When it comes to selling online, the age old debate still stands. To hard sell or to soft sell?
While many have found success using both methods in their online marketing strategies, you’ll probably be best served by coming to fully understand which method best fits your business model and sticking with the selling techniques that are working best for you consistently. Let’s take a look.
What Exactly Is Hard Selling?
To begin with, the hard sell sometimes gets a bad reputation as being forceful or sometimes even dishonest — when this is not necessarily always the case at all. Dishonesty and having bad business ethics will always be a problem, regardless of the selling method — so this is ruled out from the very beginning as being part of hard selling. (And you shouldn’t be dishonest no matter how you choose to sell — after all, would you want to be the victim of someone else’s unethical selling tactics?)
So with that misconception out of the way, hard selling is simply:
- Asking for the sale aggressively.
- Explaining the features and benefits of the product.
- Painting a mental picture of how things will "look" for the customer after a purchase.
Again, at this basic level, there’s nothing wrong at all with hard selling — it’s just a technique. Now a lot of times, it goes a little bit too far. For example, telling a customer that the product will only be available until midnight when you know very well you’ll be selling the product for the next several months. That’s being unethical.
However, explaining that you’re offering a short term promotion and the best time to buy is now (when this is the truth, of course) is absolutely an effective form of hard selling. You’ll see this strategy used a lot with selling eBooks and similar information-based products. Time is of the essence!
What About Soft Selling?
At its most basic definition, soft selling is really just about the opposite of hard selling. You’re not really directly asking for the sale, and definitely not putting any heavy persuasion techniques into the mix. But there are still a few similarities too.
Traits of soft selling:
- Letting a quality product or service speak for itself.
- Explaining the actual customer benefits of a product (not just the features).
- Providing plenty of first-rate information that lets customers sell themselves on a product.
Soft selling techniques are used frequently online — especially with informational type websites. By providing the visitor with lots of attractive information and value, these types of sites are aiming to build up a rapport, or level of trust, with the visitor before ever directly trying to ask for a sale. Once a reputable level of trust is established, then subtly asking for a sale or simply presenting the product is that much more effective.
And it’s also important to recognize that the lines between hard selling and soft selling are often a bit blurry too; don’t always expect it to be cut and dry. In the end, you’ve got to figure out what works best for you and stick with that strategy. Just keep it on the straight and narrow and it’s a win-win for all involved!
Until Next Time.
George Chaney
President/CEO
SEO King, Inc.
