There are many ways to sharpen your sales skills. From a beginner to a proficient salesperson, there is always something new to learn. Sharon Michaels provides some tricks in her article in Forbes, “3 Powerful Skills You Must Have to Succeed in Sales”. Michaels provides 3 main skills that she believes are important to have for any sales success. First, she highlights the “S”, for Sincerity. Second, she discusses “E”, for Ethics. Last she presents “A”, for Asking. Michaels then proceeds to expound on what these principles mean.
Sincerity may be thought of as an obvious principle to hold as a salesperson, but it is often overlooked and not thought of as effective. On the contrary. Michaels explains how listening sincerely without an agenda allows the seller to attune themselves to the needs, desires, and pain points of the potential buyer. Knowing these things about your potential buyer allows for the seller to solve problems as opposed to selling something that the potential buyer doesn’t need. If something is sold and solves a problem for the buyer, they’ll come back. If it doesn’t solve a problem, it’ll most likely be a one-time sale.
Next, Michaels talks about Ethics. More specifically, she discusses the importance of a salesperson not talking someone into something they don’t need. The potential buyer should feel like the decision is theirs, and they are not getting pushed into something. Michaels explains that the point of a salesperson is to present their product in a clear, concise, and truthful manner with integrity. The sales experience should be about building a trustworthy win-win relationship.
Lastly, Michaels highlights the need, “ask” in a sales discussion. She says, “You can serve your client/customer best by finding out what they want, need, and expect from what you are offering.”. This is perhaps the most important thing to learn about sales. Asking questions allows the salesperson to find the pain points of the customer and allows them to solve problems for the customer. At the end of the day, the customer won’t buy unless the product or service being sold solves a problem. So the best way to make a win-win sale is to ask about the customer’s pain points.
These three elements, that make up “SEA”, are extremely important in any sales scenario. With these principles, any salesperson is sure to see more success and provide the customer with an increased amount of value by truly solving problems and alleviating pain points. Next time you find yourself selling, keep in mind the elements of SEA, Sincerity, Ethics, and Asking.
Article Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2011/08/22/3-powerful-skills-you-must-have-to-succeed-in-sales/
BoweryJE22
These are all good skills to have in selling, and compliment what we learned in class well. The article really seems to focus on the relation aspect of selling, which I argue is the most important part of selling.