People often wonder whether they could be a sales person or how they could improve as one. Here are some of the key attributes a good or even great sales person will have.
Belief in what you are selling.
Before you can ever effectively convince anyone else in your abilities or product you must first already have this conviction yourself. In order to get a sale you’ve got to be fully convinced of your product, service.
Belief in yourself.
This goes hand in hand with the previous statement. When you are selling something you are trying to convince the buyer that not only is your product of value but that you are trustworthy. If you do not show confidence in yourself your buyer is unlikely to have confidence in you.
Determination.
Getting a sale is not an easy thing to do and there will be plenty of days when it seems like nothing goes right and you are faced with challenges. The trick is to weather the storm and not get disheartened. You will not succeed at every sale and try to learn from each attempt. Long term success is taking the good with the bad and being able to handle both effectively.
Ambition.
Ambition and self motivation are vital in sales marketing. You need to set yourself goals and not be afraid of going after success, or indeed of failing. Do not rely on others or leave it “up to fate.” Life is what you make of it.
Knowledge.
Make sure that you know as much as you can about your chosen field, this does not just mean you product or your business but you should also your environment, i.e. your competitors, your clients or customers . What you need to really succeed where others have failed is an edge, something you can offer that others can’t.
Check out Silicon Beach Training’s Sales and Marketing courses
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on April 24th, 2009 | 3 Comments »
A company will often try to generate more sales by “networking”, this will generally involve going to a small business networking event, Chamber of Commerce business card exchange or a peer to peer meeting in which they then promote their services.
However very rarely is anything either bought or sold at these events and it is you may often get the feeling that very little headway is made. In the following three sub-sections will show you what techniques you need to make the most out of these opportunities.
Getting The Right Perspective.
Firstly it is important to realise that networking is not the same as selling. Although it is true that the vast majority of people are there to sell their products, services or business, the art of networking is subtle. For instance: when you meet a potential buyer don’t be overbearing and bombard this person with reasons why they should buy your product/service, this will only push the potential customer away.
The idea is to get to know people who are influential so that they use and refer you in the future, and they will be far more likely to do this if they don’t feel hassled and you make a good impression. One way of achieving this is by listening and giving them advice or help.
One thing to understand is that the main focus of your conversation should be that of the customer.
Word Of Mouth.
This is one of the most effective and cheapest forms of advertisement and a great way to get more sales. If you have taken the last section on board you will be well on your way to creating word of mouth advertisement about your product, company or just you yourself.
As with the last section this technique is centered around getting to know the potential buyer better and making a good impression. Here are some questions you may want to ask the potential buyer if you are struggling:
- What is their name?
- What do they do?
- What do they like most about what they do?
- Who are their clients?
- Do they have to travel much?
- Where are they based?
These are the sort of questions that will allow you to gather the information necessary to redirect potential clients their way. News of your ability to generate good leads will soon spread people will feel that they should get to know you, your reputation will be boosted and it will be far easier to pitch a sales as favours are repaid.
The reason this method is such a good one is that if someone receives a third party endorsement of a company, i.e. you directing a potential client to a company, then they are far more likely to be receptive because of your endorsement.
The most important aspect of this technique is being able to consistently gather and record information about the people you meet. You will more than likely create your own style and way of doing this as you get use to it and if you do manage it you will vastly increase the word of mouth hype about your company.
Become An Expert.
Become an expert in your field.
One of the best ways to find customers for your company is to have a reputation as an expert in your field. Expert carries with it connotations of prestige and credibility yet it is not as difficult to obtain as you might think. Here is a simple three point plan showing you how to do this:
Find a niche
Instead of trying to be good at everything try and be great at one thing, concentrate your energies and intelligence into just one area and learn everything there is to know on it. It needn’t be an obvious area either.
Write about what you know.
Show off! Make sure that people can see how good you really are, every day there are literally thousands of newsletter publishers, web masters and editors looking for new and interesting articles to publish. If you could get your material published and liked back to your own website then it is like a stamp of approval, if done regularly the snowball effect makes you become more established and respected.
Speak whenever possible
The same principle applies to this point as with the last point. Although it can undoubtedly be a rather nerve-racking experience, public speaking is one of the best ways in which you can gain credibility as an expert. A competent speech can win an audience. Try to offer free advise and useful material that businesses can use rather than sell your product. As for nerves it’s bearing in mind is that nearly everyone of the audience will only have respect and admiration for you being able to stand up and talk.
More advice in giving a good presentation can be found in our presentation section
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on April 24th, 2009 | No Comments »
Buyer resistance or selling stall occurs when client can see more reason not to buy than to buy. Your job is to change that. It is often the case that a person who could have been easily persuaded choose to wait, what you need to do is to be able to recognise this and convince them to buy now rather than later.
Do not be too aggressive or lie to the potential buyer. Both of these tactics apart from being morally dubious will only put a consumer off and damage your reputation. Even if you get away with lying in the short term you will be setting up real problems long term.
If you have a service or product that a buyer cannot see, touch or feel, it is far easier for a buyer to convince themselves not to buy now, as they do not feel there is any need for them to rush. If this is the case then try and make your product more logical, vivid or emotional, try to make the buyer feel the need to buy your product now, not wait till later. (This is further explained in the subcategory “for services.”)
Selling Goods
If your product is something that the consumer can see and touch then here are some questions that you might find helpful to ask the buyer:
- What aspects do they like about their current product?
- What don’t they like, or like least?
- What would they change?
- What are they looking for in a new product, why they feel a change is necessary?
One way for you to do this is to relate your product or service to the wants and needs of your buyer, show them why they need you product. Talk to the buyer and find some common ground on which you can sell your product.
Don’t be too pushy though as this will only make the potential buyer feel uneasy and more unlikely to buy anything. Make a sound and reasoned argument as to why they need your product but don’t force it, make it as though you are doing them a favor and it is their best interests to buy now.
Selling Services
If you are trying to sell something more service orientated then try asking these questions:
- Have their priorities shifted over the past few months?
- Where do they see themselves in a couple of year’s time?
- What do they need to accomplish these ambitions?
By asking this sort of question you can more easily decide on what your client is looking for. With this information what you then need to do is find how your service will suit the clients interests and relate it back to them. For example the house or car you are selling may not actually be as interesting to the client as the status that a car or house will provide. Similarly with insurance, as whilst it maybe the case that the client may not want insurance per say; they may actually want the security that an insurance policy will give them.
If you have had success in your client’s area of interest in the past then tell them about it. A client needs to be reassured that you know what you are doing and past experiences, especially positive ones, can serve as a massive advantage. Don’t be afraid to show off little and make sure to use proper names and times etc, as this will help you client envision themselves having received the same benefits your previous client did.
When you are closing you pitch or sale, make sure not just to give your client a reason to buy now but also a reason why not to wait. A good way of doing this is to give them options (so as to not make them feel like they are being pressured or bullied.) Give them alternatives as to what will happen if they wait, make sure that buying now offers benefits that greatly outrank the other options. Make sure they know what they are going to miss out on if they wait and how circumstances might have changed by then. Most, when confronted with an honest and straightforward argument such as this will choose to buy now.
With this advice in mind you should now be far better equipped to shorten you selling cycle. But remember it is the end the client’s choice; don’t be so pushy you drive a potential buyer away, it’s better to have to wait than nothing at all.
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on April 24th, 2009 | No Comments »
