First comes one that is repeated everywhere: God gave you one mouth and two ears so use them in that proportion. It's a cliché that great salesmen have the gift of the gab, but it's wrong. Sure, they are persuasive talkers, but above all they have the gift of listening. Allied to that, they've learned the right questions to ask so that the customer does the talking and talks himself into buying. The too-talkative salesmen will miss all sorts of buying signals as he verbally shouldercharges his way through his presentation. Tell him to shut up and listen.

Sell benefits not features is likewise repeated everywhere. But so often it doesn't happen. 99% of your customers have no interest in the detail of the fabric you use or the decorating. They're interested in the results. How about a sale that starts: "I'm not here to sell you sweatshirts, I'm going to show you how you can uprate your corporate profile, create high value customer promotions, generate enquiries and improve the green status of your business. Can we just discuss which of those is most valuable to you?" This way, you may discover, for example, that the MD has committed to reduce the company's carbon footprint significantly. You will therefore know that ethically traded cotton products are top of the pile. Moreover, if the customer sees competitors and they don't discover that detail, you've sold.

This is all about professionalism, selling a solution to a problem, taking advantage of an opportunity. A further mark of professionalism is to take notes, just as a doctor, accountant or solicitor would. Use a hardback A4 notebook, rather than some pre-printed form. The latter always looks like you're working to a formula, shoe-horning the customer into a fit with your product, rather than coming up with a tailormade solution.

The salesman should be the customer's equal, whether he's visiting a FTSE 100 company or a sole trader. This way he is on the same wavelength as the customer, without which, no sale.A simple means to achieve this is to pick up on phrases your customer uses, known as parrotphrasing. By contrast, translating your customer's words into the technical terms or trade jargon is sales suicide.You're there to sell, not run a tutorial on the printwear industry. Equally, treat the customer with respect. He may have bought printwear 10 times in the past eight years and really know his stuff. He doesn't need persuading, he needs to be treated as a fellow professional who needs updating on product developments since he last bought. If instead, you insist on going through your whole pitch, he won't buy because he feels he's being treated as an idiot. This comes back to those important questions you need to ask, which would tell you that you can talk detail.

Show and tell. Sorry, show and sell. That's dead easy in the printwear industry, isn't it, since it's all about the product. Go carefully. It is seriously tempting to turn a boardroom table into a rummage sale and you end up talking just about colours, materials and decorating techniques. I have personally been on the receiving end of this approach and certainly I learned a fair bit about weights of cotton and the number of stitches in a logo.What I didn't learn was what the particular product had been used for, how successfully it contributed to the marketing aims or what products were then proving most effective for particular aims.

Closely associated with that is the saying "a picture paints a thousand words, but a true story paints a thousand pictures". Note the word 'true'. If you have a customer(s) who is prepared to be a case study, quoting business name and title, which you can quote to prospective buyers, you have a powerful ally. He doesn't have to quote company confidential information (although that would be ideal). It could be as simple as: "We have had 20 new customers who made contact with us after seeing our number on our corporate sweatshirts."

Two thoughts about numbers. First, compare these two sentences. "There are good reasons to buy now" and "there are three good reasons to buy now". The second is far stronger, isn't it? Nor did I pick the number three at random. There is a technique called the Rule of Three. For some unknown reason, grouping items in threes makes a powerful impression on the human mind: I came, I saw, I conquered; faith, hope and charity; government of the people, by the people, for the people. At a more basic level there's 123, abc, xyz, whereas in contrast 4, d and w never get a look-in. People remember groups of three, so, without being contrived, use them where you can.

Price

Some points about price. First, don't try and hide it away. You can't quote figures until you know the customer's requirements, so tell them that. The longer you leave it totally unaddressed, the more they are thinking, "this is going to be expensive". Second, don't be scared of price. Eighteen to 20% of people habitually buy the cheapest, while 0.5% habitually buy the most expensive. In between four out of five customers want value, not just price. Consider, if you have a pet, do you habitually buy the cheapest food for it? Unlikely. So why would people buy the cheapest for their business, which is of similar importance? It's the salesman's job to convince customers that he's providing far more value than that cheapest price.

The close

And finally, closing the sale. A good number of people have made a fine living out of training programmes based on one or other magical closing technique. The truth is that most of them are gimmicky rubbish. Start with some much more basic principles. First, always, always ask for the sale. You've established what the customer needs, that your product will fulfill that need, that you can achieve his deadline and your price is right, so say "let's complete an order form now." Obvious? Yes, but the commonest reason people don't buy is that the salesman didn't ask them to.

A significant proportion of printwear needs are very time sensitive, eg exhibitions, promotional campaigns, new store openings. Focus on that deadline, because you can bet your life your customer is. Recognise, too, that the customer may have neither time nor inclination to get three quotes: your product is right, it's within budget and above all you can deliver, so complete an order.

Finally, (to repeat a theme) learn to shut up. The so-called silent close definitely works. You've agreed purpose, product, deadline and price. So shut up. Let the customer take the next step. Two minutes of silence while the customer satisfies themselves that they're happy to proceed feels like forever, but in fact, this is just common courtesy.

10 key do's and don'ts

Be prepared: the salesman who turns up on time, with all the materials he needs and has the details of the enquiry at his fingertips will be far ahead of the average

Say thank you: a card saying thank you for doing business with us is very well received, especially by women

Sell the add ons: tell your customers about other things you sell e.g. safety gear - it makes you unique and increases profitability

Use positive words: they're not buying from you they're investing in their business; they're making a wise decision; they're showing foresight

Be interesting: people like a relevant true story; also, vary your voice level - it's easy to sound boring

Never be insincere: doing what's right will earn you more in the long-term than a profit-focus

Never use jargon: it doesn't make you look clever, it makes the customer look stupid

Know why people buy your product and your company: the emotive reasons for buying outweigh the technical detail 10 to 1

Never talk down to customers: "You probably don't know that...' means you definitely won't sell

Be a recording angel: note all the detail the customer wants and check it back. It makes you look professional not stupid

Paul Clapham is a marketing consultant with over 25 years' experience covering a broad range of business sectors and a full spread of marketing disciplines. He runs his own business, working with small, medium and large companies alike to increase their profitability through marketing. Tel:01453 765432

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