Over break, while trying to fight through the aisles of the massive shopping mall near my home, I started to notice more than ever the amount of products that I would have such a hard time selling, simply because in my opinion, they suck. So I spent some time reading about tips on how to sell products that you not only have a hard time believing in, but a product that you wouldn’t spend your own money on. So I gathered these for tips from an article that I found. I kept the headings and personalized the description to what made sense to me and our class material! Hope you enjoy.

1. Make yourself process-centric

As you often hear “life is about the journey not the destination” this speaks a little to that point. This is about diving into the sales process instead of really focusing on the buying process. Use this opportunity to tweak your understanding of customers and to see the difference in preference, understanding those who don’t think like you. You may be selling an expensive brand of hair gel that you wouldn’t let touch your hair, let alone empty your bank account over, but that product may work perfectly in solving the frizzy hair blues of a client that you’re pitching to.

2. Take a note from “PR”

Connect your product with real life problems in their industry today. Focus on the positives of your product, what it can solve and why that’s important and could be an asset to their company. Something I will add is that it’s important to also be honest about some of the negatives, be transparent and let it be known that you and your company are aware of the downfalls and plan on continuously improving. Because just like you know how many flaws your product has, odds are the customer can see all those flaws as well.

3. Make a list of bad attributes.

Speaking to my last point. Make a list for personal use of every where that your product falls short. This helps to know what you should brag about. Knowing what your customer needs, wants, and likes is very important in use of this list so that you can understand that if your product is above market price and price point is extremely important to a client then maybe you should target someone else or use your time to show value and why your product is worth the expense. So get to writing a nice, hot, ‘burn book’ on your product.

4. See your current job as a resume booster.

Facing a challenge like selling a product you don’t personally love can speak to your method of sales, your ability to create relationships, be honest, but also do a great job selling. It can be helpful in future interviews and venture, it will allow you to speak to challenges and ultimately help you grow as a salesperson.

The full article is here.