GOALS IN SALES
Sales is about achieving a mutually beneficial transaction between the customer and the salesperson. If the customer receives a product or service that satisfies their needs, and the salesperson gains a good profit in return, both sides come out as winners. If there is a loser in the situation, usually it’s the customer who may have purchased something that they didn’t need or didn’t solve their issue.
It is the goal of a salesperson to find the pains and problems that their customer is dealing with and find a solution to resolve their issue. You should be trying to help your customers, not take advantage of them. These days it can be dangerous to try to take advantage of someone as most customers can know more about the product than the salesperson due to the age of the internet. Don’t try to act as if you know more than someone else because sometimes that isn’t the case.
Tips
Be a good listener. Be active in the conversation and make sure you are truly hearing what the customer is saying so you can deliver what they need. Like John Porter told us, you have two ears and one mouth for a reason!
Another tip is to pick up on social cues. Being able to read someone’s body language can be super helpful as it will allow you to understand if they are interested or not in certain products and features. Steer the conversation in a different direction if the customer doesn’t appear to like what they are being sold.
It’s also fine to ask a customer what their holdup is if you can sense the hesitancy. Asking questions is such an important part of sales so you can understand what people like and don’t like. Ask follow-up questions in the conversations to reiterate what the customer is saying and check for understanding. See if the sale is a fit for both sides of the deal.
These tips will let trust enter into the relationship which allows for easier back-and-forth conversation. Using this advice should help you in achieving a mutually beneficial sale. They are also great tips for relationships in general. If you aren’t implementing some of these tips in your day-to-day life, then you might not succeed in doing it in the sales field. So, make sure to be an active listener and engage with the customer in ways to find a solution to their pain.
maysrj23 
testacr22
I really like the tips given in this post as they are very practical and applicable. I think you knocked it out of the park with the point about needing to be a good listener. I have noticed in interactions with people, whether they are trying to sell to me or not, that I tend to gravitate to people in conversation who listen well. This is a necessity in sales to achieve a mutually-beneficial transaction, like you said.
Ross, I agree with your comment that sales should be about creating a mutually beneficial relationship, where both the customer and salesperson feel like winners. Your take on being an active listener and picking up on social cues is very important. I would say that relationships in the business world are extremely important, a good relationship keeps that certain customer and gives you a chance of them telling others about your business.