Increasing Sales Requires Skill
Whether you are new to sales or are an experienced salesperson, here are some of my favorite selling tips, I hope will help you to get and keep that edge.
Check them out:
- Anytime you reach out to a new prospect, think about and identify the problems, they are dealing with currently beyond simply the solution you are selling.
- People tend to be more honest and less full, first thing in the morning, so plan to schedule your calls early in the day.
- Identify and then use your buyer’s communication preferences, not yours. In other words, if they like to text, use that, but if they like to meet in person, don’t use a phone call or email.
- This one should be obvious, but never bad-mouth your competitor to a potential prospect. You have no idea their relationships and who you could offend. Remember, if you are willing to bad mouth someone else, then how do they know you won’t do it to them?
- Silence gives prospects a chance to process information and makes interactions feel more like conversations than sales pitch. Don’t rush to fill in the gaps. Give them time to ask questions.
- Get your prospect to smile or laugh, if possible. Research shows that it is harder to say “No” while you’re grinning and that we like to buy from people we like. When you can get someone to smile or laugh, chances are they will like you.
- If you’re using a presentation deck, make sure it doesn’t take attention away from you and what you are saying. The longer your presentation lasts, the less impact you will have, so keep your presentation simple and precise. No more than six slides, including the title page.
- Don’t give a discount to win the business: If your best argument for why your prospect should buy is, “I’ll give it to you for 50% off,” you’ve already lost the battle.
- When you are in a sales slump, set a couple small, achievable goals to create momentum and boost your confidence. Look for peers and team members who will motivate you to get better and encourage you when you get down.
- When you hear “no”, don’t let that be the end. A “no” is simply a “not now”. Let the prospect go for now, but ask them if you could contact them again in the future. Sometime prospects need a chance to get to know you before they are willing to buy from you.
- Think about your prospect as a company, not one single person. A decision to buy needs to focus on what is good for the overall company and the person buying needs to be able to articulate that value.
- Keep your emails short, precise and simple. Make your points early in the email and avoid making your prospect read more than they have to, to get the information they need. Grammar and spelling are important, so be sure to use the many tools available to help you in this area.
- Don’t use the work you do with your prospects’ competitors as a pitch. Remember, they want to be better than the other companies in their space and are looking for ways to differentiate themselves.
- Do some homework on the companies and prospects you plan to approach. Compliment them on recent achievements and personal successes. When you show an interest in them, they are more likely to show an interest in you.
- Be respectful of your prospects time. Be sure to be prompt to meetings and inquire about the time they have available, prior to starting a meeting. Keep your commitments and send responses in a timely manner.
Sales is not always an easy job, but with a little practice, it can be extremely rewarding. Just like anything, the more you do it, the better you get. Hopefully you have found a tip that will help you get even better.
