more likely to make the decision to buy from you rather than “look around” at your competitors.

Satisfaction

When you learn something that you didn’t know before a great feeling of satisfaction comes with it. By teaching my customers a little riff on the guitar or a short piano line, they got a feeling of satisfaction that they can now associate with the instrument they want to purchase. Just by teaching them something simple they already started to form an emotional attachment with the product.

Using this simple tactic I was able to outsell the senior sales staff in our store in the first year. It’s a method that not only works to increase sales, but actually is helpful to the customer and sales person. Whether you’re selling car insurance or electric guitars, try this method out and you might be surprised that price isn’t always the deciding factor when your customers make their purchasing decisions.