When I talk to friends or clients about being better salespeople, they aren’t always receptive to the idea…maybe feeling like they don’t have the skills necessary or the ability to be a salesperson or to make sales.
Trust me, everyone can sell.
I’ll put it like a guy I knew in college told me when I was about 19-20: “If you have ever gotten laid, you are a salesperson.”
Here are 5 ways that you can sell a little bit better while keeping your clothes on.
1. Be a better listener: My friend Graham posted a Facebook status a few weeks back about a salesperson that was very persistent but failed to qualify Graham for the sale that he was trying to make. Don’t be that guy. Listen, ask questions, listen some more and pair up what the person wants with what you are offering. If you don’t have something that improves your client’s life, walk away. You’ll gain more business that way.
2. Act as a consultant: This plays in to the first tip. But your role as salesperson is to solve a problem for the buyer. If you have ever been in the position to make buying decisions, you know that there is no shortage of people that will happily take your money from you. You can differentiate yourself from the pack by acting as a consultant and making decisions in partnership with your clients.
3. Keep better records: When I worked in a position where I was making a lot of sales calls, I hated the record keeping and because I hated it, I didn’t do a good job of keeping my records straight. Thus, my sales slipped. Over the years I have come up with better ways of keeping track of my sales funnel and it has made my life easier. So find a way to track your sales leads that is useful and easy for you; and use it.
4. Build better relationships: In restaurants or bars, you have “regulars.” In business, you want to have “regulars” too. That starts by building relationships, which is important in every business, regardless of the industry that you work in. Building up strong leads in a clothing store has the same impact as if you were building up life insurance leads, for example. They will all benefit your business in one way or another. Too much of the bad advice that you will get about sales is going to tell you to make the sales as quickly as possible and move on. Don’t be an idiot. Build a genuine relationship with your clients and not only will your job be more fulfilling but you will also probably make more sales because of it.
5. Don’t follow the ABCs: The tips have been building to the point of the classic and worst sales advice of all time…”Always Be Closing.” Don’t follow it. And, if your sales manager tells you that, you know he is an idiot. First, some sales aren’t going to be one call closes. Some sales need nurturing and time. If you are acting as a consultant, and you are building trust with your clients, you can’t always springboard them with a sale. If you just always happen to have the right answer, you are going to lose a lot of trust. Sometimes always closing is the wrong answer and if you are listening, focusing on relationships, acting as a consultant, and keeping records of your sales relationships, you will see that and make better decisions.
Let me know if you have any tips you’d like to share. Or, have you used these skills and have they had a positive effect on your sales?