Believe in what you sell.
No one wants to buy a product from someone who doesn’t believe in the excellence of what they’re selling. If you aren’t excited about your product then your customer won’t be either. You need to be upbeat and positive. If you have difficulties in this area, then focus on the features, advantages and benefits of your product since these are what make your product great, and they often answer the, “What’s in it for me?” question.
Be able to define and engage with your target audience.
There’s nothing worse then selling to someone who has no need for your product. It’s an automatic dead end. For example, if you sell technology, you need to be able to figure out if you are selling to an innovator, early adopter or laggard. There would be no point to trying to get a laggard to buy your brand new, one-of-a-kind product since laggards are often skeptical and wait to see what other people (the innovators and early adopters) think of the product.
Furthermore, active learning needs to play a role if a salesperson is going to be able to engage with a customer. Do your homework. Find out what you can about the client you are scheduled to meet with, and when you talk one-on-one ask questions to weed out customer’s wants in order to get to their needs.
Cultivate trust.
If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends.
If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
-Jeff Bezos
Your customer should never have a reason to doubt you. If you promise to deliver, then you better deliver or your future sales could be in jeopardy. Don’t mold your product into something it’s not just to make it fulfill a customer’s needs. If you are honest with your prospect then they will come back when they actually need you, or even more importantly, they will refer you to others that are currently in need of your service. Honesty leads to more business opportunities.
Being a great salesperson is all about knowing your customer and creating a long-term relationship. The best way to do this is to target the right customer and be honest with them. If you do this, you will see your sales progress.
