There are so many great sales tactics so why do some sales professionals of today still use the hard sell tactics, which no longer have the same effect.

Hard selling is when you go straight to the point and start to try to sell your product without any finesse, without evaluating your customer’s needs. It is simply telling your prospective buyer that he should buy your product. Now this hard-core approach may work in some instances but the majority of your prospective buyers will be put off the sale by this approach.

Read on to find out 10 reasons WHY hard sales tactics never work.

1. People hate being sold to: Hard selling techniques will bring out the worst in people. When aggressive sales techniques are used this will prompt the prospective buyer to be aggressive as well and act negatively to the sales person. Pretty soon they are ready to argue with you and you know the sale is lost.

1. Hard sell will intimidate your prospective buyer: This sales tactic can intimidate some buyers and cause them to lose interest in the sale. Intimidation will again give your prospective buyer negative feelings towards the sale and give them a bad impression of your company when they see the sort of sales people you hire. This is another factor that will cause you to lose the sale.

1. Hard sell makes you sound desperate to sell: This will always put off your buyer. Buyers can sense when a sales person is desperate to sell a product to them. The buyer wonders why the seller is so desperate and this rouses immediate suspicion. This suspicion will turn into mistrust in what the sales person is saying. The buyer will be very unlikely to buy the product.

1. Hard sell in sales copy will often use hype: Prospective buyers are savvier than they were and will not put up with hype. They want the facts not some empty over optimistic promise. If sales copy tries the hard sell with this type of tactic the reader will not read any further and there will not be a sale.

1. Prospects need a reason to buy: Hard sell does not allow time to explain the benefits of the product and what the prospective buyer can expect from the product. Hard sell usually tries to sell features rather than benefits. Benefits are the reason for a customer to buy. You must answer the question on every prospective buyers mind “What’s in it for me?”

1. You need to build rapport with prospective buyers: Building a relationship with your potential buyer is the most important part of selling. You will not only make the sale on the initial product but you will also build confidence in your customer. When the buyer has confidence in you, they will very likely purchase other related products from your company. If you use hard sell you cannot build this all-important relationship. Ultimately you will lose not only the initial sale but also a valuable long-term customer.

1. Soft sell will allow the reader to make their own decision:  As mentioned people do not like to be sold to, they do not want to feel that someone is dictating to them and telling them what they have to buy. Most people want to feel that they are making their own decisions and soft sell will do this for them.

1. Soft sell always outsells hard sell: It is a proven fact that the soft sell always outsells hard sell. This is because people can be persuaded to buy, but do not like to be forced into buying. Hard sell is literally pushing your product at your prospective customer and not giving them a chance to say no. Soft selling on the other hand is offering your prospective buyer a product and allowing them to make the decision to buy.

1. It is more enjoyable to use soft sell tactics: Soft sell will allow you to use more sales strategies. It is more enjoyable getting to know your customer, demonstrating the benefits of the product to him and building up a good rapport with your prospective buyer rather than pushing a sale on him.

1. Soft sell is a powerful way of pre selling products and warming your customer for the sale. When you warm your prospective buyer for the sale, you will be far more successful in selling your product or service. People like to know more about products before they buy and pre selling will allow you to do this for them.

Hard sell tactics rarely work because of the above reasons. Also there is a stereotype of the pushy sales person using hard sell tactics. When hard sell is used, this image comes into the prospects mind and will immediately alienate them. In this way you will lose many sales.