This year, why not become the person who knows how to succeed in sales where others fail. It’s not so hard and a delightful side effect is this success will follow into your personal life as well. Don’t kid yourself, most everything you do or say, in one way or another, has to do with sales. When you’re trying to pick a restaurant or a movie for you and your friends, it’s human nature to try to convince them that your choice is best. Yeah, I said it, we’re all salespeople.
Become an accomplished professional. You don’t want to be a salesperson?
Why not? It’s an admirable profession and will make you a more likable friend.
In order to succeed in sales, it’s important to gain your potential customers’ confidence as you’re building a relationship. Who wouldn’t want to be with someone who asks questions and really listens to the answers? Be the person who doesn’t make assumptions and gains the customer’s confidence by being their advocate. Check out this video for some tips on becoming a better conversationalist.
The next step is to offer a thoughtful solution. As a matter of fact, as their champion, you’ve got to have the information you need to support the action you’re suggesting. Become an expert on your product or service and you’ll know you can deliver the answer to their problem or dilemma with confidence. Above all, believe in your solution.
Once you realize the impact of being in tune with others, you’ll understand the importance of sales in your daily life.
And, you’ll very much want to succeed in sales.
Use all of your tools
Being able to back up your advice goes a long way to helping your customer come to the right conclusion. You might offer a sample, a report by a recognized organization, or a 5-star recommendation from a current client. Whatever it is, make sure you’ve got it at your fingertips in the event it becomes something that makes the difference between a sale and a no-sale.
Overcoming objections
Nobody wants to appear to be a pushover when it comes to sales, so a wise salesperson expects objections. When you’ve spent a little time in the sales world, you know what the challenges are. Be proactive and overcome them before they’re vocalized. To be sure, this is one of the best things you can do to ensure you’ll succeed in sales. If you wait until the objection is spoken, it becomes the “I’m right and you’re wrong” conversation and you will not win.
Know when to shut up
By all means, stay out of conversations that include sex, politics, and religion. I know I can count on you to develop a savvy way to avoid getting drawn into them. No one needs to know your opinion on controversial subjects and if you take a shot at figuring out their angle, you’ll probably blow it. Therefore, it’s in your best interests to become an expert in changing the subject and you’ll be known as a brilliant conversationalist.
There’s lots more to pick up from this Dance Safari post, “9 Career-Killing Mistakes to Steer Clear of in Sales“.
Finally, to succeed in sales, keep the following in mind…
(…and this goes for your social life, too)
Don’t make promises you can’t keep, smile easily, and Holy Moly, don’t forget the cannoli. For real, no one can resist them. You’ll have a friend for life.
