People are born great at sales with an built-in knack of knowing how to sell, sell, sell, right? Wrong! With the right advice, a can-do, proactive attitude, some quality training and experience on the job, you can fine-tune your selling skills and master the art of being a compelling, credible and successful salesperson. And this could be especially important for small business owners.
How to Be Good at Sales
If you’re still in the early stages with your small business you may be the only one talking to customers about your products or services. So take a look at the following traits you may need to be good at sales.
Learn How to Listen
Granted, successful salespeople are good communicators, but communication is a two-way process, and the best sales reps are good at listening. By building your ‘listening muscle’ and listening to a prospect’s needs, concerns and objectives, you will be able to fulfil such aims and requirements and annul any concerns with greater success than if you weren’t aware of the prospect’s thoughts.
Show Enthusiasm, Motivation and a Hunger to Succeed
One key challenge of any sales environment is staying motivated. Successful salespeople believe in what they are doing and are always motivated, enthusiastic and have a hunger to succeed. Retaining motivation is a vital component of sales success.
Have a Successful Sales Strategy
Rather than just picking up the phone and blindly trying to sell, only to find yourself exhausted and dejected with little to show, create and stick to a comprehensive and effective sales strategy.
This strategy should include defining your target market, knowing which questions you are going to ask a prospect, delivering on what you said you would do for the prospect, monitoring how well the sale is working, and repeating this same process with every sale you do.
Know How to Multitask
Sales isn’t, by any means, a single-task job. To excel in the cutthroat world of sales, you need to be proficient at multitasking, juggling a sales call with one hand, whilst typing up an email in the other. Well, this might be a tad of an exaggeration successful sales is a thoughtful and meticulous activity and being capable of processing different tasks and prioritising responsibilities, is one aspect of sales that shouldn’t go overlooked.
Be Honest
A far cry from the stereotype of the dishonest car salesman, fraudulently taking miles off the clock, successful salespeople are honest and are aware of the pitfalls of dishonesty. By being honest and having a prospect’s best interests at the heart of the deal, you will be seen as a credible and reliable sales representative in your field, with people wanting to do business with you because of your honesty and genuine drive to fulfil the aspirations of your prospects.
By contrast, dishonesty might make you a ‘quick win’ but in the long-term you’re unlikely to be recommended by others and develop a credible professional reputation.
Avoid Being Too Pushy
Another adverse image of a high-flying salesperson is that they are pushy, obnoxious and don’t understand the word no!
As nobody likes to deal with an overly pushy salesperson, it’s important to know your limits when it comes to selling your products or services. It’s important to strike the right balance between getting your point across but not pushing a prospect too far.
Adapting certain techniques such as removing the pressure from the sales, taking your time over the sales process, letting the prospect do the talking and focusing on their issues and concerns instead of your product, will help you bond a deeper connection with your prospect and create a positive sales environment to help you sell with greater success.
Show Empathy
A quality salesperson knows how to feel what their prospects feel. In fact, practicing empathy is a vital trait for every business but in sales, empathy and getting inside a prospect’s skin, is an effective way to anticipate what they want.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Networking
Networking is one of the most effective prospecting tools in any salesperson’s toolbox. Successful salespeople are not afraid to show up at networking events and get involved with the community and prospective clients and customers, getting to know people and raising awareness about their brand and products or services.
Be a Good Communicator
Being a good communicator is a skill every successful salesperson needs to have mastered. It’s never too late to fine-tune both verbal and written communication skills and embarking on communication training could be a worthwhile investment in helping you become more proficient and successful at selling.
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