Recently I was talking to a group of college students regarding a sales career and they asked me what I thought were the best sales tips I’ve ever heard. Here is what I said:
1. It’s not what you say, it’s what your customer believes.
You can have the best sales presentation in the world, but if the customer doesn’t believe your proposition, then you don’t have a chance. Take the time to engage with the customer.
Ask them sales related questions and let them tell you their wants and needs. Listen to your customers. Yes, many times they don’t know what their needs are and you’ll have to guide them, but in the end, if they don’t believe in your solution, you don’t have a chance.
2. Never go into a sales call not knowing how you’re going to close the sale.
If you don’t know where you’re going, then how will you get there? The most common part left out of any sales presentation is the close. Plan for it upfront by developing the strategy and your course of action.
This does not mean you’re only going to use one type of closing technique. On the contrary, it means you’re going to be ready to close using several different techniques based on what the customer tells you.
3. Have a dedicated time set aside either daily or weekly to do your prospecting.
Do you find yourself spending far too much time doing everything else but prospecting? If you don’t schedule it and hold yourself accountable, you won’t do it. Sales professionals need dedicated prospecting time.
Read more about 6 Ways Great Salespeople Master Their Time.
4. Believe in yourself and what you’re doing to help your customers.
Why should anyone buy anything from anybody if the person from whom they are buying doesn’t even believe in it? There’s a reason why confident salespeople are more successful.
Need a mindset reset? Check out these 7 Truths for Mastering Your Mindset.
5. Show up, and show up on time.
More sales are lost because the salesperson either failed to show up or failed to follow through. It’s a sad comment that something that basic and easy could deter more sales, but it’s a fact. This is the main reason why when companies are looking for salespeople, I tell them to find candidates who have a proven track record of self-discipline. Keep your sales appointments, and follow through.
If you were looking for a silver bullet sales technique, sorry you probably didn’t find it here. Then again, I don’t believe there are any silver bullets in sales.
It’s all about having the discipline to demonstrate to the customer that you care about them and their needs.
Were these the type of “best sales tips” the students were looking for? Who knows?! Yes, they responded positively, but only time will tell if they took what I said to heart.
I’ll say this: Based on the thousands of salespeople I’ve had the privilege to work with and train, I know without a doubt that if salespeople do these 5 things and do them well, they will have a high probability of achieving success.
5 tips are great, but are you ready to go deeper?
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