Do you know what good it does to have the best product on the market if nobody wants to buy it? Absolutely nothing. If you want to have your own business, or even start one, you need to be a good salesperson.
And yes, it may seem that selling is a very complicated business… You might even think that good salespeople have some kind of innate gift… But nothing could be further from the truth.
The qualities of a good salesperson are acquired and worked on over time. Want to know how? Take a look at these 11 TIPS!
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What is sales?
Sales is one of the oldest professions in our society. It existed before money when people bartered one product/service for another.
Roughly speaking, we could define sales as all activities involving the exchange of a product or service for money.
But, let’s be honest, in the business world, selling goes far beyond a simple transaction. In the professional sphere, sales are the key element in a company’s growth. Think about it: without sales, there’s no turnover and therefore no growth.
Indeed, many teams and departments depend on certain monthly quotas, leads converted into customers, and so on. Generally speaking, virtually all of an organization’s efforts are based on making sales, satisfying customers, and, ultimately, generating revenue for the company.
And you know what the best tip is for making sales? Being able to convey trust to your potential customers and for this, social networks can be your best allies. If you want to know EVERYTHING about Social Selling and how to multiply your sales with LinkedIn, this guide will interest you!
5 key skills of a good salesperson
There’s a widespread belief that good salespeople are born with certain skills without which it’s impossible to sell: being extroverted, charismatic… But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be that way, mainly because there’s no one-size-fits-all salesperson profile.
Of course, certain characteristics can help you progress in the sales process, but that doesn’t mean we exclude others who have other characteristics and can still become true sales professionals.
Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that can help you become a good salesperson and that can be acquired with practice and training.
- Self-confidence
Self-confidence is extremely important to being a good salesperson. It’s scientifically proven… Confidence convinces and sells.
That’s why it’s essential if you want to be a good salesperson, to work on your self-confidence, and we’re sorry to inform you that there’s no magic formula for this – it may even depend on which foot you woke up with that day!
So don’t rush, because gaining self-confidence and showing it to others is a long-distance race. You’ll see that with the right techniques and the right attitude, confidence will come. Read on!
- Adaptability
Forget rigid speeches! I assure you, if you want to become a top salesman, it won’t do you any good.
Of course, it’s ESSENTIAL to prepare your sales pitch well… You can even have an outline of your main script. But rest assured that every customer will have his or her objections, some of which you may not even see coming. So it’s a challenge, and you need to learn how to get out of the script, out of your rehearsals, and adapt to each situation.
- Initiative
If you want to be a good salesperson, you can’t leave all the action to the consumer. You have to show initiative, be proactive, and be the one to follow up on a potential sale. You have to be the one who calls them, who contacts them. If you don’t, I can assure you that the customers will get away from you. - Managing expectations
This is one of the most important qualities of any good salesperson. To achieve this, you need to ask yourself, before every contact with the potential customer, what your objective is, what topics you’re going to cover, and what the next steps will be.
- Empathy
One of the best pieces of advice any self-respecting salesperson can give you is to be able to put yourself in your potential customer’s shoes. What are they looking for? What do they need? What are their pain points? What do they hear around them? Without a doubt, empathy is what makes the difference between a great salesperson and a mediocre one. If you focus your strategies on the customer, if you base them on helping them, you’ll certainly achieve your goals.
11 tips for sales success
Are you ready to become a successful salesperson? Then follow these 11 tips to help you stand out in sales:
- Study your product in detail
If you don’t believe in your product, who will?
Before you start selling it, you need to know it in detail if you want consumers to trust you. How else are you going to answer their questions? And how will you advise them on how to get the most out of it?
So study all the details, its history, its accolades, and, above all, its value proposition.
In the same way, you need to study the brand in depth and use certain types of established advertising messages, the same tone, and so on.
- Study your customer too
If product knowledge is FUNDAMENTAL, customer knowledge is perhaps even more so. Remember when we talked about the importance of empathy in being a good salesperson? Well, how can you put yourself in your customers’ shoes if you don’t know who they are?
Personalizing your offer is extremely important to making sales, and knowing your customers inside out can help you improve your approach by tailoring it to their interests and needs.
Creating a bond with your customers is essential to making sales. And not just any bond, but a totally real relationship, otherwise you’ll come across as a cold machine that disappoints customers.
- Plan the whole process
It’s very important to be organized when it comes to making sales. There’s always a process to follow – nothing happens by chance. So plan your process, define it precisely and you’ll be able to anticipate potential customers’ reactions. And, let’s face it, there will be rare occasions when you only have to negotiate with the customer once, and that’s when planning becomes more important than ever. - Active listening
Have you ever heard of active listening? Forget about being the only one talking when you talk to potential customers. Listen to what customers need, their doubts, their needs, their problems… And respond with something that adds real value. This will enable you to establish an emotional bond with the customer and ensure that they identify with the offer.
If you can master active listening, you’ll make excellent sales, believe me.
- Study your non-verbal language
Every good salesperson needs to be an excellent communicator, and when you’re doing it face-to-face, it’s not just words and tone that count. Non-verbal language can convey many concepts to potential customers. Make sure yours is honest and avoid hiding your hands in your pockets or behind your back. It’s also very important that you stand up straight. If your posture is more slouchy, you risk expressing a lack of confidence or even fear. - Follow the latest trends
You need to keep your finger on the pulse of the market to stay relevant over time. So keep an eye on industry blogs, analyze your competitors, trends, and so on. - Work for the benefit of your customers
Your focus shouldn’t be limited to sales. Your strategies should be customer-focused, and seek to bring them benefits. As François Michelin, CEO of the Michelin Group, once said:
“If it’s good for the customer? Then it’s good for us.
A satisfied customer is likely to bring you more sales or, at the very least, a good testimonial or success story.
- Learn to read between the lines
You need to work on your ability to interpret everything a potential customer says and, above all, what they don’t say. This will multiply your chances of closing a sale. If you learn to read between the lines, you’ll know when and how to move forward in your dealings with consumers, whether they’re interested, what their barriers are, and so on.
- Always have at least one optional proposal on hand
Never miss an opportunity to have an ace up your sleeve – one-off sales proposals can leave you empty-handed. Study other options that might interest them, think through possible scenarios and, if you see that the situation is getting out of hand, make your secret proposal! - Work on after-sales too
Yes, believe it or not, after-sales is also the job of a good salesperson. After all, as we’ve said, a good sale can lead to more sales. So prepare strategies to keep your customers coming back. - Measure your results
Finally, you need to measure your results to know how effective your efforts have been, and how you can improve them. To do this, keep in mind certain key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be reliable development indicators.
Ready to become a sales whiz, take a look at our new flagship master, PoweSales.
If you’d like to add any other tips to the list, please let us know!