We live in a day and age where people have their smartphones glued to their hands and are always within a meter away from them.
With apps such as Facebook Messenger and Skype, communication has evolved from the phone to the easy option, live chat and computer to computer calling.
If someone had a question or wanted more information back in the day, they would have to pick up the phone and speak to someone.
Now, however, more and more people are using Facebook messages to ask for information.
If your sales people aren’t currently active on Facebook or Skype, it is high time they start as your business will be missing out on plenty of opportunities.
Believe it or not, it isn’t just low-end products that can be sold without even picking up the phone.
Even high ticket products worth over $1,000 can be sold without picking up the phone.
If you have a conversational way of writing, you will certainly reap the benefits. A 2012 report by AT&T showed that 85% of phone calls in 2011 were unanswered.
5 years later, this number has more than likely increased as more people used the likes of Facebook and Skype to communicate.
The great thing about communication evolving away from phone and face-to-face to Facebook Messenger and Skype is that you now have the time to think about the best answer without being under pressure.
While you need to be prompt with your first reply, you can take the time to find the best way to respond to a question from that point.
In this guide, I’m going to go through how to sell high ticket products through Facebook Messenger and Skype by building rapport, offering a solution and more.
Find Out Why They Have Reached Out To You
One of the first things you need to think about when a prospect has contacted you through Facebook Messenger is what has brought them to seek your help.
This will help you to steer the conversation towards a path that will lead to a sale.
The worst thing you can do is jump straight into a sales pitch and start giving prices and talk of contracts.
Unless the prospect has specially asked for prices, at this point they are more looking for your help and advice.
To make sure you provide a quick response, so the prospect knows you are active and care, you can use this opportunity to ask what it is that brought them to you.
This is a great way to start the conversation, as it will give you an insight into the prospects behaviour and story.
Don’t be surprised however if the prospect doesn’t really give much away as they are likely to still be cautious at this point and may say they just want some information.
Build Rapport
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After you have sent the information they have asked for, you can then start working on building rapport with them.
You don’t need me to tell you how important it is to build a rapport with prospects, though.
What I can tell you is how to do it without even picking up the phone.
One way to do this is to ask an open-ended question so as to start a conversation.
After a conversation has built up and they seem to open up a little more, you can even ask about sport or family.
Another great way to build rapport is to send the prospect helpful content that is relevant to the reason they came to you in the first place.
You could say something like “I’ve just finished writing this blog post and thought I’d send it to you” and share the link to the blog with them.
This level of detail will show them that you care and are trying to help.
Start The Sales Conversation
Only until you have established a relationship with the prospect can you continue to start talking about what is paramount.
If you haven’t established a relationship and jump into a sales pitch, you may come across as pushy and could scare the prospect away.
Sometimes friendliness and conversation go a long, long way in sales… especially when it involves high ticket products.
Think of it as the old-school car salesperson when they almost chase you around the showroom trying to corner you so they can present their sales pitch that makes you want to run in the opposite direction.
Don’t be the traditional car salesperson, be the friendly chap who will help and not push.
Another rule to stick to at this point is not to contact your prospect by phone to continue the conversation because you think this is the natural next step.
This isn’t true because the prospect is more comfortable chatting via Facebook Messenger which is why they contacted you through that rather than call in the first place.
Have Them Confess Their Problems
After you have directed the conversation towards the sales route but not the full pitch, you can start to delve a little deeper into what problems the prospect is facing that brought them to you in the first place.
While you asked this at the very start, they were probably unsure of you then so now that you have built a relationship with them and have gained their trust they will more inclined to tell you more about their problem.
This is where the process will move on from making conversation and building rapport to talking business and nurturing.
If your prospect is still being slightly vague, then you need to ask the right questions that will abstract the problem.
Only until you find what the problem is can you proceed to the next step.
Present the Solution
Now that you know what the problem is, you will be able to provide the solution that they need.
Because you have spent the time to build a relationship, they will be more inclined to trust the advice you are giving them and believe that your product can, in fact, help them.
Don’t lose the prospect at this point by waffling on about the features of your product though as they will not want to know.
The only thing they want to hear is it how it can help them.
Therefore, when offering your product as a solution to the prospect, make sure to talk about the benefits and not the features.
Tell them exactly how it will help solve their problem and offer statistics on other clients.
Migrate From Facebook To Skype
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If at whatever stage you believe the conversation could be made better but still as text then move the conversation from Facebook Messenger to Skype.
It is clear that the prospect is most comfortable with communicating through text and so you want to stick to this method.
Skype is still a text form of communication however it is not a messaging service like Facebook Messenger but a chat service.
This makes communication a lot more casual and quick.
You will also be able to attach images, files and even video messages.
Another great feature that I have used myself many times with prospects is being able to share your screen.
This is great for when you want to show the prospect how your product works.
You can migrate the conversation from Facebook to Skype by asking first if they are on Skype and if so, for their Skype handle so you can add them to your contact list.
Once they have accepted your request to add them, you can then start chatting via Skype and sharing files.
However the best case scenrario is jumping on a call with them on Skype and closing them over the phone.
Result Orientated Offer
In order to sell high ticket products through Skype and Facebook Messenger, your offer is going to have to be results orientated.
While building rapport and finding the pain point and goals of prospects are imperative, it won’t lead to much if what you’re offering isn’t appealing.
The only thing business operators want to know about is the kind of results you are going to deliver to them.
For example, if you were a health guru then you may offer a 6 Week One-On-One Detox Course for $1,000.
This titled offer will let your prospect know exactly what the result will be and when they will get that result.
No Sales Pitch… Just a Friendly Conversation
Remember to keep the tone and conversation friendly and without a pushy sales pitch.
Take the time to listen to your prospect and find out plenty of information about them.
Sometimes, people just want to know what you can do for them and the best way to do this is by speaking to them.
The emphasis word being ‘speak’ and not ‘sell’ as people do not want to be sold to.
Having a friendly conversation with prospects will go a lot further than copying and pasting a sales script.
To Summarize…
Not many sales people and businesses are utilising the power of selling through Facebook Messenger and Skype and still tend to stick to the most traditional phone and email.
While there is nothing wrong with picking up the phone, it is important to offer your audience all options of communication.
With Facebook groups becoming so popular, you can move the conversation to Facebook and then begin talking from there.
Have you ever sold through Facebook Messenger or Skype? Let me know in the comments below.