How to become the best salesperson in your industry

Sales is that one business practice that, if done effectively, will propel any business to success.

Unfortunately, 85% of businesses aren’t as good at generating sales as they should be, which is why we have the staggering failure rate that we have in small businesses.

Sales can be very complex. But it can be extremely simple. It’s all a matter of the practitioner’s mentality.

let’s take the easy way

What does it take to be effective in sales? Just one thing; awareness.

Awareness of your client’s problem.

Awareness of the solution that is acceptable to your client; expressing that solution as a value in dollars and cents.

Knowledge of the process that the customer will go through to decide whether to buy or not.

Jeffery Fox, author of How to Become a Rainmaker offers the following steps to sales success.

* Value the customer at all times

* Treat customers as if they were your best friend

* Listen to customers and decipher their needs

* Make (or give) customers what they need

* Set the price of your product at its dollarized value (in other words, do not sell the price, sell the value received from the purchase)

* Offer your customers more than they expect

* Thank each customer sincerely and often

* Help customers pay you so they don’t get embarrassed and go elsewhere

*Ask to do it again

However, when we talk about relationships, we are talking about a business relationship, not a family friendship. You have to be seen as the solution to a challenge and not as a friend to hang out with.

Six Figure Sales Coach, Kevin Nations, provides the idea for the business report. He says the relationship he wants to have with his client is that of a counselor, someone the client feels comfortable discussing challenges (pain) with and trusts enough to provide a solution.

I have found that the best skill any sales person can develop is the art of active listening. Ask questions, listen, and write down what you hear.

Customers feel engaged and heard when you as a salesperson take the time to take note of what is being discussed. Taking notes also “forces” you to become an active and engaged listener.

The next time you’re on a sales call, focus on your personal listening style. Are you really listening and engaging with what the customer is saying or are you calculating your next response?

David Hepburn, Master Sales Trainer at the Sandler Sales Institute, offers a slightly different perspective on selling and selling.

David offers the following thoughts to consider:

The salesperson enters a call without a plan. The customer you are trying to engage in your product (sell) has a plan.

They lie, steal/cheat and then hide. That’s the client’s plan.

They lie and tell you that they are interested in your products, that they love them and that they are the best.

They steal or cheat you when they ask you to be an unpaid consultant and educate them on everything they need to know and then tell you. “they will think so.”

And when you try to get back to them they hide and you have to send the search and rescue team only to be told NO.

That is the basis of the Buyer’s Plan. If salespeople don’t have a plan to combat this plan, they will lose every time, even if they think they have a chance to make a sale.

David sees that the biggest challenge most salespeople have is “winging it”.

They are hoping for the best instead of practicing, preparing, keeping positive thoughts when entering the client’s office, etc.

Let’s face it, very rarely does a small business owner, in the role of a salesperson, prepare for the sales call. However, preparation is the shortest path to sales success.

Once again, consciousness enters the scene. If you don’t understand your customers’ business, if you don’t know anything about them or their industry, if you have no idea of ​​the challenges they face, it’s going to be very difficult to add value to your business and secure a long-term relationship.

This is the easy way to make your sales effort more effective.

The ACTION step you need to take is very simple. Take an idea from this article and practice it this week.

Next week take another idea and practice it.

At the end of a few weeks, you’ll be better in sales than you are today.