It has definitely been established that sales is all around us and that we all participate in selling in some shape or form. Whether it is your desire to be a top executive, an entrepreneur, or pretty much anything, selling is a critical skill set. Being an effective salesperson will help to benefit every aspect of your life and upon a great deal of research on my part here are what I believe to be some of the best general tips to master that skill.
- Shut up and listen
- Problems create opportunities
- Business is all about relationships
- The customer always comes first
- Understand the motive of the decision maker
These tips will help anyone become a better sales person! At the root of every tip is truly listening to all that the customer has to say, and placing the customer above yourself. If you can understand what it is that the customer truly wants, you will be far more successful in sales.
BoweryJE22
These are really good tips that sum up selling well nicely. I also like how they’re almost all (if not all of them, depending on how you look at it), are so centered around the prospect and not yourself. When genuinely trying to help someone solve a problem and to find the best solution from them, you are caring for that person well and reflecting the love of Christ.
I agree with both your post and the above reply! This class is certainly taking all of the stereotypes about selling and what we think are the ways to sell to people and flipping them upside down. Instead of a fast-talking, sleazy salesman, we have empathetic, listening sales men and women. Instead of trying to show why our product or service is the greatest (features), we are listening to hear what the prospect needs and how we can benefit them or solve their problem.
All of your tips/lessons really do center on the prospect and show a different approach to sales than what is typically thought.
I definitely agree with all of these points; especially the first and third one. I think that as our age has moved towards a collection of more and more information, we have all of this knowledge that we want to inundate people with, and that’s not exactly what they want. Just like in Mattson’s book, he says “don’t spill your candy in the lobby”, he’s exactly right. Despite the fact that we as millennials have been raised in an information age, we need to start giving listening a try.
Again, I think that building relationships with people is so important. Just like small town diners have “regulars” that come in every day or every week, that is all thanks to building a strong relationship with your customers. And from there word of mouth is also a beneficiary for growing your business.
Great post! 🙂