Almost every business owner or management level employee needs to have some level of sales ability be successful in their career or business. You can be the most creative and talented person in the world and the best product ever, but how will you present it to the market without using some sales and marketing skills?
I do believe that many sales skills can be learned, but to be above average to exceptional, there are some basic personal qualities that one should possess and use with the learned sales techniques. This belief of mine comes from my own experience in sales over the last 28 years and dealings with other salespeople throughout life.
1. Possess a genuine desire to help others and enjoy the process. If you don’t enjoy dealing with people and really trying to find a solution to their need, you won’t be successful selling.
2. Believe in yourself and your product/service. Confidence is so important in being successful in any business transaction. There is a difference between arrogant and confidence, so don’t try to be a know-it-all. But go into every sales call with the belief that you have something valuable to share and the time the customer spends with you will be worth his while. Shake his/her hand firmly and be prepared.
3. Possess organizational skills and use time management wisely. Each sales call is valuable time to you, your employer, and your customer. Don’t waste time because of poor planning, not having the proper materials, or a specific purpose for the call.
4. Be respectful of people and treat each according to their individual personality and needs. Not all people respond to the same things. Many people are trusting right off the bat and others take longer for you to earn their trust and respect. Being consistent and persistant usually pays off eventually.
5. Be motivated by money, status, respect, praise, and almost anything that pushes you to set, strive for, and achieve goals. If you are lazy, looking for the easy road, become complacent easily, or okay with settling for less, you need to find your career path away from the sales field.
6. Be a good listener. Many salespeople make the mistake of thinking that they should be the one in the sales call that does most of the talking. It should be the other way around. Ask questions of your customer that will help you learn about them, their business, and their issues. This is valuable information you will never learn, if you don’t ask. Pay attention to what they say and do and take notes.
7. Pay attention to the details. Nothing frustrates a customer more than mistakes in their orders or quotations. Read their purchase orders or bid documents carefully. Key things could be hidden in the fine print, like an order due date or no backorders allowed, etc.
8. Recognize that problems are often the best opportunities. Approach them with the right attitude and it will pay off in the end. I had a customer that wanted to return an $800 order because the product turned out to not be what they needed. After visiting with the customer and learning more about the application, I was able to come up with the proper product. That $800 return turned into a $75,000 order that was repetitive business for years!
9. Always leave the door open. Perhaps that customer is not interested or in need of you today, but that can change. One thing I have learned over the years is that things eventually change – just give it time. Don’t burn your bridges with customers and they will be willing to use you again. Give it a rest for 6 months, a year, or even two years and then go back and check on the customer’s situation. Most likely, it is someone new handling that responsibility now or something is different than before that will open the door again.
10. Always follow up. Once the sale is made, your job is not done. Follow up with the customer to make sure they were happy. Begin to establish a long term relationship and ask for referrals. Keep them on your call list and continue to grow your business with them.
I am sure you have your own thoughts on this and I would love to hear them. I am also happy to answer any questions for those who have them. Happy selling!
